Page 69 of Making It While Faking It
“Babe, let’s go,” Hercules says to Paisley.
She nods, and I watch as she closes the distance between them, he so naturally curls an arm around her back, and they shuffle together down the same hallway Lake disappeared through.
And now, I’m staring into his eyes again. My breaths are so deep that my chest rises high and drops low.
“Can we talk?” he asks.
Of course, I nod.
I follow Achilles to a door that beeps and then opens. That’s what he was doing at the nurses’ station, arranging privacy for us. We go down a brightly lit corridor. Every so often, he turns back to look at me. There’s so much we have to say to each other. Maybe our time together ends here and now. The thought makes my heart actually ache.
Finally, he leads us into an empty hospital room. His familiar scent makes my head spin. I still love being near him.
Maybe I should say something first. “So,” I say.
“I was…” he says at the same time.
I press my lips together to smile and swallow. “You first.”
He nods stiffly. We both know that it’s best if he goes first.
“I don’t hold what your father, uncle, and brother did against you.”
I don’t know what to say or do. I’m immovable because I can feel that he’s about to lower the boom.
His famous scowl intensifies as he stares into my watery eyes. I can no longer keep the tears I’ve been keeping myself from shedding over him tucked away. They’re rolling down my cheeks.
I’m shocked and relieved when Achilles wraps his arms around my waist and guides me to him. The way we’re standing with each other is a promising sign. The silence urges us to do more, though. The way we’re staring into each other’s eyes makes my breaths short and sharp.
“I’m sorry,” I finally chirp.
Achilles gently swipes tears from one side of my face and then the other. “You warned me. Remember?”
I nod softly and then close my eyes. “I hoped they wouldn’t, though.”
Suddenly, his lips are on mine, his tongue in my mouth, and our kiss so delicate and needy that I’m floating in his arms.
“I love you, Treasure Grove,” he whispers before his tongue dips back into my mouth.
“I love you too,” I whisper between kisses.
Then—it happens so suddenly—Achilles drops to one knee, and I’m staring at a gorgeous princess-cut diamond ring.
“Then let’s make it official. Let’s make it for real. Marry me—one day.” He’s displaying my favorite smirk.
“Yes,” I say strongly through my own happy smile. I want him to have no doubt that I mean it when I say, “Yes, I’ll marry you—one day.”
Achilles takes my hand and slides the ring on my finger.
“We’ll keep what we have going?” he asks.
I nod ardently. “Absolutely.”
Achilles and I press our foreheads together and stand this way, eyes closed, as the seconds tick by.
“How are you doing?” I finally ask, feeling that this moment between us is truly bittersweet.
“Better now that I’ve taken care of this part. But…” he sighs heavily. “Mason had his whole life ahead of him. Just when he found the woman he loves, he gets hit with this. It doesn’t seem fair.”
