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“Annie,” she blurted out.
He paused, confusion on his face. “I’m sorry, what?”
She took his hand and held it, letting out a breath. She had honestly thought Preston was going to kill her. She’d thought her chance to be with Quinn—to have a life of love—was over. And yet here they were, sitting together, clearly exhausted but never more grateful.
She squeezed his hand, and her heart filled. She was taking this second—no,thirdchance the universe had given her, and she was running with it. “Annie. If this baby’s a girl, I want to name her Annie. After your mom. Or Liam, if it’s a boy. After your dad.”
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, bringing both of her hands to his lips. “You humble me.”
“I love you.” She tugged him toward her. “And I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to tell you so again.”
Warmth and peace settled over her soul as his lips met hers. The pain melted away, and it was just them.
“Ahem,” Joe interrupted, grinning like a loon from the foot of her bed.
She blushed. Apparently, it wasn’tjust them, after all. “Sorry, Joe. I forgot you were there.”
He chuckled. “So it would appear.”
Quinn sat on the bed next to her. “So, sweetheart, good news or bad news about this hospital stay?”
She groaned, shifting on the bed, needing to be as close to him as possible. “Surprise me.”
“The good news is you can be out of here in a couple days. The bad news is the doctors won’t—”
“Wait.” She narrowed her eyes. “Where am I?”
“Seattle.”
Her lips parted in shock.
“Yeah, sweetheart. They airlifted you over, and you’ve been here for four days.”
“Holy crap, Quinn...”Fourdays?
“Exactly, sweetheart.” He dropped a kiss to the top of her head, then laced his fingers with hers. “So, the doctors here were hesitant to release you. But our Doc has been here from the start—”
“You are my dad’s favorite patient,” Joe said with a wink.
“And Doc negotiated with them that if you went on full bed rest for at least the next month, then they’d spring you. The gunshot wound in your shoulder was miraculously a through-and-through, but it’s the two bruised ribs that have everyone concerned. Bed rest is nonnegotiable. You okay with that?”
That explained the fire that consumed her with each breath. “I do feel pretty awful, so bed rest doesn’t sound bad at all. But bed rest athome. With you. Not here.”
Quinn brought her hand to his lips. “As for the other stuff, you want to hear both the good and bad news?”
She nodded. “Please.”
“The good news is that Preston Woodsworth—”
“The third,” Joe chimed in with an eye roll.
“—will never bother you again. You can call me a coldhearted, vindictive bastard, but I’ll happily admit that I did a little dance of joy when the son of a bitch died on the operating table.”
She leaned her head back, meeting Quinn’s gaze. Silence filled the room as she absorbed what he’d said.
Dead. Preston was dead.
She’d thought she would have conflicting feelings. She’d imagined that guilt, grief, and happiness would war with each other. But as the news of Preston’s death reverberated in her head, she was left with only one emotion.
