Page 48 of Doctor Mile High
“I can get housekeeping to change the sheets. You aren’t sacrificing your comfort because of that. Your clothes are clean. You are clean. I know you don’t feel like it, but you are.”
She holds Winston a little tighter to her chest as I grip her arms and lift, giving her needed support for herself. Dove stands on her own and shuffles to the side of the bed.
“It’s a little high. I don’t think I’ll be able to get up there alone. I need a minute, Winston.” She leans against the bed, taking a few deep breaths while kissing our son’s cheek.
I gather a few pillows from the head of the bed and create a comfortable spot. I place one pillow on the mattress, then barricade it with other pillows. The spot is in the middle of the bed so baby Winston will be okay.
“Let me see him, Dove.”
She hands him over, gently tucking him in my arms, and I knee-walk on the bed, placing him in the soft comfort of clouds I made for him.
He yawns almost instantly.
“I think he loves his bed. Come on, let’s get you up here next to him.” I slip from the mattress. “Bend your knees a little. I’m going to swing you into my arms slowly, okay?”
She bends like I say, wrapping an arm around my neck, and her lips brush against my ear. “Okay, Doctor,” Dove says a bit breathlessly, which has me forgetting what I was doing.
My entire brain has short-circuited. I know she didn’t breathe into my ear like that on purpose. It wasn’t even sexual, but god, everything she does, it drives me wild. I can’t get enough of Dove’s existence.
“Winston?” She pats my chest. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry, I’m fine. I’m fine.” I’ll be fine. “Ready?”
“I am.” She wraps her other arm across my chest and I lift her, slow as promised, though a few whimpers still seem to fall from her lips as I lay her on the bed.
“Fuck, Dove. Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Let me check your incisions. I want to make sure?—”
“Winston.” She snags my wrist when I grab the hem of her shirt. Her face softens when I look up at her, the sky-blue eyes shining bright when they meet mine. “I’m okay,” she reassures. “I’m just sore and tired. It’s okay.” She cups my face with her palm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I turn my face, pressing a kiss against the inside of her palm. “I don’t want to lose you again,” I admit. “I finally have you, and when I saw you bleeding out, it was like a chance of a future with you was dropped in front of me only to be torn away.”
“I scared you,” she says, confused and a bit stunned.
I nod. “You did. Medically, for a lot of reasons. As a doctor, you had lost a lot of blood, but as a person who cares about you, I was terrified.”
“Does that have anything to do with you calling me your fiancée?” She tucks her chin, becoming shy.
“Yes. I knew a long time ago you were mine, Dove. I’m sure you haven’t thought that way and that’s okay. I’m fine with that. I told the doctors at the hospital we were engaged, or I wouldn’t have been able to see you or get any updates. That wasn’t a possibility. Not having you, that isn’t a possibility, Dove. Do you understand what I mean?”
She glances down at her lap, toying with her fingers to keep herself busy, her lips twitching to fight a smile. “Yes,” she says. “I understand.”
“Good girl,” I praise, her cheeks deepening to a beautiful pink flush. “I wanted to make myself clear on this relationship and the future.”
“We’re together, then?”
“We’re more than together, Dove. I don’t want you to think for one minute about what happens after this conference. No doubts, no second thoughts, none of that. After this conference, I’m taking you to my house. You’re going to live with me. We’re going to be a family and start our future together. I won’t accept another ending for us.”
I stare at our son, watching his chest rise and fall to make sure he’s breathing.
I never knew I’d love someone so much who I can’t even hold a conversation with yet, but here we are. My life has changed so much in the last two days, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. How did I spend most of my life without dreaming about this? How did I get so lost in my career that I forgot I could have a family of my own creation?
It probably has to do with my biological parents putting me up for adoption. There’s always been a part of me that felt like my life wasn’t mine.
This. This right here. This woman, this child, they were always meant to be mine. This is where my life officially starts. I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged more than I do right now.
The phone rings, interrupting our moment, and the loud blare wakes baby Winston up.
“Damn it,” I curse under my breath. “I’ll tell them to call my cell phone next time so we don’t wake him. I’m so sorry, Dove.”
