Page 49 of Unbreakable Connection (Connections Duet)

“No, you weren’t. Sabina was here for as long as Bourne allowed her to, but he needed to go to London, and she went with him.”

“It is all good, and I know she won’t be able to stay away for long, and by the time she can, she will not be visiting me here.”

“You got that right, so get better so I can take you home.”

“Home is wherever you are, and after everything I’ve been through, I’m not so sure I want to begin our life together here in Italy.”

“Baby, what are you saying?” I asked as I positioned myself on her uninjured side, touching her as much as possible without hurting her. She knew I was being careful and nudged a little closer to me.

“I promise I won’t break, and what I’m saying to you is that I love you, and you are the last man to whom I want to say those words. You are my home, Edric George. You accomplished the impossible and forced me to see you and accept the love you offered me. Now that I have it, I am unwilling to let it go. I’ve come to depend on it, downright crave it like a drug. You broke down every wall I constructed to keep all the good feelings out that I believed I didn’t deserve because, in a way, I felt as if I failed my parents by not trying harder for them to stay with me. I could have fought harder, but you made me see that it wouldn’t have mattered because they were healers and had a calling that was too great to ignore. In the aftermath of their deaths, I lost a huge piece of myself, and I gave up hope of ever finding it again, and then there was you.”

“You blasted your way into my life that day back at my clinic, and I believed we were two people having fun and never believing we would be something more. Again, you proved me wrong by showing up and sweeping me off my feet. You stayed because you wouldn’t let me give up on us, no matter how hard I fought you. I love you, and nothing would make me happier than to be your wife and the mother of your children. It’s all I’ve been dreaming about, so let’s make it official and become a family. Edric Alistair George, will you marry me and make the dreams that brought me back to you come true?”

I felt the wetness on my cheeks, a first for me, and then I felt Ellen touch me and knew everything she just said to me was real because I was physically reacting to it.

“Edric, say something,” she whispered as she continued touching me, making me feel like I was the luckiest bastard inthe world. To have found this amazing woman who is fearless in everything she does but to open her heart to me is the greatest gift I will ever receive. I rolled over a little more to look right into her beautiful eyes.

“Say it again,” I asked her.

“Which part? I said a lot,” she giggled.

“The part where you asked me to marry you,” I held and kissed her hands.

“Oh, yeah, that part. I love you, Edric, and every time I look at you, I can’t help but dream of the amazing life waiting for us outside this hospital. I know I made you wait, but can you give me an answer so I can kiss you?”

“My answer is yes, it’s always been yes, and I love you so much. So, yes, let’s get married. Can you handle that, Ellen? Because if you think you are a lot to take on, you haven’t seen anything yet with me.”

“I’m willing to take that bet, and you’re worth it, Edric George.”

“Thank you, baby,” I said, leaning in to take my woman into my arms.

“For what?” she asked with genuine curiosity. Ellen didn’t even know how much her simple innocence beguiled me on most days. Yet, how can she not see that she’s just changed my entire life by simply loving me and promising to be mine? And soon, she will be my wife.

“Nothing, I just love you. Let’s get that doctor of yours back in here so we can know when we are getting you out of here. We have a life to get back to.” I kissed her as gently as I could, knowing she wanted more, but I was okay with waiting because now I knew we had all the time in the world.

Ellen remained in the hospital for nearly two weeks, exhausting for both of us, but her team of doctors took every precaution to ensure she recovered before they discharged her.As a doctor, she knew better than anyone with the lung condition she had developed, and then the accident that followed, she would have to be patient and allow her body to heal. Now that it has, I only want to find a private place just for us and forget the rest of the world exists.

The flight went off smoothly, and by the time we made it back to Ellen’s cottage, she was exhausted. I carried her inside through her new front door and brought her up to the bedroom. She remained asleep while I undressed her, and before leaving, I kissed her forehead and told her I loved her. I checked in with Kyle, and he assured me this was normal and her body’s way of healing. I knew he was right, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her even after all that time we spent at the hospital.

“Good morning,” I leaned in to kiss her.

“Good morning. Are you mad?” Ellen asked as she rolled over to face me.

“Why would I ever be mad?”

“I ruined our homecoming by crashing,” her smile alone set my heart ablaze.

“You needed the rest, and we have time, I promise you. Now, how is the shoulder? Are you stiff?”

“Yes, but the rotation exercises that the physical therapist showed me are helping. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse.”

“What about the ribs? And don’t tell me they don’t hurt because I’ve noticed you wincing a few times.”

“My ribs are tender, and getting a twinge of discomfort is normal. I don’t want you to worry about me, okay? I know that’s asking a lot of you, but the biggest hurdle I’ve had to overcome was my lungs, and they are fine; everything else is a cakewalk.”

The following weeks were life-changing for us. No one was more surprised than I was when Ellen talked to me shortly after we returned home from the hospital. She told me she always had an exit plan if she decided to walk away from the clinic. Atthe time, I never knew how extensive those plans were until the day she handed off the keys to the new owner, or let’s say, the country of Italy.

Ellen’s clinic did great work and occasionally treated important people who remained off the grid with the utmost discretion. Ellen was independently wealthy and wanted for nothing, and now, marrying me, we have more money than we can ever spend in one lifetime and the next. The highest level of government had handpicked a new team of doctors to take over the clinic and expand the facility to a trauma center. It would be a first for the area, but it would help many people in need, and the locals wouldn’t have to travel as far as we did when Ellen was hurt.

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