Page 118 of Doctor’s Forbidden Match

“It didn’t fix everything overnight. But it’s a start.”

I smile. “I’m glad.”

He grabs my hand, weaving his fingers through mine. “There’s a position open at Hope Town. My dad’s hospital. He offered it to me. No strings attached, he said.”

I straighten in eager interest, my heart skipping a beat. “Are you taking it?”

“No. I thought about it. But it’s not what I want. I love it here. I got the senior position on my own, and Peltz being a problem doesn’t change that the hospital itself, the work that’s mine. I’m not running from it just because I finally have an excuse to.”

Relief and anticipation twist tightly in my chest. “So what does that mean for us?”

“It means I’m not moving to Hope Town, and you’re going back to LA, and neither of us has a clear answer yet.” He squeezes my hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles over my knuckles. “But I’m not letting this be it, either. I want to figure out the distance. I’ll fly out to you whenever I can. You come back when you can. See where it goes.” His eyes search mine. “I’m not in a place to make promises about moving across the country yet. I just got my career back. But I know I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose you.”

The internal panic within me just drops away. He wants to find a way to make this work, and so do I.

“I’d rather have you be honest with me than make some big promise that neither of us can actually keep yet.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm.” I step into his space, resting my forehead against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “We’ll figure it out as we go.”

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, holding me tight.

“I should finish packing,” I whisper against his shirt, though I don’t make any move to pull away.

“I know.” He doesn’t let go either.

By the time Brooke returns with our drinks, the heavy tension in the room has melted into something hopeful. She helps us zip the final case, keeping us laughing with random complaints about TSA lines.

When it’s time to go, Zac takes my suitcase out to the car, completely refusing to let me touch it, even though my ankle has been fully cleared for over a week now. Brooke slides into the back seat, giving Zac one last moment together.

Zac takes the driver’s seat, and I sit in the passenger side, watching my Airbnb disappear through the window as we pull away from the curb.

At the airport gates, the three of us stand in a small circle. Brooke gives Zac a brief, firm hug. “Take care of yourself, Zac,” she says before pulling her own suitcase toward the security line. “I’ll go get our boarding passes printed and give you two a second.”

Zac pulls me into a crushing hug, his mouth pressing against my temple. “This isn’t goodbye,” he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. “Just see you soon.”

“See you soon.” I pull back enough to look into his eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”

With my heart ready to jump out of my chest and run back to him, I turn and walk toward the terminal to join Brooke for our flight home. I don’t cry because this isn’t the end. It’s just the start of figuring out what comes next.

Epilogue

Hannah

Pulse Point’s Sweetheart Couple Marks One Year

It’s been twelve months since Dr. Zachary Sterling and Hannah Morgan first made headlines here in Pulse Point, and this town has watched the whole thing unfold like our own personal love story.

From a broken ankle to a broken hospital scandal too, by all accounts, a relationship that’s gone the distance—literally. Sources say, the couple splits time between LA and right here in town, with regular sightings of Dr. Sterling at Genevieve’s diner whenever he’s home.

Now, we’ve done some thinking. Those photos that triggered the suspension—him helping her up her front steps, looking at her the way he was looking at her—that wasn’t a doctor and his patient. We know the difference. The town always has.

The question we keep coming back to is: how long before they knew?

We have our theories. We’re keeping them to ourselves this time.