“The paramedics are coming,” she promises.
I force my eyes open again and make my mouth move. “Is she dead?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Lucie’s an amazing markswoman. The bullet hit her shoulder. But there was a lot more blood. The EMTs rushed to her first. Something about nicking an artery. They took one look at you and said your wound went through your bicep. You’re not as critical.”
She’s staring at my shoulder again. I feel more pressure on the wound, and it hurts so much I have to press my lips together for a minute so that the next word out of my mouth isn’t “morphine.”
“I can’t believe you dove in front of Ava,” she whispers. “You saved my dog’s life.”
“Wasn’t my plan,” I manage. I want to tell her about the proposal and Diamond. But I feel hands moving over my body. I’m pretty damn sure someone just stuck a needle in my arm, but everything hurts right now so that could be my imagination.
They’ve moved Kayla away so they can “work on me.” Not words I ever wanted to hear. I close my eyes.
“You can tell me about your plan later,” she says. She’s not shouting so she couldn’t have gone far. “I’ll ride to the hospital with you.”
“No,” I gasp as the paramedics place me on a gurney. Then someone places an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose.
“You have to go to the hospital,” Kayla says.
I reach my good arm up and pull on the mask. “Diamond’s in the car.”
“Proposals can wait,” she says with a smile. She’s so damn beautiful. I don’t want to look away. But I’m being wheeled out of the kitchen. I lose sight of her for a moment, but then she is back, right by my side.
“Not this one,” I say. “This one can’t wait.”
CHAPTER 27
KAYLA
“Diamond.” Gavin repeats the word as the paramedics try to replace the oxygen mask. “I left Diamond in the car.”
I try to offer a reassuring smile, even though I want to yell at him that proposals, rings—none of that matters right now. I probably won’t wear the stupid thing much anyway. I haven’t worn jewelry in years. But I can’t shout at this handsome, amazing man who took a bullet for my dog.
A man willing to risk his life for the animals I love, he’s worth compromising on well, everything.
“You can get the ring later,” I say. “We don’t need to rush. The wedding plans, where we’ll live, all of that can wait. I love you, Gavin. I’ve loved you for so long. For years, I was afraid of falling in love with you.”
“Diamond—”
“Shhh.” I take his left hand and intertwine my fingers with his. “I’m not going anywhere, Gavin. I’m in love with you. There’s no turning back now. And I know you’re nothing like Mr. Mistake. And I’m so proud of you for going on that show today.”
“Kayla.”
I lean over him and pull the oxygen mask down long enough to plant a quick kiss on his lips. Then I replace the mask.
“I hated watching the show with your insane ex-girlfriend, but when you started talking about how the bullying and abuse left you unable to see yourself as capable of anything, and how you turned that around by seeking justice. Gavin, you gave all the kids watching hope. Not just the moms tuned into the morning shows, but the teenagers who are facing the same things, I hope they watch and see Gavin Black admitting that he was once a weak, vulnerable little boy. And now look at you.”
“Ma’am,” the paramedic at the head of the gurney interrupts. I look up and blink at the man. I’d almost forgotten we had an audience. “Ma’am, we really need to get him into the ambulance and over to the hospital.”
“I’ll ride with him,” I say. Then I glance down at the dogs following me as if they are part of my shadow. I don’t know if they’re shaken from today or overwhelmed by the officers and medical personnel.
“Or maybe I should follow in my car with the dogs?” I suggest.
The paramedic shakes his head. “They can’t come in the hospital, ma’am.”
Gavin releases my hand and reaches for the mask, pulling it down. He looks so pale I’m afraid he’s going to pass out. “Not a ring. He needs to get out. Needs medication.”
“He? No, I’m pretty sure that’s you.”
Gavin raises his good arm and points to his two-door sports car. I spare the BMW a glance. Right when I’m about to look away, I do a double-take.
“There’s a Mastiff in your back seat,” I say.
