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“Noah,” she murmurs, tears building in her eyes and I scoot my chair around the table until I’m in front of her. Taking her hands in mine, I meet her gaze.

“Please,” I plead. “Don’t walk away from me. Just give me another chance to prove to you that there is no one else on this earth that loves you more than I do.”

“There’s so much you don’t know - so much that could rip us apart.”

I shrug. “Then we fight it together. I’d face the devil himself as long as I have you by my side.”

Leaning back in her chair, she studies me for a second before sighing. “I’m not saying yes.”

“But you’re not saying no, either?” I ask, hope raining down on me for the first time since I got out of jail. She shakes her head.

“I don’t know what I’m saying yet. But I know I’m not a cheater and I need to talk to Mason after… that.” She points to the sink and I nod. “And I need you to go for right now.”

I stand up and squeeze her hand. “I’m not giving up.”

“I know.”

Pulling her hand up to my lips, I kiss it before dropping it back into her lap. “I love you.”

“Good-bye, Noah,” she says, turning away from me but I don’t miss the hint of a smile on her lips and that’s a win I’ll take all day long.

Chapter Ten

Kady

“Hold on, sweet baby,” I whisper, cradling the one-week-old lab puppy that was dropped off at the clinic with his sisters overnight. He squeaks and burrows around my hand, looking for his food. After placing the warm rice sock on my lap, I set him on top and hold him steady as I give him the bottle. He latches on quickly and begins eating as I lean back in the chair and sigh. With my free hand, I gently run my finger up his nose between his eyes as a yawn sneaks up on me.

“Tired?” Hannah asks, walking into the back room and I nod.

“Dr. Hebert called me in at five when he found these little babies in the box outside.”

She nods as she sits down next to me. “You going to be here all night?”

“No. He called Maggie in to take over for me since they have to be fed every two hours and I need a break.”

“So sweet,” she murmurs, petting the tiny little baby for a moment before she sighs. “How long do I have to wait before I ask how things went with Noah last night?”

I laugh. “I didn’t realize there was a time limit.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Also, I brought you some lunch.” She sets a bag of fast food down on the table and my stomach growls.

“You might have to take over while I eat,” I tell her and she holds her hands out. We transfer the puppy over to Hannah’s lap despite his protests but he quiets down again as soon as the bottle is in his mouth and she meets my gaze as I pull a burger out of the bag.

“Spill it, woman. It took all my strength not to call you last night and demand answers.”

I arch a brow. “Wow. And you managed to wait until noon before you ambushed me. I’m impressed.”

“It wasn’t by choice. I had too much to do up front and we had back to back patients all morning. I thought I was going to die.”

“You poor thing,” I quip as I take a bite of my burger and she shoots me a glare.

“Start. Talking. Woman.”

I sigh. “Fine, but it wasn’t that interesting. We fought… like always.”

“Oh, hell no. Details, Kady. I need fucking details,” she growls and Lauren, one of the techs, glances over at us before turning back to her work.

“Fine,” I growl, lowering my voice. “After you left, he asked how he had hurt me in the past, which led to this whole thing about how everything he did back then was for himself.”