Page 100 of Doc Showmance
And she saw me for who I was.
No one ever treated me the way she did, both the good and the bad. I was sure I’d never find anyone else like her. I’d looked.
“I was trying to tell you. I’m—”
The producer slammed her laptop closed in a jarring noise that ricocheted around the room. “You two get the hell out there and break up. Use this. Be dramatic. Go.”
Amber scraped her chair backward. “You should’ve tried harder to tell me.”
38
Amber
Igathered my stuff out of habit off my desk—stethoscope, Sharpie, calculator—while I tried to comprehend the fact Ian wouldn’t be around in three days. I didn’t want him to walk away. Hell, I didn’t want to leave him.
“Look at me, Amber,” Ian said behind me.
I couldn’t look. I was furious he surprised me with him leaving and overwhelmed by the strength of feeling I had over his future absence. “I’ve got to go do my job. Got some hospitalized patients—”
He gently turned me. His big hand swept my cheek. Meeting his gaze, I realized he comprehended what I felt. The depth of sorrow in his eyes…
He closed the space between us. My heart ached so much I could barely breathe as he tilted my head up. His hand fell to my jaw to hold me in place as he moved his lips toward mine. An inch away, he whispered, “I tried so hard to keep feelings out of this. So fucking hard.”
He placed his lips on mine, pulling all the air from my lungs. His other hand floated up my back.
After a few seconds, I forced myself to remember reality. I’d never connected to someone so easily as I did this man. I’m not an easy person. It takes someone as bullheaded as me to get past my defenses and not be intimidated. Maybe this relationship was years in the making and inevitable. Ian had burrowed in deep enough that I understood him. He wasn’t the pretty boy user I’d judged him to be. He was kind. And generous. And compassionate. And tough.
Damn it.
He’s what my heart wanted.
If only there was a way for us to be together.
“I wasn’t supposed to get attached to you,” I managed to say. “You were a jerk who pushed all my buttons on purpose. Who knew the person beneath all your pretty window dressing was both smart and kind? And worthy of all the attention the world gives you?”
“Amber, don’t do this.”
“This has to be it, Ian. No more sneaking around. No more maybes or what-ifs. If you can leave the hospital today, that’d be great because I can’t do this goodbye more than once. Seeing you again will be too painful. You go back to where you belong. Go back to a life where you travel all over the world and sparkle on TV. Someone has to shine the spotlight on endangered animals that are disappearing. It’s your superpower.”
“I knew you watched my show.”
“Of course I did. You were on it. Before, I’d never have given you the satisfaction of admitting it.” I nibbled my lip against a smile. If I smiled, I’d let loose the tears I felt welling. “There’s nothing to keep you here. No steady job that pays enough to support what you excel at doing. If you stay, you’ll be selling yourself short by working at a vet clinic. I don’t want that for you. It’d disappoint me as much as you to compromise and give up everything. I’m stationed here for now and for as far as I can see in the future. My family depends on me. It seems our paths are forever divergent.” I couldn’t resist tracing the strong line of his jaw. A shaky breath hissed out of me. “When I walk out of this room, it’s over.”
He blinked at me.
“Do you understand?” I asked in my toughest tone.
He dragged his hand down his face. “Yeah.”
He moved in close, forcing me to back up. He put a hand on either side of my head, caging me against the wall. He lowered his forehead to rest on mine. “What we have hasn’t faded in seven years. It’s not going to fade inside me even if I travel to the other side of the planet.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m yours, Amber. From now until forever.”
He pushed away and walked out.
An immense amount of emotion hit as I stared at his retreating back. Fear, anger, irritation at the show…but foremost was love.
I loved him.
It was simple. He understood me.
