Page 86 of Give Me Forever

"You're bold. I like that."

I smiled sheepishly. "I like it too. I didn’t know I had it in me."

"Can you take a plus-one?"

My eyes widened. “You want to come with me?"

"Hell yes. I want to be right beside you, babe."

"Hey, having you as my arm candy will be a plus for me too. You’re definitely coming," I said with a grin.

"And now I know what we'll do. I'll take you out on a date while we’re in New York."

"That sounds fabulous. I've never been. Ah, there are so many places in the world I'd like to see."

"Like where?" He touched the side of my face and put a hand at the small of my back, pressing me into him.

"I'd really like to see Paris one day. I wasn't just saying that to Kimberly to make conversation."

"I'll take you anywhere you want, babe."

I sighed. "You mean that, don't you?"

"Hell yes. Now that you're mine again, I plan to spoil you all the time. Now, tell me about your day."

“I finished a beautiful set of jewelry, and I can't wait for my customer to get it. I hope they're happy. I'm really digging this, but I’m not used to the pace. It's very different.”

“I’ve always liked that about you, even in high school.”

"What exactly?"

"Your mom couldn't buy you the prom dress you wanted. You definitely didn’t wantmeto buy the prom dress you wanted. So you waitressed, despite all the pressure from preparing for exams."

I shrugged. "I wanted the dress, and I needed to make it happen without imposing on anyone else. In some ways, we’re very much alike. We both go for what we want. I think you're very brave for traveling to countries that are so different from ours. Do you think it influenced your goals of opening a pro bono clinic?"

"Definitely. I never thought about it before joining Doctors Without Borders. It shaped many of my thoughts and beliefs."

His eyes were unfocused for a few seconds, as if he were lost in a memory.

I was immensely happy that he'd spoken about it openly with me, that he wanted me to know. He trusted me.

“I’d like to ask you something... and for you to answer. Why did you leave all those years ago? Why didn’t you want me by your side?”

I blinked, suddenly feeling as if my eyes were starting to burn. “It’s not that I didn’t want you there... but I thought it wasn’t fair to you, you know? To ask you to go through all that with me. I think I was afraid you’d fall out of love with me if you had to witness all the hardships that come with the disease. I didn’t want to keep you from reaching for your dreams. I wanted you by my side, Sam. Don’t ever think I didn’t. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

“What else do you want to know?”

“Nothing. That’s the closure I needed.”

My chest felt lighter. I smiled at him, biting my lower lip. "And about tonight," I said, "I have an idea."

"I'm all ears."

"We’ll stay home, and I’ll take care of you for a change and spoil you and cover you in kisses."

His blue eyes seemed brighter. "I like where this is going. Where are you starting?"

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