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Her facial expression must have caused him to change direction. But she shook her head. “We can’t guarantee we’d be able to honor that loan. What if the law firm doesn’t survive without you? That’s not something I’m willing to risk or how I want to start our lives together.” Without waiting for a response, she continued, “Now, Carissa and I have spoken to our vendors, and most of them are willing to honor the deposits we’ve made on a new date, provided they’re available.”
“So, that’s it, then?” His voice was filled with pain. “You no longer want to marry me?”
Her heart sank, and she put her hand to her chest. “Of course I want to marry you!”
“Then why wait? If money’s a concern, we can cancel some of the more extravagant aspects of the wedding and have a simpler affair.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. “I just want to marry you. I don’t want to wait another year to start our lives together.”
“It’s not that simple, Steven.” After rummaging through her bag, she removed a folder filled with vendor contracts and shoved them into his hand. “You’re a lawyer, so I know you understand contract law. If we cancel now, we forfeit what we’ve paid. And in some instances, we’d still have to fulfill our financial obligation regardless of whether we cancel or not.”
His heartbroken face caused a chink in the armor of her resolve. Maybe Lanie was right. Maybe postponing the wedding would cause him more stress than forging ahead. But she couldn’t see how that was possible when nobody knew what his recovery would look like.
She took a deep breath and pressed on. “Whereas, if we postpone, we might be able to salvage what we’ve already paid.”
They were silent for a moment as she allowed her words to sink in. She hoped he would understand she wasn’t backing out of their engagement or putting a pause on their relationship, just the wedding itself.
Finally, Steven sagged back against the bed and stared at the ceiling. “It’s still early days. Why don’t we wait to make any decisions about this until we know more?”
“I don’t think—”
“You said the last day to cancel for a refund has passed, right?” He turned his head so he could look at her.
She nodded. “The only place that isn’t holding us to that is the church.”
“At least that’s something.” He sighed. “But if we’re already beyond the cancellation date, what would it hurt to wait and see how things go? Maybe my recovery won’t take as long as Dr. Myers expects it to.”
“We can only hope.” Her teeth worried her lower lip. Part of her wasn’t ready to give up the fight. First, she wasn’t sure the vendors would honor what they’d told her over the phone if she and Steven waited too long to make a decision. And second, she had been so sure he would concede to her arguments that she hadn’t considered the very real possibility her wedding would go forward without any of her family there.
But all of her reasons to postpone evaporated as she took in the pleading expression on his face. He’d been through so much, and she couldn’t bear to put him through any more pain, even if she believed it was for his own good.
“Please, Rose, just give it a bit more time.”
No! She wanted to scream it, but instead, she nodded again, knowing that wasn’t the answer he needed.
“And we’re okay?”
Her heart panged at the doubt in his voice. “Of course. We’re better than okay. Postponing had nothing to do with us and everything to do with aiding you in getting better.” She cupped his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He pulled her face down and brushed his lips against hers. “Promise me you’ll talk to me first before you do anything.”
She rubbed his nose with hers. “I promise.” Straightening up, she smoothed her uniform. “I’ll come back on my lunch break.”
“I can’t wait.”
As she left the room, she prayed she wouldn’t have to break that promise.
Chapter Seven
A knock startled Steven awake, and he opened his eyes to find an unfamiliar woman smiling at him. Her eyes were a bright green, and her dark hair was pulled back in a bun. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but when he did, he internally groaned.
He’d hoped the transfer from the ICU meant he would be discharged soon, but three days later and he was still stuck in the hospital. While he was sleeping better than when he’d been attached to a bunch of machines, he missed his comfortable bed at home.
“More tests?” he grumbled, not caring whether he was coherent.
“Worse,” the woman said, rolling a cart forward. She typed on the laptop that sat precariously on top of the cart before shoving it to the side and moving beside him. “I’m Lacey Carter, your physical therapist.”
Steven smiled, which apparently caught Lacey off guard. But he took a visit from a physical therapist as a good sign. He must be improving if they were going to start helping him regain his ability to move. And he would gladly take physical therapy over being poked and prodded with needles any day.
It took effort, but he shimmied into a more upright position, though his paralysis made it difficult. He hoped by the end of the session he would have a better idea of when he could expect to walk again.
