Amy almost choked on her own saliva. A few days of personal leave? Had the aliens kidnapped Colton while she was unconscious? She looked at his belt. No pager.
Her mother shot Amy a meaningful glance before picking up her bag from a chair. She murmured something to Colton, then headed for the corridor. In a second, the door closed behind her, leaving Amy and Colton alone.
22
Amy’s eyes moved to Colton. “My tea?” she said in a husky voice. Her cheeks glistened in a reddish hue, as if she’d been speaking with her mother about something that left her flustered.
“Sure,” Colton murmured. He shuffled closer to her bed, suddenly unsteady on his feet.
Amy looked so fragile in the white hospital nightgown with that giant bandage on her head … and so breathtakingly beautiful. The fear that had dominated his heart ever since the accident was slowly subsiding, but seeing Amy awake still felt like a fleeting dream. Colton was afraid that if he moved or spoke too hastily, she might vanish like a mirage in the desert.
He placed Amy’s tea on the table and lowered himself into the same chair from which he’d watched Amy for the past day and a half. He would’ve preferred to sit on her bed to be as close to her as possible, but he wasn’t sure how she would react to his gesture.
Colton had promised himself that as soon as possible, he would confess his love for Amy. He’d been bursting from the desire to do so ever since she'd first opened her eyes. Now, with Mrs. Powell gone, he had the perfect opportunity. Yet as his chance to come clean became a reality, angst infiltrated his insides. Was Amy well enough to listen to him? Or was it too soon to burden her with his secrets?
Their eyes met. Amy withdrew her gaze, her face tinting a delicate rosy color. She fidgeted with the needle in her arm as if she wanted to adjust it.
“What’re you doing?” he asked, alarmed.
Amy smiled. “Don’t worry. This thing moved while I slept. I’m just putting it back into place.” Her eyes drifted into those typical half-moon shapes as the corners of her mouth curled up.
The tension in Colton’s neck eased a bit. Maybe the hospital personnel weren’t lying. Amy did seem to be in relatively good shape, considering the circumstances.
“How are you feeling, Amy-cakes?” He used her nickname to cast away the weirdness that had settled between them from the moment he entered the room, but somehow, the familiar name only accentuated that they were no longer in the same relationship as before.
Amy’s smile wavered as she sucked in a breath. “I’m good. You know, as good as I can be after driving into a pole.”
Colton couldn’t smile at her attempted joke. The idea that the accident could have turned fatal was still too vivid in his soul. “Why did you do it, Amy?” Colton didn’t want to sound accusatory, but he needed answers. Ever since he’d found out from Poppy that Amy had no intention of moving in with Mark, Colton had been burning with questions. Why had Amy lied to him? Why did she want to move out of his house that quickly? Was it because she suspected his feelings for her?
Amy shifted uncomfortably on her bed, her cheeks blushing to a deeper shade. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I lost control of the car while trying to save that boy.”
Colton snorted. “That’s not what I meant. I know what happened at the accident. We’ve spoken to everyone who could give us information. What I need to know is why you got into your car that night in the first place. You had no place to go.”
Amy’s gaze dropped to her hands, and she started picking at one of her nails.
She didn’t answer, and Colton was afraid to push her more. He couldn’t overwhelm her with his feelings if she wasn’t strong enough to process them yet. He’d already been too forthcoming with his request. Amy had to realize why he was asking the question. Didn’t she?
After what seemed like an eternity, she raised her chin. “You know, don’t you? Poppy told you?”
“Yes. She said you ended things with Mark. What I don’t understand is why you lied to me. You told me you were moving in with him, despite me telling you he wasn’t the right man for you.” Colton rubbed his cheeks. He'd kept his desperation at bay while waiting for Amy to wake up, but now it invaded his rib cage in full force. “Did our argument … was what I said the reason you …”
“No. The accident wasn’t your fault, Colt. Don’t you ever think that. It’s all on me. I was distracted and noticed the child too late. If anything, you saved my life.”
“My crew, yes. Me? Not so much. They didn’t let me participate in the rescue, really. I had to help Gage secure the perimeter. Adam thought I was too, mhm, emotionally involved because, you know, you’re my—”
“Your friend, right.” The words rolled off Amy’s lips with a bitter bite.
