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Another tear escapes down her cheek, but I know it’s not out of pain or fear. It might still hurt my heart, but it’s okay, because I know how she feels and I share her relief.
“How long was I out?” she asks, her brows pinching together like she’s still trying to put all the pieces together.
I pull my phone out of my back pocket and see it’s going on midnight. “A few hours.”
“Sophie and Owen missed their flight.”
“Flights can be rescheduled.” Leaning forward I kiss her hand, just above one of her bandages. “There’s no way in hell anyone, especially Sophie, was leaving without knowing you were okay.”
For a moment, we just stare at each other—me soaking her in and her still trying to regain her bearings.
“I really should go tell the nurse you're awake,” I say, brushing a kiss across her forehead and another on her cheek, wanting to touch her everywhere and see for myself she’s okay, but knowing I have to wait. “But before I do, there’s something else I need to tell you first.”
Her brows draw together and she pulls her bruised bottom lip between her teeth, wincing. “If it’s more bad news, can it wait? I feel like I’ve had my quota today and I just want to—”
Leaning in, I press my lips to hers, needing to feel her and taste her. What starts out as a chaste kiss on my part, quickly turns heated when Greer deepens it, opening her mouth and reaching up to cup my face. As she tries to pull me closer, I chuckle, breaking away.
“I love you.” I tell her, sitting back on my heels to look in her eyes. “There is nothing fake about what I feel for you, Greer. My love for you is the most real thing I’ve ever felt. Ross has been riding my ass to talk to you since before the playoffs, but I was scared. That’s my only excuse. I was scared that you might not feel the same way or scared that things were moving too fast. But I was an idiot. I shouldn’t have waited, because let me tell you, my life literally flashed before my eyes when I saw you on that bathroom floor…” I squeeze my eyes shut at the memory. “I saw everything our future could hold and then for the briefest moment, I saw what my future would look like without you, and I refuse to ever feel that level of devastation again. I need you in my life. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want you by my side—as my person… my everything. You don’t have to say anything right now, because I know you’ve been through a lot and this is probably an asshole move piling all of this on you too, but I couldn’t go another second… If you need more time, I’ll give it to you… I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Are you finished?” Greer asks, fresh tears glistening in her eyes.
I nod, swallowing down the lump that’s lodged there. My mouth also feels a little dry as I wait for Greer to speak.
She lets out a weak laugh, shaking her head. “I’m not sure my feelings for you were ever fake. The relationship, sure, but even that started feeling real before I realized it.”
Closing her eyes, she inhales and I’m worried this is all too much for her.
I probably should’ve waited until she was discharged, but I couldn’t, because I feel like I’ve already wasted enough time and forever isn’t feeling long enough.
“I love you,” she continues. “And I’m not saying it because you said it first. I’m saying it because I’ve never felt more strongly about anything in my entire life.”
She loves me.
I knew she did.
But hearing her say it, say those words to me… “Fuck, baby,” I say, gingerly cupping her face and bringing my mouth back to hers. “I’m not sure why we have to go about everything in the most backward way, but I love it. I love us. And I’m so fucking thankful you’re okay and that I got the chance to tell you I love you. You’re probably going to get tired of it, because I don’t plan on stopping for the next seventy years, at least.”
“In seventy years you’re going to be over a hundred,” Greer says, a bit of her sass coming back. “You’re an old man. Not sure if you’ve done the math, but I’ll still be in my prime and you’ll be an old geezer.”
“You’ll still be my hot, young bombshell, making all the guys at the nursing home jealous.”
Greer laughs and it’s the best thing I’ve heard in hours. “If our kids put us up in a nursing home, we’re going to haunt their asses when we’re dead.”
That makes us both laugh and when our eyes meet, there’s nothing but love and so many promises of the future. For the first time in my life, I see forever.
EPILOGUE
GREER
Over the past month,our days have been much more low-key. My injuries have healed. I have a few battle wounds, as Mack likes to call them—giving each one special attention each time he gets me naked—but other than that, I feel good.
A week or so after the attack, Mack and I agreed we could both benefit from some counseling. I think during Mack’s sessions, he not only talks about what he saw that day in the bathroom and the aftermath, but also works through his feelings regarding his career coming to an end.
Without daily games, we both have a much lighter schedule. Without a psycho stalking me, my life feels… normal.
Peaceful.
Settled.
