Page 54 of Loving Victoria

“I love you, you idiot. It doesn’t matter to me if you were rich or poor. What matters is what’s in your heart. That you follow your dreams, and you don’t let people stand in your way. I’ve seen that amazing mind work when the office was being built and you got to design it. You take care of me like no one else ever has, and I can truly be myself around you. I don’t have to worry about acting like a lady and being perfect.” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She squeezed my thigh and turned to Drew.

“And I love you too. From that kind heart of yours to those dancing feet. You keep me light and carefree. You call me sunshine, but I feel like you are the golden rays of the sun that shine bright in my life. While Caleb grounds me, you lift me up. I feel like anything is possible when I’m with you.”

Drew reached across the bed and wiped a stray tear that fell.“Victoria, I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes on you, twirling around the dance floor in that pretty little dress of yours. I kicked myself the whole night for not getting your number before you left. When I saw you with Caleb, in that moment, I knew you were the one for us.” Andrew’s hand cupped her cheek. “I never lost hope that one day you would realize you loved us and would want to stay with us.”

“I did. I still do. I just didn’t know what to do.” She wiped at the tears flowing down her cheeks.

When Drew dropped his hand from her face, I slid my fingers under her chin and tilted her face to focus on me. “Victoria, I love you, but I need to know you aren’t going to leave again. I need to know you trust us to help you with everything and won’t keep secrets from us. For this to work, your problems are our problems, and we work things out together. No secrets, no lies, only trust and open communication.”

She nodded and fresh tears streaked down her cheeks. “Words, princess. We need to hear you say it.”

“Yes. Yes. No more secrets. No more lies. Only trust and love.”

I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her salty lips. A smile played at her lips, and I reluctantly had to lean back when my ribs protested.

“I love you,” she whispered as I drew her closer to me. I wasn’t ready to let her go. Needing to feel her lips one more time, I laced my fingers in her hair and crushed my mouth to hers. Her mouth opened invitingly, and I delved my tongue in to dance with hers. She was the warmth I was missing this past week.

Before I knew it, Tori was plucked from me and wrapped in Drew’s arms. He spun her around, knocking into the vacated chair, laughing and then kissing her with just as much passion as I had tried for. He sat in the chair Tori had been in and settled her on his lap.

Jealousy tugged at me.

“So, where do we go from here?” she asked, resting her head on Drew’s shoulder.

I locked eyes with my brother. I knew, without a doubt, he was letting me take the lead on this. It was my choice on how we did this. It was my fault she’d run off.

“We go home as soon as they release me, and we can figure out the details then. But the most important part is you are here with us,” I said.

“Are you sure about us?” I hated the uncertainty that crossed her face as she looked between the two of us.

“We’re sure, sunshine. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Tori turned and kissed Drew on the cheek. “Sounds great. I can’t wait.”

“Do you think you can live in a house that’s not a mansion or castle?” I teased.

She swatted my leg playfully. “I’d live in a shack with you if that’s what it took for us to be together.”

“I think we can do better than that.” I grinned. “Maybe that’ll be a good project for our girl to take on when we’ve settled in.”

Tori’s eyebrows knitted together.

Drew grinned. I loved it when we were both on the same page without saying a word. “Remodeling the house.”

Tori wiggled in his lap. Her smile stretched from ear to ear.“That sounds like fun.”

“Sunshine, if you keep moving like that, we’re going to have some issues that cannot be handled in a hospital.”

Tori stopped and sat up straight. She slowly turned her head and gave Drew a quick peck on the lips. She hopped up and scooted away from Drew’s seeking hands. “I’m going to go get one of the doctors to come check on you. Maybe they can tell us when we can take you home.”

When the door clicked shut behind her, my brother turned to me. “We’re going to marry that woman.”

I laughed at his straightforwardness and winced. “Don’t make me laugh, fucker.”

The door opened again, and Tori followed the doctor in. After a brief examination, the doc wanted to keep me a few more hours to see how I handled being awake and my pain levels. Over the next few hours, everyone rotated in and out of the room. My guest count increased, thanks to the Kingstons. It was amazing to see how many people were here for me over just a minor accident. Multiple times I caught the words wedding dress mentioned and everyone laughed.

Thomas finally cleared everyone out and ordered Tori and Drew to take care of me. I would have taken offense, but he had left me with the only two people I really wanted around right now. I couldn’t wait to get home and have my princess curled up beside me again.

“They should be releasing you soon.” Drew shuddered. “Hospitals make me claustrophobic. I can’t wait to be in the fresh air again.”

---