Colton froze. Amy didn’t get it. Not even after what happened at the hotel. Not even after his obvious jealousy on the phone. Colton needed to spell things out for her once and for all. He needed Amy to know what he really felt for her.
Amy was staring at her blanket, her face set in the same sad expression as when she had spoken. Colton’s heart rate accelerated as he bent forward. He took Amy’s hand in his.
Amy snapped her head toward him, but a pained groan left her lips. “Ah, fudge … this throbbing. I need to move slower.”
Colton jumped up and moved to her side. He put his other hand behind her neck, just where the bandage ended. He ran his thumb up and down lightly over the muscle.
She shivered and pulled back.
Colton dropped his hand but kept his gaze on her. “About that order from Cap …” He inhaled. It was his moment, and the truth was overdue. He’d been harboring these feelings for Amy since the first time he’d admitted to his grandmother that he liked her. Why was it so hard to confess them to her?
Amy lifted a brow. “Yes, what about it?”
Colton cleared his throat. “You said he forbid me to help because he knew you were my friend. But that’s not what you are to me, Amy.”
“Oh?” Her eyes widened, but then she gave a weak smile. “Ah, yes. We’re more than that. Like family really, I know, and I—”
Colton lifted a finger and put it gently on Amy’s lips. “Amy-cakes, please. Let me finish this.”
She fell silent.
Her lips felt so warm and inviting under Colton’s touch that he almost forgot he wanted to give a speech, and he considered expressing his feelings with his actions. But that had backfired already at the hotel. So he needed to first find out whether Amy could be interested in him as a man. “I wanted to say that you’re not just a friend or family to me. I mean, you are but you aren’t. I think … no, I know that you are … that I am …” He blew a loud breath out. Could he be any more ridiculous than this?
Amy didn’t laugh at him. She just cocked her head to the side and whispered, “Colton, please say it. Whatever it is, I want to know.”
Colton thought back to that giant fire in the theater. The entire building had threatened to collapse on them as he and his crew saved the people trapped inside. Why was he more afraid now than he'd been then? In that moment, when Amy’s stretcher had been pushed into the ambo, he had made his choice. His love for Amy was now the most precious thing in his life.
He needed to fight for this feeling. Even if it meant taking a leap of faith and confessing his feelings to his best friend without knowing how she would respond.
He inhaled deeply, locked in Amy’s glance, and said, “I love you. And not as a brother, and not as a friend. I love you as only a man is capable of loving the woman who is his soul mate. I long for you when you’re not with me, and I cherish the moments when I see you. Ever since my parents’ crash, I’ve believed that my only mission in life was saving others. That my job would always come first, no matter what. But I was wrong. It’s you—you are the most important thing for me. I would love for us to take our friendship into unexplored terrains that could end in having a bunch of kids and living together happily ever after. That, my sweet Amy-cakes, is w
hat I feel for you.”
Amy’s mouth moved into a small surprised oh. Her breathing quickened and soon became choppy. “What about Theresa?”
“Theresa? I told you we broke up. What I didn’t tell you is that we ended things because she realized I was in love with you.” Colton waited for Amy to say something, but she didn’t speak. “Of course, I understand if this is all too much, and it might not be what you want to hear, so I—”
“No, I do.” Amy’s sobs came like a volcano burst, unexpected and life-shattering at the same time.
Colton gaped at her, not knowing how to interpret her words. Did they mean what he hoped they did? “You do? What exactly?”
Amy grinned through her tears and scooted herself forward till her face was close to Colton’s. “I do want to hear this. There’s nothing else I would rather hear. Because, Colton, I’m also in love with you. I have been for a long time. Only I thought you didn’t care.”
Colton’s heart leaped. He launched forward and slid his arms around Amy. Her lips trembled, prompting Colton to ask, “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be too rough.”
“No, you didn’t. It’s not the pain. It’s this.” Her eyes darted from Colton’s chest to her own. “I can’t believe this is happening. In the hot tub … I thought you weren’t interested. I thought you only wanted to kiss me because you felt sad about Theresa.”
Colton rapped his knuckles against his head. “What a fool. Are you saying that if I’d gone through with that kiss, you wouldn’t have pushed me away?”
“Pushed you away? Colt, I’ve been waiting since prom for you to kiss me.” Amy blushed as she said these words and dropped her head to her chest. She chewed on her lip.
