Page 37 of Revived

“Luke,” she crumbles, rushing over to me as I wrap her in my arms. “I’m so sorry, Luke,” she cries in my chest and I crush her under my strength, breathing her in as the anguish from the last twenty minutes hits me full force. “They’re just finishing up the x-ray, but I had to come out here in case you showed up.”

“What happened?” I finally say when she pushes off of me and wipes underneath her teary eyes.

“He was playing at the park, climbing up a ladder looking thing, and he slipped… fell right through the rungs, and landed on his arm. I think… I think he might have broken it.”

My stomach plummets, but then my lungs give out a large breath, thankful that it’s just a broken arm, and not a broken neck or back. It could have been so much worse.

“Rach. It was an accident. He fell.”

“I know,” she sniffles, wiping her red nose with her sleeve. “But it happened while he was with me.”

“It could have happened on my watch too. Please don’t beat yourself up over this,” I say, smoothing her hair off of her face, her cheeks stained with tears. She’s obviously been crying and extremely worried, but she still looks so gorgeous.

“I know. But I feel so guilty.”

“Don’t. He’s going to be okay. This isn’t the first bump, and it won’t be the last. Kids are resilient. They get hurt constantly. I mean, haven’t you seen his shins? They’re bruised black and blue. He looks like I beat him, but it’s just from him being a boy and being rambunctious,” I explain, trying to ease her guilt.

“I know. I just… you trusted me. And I feel like I let you down.” Her eyes veer up at me and in that moment, I don’t hesitate any longer. I just move—like a man that’s been caged up for too long and the warden just released the lock, freeing me to give in to the temptation that’s been on the other side of the wrought iron bars this entire time.

My head dips to hers and I press my lips to her mouth, savoring the silkiness of her lips and relishing in the slight hitch in her breath when I take her by surprise. But it doesn’t last long as she kisses me back, pushing our mouths together more and encircling my neck with her arms. We stay like that for a minute, just the connection of our lips on each other’s, soaking up the intensity of finally kissing, until I slide my tongue across her mouth and ask for more, to which she opens and willingly complies.

The feel of her tongue on mine ignites my entire body, waking up this physical part of me that has been dormant for years before I finally satisfied the craving of her that’s been building for weeks. And I thought I was alright living without it. In fact, I was. Until Rachel’s lips hit mine and showed me the possibility of what I was missing.

But this isn’t just a possibility anymore. No. This is reality.

Because as I kiss her with everything I have in a this-changes-everything-kiss, I can feel the sparks fly, our connection deepen and shift, our bodies align, and maybe even the stars align too.

This is right. Rachel in my arms, our mouths connected, our kiss searing us together—it’s everything I imagined it would be, and then absolutely terrifying in the same breath. Because it’s strong, empowering, exquisite, and yet new, shocking me and growing my awareness when I remember where we are.

I break from her, both of our chests heaving as she stands with her forehead on mine, her eyes still closed. “You could never let me down, Rachel,” I manage to say just as her bright green eyes pop open and seek mine.

“Mrs. Henderson?” A nurse comes around the corner, addressing Rachel I assume since she’s the one that brought Grayson in. And in that moment it dawns on me that she thinks Rachel is Grayson’s mom or my wife. And the thought makes me jump back from the compromising position we were just in.

Rachel startles at my reaction, clears her throat, and then turns around to address the woman. “No, sorry. I’m the nanny. What’s going on? Is… is Grayson okay? I’m sorry I had to step away…”

“The radiologist just completed the scan and they’re bringing him back in here while we wait for the images. I’m sorry, is this Grayson’s father?” She asks, stepping around Rachel to meet me.

“Yes… yes, I’m his dad. Is he going to be okay? Is he in pain?”

“They gave him a shot for the pain, which he took like a champ, by the way. But he’s pretty out of it now. We’ll know more once the images are done, but it does look like a break,” she winces as I close my eyes and take a deep breath, accepting the results and yet once again, being thankful the outcome wasn’t worse.

“Okay. Thank you.” The nurse walks off as Rachel turns around and gives me a look that is far different from the one she just had after I kissed her.

“Rachel, I’m sorry. Please don’t read too much into that. I was just taken aback by her thinking you were my wife. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard someone call another woman Mrs. Henderson,” I explain, hoping I can steer this moment back on track. I finally kissed the woman and all I want is for us to move forward, be it as fast or slow as I can manage.

Her face instantly softens as she stares at me. “I get it. And I’m sorry, but I never lead her to believe that we were married.”

“I didn’t think you did.”

“Luke… you kissed me,” she states matter-of-a-factly, and that declaration makes the corners of my mouth tip up.

“I did,” I confirm as I step closer to her again.

“Did you do that because you wanted to, or because you were scared?” Her eyes are searching mine for an answer, but I’m not sure if she expects the one I give her.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for weeks,” I declare as her smile builds. “I’ve been dying to know what your lips and tongue tasted like. And I want to do it again…”

She stands there, staring at me as her face lights up, even though I can tell she’s trying to hide her excitement. “Wow. Well, then… since you’re being so bold with your answer, let me just say… that I want you to kiss me again too,” she beams, wrapping her arms around my neck and leaning in to press her lips to me once more just as a small but familiar voice interrupts the moment.

“Daddy?” Grayson mutters from the bed as the nurse comes around the corner, wheeling him back into the bay where he’s being seen.

“Hey, buddy,” I move to him, knowing that Rachel will understand that he’s my focus now, and yet hoping that he didn’t see my lips pressed against hers. “I heard you fell.”

He nods, his eyes barely open. “I did. My arm hurts, Daddy. I think it’s broken. We’re going to have to cut it off.”

I chuckle, brushing his hair from his forehead, leaning down to kiss him and soak him in, thankful his injury wasn’t far more complicated. “I think a cast will be just fine, bud. Maybe we can color it blue and red, like Spiderman?”

He smiles and then closes his eyes, letting the pain meds pull him under. “Spiderman is my favorite,” he mumbles before he falls asleep and I take a seat next to him. I sit and stare at my son, and then pop my head over to Rachel as she stands there watching us, realizing that things are about to change in our routine. Grayson will be wearing a cast which provides some obstacles, especially when it comes to bath time.

And I kissed Rachel, which definitely provides the biggest change of all—how we move forward from here.

---