Page 47 of Marry Your Best Friend

King shakes his head. “If you hurt her—”

Gabe cuts him off. “Hurt her? I’m not going to hurt her. I’m going to marry her as soon as I can convince her.”

I gasp because that was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth.

King just laughs. “Okay, I guess I won’t have to kick your ass then.”

Gabe laughs and then starts to cough. When he catches his breath again, he mutters, “Like you could kick my ass, old man.”

“Old man! You’re going to pay for that when you get back on your feet. I’ll show you.”

“Come on, honey. Let him rest,” Haven says from the door.

King hugs Gabe and me again and then walks out the door with Haven. I lean my head on Gabe’s chest, and his steady heartbeat reassures me that he’s okay. He’s alive.

“I wasn’t kidding, Chrissy. You’re going to marry me.”

I’m not sure what he expects me to say, but I give him my answer, right then and there. “Okay.”

He just holds me tighter, and as he falls back to sleep, I lay my head back on his chest and let myself believe that he’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.

22

GABE

I throw my head back in frustration. “I want to leave.”

Chrissy giggles. “No, really? I would never have guessed that.”

She’s smiling ear to ear, and she’s been doing that since the night I survived the fire. I understand it, though, because after everything, I have a new lease on life, and I’m going to live it to the fullest.

I try not to smile at her, but it’s hard to do when she’s looking at me the way she does. “I’m serious. I want to leave.”

She rolls her eyes this time, but she’s still smiling. “Really? You threatened every doctor in the hospital, you got King in here to try and bust youout, and you tried bribing Bethany. I think I know you want to get out of here. The whole hospital knows you want out of here.” I walk over to the bed and take his hand in mine. “They’re doing the paperwork. You’re going to be able to bust out of here as soon as they finish.”

“I’ve been here for three days. It’s ridiculous.”

“Your fever spiked, and they wanted to keep you on the oxygen longer.” She picks my hand up and holds it between both of hers. “Look, you’re good now. You get to go home.”

“Not soon enough. I need inside you.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, that’s not happening.”

I’m sitting up before she gets the whole statement out. “Oh, it’s happening. It’s been three days, and that’s not going to work for me.”

“Gabe—” she starts, but she no sooner gets my name out than the door opens.

“Okay, we just need your signature, and you’re ready to go.” The nurse hands me the clipboard, and I start signing papers. I don’t read anything; I just want to get out of here.

The nurse gives me her spiel. “Now even though your lungs look okay, you still need to rest and not push it. The doctor signed off on youreturning to light duty in two weeks, but he wants to see you in his office before then.”

I nod, handing her back the clipboard. “Okay, can I leave now?”

“Gabe.” Chrissy admonishes me and turns to the nurse. “Sorry, he’s ready to get out of here.”

“No worries, his friends were all the same way.”

Rick, Keaton, and Spence left the hospital two days ago, and besides some smoke inhalation, they’re doing well.

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