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“Gracie—”
I held up a hand, stopping whatever new protest he was going to come up with. “Just think about it, okay? And just know, you would have my vote in a heartbeat.”
He was quiet as I left the room, shutting the door behind me as I went. Hawk was standing in the hall outside my office, my briefcase and jacket in his hands and an impatient look on his face that I’d always thought added to his sex appeal. “You done now?”
I grinned up at him before standing on tiptoes to kiss him. My sexy, growly biker melted against me for a moment, kissing me back. When I pulled away, however, the scowl was back in place. “Now, I’m ready.”
He drove us over to Doc’s office, his eyes darting from one mirror to the other, making sure no one was following us. Before the Morgans had conspired with Santino’s people to take me, I would have laughed at how paranoid he was. Now, I was glad for it. Those fucking Italians had turned me into a nervous wreck lately.
It was almost closing time for the private practice, and the waiting room was empty. The receptionist waved us on back, and we were greeted by Doc’s only nurse, Wendy. “Hey, guys. How are you?”
“I’m actually feeling a lot better,” I assured the cheerful nurse. “Like I told Hawk countless times over the last few days, it’s only stress.”
Wendy gave me a quick appraisal with her eyes, and a frown wrinkled her brow. “It hasn’t been that long since we saw you for a follow-up after your sepsis, Gracie. But I can tell just from looking at you that you have lost some weight.”
“Weight she didn’t have to lose in the first place.”
I shot Hawk a look that told him to be quiet, and surprisingly, he did. Wendy made me stand on a digital scale and shook her head when she saw I was fifteen pounds lighter than the last time I’d been there. In an exam room, she took my temperature after putting an automatic blood pressure cuff on my arm and a heart rate monitor on my middle finger.
“No fever, and BP and heart rate look good.” She scribbled the numbers down and stepped back. “Doc will be right with you.”
When we were alone in the exam room, Hawk was anything but idle. He grasped my hand, playing with my fingers as he paced in front of the exam table I was sitting on. “Please relax. I’m fine. I swear.”
“You don’t know that, and even if you did, you wouldn’t say anything.”
“I do know it,” I argued. I tightened my fingers on his and tugged him toward me. I knew that if he didn’t want to be moved, he wasn’t going to shift so much as an inch, but he came willingly to stand between my legs. Stroking my free hand over his jaw, I repeated what I’d been telling him for days now. “It’s only stress. I’m perfectly fine. There’s no need to worry about me.”
Releasing my hand, he cupped the back of my head, pulling it back so that he could look straight into my eyes. “I worry about you every minute of every day. Whether I’m with you or not, I worry about you. It’s not just you being sick, it’s about you being you. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I’m fucking terrified that something is going to fuck all of that up.”
“Nothing is going to take me away from you. Ever.”
His olive-green eyes darkened, and he lowered his head until our lips were almost touching. “Marry me, Gracie.”
If the heart monitor had still been on my finger, it would have made an angry noise because right then my heart was beating so wildly it felt like it might burst. I sucked in a soft gasp and tried to make my voice work. “I-is that a question or a demand?”
“It’s whatever the fuck it needs to be that will make you say yes,” he gritted out, and I realized he was holding his breath, waiting for my answer.
“Did you honestly think I would say anything but yes?” I teased.
“I’ve had nightmares about it, so yeah, actually, I did.” He still hadn’t released his breath, though. “And you haven’t said yes yet.”
“Yes, Hawk. Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
He groaned like I was torturing him and caught my mouth in a deep, hungry kiss that left us both breathless. I felt him shudder as I kissed him back, my fingers tangling in his shirt as I held on for all I was worth.
The exam room door opening was the only thing that pulled us apart several minutes later. Hawk reluctantly lifted his head and turned to glare at Doc. “Fix her,” he commanded. “She says she isn’t sick, but I know better.”
I hid my grin as Doc walked fully into the room, shutting the door behind him. Doc had been taking care of me for a few years now. He knew me well considering he’d not only treated me when I’d had a concussion but had also taken over my care after I’d gotten home from the East Coast a few months back, having been in the hospital with sepsis.
His concerned eyes went from the looming biker to me and shook his head. “What’s been going on, Gracie?”
“I’ve been nauseated the last week or so. It’s just stress, though,” I laughed, but when the doctor didn’t laugh in return, mine died flat. Of course he would be on Hawk’s side, dang it.
“She hasn’t been eating, and she’s been throwing up randomly throughout the day,” Hawk filled in when I didn’t. “She’s been stressed before, and this didn’t happen.”
“Well, let’s have a look, okay?” Doc stepped forward and gave me a full exam. Checking my ears and eyes, looking at my throat, and listening to my heart and lungs. He had me lie back and listened to my stomach for a moment. With a shake of his head, he pulled my shirt up and pushed my dress slacks down a little. When his cold hands touched my stomach, I let out a small hiss, but when he pressed down on my lower abdomen, I groaned in discomfort.
Beside me, Hawk’s hands balled into tight fists, but he remained mute as the doctor finished up and then stepped back to wash his hands. “Gracie, when was your last period?”