Gavin pulls the mask away from his face one last time as the paramedics lift him into the ambulance. “Diabetic,” he manages. “Diamond needs medicine. It’s in the front seat. Meet me at the hospital … Take care of him … first. He’s for you.”
“You got me a hundred-pound diabetic mastiff named Diamond?” I steal another glance at the dog in the BMW. He’s drooling all over the leather, the window, on everything.
“Will you marry me?” Gavin asks.
I turn back to the ambulance. One paramedic’s tending to the gunshot wound in his arm—from the bullet he took to save Ava—while the other tries to replace the oxygen mask. My house is swarming with police officers. I spent the last two hours being held at gunpoint and terrified a madwoman would kill my dogs. Now, my kitchen’s a crime scene.
It’s far from a romantic proposal. There isn’t a picnic basket in sight.
But it’s perfect.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” I nod to the paramedics to start closing up the ambulance. “And I’ll meet you at the hospital after I take care of my drooling, diabetic engagement ring dog.”
“I love you, Kayla,” he calls as the paramedic closes the first door.
“I love you too.”
The second door closes and the ambulance heads down my bumpy driveway for the main dirt road. I turn to the BMW and open the driver side door. I slide the driver’s seat forward and extend my hand to the backseat, allowing the dog to smell me.
“Hi, Diamond,” I say in a gentle voice. “Welcome to Kayla and Gavin’s Home.”
“I should have known Alexandra would go after you.”
Gavin has said the same thing at least a dozen times since I met him at the hospital. We’re now on day three of Gavin’s stay, and I’m starting to wonder if the attending doctor is refusing to discharge him because the nurses enjoy his company—and his pretty face.
“Gavin, you can’t plan everything in life,” I say, reaching for the spring rolls I picked up at the Chinese restaurant nearby. It’s not the same as Manhattan’s best, but it’s better than the hospital food. Seeing as Gavin is under doctor’s orders to rest so I can take him home tomorrow, I decided our date night should include a take-out buffet spread over the table on wheels that reaches across his bed.
Plus, the food keeps me in the visitor’s chair beside his bed instead of straddling his lap. Also not part of the Get Gavin Discharged Tomorrow plan.
I glance over my shoulder at the closed door. Dinner and maybe a special dessert treat. I keep telling myself that, but I did wear a skirt.
“I can try to plan everything,” he insists.
“We’re going to be living in New York City with five dogs.” I reach for another egg roll. “I’m guessing Diamond alone exceeds the weight limit for your condo.”
“They’re willing to look the other way for me.”
I let out a laugh and wave my half-eaten egg roll at him. “They’re probably going to make us use the service elevator, which I admit will take some planning. Plus, diabetic dogs need to go out a lot. And Diamond’s full of surprises. Did they tell you he likes to chew shoes when you adopted him?”
“They told me to make sure I give him his medicine, and then they tossed us out on the street.”
“He’s going to destroy your furniture.”
He shrugs. “I’m sure Ginger will appreciate the help. But I wasn’t planning on spending a lot of time in Manhattan.”
My brow furrows as I polish off the last of the egg roll. “You work there.�
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“I’m going to take a leave from the company. I’ll still drop in a couple of days a week, but I don’t need to oversee everything.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Right after you told the world about your past? Won’t it look like you’re afraid to keep working now that everyone knows?”
“I don’t care what they think.” He pushes the table lined with half-eaten Chinese take-out away from the bed. “I want to spend the next few months, maybe a year, making your dreams come true.”
“Gavin.” I’ve known this man since he was five years old, and he can still take my breath away. “You like the city.”
“We’ll be there some. Just not every day. And not based on my schedule. We’ll need to be up here when they start construction on the barn.”
“You really are serious about getting married there before we transform it into a shelter?”
“It was Margaret’s idea.”
“And what does Margaret think about your plan to quit working?”
