Page 131 of Light Up The Night
"I see," I say, unsure where she is going with the statement.
"She told me the other day that the Emergency Department is severely short-staffed, and that the department chief is transferring downstate. So…you know, if you were to, say, submit your resumé, there's a pretty good chance you'd have your pick of positions."
My heart lifts higher than ever—I am soaring on the winds of joy so expansive and all-consuming I could fly away, and this only adds to it. "Truly?"
Noelle nods, smiling. "She also told me she spoke to the big dude in charge at the hospital and I guess he's looking to change things up, so an ER chief who's a little…out of the box, shall we say, might be exactly what he's looking for."
"A whole department?" I breathe. "I've barely dared dream of such a thing."
"I'm just passing along the info," Noelle says. "But I think you should apply. I'm being selfish, by the way. Since you showed up, Riley has been…a whole new man. When you were gone, he was miserable. Unbearable, almost. And since you've been back, he'sbeen on cloud nine. We all love you for him. And we love you for you. We want you around. You're ours, now, sweetie."
Riley kisses my knuckles. "You're where you belong."
I sling my arms around his neck, gaze up at his face, bathed in the glow of the Christmas lights. His hands clutch my waist, and his smile is bright, contented, full of love as he stares down at me.
"NowI am where I belong," I say. "With you."
"Jesus fucking Christ, Riley, kiss the woman already!" Nyx shouts.
I laugh, but then the laughter is stolen as his mouth slants across mine, and I barely hear the wolf-whistles and the cheering from his—fromour—friends and family.
When we part, I keep my hands tangled together behind his neck. "I am going to have to thank the Crenshaws for denying me that funding," I murmur. "They changed the course of my life in doing so."
"I'm gonna buy them the biggest fruit basket there is," he says. "Or maybe one of those giant wreaths."
I laugh. "I think a thank you would suffice."
Whatever response Riley was about to offer is lost when Nyx reappears from somewhere with two bottles of champagne and a stack of red plastic cups, and there's laughter as Nyx fires the cork at Riley, the two playfully wrestling and spilling champagne, until Ember snags the bottle from Nyx and starts pouring, and then somehow it's a party in the little square. Children appear from the street, and someone has a thermos of hot cocoa, and people I don't know are congratulating me. My plastic cup of champagne never seems to empty no matter how much I drink, and I find myself tipsy and clinging to Riley for balance.
Riley kisses me until I'm breathless, and now that everyone around us is occupied, no one notices. "You said yes," he whispers.
"I did say yes." I gaze up at him. "Did you fear I would not?"
He shrugs. "I…yeah, a little. I was scared out of my mind. You're the most amazing woman I've ever known, and I just…fuck, I love you."
"Did you plan it?" I ask.
He tilts his head to the side in a noncommittal gesture. "I texted Fee before I jumped in the shower. He passed me the ring while the choir was singing. I had no idea he brought everyone." He hesitates. "I hadn’t planned on it being a group thing."
I touch his lips. "They are your family. Your joy is theirs. And this is…" I look around. "The best day of my life. The best Christmas. I could not be happier, Riley."
"I just…when you asked if this was the life I wanted, with you, that clinched it, because I knew the answer and I couldn't wait another second to ask."
I lift on my toes and nuzzle his ear. "When can we go home and…celebrate?"
He grins, chuckles, dips to kiss me, and then murmurs in my ear. "Why, Cadence Creswell, are you propositioning me?"
"Yes I am, Riley Crowe of Three Rivers." I nip his earlobe. "I am excited to be Cadence Crowe, MD, wife of Riley Crowe. Your wife." I trace the shell of his ear with my tongue. "Take me home and make me yours, my love. Please?"
"As you wish," he murmurs.
We slip away, trudging through the snow-hushed streets. The glow of Three Rivers fades behind us into a dim yellow smear, the sounds of laughter and music distant now.
The lightness in my heart is here to stay, I think. Riley put it there. This place put it there. These people—his brother, his friends. His love. His acceptance of me exactly as I am—stimming, hyperfixations, strange habits, odd speech patterns, freezes, freak-outs, panic attacks, all of it. He just accepts me.
I always wondered how I would ever find someone to love all that I am. How I would find someone who could love me despite all that.
It turns out that I was thinking about it wrong. He doesn't love medespitemy ASD—he loves mebecauseof it.
