Page 79 of The History Between Us

I smile over at Meg on the other side of the desk as I walk in. “Please. Is he with a patient?”

“You’re in luck,” she says. “He just finished up with one. I’ll go grab him.”

My body is buzzing.

A few minutes later, my sexy white coat wearing man walksthrough the door, a warm smile on his face as he takes me in. “Well, this is a surprise.” Leading me into the back, we go into a patient room where he pulls me in for a kiss. “Is everything okay? How did lunch go?”

“Get this,” I say before diving into what happened at the diner.

“Colt, that’s amazing,” he says when I finish. “I told you he’d come around.”

“I know, you were right.” I huff out a chuckle.

“I’m always right.” He smirks, winking at me. “When are you going to learn?”

“Oh, please.” I roll my eyes, not even trying to hide the smile.

“My mom invited us over for dinner on Sunday. We should bring your dad too.”

“He’d like that, and so would I.”

The weight of today hits me—getting cleared for competing, lunch, my feelings for William, all of it—and it’s overwhelming in the very best way. “I love you,” I breathe softly. “I love you so much. Thank you for believing in me, for believing in us. Thank you for believing my dad would forgive us, even when I didn’t.” Emotion clings to my throat. “Just… thank you so much for being everything I never knew I needed or wanted.”

“Colt…” Eyes now glassy and red, he takes my hand. “Move in with me.”

My heart skips a beat. “What?”

“Don’t feel like you have to say yes,” he replies. “I know it’s a lot. And maybe you don’t want to live with me and my dad, but if you do, I would love for you to move in with me. The idea of waking up with you next to me and falling asleep with you in my arms every single night, sharing that house with you, it would make me the happiest man on the planet.”

“Yes,” I say without needing even a single second toconsider it.

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

“Are you sure? My dad isn’t moving out.”

Chuckling, I say, “Yes, I’m more than sure. And of course, your dad isn’t moving out. I wouldn’t want him to.”

A smile curves his lips. “Yes?”

“One hundred percent, yes.”

“I love you.” He pulls me in for a kiss.

“I love you too,” I gasp into his mouth.

Getting injured over the summer felt like the end of the world to me. It felt like I was losing everything that mattered most to me. Never in a million years did I expect to find something so special, so meaningful, so life changing, from a moment that I thought ruined my life. I didn’t lose anything.

In fact, I’ve gained so much more than I ever could’ve imagined.

EPILOGUE

William Andino, Six Months Later

The energy in the arena is high, excitement buzzing all around. Sitting in the stands with my father to my right, Max and Trish to my left, we wait anxiously for the bull riding section of the night to begin. It’s night one of Stampede Days, and the one-year anniversary of Colt’s accident. He’s had an amazing season so far, all things considered. It was a bit of a slow go at first, but he’s gotten some great scores over the last few rodeos.

I’ve been able to go to almost every event he’s competed in that’s within driving distance. Watching him in his element has been nothing short of mesmerizing. He was so nervous about not being able to heal in time, so getting to watch him do everything I knew he’d be able to do has been rewarding. The pride I feel for him is immense.

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