Authors: Cher Carson
“Would you mind waiting for me?” she asked the taxi driver. “I shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes.”
He shrugged, reaching for a folded newspaper on the seat. “I gotta keep the meter running, lady.”
“No problem, I understand,” she said, reaching for the door handle.
“It’s your dime,” he said, reaching for a cup of take-out coffee.
She opened one of the heavy, etched glass doors and walked into the elegant restaurant. She waited as a couple spoke to Sarah, the hostess.
Once the couple stepped aside, Jenna approached the hostess stand. “Hi, Sarah, is Kevin around?”
The girl’s face drained of color. “Uh, I think he’s in his office, Jenna.”
“Great, thanks.” Jenna headed down the long hall, which contained doors to the kitchen, storage rooms, restrooms, and Kevin’s office. She knocked on the door quickly before opening it and popping her head in. “Kev, I need…”
She stopped short when she saw him. He had a voluptuous red-head bent over the desk, pounding her. “Ohmigod.”
He pulled out the second he saw her, reaching down to pull up the pants pooling around his feet. “Jen, shit, I…”
“You didn’t even think to lock the door?” she asked, folding her arms as she surveyed the scene. The red-head flipped her short skirt down and stood up. No need to replace her panties since she clearly wasn’t wearing any.
Kevin quickly tucked his shirt into his pants and fixed his belt before turning to face her. “Sweetheart, I can explain.”
She turned to the other woman in the room. “How long has this been going on?”
Kevin shot her a look that imparted his plea for her to keep her mouth shut.
She shrugged, looking back at Jenna. “I don’t know, six months maybe.” She was a smart woman, clearly not willing to do his bidding.
Jenna slipped her engagement ring off and tossed it to her. “I was gonna give this back to him, but I think I’ll give it to you instead. Do whatever you want with it: wear it, pawn it, I don’t care.” She smirked at Kevin. “Consider it payment for services rendered.”
He raked his hands through his hair. “Jenna, for God’s sake, we can work this out. Look, I admit I have a problem. Maybe I should see someone, a counselor…”
“Do whatever you want. I really don’t care.” She was stunned when she realized it was true. She didn’t care about him or his exploits. The only man she cared about was lying in a hospital bed, and she couldn’t wait to get back to him.
“I came here tonight to tell you I don’t love you. I could never have married you, Kevin. We were both fooling ourselves.”
He glared at her, fisting his hands at his sides. “This is because of that goddamn hockey player, isn’t it?” His face twisted into a nasty smile. “I heard someone bashed his skull in tonight. Let’s hope he dies in that hospital bed, the useless piece of shit.”
She came forward, her hand striking his face with enough force to make his head snap back. “You’re the one who’s useless, asshole, especially in the bedroom.” She pointed to the blood trickling down his lip. “You may want to put some ice on that, it looks nasty.”
“You little bitch,” he said, lunging for her.
She raised her knee, catching him in balls. “Now you’ll really be useless for a while.” She smiled at the red-head. “I did you a favor. Now you can go out and find yourself a real man, like I did.”
Mark woke up in the hospital with only a vague recollection of the previous night. He remembered the fight with Rogers, he recalled doctors poking and prodding him, asking him questions, and nurses coming in to wake him every few hours.
He turned his head, looking for a clock. What time…
Whoa, what the hell is she doing here?
“Jenna,” he whispered. His mouth was bone dry, his tongue thick.
She turned her head to the side, prying her eyes open. She bolted upright when she saw him looking at her. “You’re awake.” She rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I must’ve drifted off for a bit.”
He saw the sunlight peeking in through the drawn curtains. “Have you been here all night?” She nodded, leaning forward to take his hand. “I didn’t want to leave you. I hope you don’t mind that I stayed?”
He wanted to ask her why she felt the need to sit by his bedside, waiting for him to wake up when she made it clear they had nothing more to say to each other. Instead, he pointed to the water pitcher, sitting on a tray at the foot of his bed. “Would you mind?”
She jumped up. “No, of course not.”
She tipped her hand to pour the water, and that’s when he noticed she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring. What the hell did that mean?
She handed him the small paper cup. “Can I get you anything else? Are you hungry? Maybe I can…”
He shook his head before taking a sip of the water. “Just sit down, please.”
She sighed, sinking into the chair. “I was so worried about you. We all were.”
“Who’s we?” he asked, draining the cup.
“Everyone was here, your family, friends, teammates, and coaches.” She laughed. “There were so many people in and out of here all night, the poor nurses threatened to call hospital security to control the crowds.”
“I’m surprised they let you stay,” he said. His lips were still dry and he felt parched. As an athlete, he was used to drinking several litres of water every day.
“Can I get you some more water?” she asked.
He nodded, passing her the cup. “Thanks.”
She smiled, taking it from him. “My pleasure.”
“I’m surprised they let you spend the night. Isn’t that against the rules?”
She laughed. “Your father has a lot of clout. He convinced them to let me stay.”
His father was a familiar face in local politics who served on the hospital board. “I’m glad.”
She passed the cup back to him, her eyes lingering on his. “Are you sure you want me to be here?”
“Sit down. We need to talk.”
She pulled her chair closer to the bed and took his hand.
“I’ve missed you,” he said. He was past the point of caring whether he sounded weak or pathetic. She needed to know how he felt, and this may be his last chance to tell her. “I’ve thought about you a lot.” He chuckled. “Who am I kidding? I think about you constantly.”
She smiled and whispered, “Me too.”
He tried to sit up. “Really?”
She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, pressing his shoulders back into the mattress. “It’s true. I couldn’t think about anything else, Mark.”
His eyes drifted to her bare hand. “Not even your wedding?”
She shook her head. “There isn’t going to be a wedding, not anymore.”
