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“Because I feel it with every beat of my heart. I feel you with every beat.” He took her hand into his and placed it over his chest. “Feel it? Sa-rah. Sa-rah. Sa-rah,” he said in unison with his heartbeat.
Eyes blurring at the enormity of what he was saying, at what he was doing, Sarah shook her head. “You’re crazy.”
“About you.”
She fought back a major sniffle. “So I heard.”
“Mr. Johnson?”
Despite the hot-poker pain that moving obviously caused to streak through his body, he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there. “That’s what I want, Sarah.”
“You want Mr. Johnson?”
This time he shook his head. “I want what he and his wife have. I want that with you.”
“I love you, J
ude, but—”
“Thank God,” he said, pulling her down to him despite whatever pain and trauma her landing against him caused.
“I’m going to hurt you,” she insisted, trying to pull away, certain she was going to do major damage that she’d never forgive herself for.
“Yes, you are. Stop trying to get away and kiss me.”
“But—”
“No buts, Sarah. Just you and me. Forever.”
That had her staring wide-eyed at him. “Forever? I thought you just wanted me through Christmas.”
“Haven’t you figured out the truth yet, Sarah? I want you for Christmas,” he corrected. “Not through Christmas.”
“A doctor under the tree, eh?”
“A fireman in your stocking.”
A fireman in her stocking. She closed her eyes, let herself dream a little, imagining what if what he was saying was true.
When she opened her eyes, looked into his, the truth shone so clearly that she was the one needing to be told to breathe.
“Forgive me, Sarah,” he said. “Let me spend the rest of my life making tonight up to you.”
The rest of his life. Jude and her forever. It’s what she saw in his eyes, what she felt in her heart.
Being careful to try not to hurt him, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m the one who should ask you to forgive me. I was so scared of getting hurt that I almost threw everything away.”
“I wouldn’t have let you,” he assured her, cradling her against him. “What we have is too special. I’ll always fight for you.”
“I’m dreaming.”
“Then dream that my body doesn’t feel as if a building fell on it so I can do all the things to you that I want to be doing to you.”
“A building did fall on you.” She placed her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes. “Please, don’t forget you said all this, Jude. I need you not to forget.”
“I love you, Sarah. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I’m yours.”
“Yeah, and we all heard him say it and will hold his sorry butt to it, right, guys?”
