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The girl who looks so young she must be new continues to stare, and someone walks past and scans a badge to get back into the ER, so I slide through the door, causing her to snap out of her trance.
“Elle!” I yell. “Ellery!” I walk down the hallway, looking into every room.
“What the hell?” Dr. Wallace, and not the one I’m looking for, comes out of a room, standing in front of me with his arms crossed. “You can’t just come in here and interrupt our operation.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Where is Elle? I need to talk to her.”
He studies me for a second. This is a wall I hadn’t intended to face. The man doesn’t want me with his daughter, and I’ll have to plead our case to him, but the only fight I have in me right now is the one for Elle—she matters most.
“Please tell me where she is.”
“Coop?” That’s her voice, I can’t be imagining it. I turn and find her standing with her coat on and a bag slung over her arm.
“Ellery!” I run over, slipping on my cleats and ending up on my knees right in front of her. Oh well, I need to grovel anyway. “God, you look beautiful. I’ve missed you so much.”
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“I’m here for you.”
She says nothing, so I continue. I take her hand in mine.
“I’m here to tell you I was wrong. We can make this work. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll get us each a membership in one of those private plane groups so we can go in and out of small airports and save time. I’ll set you up with a driver to meet you on both ends of any flight, and I’ll hire you an assistant to clean your place and do your groceries, so you don’t have to worry about that stuff if you’re visiting me. We can figure this out. And after the big game, I’m all yours. I’ll move out here and explore this city just like we did eight years ago in Chicago. But I need you in my life, Ellery, and not as a friend. You know, just to be clear. If you’re not ready for the other stuff, that’s fine. But I can’t live without you.”
“Cooper…” She places her hand on my cheek.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Please tell me I’m not too late to fix this, Elle. Please.”
“You’re not too late,” she says in a soft voice. “Except I’m coming back to Chicago. Not right away, I have some responsibilities here, but I’m moving back. I want to go into family medicine.”
My heart is beating so hard I can hear it in my ears, and I have to check that she’s saying what I think she’s saying. “And us?”
“Yes, to all of it. I’m sorry I didn’t see it all when you did, but I do now. I was scared. What if we ruined it by going too fast? What if it affected my career? And I don’t know what kind of mom or wife I’ll be, and that scares me. But I do want those things. I’d rather screw up with you than be with anyone else and not have those things.”
“You’re going to be an amazing mom. But we don’t have to worry about that right now. Just come home with me where you’ve belonged since junior year.”
She gets down on her knees, too. “This time, we’re sealing it with a kiss.” She wraps her arm around my neck and pulls me into her, her lips smashing into mine. When things get a little heated, Dr. Wallace clears his throat.
“Are you off?” I ask, staring at her purse and coat.
“I was coming to get you.” She looks over my shoulder, and I turn to see a gentleman in a New York jersey smiling over at us.
I smile wide. “You were?”
“Yeah,” she says, and I’m clearly missing something, but I don’t care. “Let’s get you showered.”
“As in, both of us are going to shower me?”
“Rice…” Dr. Wallace warns.
“Sorry,” I say, standing, then helping Ellery up and wrapping my arm around my girl’s shoulders. I’ll never let her go again.
Once we’re outside, the taxi driver is still there, so we climb in.
“Why did you come to get me?” she asks on our way back to the stadium.
“Because you’ve always been my girl, and you always will be.”
She grabs my shirt and tugs me closer. “Good line, Rice.”
