Page 48 of You Loved Me Once
“Who ...”
He grins and his eyes roam my body. “Whoa yourself.” Slowly, he rises to his feet and stands before me. His hands cup my face as though I’m a delicate flower and then his lips touch mine.
The kiss is slow, sweet, and has my heart pounding.
When he kisses me like this, it feels like everything disappears and all that exists in the world is Bryce and me.
He does that to me. When we’re together, I’m not afraid of anything. I know that he’ll be here to hold me up. My hands grip his shoulders as our lips move together.
Has anyone ever felt this breathless and cared for?
With my eyes closed, I take everything in. The way his cologne fills my nose, the musky notes giving a slight burn. How the fabric of his jacket is rough against my fingertips, and how his soft, warm skin causes my nerves to ache from his touch.
I commit it all to memory, so I can recall it anytime I need to feel like nothing in this world can harm me.
After another few seconds, he releases me. His forehead rests on mine. “I would die for you, Ren. Do you know that?”
His statement makes my breath hitch. “What?”
“If anything were to happen to us, I wouldn’t survive it.”
“What is going on?”
He releases a heavy sigh and steps back. “I just keep thinking about how much I love you and how it feels so intense. All I want is to hold onto us. It’s crazy, right? Do you feel it?”
I do. It’s sometimes scary because it’s overwhelming. It’s as though nothing in this world matters as much as him, and that’s not normal. We’re only twenty-three and yet I know that he’s the one.
“I feel it,” I say. “I love you so much sometimes that it physically hurts.”
“Yes.”
“And then I worried we wouldn’t be together and we’d fall apart.”
He takes my face in his hands again. “Never.”
I smile at that. “Good.”
“Marry me.”
My eyes lift to his, surely I misheard him.
“What?”
“Marry me, Serenity.” Then, Bryce drops to his knees. He holds my hand and pulls a box from his pants pocket. “I planned to do this at dinner, where I would tell you everything in my heart. You see, there is no one else for me. I found you that night and I knew that what we had was special. I told you that one day you’d be my wife, and I meant it then and I mean it now. Marry me. Be my wife. Let’s have a hundred kids. Marry me, Chick. Be my everything—until my last breath.”
I can’t see his face as the tears are streaming down. I drop to my knees and wrap my arms around him. “Yes. Yes! Yes!”
And then, neither of us really care about dinner.
Chapter 14
Okay, I can do this. I’m going to go in there, and do my job.
Today starts the actual administration of the drugs. All of the patients have been tested, folders numbered, and there’s no going back now. Allison will remain a part of the trial or need to be replaced within twenty-four hours in order for the trial to proceed. Since I don’t have another patient that meets the age and stage requirements and still actually has a uterus, she’s going to remain a part of the program. Also, she deserves the treatment. I’m her doctor, I took an oath, and I’m going to try to save her, no matter who she’s married to.
I push open the door to Allison Brown’s room and find her and her husband holding hands and smiling, and he stares at her the way he once looked at me. I draw in a deep breath and force a smile.
“Good morning, Allison.” I enter the room, keeping my eyes on her. I’m with Westin now, this shouldn’t matter. “How are you feeling?”
