Page 14 of Attached At Heart
“Plans change, Delaney,” he said, cutting me off.
He wasn’t wrong; he’d already changed the plan he’d always recited to me. He’d already left Mayo, his dream hospital, prestigious and close to where he’d grown up. He was already here in Boston instead.
“I mean, of course. I’d love to have you on board at the clinic if that’s what you want.”
He gave a solemn nod. “I want to work somewhere that’s innovative and leading change in the medical community. Is that not what you’re aiming to do?”
“Of course it is.”
He clasped his hands on the table again, as though things were settled. Which they were beginning to feel like maybe, just maybe, they were.
“You have to stop telling me what I want,” he said, and there wasn’t even the tiniest teasing glint in his gaze anymore. “I want what you want. We’re friends with similar career goals who work well together as a team. We push each other to be better; we always have. We can spend the year doing just that, and when wecome out on the other side, we’ll be in a position to take big, life-changing steps. This is a good idea, Delaney. You don’t need to feel guilty about it. You can just accept it.”
The tightness in my body began to relax, and I melted back into my seat, doing exactly what Blake told me to. I started to accept it. It made me feel a hell of a lot better knowing that he had a vested interest in my goals and that his proposition wasn’t just charity. Working together as a team because this was something he wanted too made it a lot easier to get on board with the idea.
The idea of getting married.
Holy shit.
I’d obviously already gone down this road with Austin, but that marriage was nothing more than checking off a box on a list. Marrying Blake was major. There was so much more at risk.
But with what Blake just said, it also left me feeling like there was so much more that could goright. And while that was terrifying, it was also exhilarating. Blake made my pushed-aside dreams feel attainable again. He put things into a perspective I could understand, which shouldn’t surprise me. He’d always been able to do that.
“You’re right. It’s a good idea,” I finally said, agreeing with him.
His lips spread in a slow smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He lounged back, crossing one leg over the other and draping his arm over the back of his chair like he owned the fucking room. “I’m right?”
Ah, that was why.
I pursed my lips but decided to give in to him.
It was the least I could do, considering what he was about to sacrifice for me.
“You’re right.” I raised my glass to mimic the toast he’d given me earlier. “Cheers, Dr. London.”
He happily clinked his glass to mine, took a sip, and then set it back on the table.
“Excellent.” Blake steepled his hands in front of him. “So tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” I parroted, my head spinning from the decision we’d just come to.
“Marriage license,” he prompted. “That way, we could be married by this time next week if you wanted.”
“Uh, sure. I mean, there’s no…” Feeling flustered, I stopped to clear my throat before continuing. “Yeah.”
Okay, so maybe I didn’t quite know what to say. I wasgoingto mention that there wasn’t a real rush, but that would have been a lie. I already had to wait a year from the date of our marriage before I could access my inheritance, so the sooner we could start the clock on that, the better. When Austin and I had come to an agreement onourversion of a fake marriage, he’d asked to have a little time to spend together ahead of eloping—just to test the waters. It had been a reasonable request.
But Blake and I didn’t need that.
Clearly, considering how he was trying to expedite the process.
“Are there any other stipulations in your grandparents’ will that we should be aware of?” Blake asked, cutting into my thoughts.
“There is a line about approval,” I admitted. I hadn’t looked at the will in a couple of months, not since Austin and I had made our plans, but I’d all but memorized the damn thing. I’d spent months picking it apart—first to try to find ways around what I eventually recognized as the inevitable and then to ensure that there would be no hiccups once I tied the knot with someone. “My grandparents were supposed to approve thematch for me to obtain the inheritance, but since they’ve passed, their executor will make the call. And I think Mr. Anderson will do anything to get me off his back. I suppose there’s always a bit of risk, but…”
