Page 79 of Aria

This was the purest thing on earth.

Overcome with emotion, I buried my face into the edge of the pillow to catch my falling tears. “I love you, too, Sam,” I said quietly. Noah squeezed my hand again, dragging his thumb over my knuckles, but I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t let him see how my heart was about to burst inside my chest. I couldn’t show him the truth—that I had never truly been loved before. Only the dry, itchy pillowcase would be privy to my secrets.

“How about some cartoons?” Noah suggested.

“Yeah!” Sam squealed.

Noah let go of my hand, and I felt the bed shift as he reached for the television remote. I poked my head up, wiping away any remnants of my epiphany. Soon,SpongeBob SquarePantsfilled the small recovery room and the afternoon progressed uneventfully. Sam appeared to be bouncing back like only a kid could. Nurses bustled in and out of the room, while Noah and I took turns stretching our legs and making coffee runs. Day turned into night, and it wasn’t long before Sam was sound asleep.

“You should get going,” Noah said as he sipped his watered-down hospital coffee. He rotated the Styrofoam cup between his hands as he spoke.

“I don’t mind staying,” I insisted. “I already told Devon it might be a late night. He’s going to stop by to visit tomorrow.”

“Yeah, he texted me,” Noah replied. “I’m serious, though. You should go home and get a proper sleep. There’s not really enough space for both of us here.”

I was torn. Iwasexhausted, but what if something happened to Sam overnight and I was miles away?

It was as if Noah had read my mind. “I’ll call you if anything changes,” he assured me. “But I feel like we’re out of the woods.”

I relented with a sigh. “I suppose. It just doesn’t feel right leaving you alone.”

“Hey.” Noah stood from the couch and stepped over to me. “You’ve done more than enough. You’ve been my rock this entire day. I swear… I would have lost it if you weren’t here.”

His gaze was so intense, I forced my eyes away, pinning them just over his shoulder. It felt like he was staring into the very naked parts of my soul. He was spying on all the broken bits that I kept locked away and hidden.

I froze when Noah took my chin into his calloused hand and tilted my head, forcing my eyes on his. “Hey,” he repeated. “Thank you.”

It was a simple “thank you,” but it felt like so much more.Everythingfelt like so much more with Noah.

“You’re welcome.” It was a miracle I’d managed to speak under his heated gaze. What was he thinking? What was he trying to see? I swallowed. “Goodnight, Noah.”

“Goodnight.”

He took a step back, pressing his coffee cup to his lips as I turned away from him. I stopped briefly to glance at Sam, smiling warmly.

As I left the hospital, a chill washed over me. I knew it was for the best and that I needed to sleep—I knew there was nothing more I could do…

But I couldn’t help but feel a magnetic pull back into that tiny, sterile hospital room.

There was love in that room.

There was home.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

NOAH

"Surprise!"

Sam and I entered the house to a grand welcome of familiar faces. I had known about the celebration—it was all Chelsie's idea. She had texted me at two A.M. after leaving the hospital that first night, saying,"Can't sleep. Planning an epic welcome home party for Sam in my head. Thoughts?"

It was a great idea. Whether or not she could pull it off in thirty-six hours was the real question… but she had.

Chelsie Combs always came through.

I watched Sam’s face light up as balloons floated to the vaulted ceiling and friends and family blew bubbles and blared noisemakers. The smell of homemade treats and confections assaulted my senses.

“Oh, boy,” Sam shouted, jumping up and down. “Nana and Pappy are here, Dad!”

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