Page 152 of Attached At Heart
“Things might get messy every now and again, Blake.” This time, it really was a warning. “I’m not as perfect as you. And?—”
“Shut up,” he grunted, shaking his head.
“I mean it. If you’re still scared of what might happen?—”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “I’m not scared anymore.”
“No?”
“No,” he said firmly. “Because getting messy with you was the best thing that ever happened to me, Delaney. And I’m never going to let my hesitation and fears get in the way of us again.”
“Me either,” I whispered against his touch.
Blake replaced his finger with his lips, and I silently vowed to myself that I’d never let my own fears hold me back, either. From Blake or anything.
Blake and I celebrated our first anniversary by driving to a very important plot of land.
It wasn’t much to look at right now, but someday, it would be a clinic. Our clinic.
There was a lot of hard work ahead of us, a lot of preparation and long hours. The groundwork itself was daunting. But exhilarating at the same time. And the most exciting part was getting to have Blake by my side.
He’d assured me that he hadn’t been lying the day he’d proposed at Giovanni’s; he wanted to expand the medical community and work together to do it. He wanted to surround himself with the best of the best and then create a place of hope for patients. He wanted to save lives; I knew he did.
And this was where we were going to do it—in the outskirts of Boston, settled not too far from the bay.
I stared at the water, watching it lap against the shore, our feet grounded in soil where one day our front entrance might be.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
I didn’t have to explain my thinking. Blake stood beside me, staring just as intently at the ocean. But his expression was calm, his body relaxed. Stoic, despite the energy that hummed between us. I wasn’t really sure what it meant, but it felt good.
“I’m sure,” he said simply.
“You’ll have to see it every day,” I pointed out, even though we’d had a conversation like this before.
I just needed him to be sure.
Nothing was more important than this.
Than Blake.
“I know.” He cocked his head to the side, considering the water. “I like to think it’s honoring her. It’s honoring how many people who will be helped or saved because of her and the path she inspired me to take. Because of her and because of Bryan.”
Warmth filled me.
“Do you still dream of her?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted, which surprised me.
He’d never told me. And I’d never woken up to find him like I had that night on our honeymoon.
But then Blake added, “It doesn’t always end the same way, though. Sometimes taking a risk and jumping into the water to try to save her…it works. It’s a bit cruel because when I wake up, I’m reminded of reality. That she’s gone, and I failed. But I also think it’s a reminder that sometimes the risk of doing something is better than the risk of doing nothing. In the end, I’m still glad that I jumped into the water. That risk was still worth it, and in another scenario, taking that risk might have changed everything.”
“I like that.” I surveyed the land around us. “We’re definitely doing something here, Blake.”
“We sure are.” Blake cleared his throat. “Hey, Lane?”
Something about the emotion in his voice made me spin toward him, a swiftness in my bones. And a second later, I knew why.