He closed his eyes, trying to conceal his relief. He didn’t want to take pleasure in her pain, but he couldn’t help himself. “I know I should say I’m sorry, but we both know that would be a lie.”
She smiled, touching his unshaven cheek.
He frowned when he noticed bruising on her knuckles. Lifting her hand, he looked closer. “What the hell happened to your hand?”
She winced, trying to pull away. “It’s nothing, just a little bruise.”
He sat up straighter. “How’d you get it?”
She sighed, looking away. “I’m embarrassed to tell you.”
He took her other hand, bringing it to his lips. “Baby, you can tell me anything. You know that.”
“I punched Kevin in the face.”
Mark laughed, grimacing when his head pounded in protest.
She leaned forward, her hand against his chest. “Are you okay, hon? Do you need me to get you a doctor?”
“No, I’m fine; just tell me what happened with your fiancé, sorry, your ex-fiancé.” God, he loved the sound of that.
“I walked in on him with some other woman. Can you believe that?”
Mark had no problem believing it, but he didn’t want to add salt to her wounds. “Is that why you ended it?”
“No, I went there to tell him I couldn’t marry him. Seeing him with her…” Her words faded as she got a pained expression on her face.
He hated to see her upset, especially because of a loser who didn’t deserve her love. “I’m sorry he hurt you, Jen.”
She shook her head, looking confused. “He didn’t hurt me; I couldn’t care less about him or what he does.”
“I find that hard to believe. You were engaged to the man. You must have been in love with him.”
She shook her head, obviously struggling to hold back the tears. “I never loved him. I’m almost ashamed to admit that now.”
Mark knew his head was still fuzzy, but she wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t understand. Why would you agree to marry him if you didn’t love him?”
She picked at an invisible piece of lint on the blanket, refusing to look at him. “It seemed safer that way.”
“Safer? What’re you talking about?”
She drew a deep breath. “I’ve only been in love with one man…”
He needed to believe he was that man, because if she told him he wasn’t, it would crush him. “Go on.”
“Losing you hurt so damn much. I swore I’d never go through that again.” The tears dropped onto the blanket and she sniffled.
“Baby, come here.” He shifted over, reaching out to pull her down into his arms. “You didn’t lose me.”
“But I thought I did.” She rested her cheek against his chest. “I told myself that if I chose men I didn’t love, I wouldn’t get hurt. I was tired of being alone. I knew I wanted a family, so when Kevin proposed, I said yes. Not because I loved him, but because I thought he would make a good husband and father. I know that sounds terrible, but…”
He kissed the top of her head, wishing there was something he could do to repair the damage he’d done to her self-confidence. “I’m so sorry I put you through that.”
“I thought if I had one more night with you, I could move on with my life, put you out of my mind.”
He smiled, easing his hand down to rest on her waist. “How’s that been working for ya?”
She slapped his chest. “Shut up, you know I’ll never be able to get you out of my head or my heart.”
He cupped her face, lifting her lips to his. “Does that mean you’re willing to give me another chance?”
“It’s not like I have a choice. I’m so in love with you, I can’t even think straight.”
He grinned, loving the sound of those words on her lips, finally. “It works both ways, baby.” He paused, not wanting to push her too far, too fast. “Did you open that last box I sent you?”
She sat up, reaching for her purse. She pulled out the small velvet box containing the engagement ring his jeweller made for her. “You mean this one?”
He looked down at the flawless diamond mocking him, unsure of what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t be sure of her reaction, so he remained silent.
She closed the box, pressing it into his hand. “I think you should take this back.”
He bit back the disappointment. He wanted her to wear his ring, but only if she was ready.
“Okay, sure, I understand. It’s too soon.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”
“Isn’t it?”
She laughed. “You’re not thinking clearly, Mark. Hold on to that ring and when, if, you’re ready…”
“I’m ready,” he said quickly, sitting up. “God, I’m so ready. I just thought you needed more time.”
She smiled, her eyes lingering on his lips. “Don’t you think we’ve wasted enough time already?”
“I just thought because you just ended an engagement, you wouldn’t want people to think…”
She touched her fingertips to his lips, silencing him. “I don’t care what anyone says or thinks.”
He grinned, opening the box. He tried to find the words to express himself, but he was drawing a blank. Maybe he should have waited until he was more coherent to do this. He wanted it to be perfect, everything she deserved. He looked around, closing the box. “Uh, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
She sat back on the chair, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Oh, uh, okay, sure. I understand if you’re having second thoughts…”
He grabbed her hand, kissing her palm. He was on the verge of screwing this up again. He couldn’t live with himself if he let that happen. “No, it’s not that I’m having second thoughts, I swear. I just want this to be special, memorable for you.” He gestured to the room around them. “This isn’t the romantic setting I had in mind, sweetheart.”
“I don’t care where we are. I don’t need grand gestures.” She lowered her head. “All I need is for you to be my husband.”
That single word made all of his fears recede. That’s all he wanted. It was the only thing that mattered. “Jenna, I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I plan to spend every day for the rest of our lives proving to you that you made the right choice.”
She lifted her head and smiled. “You don’t have to prove anything to me, Mark. I made the only choice I could have. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved.”
He opened the box, lifting the ring from its cushion. He held the platinum band between his thumb and forefinger. “Sweetheart, I wish I could promise you that I’m going to be the perfect husband, the perfect life partner, but we both know I’m not perfect.” He smiled. “What I can promise is that I’ll always be there to love you and support you, no matter what life throws at us. I’ll always be faithful to you and honest with you. I’ll be the best husband and friend I know how to be.”
She sat up on the edge of the bed, putting her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered, burying her face in his neck. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and smiled. He had waited two long years to place that ring where it belonged, and he had no doubt, now that he had, it would remain there forever.