Page 99 of Married to My Grumpy Minotaur Boss

The troll chuckles. “Your kuna, alright!”

I open my mouth to ask what a kuna is, but the ambulance swerves around a corner and I’m knocked into the brawny side of the paramedic.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, though.” The troll glances at the monitor. “Is there any history of heart disease in your family?”

“My father.”

The troll’s frown deepens and despite all my reservations, I reach out for Ronan’s hand. My heart pounds as we race toward the hospital and I worry about what might happen to Ronan. “It’s going to be alright,” I mutter. I’m not sure if I’m talking to myself or to him.

“Hang in there,” the driver says from the front seat. “Almost there.”

The monitor attached to Ronan beeps loudly. He struggles to sit up.

“Lie down and try to stay calm,” the troll says.

Ronan ignores him. “Justine, I made a mistake. I have to talk to you.”

The machine goes crazy. The beeps speed up to a flurry.

The troll swears. “Sir, lie down.”

“I would lie down, but this is rather urgent, if you don’t mind.” Ronan fixes him with an icy stare that the troll completely ignores.

“Justine, I shouldn’t have said what I said about not wanting a wife. About not wanting you. The second I thought you would walk away, I knew what an ass I’d been. Please forgive me?”

I blink back tears and wish I knew what to say around the lump in my throat.

At that moment, the ambulance comes to a sudden stop. The troll flings open the doors and pulls out the stretcher with Ronan. I scramble after them.

“Justine! Please marry me. For real this time!” Ronan is fighting the paramedic who is forcing him back onto the stretcher.

The stocky human storms around from the driver’s seat. “I thought you said y’all were married!”

Ronan sighs. “It’s complicated.”

The short woman folds her arms and glares at him. “I don’t care if it’s rocket science, if she’s not your wife, then she’s not going in with you.”

“Wait!” Ronan bellows, still struggling.

The troll pushes him back down again. “By the earth mother, if you won’t stay still, I’ll strap you down. You can propose when we’ve worked out if you’re having a heart attack or not.”

Ronan shoots me an imploring look as they wheel him away. “Wait for me!”

I stare as they rush him through the doors and into Emergency.

He’s going to be OK. He has to be OK. He can’t die.

I also don’t know if this changes anything between us. Not if all he wants me to do is wait again. I’ve been waiting for months. What’s to say that as soon as he recovers, he won’t go back to his old stubborn self? Surely a scare like this is exactly what he was afraid of. Wasn’t that his reason for not wanting a wife and kids in the first place?

I stagger to a bench by the curb and sit. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I hold it in my hands without unlocking the screen.

Am I just letting myself get caught again in his spell?

Eventually, the paramedics return. I only notice because the troll stops beside me and waits until I look up into his big rocky face. “He’s stable for now. They’ll know more soon. I thought you should know if you really are his kuna.”

I try to ask what it means, but he’s already hurrying off, most likely to another emergency.

I sigh.

---