“She wants me to be happy. And she’s probably confident I can keep paying her bills through the occasional modeling contracts. I’ve had a lot of offers since I did Charlene’s show. A publisher reached out to Margaret with a potential book deal too. They think my story can help others.”
“You should do it,” I say. “I’ll manage the barn construction while you write, and design software, and box …”
Yes, I snuck that last to-do item in there out of pure self-interest. I will love Gavin not matter what. But I wouldn’t object to exploring his abs after a good, hard workout in the ring. I’ve even suggested adding one to his country house.
“I might,” he says. “But it’s not what I want to do right now.”
“Oh? What’s that?” I tease, knowing that this shouldn’t go any further. I pulled the curtain that hides his room from view of the hall, but the door remains unlocked.
“Kayla, come here.” He takes my hand and draws me up on the bed. Lying on my side, I barely fit between his body and the plastic barricade designed to keep patients from falling out of the bed.
Patients. Not their lovers.
“Gavin, I know what you’re thinking,” I say. I’ve been day-dreaming about the same thing.
“Really?” He raises one eyebrow. Even lying in a hospital bed, wearing a blue gown that opens in the back, he’s impossibly sexy. “Why don’t you tell me what I’m thinking? Don’t leave out any of the details. And feel free to make all the sex noises you need to fully communicate precisely what I’m picturing right now.”
I run my hand over his gown-covered chest. My fingers reach the edge of the blanket and dip underneath. Slowly, I pull the hospital-issued blue bedding to his waist. “You’re thinking the door’s unlocked, so someone could walk in at any minute and discover us.”
“Doing what?” he says hoarsely. “We look innocent enough.”
I pull the hospital bedding lower still. Then I reach for his gown and take it in the opposite direction until I can clearly see he’s not wearing underwear.
“Do you want to guess why I wore a skirt today?” I murmur as I slide down the bed.
“Why?”
The fabric bunches at my waist leaving me completely naked from the waist down. Slowly, carefully, I straddle his erection.
“I thought it was about time we start working on my fantasies,” I say.
His hands wrap around my waist, guiding my movements as he breaks into a smile. “Walking the hall of the hospital without your panties turns you on?”
I stare down at the man I’ve loved for as long as I can remember, at my best friend, the one person I need by side no matter what life throws at us.
“It’s you, Gavin. You’re my fantasy. And you always will be.”
The humor fades from his dark eyes. His lips part and the Gavin Black Billionaire mask fades into the background. It’s still there, but I can see all of him right now.
“I love you,” I add.
“I love you too, Kayla.” He flashes a wicked smile. “Not let’s make sure the entire hospital knows it. But promise me one thing?”
“Anything,” I say, rocking my hips as he slides inside me.
“No fake sex sounds,” he growls, his hips rising to meet mine.
“I promise. But Gavin, it goes both ways in this relationship, remember?”
“Always.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
Thank you for spending your reading time with Gavin, Kayla and the rescue pups! I had so much fun crafting this story. I loved creating these characters and their four-legged friends. Ava is my personal favorite. She’s loosely based on my K-9 writing companion, my five-year old Shepard.
If you enjoyed Mr. Misunderstood, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other review site. I am always grateful for feedback on my stories!
To learn more about my books, please visit me on social media or sign up for my newsletter at sarajanestone.com.
Happy Reading!
Sara Jane
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After several years on the other side of the publishing industry, Sara Jane Stone bid goodbye to her sales career to pursue her dream—writing romance novels. Armed with a firm belief that dreams do come true, Sara Jane sat down at her keyboard to write fun, sexy stories like the ones she loved to read.
Sara Jane currently lives near New York’s Hudson River with her very supportive real-life hero, two lively young children, a pair of mischievous kittens, and a very active dog. When she is not hiking with the kids, she loves writing sexy stories, staying up past her bedtime reading red-hot romance, and chatting with her readers on Facebook at facebook.com/SaraJaneStone.
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