Page 95 of Samuel

“I’m happy to be stuck.”

Twenty-Five

“Why did you want to get to the hospital so early? We’ve got almost an hour until my appointment?”

Evie had asked him to tag along for her appointment that morning, and he wouldn’t have missed it for the world. They’d settled into a comfortable routine over the last few weeks. He was up early, making breakfast for her before they’d head down to watch Zeke and Derrick take the horses out for the day.

Sam had been delegating practically every task on the ranch to those two, but they seemed more than happy to help, especially after they heard what had happened to Evie. So Sam spent the days with Evie looking over accounting numbers from the last ten years. There were more discrepancies popping up, more accounts they needed to chase to try and find who attacked Evie.

At night, they’d taken to walking around the property. Not too far, because Evie’s feet were starting to swell, and her back was really starting to ache from the weight of Jellybean. Evie had been ordering some things for the baby when theymade their way back inside at night. Said it gave her something to focus on instead of falling asleep while he rubbed her feet.

In fact, Sam had just spent the night before putting together a bassinet that was now in the corner of Evie’s room. They didn’t talk about how his clothes were now in her dresser. How they spent all night with her cuddled in his arms. It just was, and up until now, he let it be. But he hoped, with this surprise before her appointment, that he’d be able to show her how much he wanted to explore something more with her.

“There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”

Worry flashed in her big brown eyes.

“What—”

“Nope. There’s nothing to be worried about. Just follow me.”

Sam laced his fingers through hers and gently tugged her in the direction of the elevators. He’d been doing this walk once a month since he was released from the hospital.

“Do you think there are cameras in here?” he whispered into her ear as the doors closed on them and the lift took them towards the fifth floor.

She laughed. “Yes. So don’t get any ideas. I’d be mortified if security had to escort us out of here.”

“I don’t think they’d mind if I stole a little kiss.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Although, there was nothing little about it. His lips pressed to hers and the searing want of having Evie completely to himself rushed through his body. Her back arched, pressing her belly into his.

“Sam?” her breathless whisper held a thousand questions.

“I want a lifetime of doing that with you, Evie. But I don’t want there to be any questions or doubts between us.” The elevator doors opened and Sam stepped out, holding his hand out for her to grab. “This is my cardiologist’s office. I made an appointment so we could talk to him, together. You can askhim whatever you want to know about my heart. About the day it stopped.”

Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t say anything as they entered the office. She kept quiet as the receptionist asked them to take a seat. And she only smiled politely when the nurse came out to bring them back to the office.

“Samuel! I was surprised to see you on the schedule for today. You haven’t been in here in a few weeks.”

“All thanks to this beautiful woman. Dr. Murphy, this is my Evie, and our Jellybean.”

The doctor’s eyes went wide. “Well, no wonder you’ve stopped coming in here. Congratulations on your family, Sam. What a wonderful thing to see. Evie, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, come have a seat.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Sam. “Why haven’t you been here in a few weeks? Are you skipping visits because of me?”

“No. I was coming in a lot before you got to the ranch because of panic attacks. I thought something was still wrong with my heart.”

“But rest assured, Samuel is a miracle. Completely healthy in every extraordinary way. I did mention getting into therapy, which I think would still be a good idea, especially with the stress of a new baby coming, but physically, I cleared Sam to return to all his normal activities months ago.”

Evie’s eyes welled with tears.

“Why are you upset?”

“The baby is going to be a stress for you.”

His hand slid up her face, cupping her cheek so he could wipe the tears away. “The best stress, though. There isn’t a single thing about having Jellybean be here that doesn’t make me excited, Evie.”

“I shouldn’t have phrased it like that,” Dr. Murphy cleared his throat. “It says in the appointment notes that you had some questions you wanted to go over, Sam.”

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