“I know I bulldozed you a bit with the paying-off-the-mortgage thing,” I admit, and the responding smile I get makes my chest bloom with hope.
“And the six-figure check?” she adds, and my smile twitches with self-deprecation.
“That too,” I agree. “I should’ve talked to you first, but I just wanted—”
“I know, Dom,” she says and squeezes my hand gently. “I know you just wanted to help me. I know your intentions were pure and good. And I also know that my pride got in the way quite a bit.”
“I get it,” I say. “I understand why you got upset.”
“And I understand why you did what you did.”
“So ...” I pause to search her eyes. “Are you saying that you forgive me?”
“Yes, but I hope that comes with the contingency that you’ll forgive me for acting the way I did,” she says, and her voice goes soft with uncertainty. “I hope you can forgive me for cutting you out of my life like I did. For not giving you a chance to talk to me. For ignoringyour texts and calls. I handled it all so horribly, Dom. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. And to think ...” She trails off, and a few tears stream from her eyes. “I almost lost you,” she says, and her lip quivers. “I was so scared, Dom.”
“But you didn’t lose me,” I answer without hesitation. “And of course I forgive you, Hannah.” I squeeze her hands. “Though I’m still a little pissed at you for going to that hotel room without me. I was so fucking worried about you. I feared the worst. The absolute worst.”
“I didn’t know what to do,” she says in a rush. “I knew Monica was in trouble and I didn’t know what to do.”
“Next time, call me,” I tell her. “For the love of God, call me.”
“Call you anytime?” she teases.
“Yeah, baby, call me anytime.”
We both laugh for a moment, our hands still locked together, but eventually, poignant silence stretches between us as our gazes search one another with an intensity I’ve never shared with anyone but Hannah.
“I love you, Hannah.” My whole world is wrapped up in this woman. My heart, my soul, my mind—all of it loves her, wants her, needs her. A life without Hannah isn’t a life at all.
She’s my forever, of that I’m certain.
“I love you too,” she whispers back, a fresh sheen of tears coating her eyes.
“Do you love me enough to marry me?” I ask, my mind made up with a finality I’ll never divert from.
“W-what?” she stutters.
“I want to marry you,” I tell her. “I, Dominic Dunn, want to spend the rest of my life with you, Hannah May.”
“You want to marry me?” she asks, her voice incredulous and more tears spilling down her cheeks.
I gently urge her body closer to mine, and I don’t stop tugging until she’s in my lap with her thighs straddling my hips.
“Dom, I don’t think the doctor—”
I cut her words off by placing my hand on her face and pressing my mouth to hers. Pain radiates from my chest and shoulder, but I don’t give a fuck.
“Marry me, Hannah,” I say against her perfect lips.
She leans back to search my steady, unwavering gaze.
“I love you,” I say again. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love you, Hannah. Please, marry me? Let me love you for the rest of our lives.”
“Yes,” she says. Her lips meet mine again, and I can taste the salt from her tears.
I kiss, deeper this time, and when a little moan escapes her throat, I swallow it down. The machines start beeping wildly, but I don’t give a fuck about that either.
This woman is going to be mine.Forever.