Her gesture made Colton’s blood run faster. He reached out and hooked two fingers beneath her chin. Very gently, he pushed her head upward till their eyes met. “What do you say we end this long wait today?”
Amy’s pupils dilated as she moistened her lips.
Colton’s gaze dipped to her rosy flesh, and he couldn’t control himself any longer. He bent forward till his lips touched Amy’s. Once his breath united with hers, he began exploring her—softly and gently despite the deep yearning he felt inside.
Amy folded one palm behind his neck and pulled him closer to her. The world came to a standstill. The continuous flashes of the monitor, the faint smell of disinfectant, the busy chatter from the corridor, it all melted away. It was like a camera zooming in, leaving everything insignificant on the edges to fade, and intensifying and increasing the truly important parts: Amy’s sweet taste, her warm breath, and the exhilarating knowledge that she loved him just as he loved her.
Now they could have a future together, Amy and him.
Suddenly, a thought entered Colton’s mind, and he knew he had to stop the most marvelous moment of his life to clear it before it nestled into his heart as a cold thorn. He moved back slightly.
Amy’s eyes opened. Her lips were slightly swollen, and their color was more intense. “What’s wrong, Colt?”
“I need to ask you two questions, Amy. Will you answer them for me?”
“Sure.”
“I might know the answer to this, but I would still love to hear it from you. Why did you tell me you were moving in with Mark? Did you ever plan to move in with him?”
“That’s three questions already, but here are your answers.” Amy smiled. “Even when Mark called me the first time and we were still in the hotel, I knew I would only meet him to tell him I couldn’t go back to him. Not when my heart was already beating for someone else.”
“For me?” Colton couldn’t suppress a cocky, self-satisfied grin. He’d never personally met Mark, but he disliked him no matter what.
Amy chuckled. “Of course, who else? So I told Mark that my feelings for him have changed, that even though I appreciated his effort of wanting to move to Jackson, I thought it was better if he didn’t.”
“Why lie to me about it? You argued about your right to go back to him on the phone as if you were truly convinced he was the right one for you.”
Amy covered her eyes for a second with her palm and sighed. “Oh, Colt. Can’t you figure it out on your own? Since I thought in the hotel that you felt nothing for me other than friendship, and that you realized I might be feeling more, I had to find a way to make you believe it wasn’t the case. Also, you kind of provoked me into it when you said you would bring us champagne for our housewarming party. That was a pretty obnoxious remark. Hence the lie about Mark.”
“You could have just told me that you were ticked that I didn’t kiss you in the hot tub.”
“And you could have just told me you did want to kiss me.”
Colton couldn’t believe his own stupidity. If he’d only been honest with Amy back then … A grin stretched over his lips. “Fair enough. We were both fools. I was the bigger one, I think. But my excuse is the fact that I was convinced you’d never consider being with a firefighter.”
Amy’s expression sobered. Her chin settled into a concerned frown.
Colton's stomach tightened. This was the other point he needed to address with Amy. However, now that he saw her reaction, he didn’t know if he should extend the topic any further. He didn’t want another possible obstacle between them. They’d already surmounted the sister-brother-friends-forever myth. But her promise to her dad might be tougher to break.
She took Colton’s hand and squeezed it. The sticker holding the needle on her skin twitched as her fingers closed on his. “Colt, I’m sorry I've been judgmental about your vocation for so long. It was wrong of me to say I’d never date a fireman just because my father said so. Almost as wrong as a girl saying she would want to date a fireman for his uniform. A job shouldn’t be a reason for wanting or not wanting to be with someone. I understand now that what my father truly wanted was for me to be happy. Had he known how I feel about you, he’d be the first to say that we should be together.”
Colton couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you saying that you don’t mind that I’ll be working for Jackson Hole Fire & Rescue for the rest of my life?”
Amy inched forward, smiling. “No, as long as you always come back to me. Promise?” She held out her little pinky.
Colton took it in his hands and kissed it. “Promise. But since we’re grown-ups, what do you say if, instead of a pinky squeeze, we seal it with a kiss?”
“I wouldn’t mind that one bit.”
“Good,” Colton murmured, cupping her face.
He hauled her closer, and his mouth closed on hers. He deepened the kiss and felt the world close in around them again. This kiss was more than Colton ever could have dreamed. It filled him with hope for a future with the only woman he’d ever truly trusted, wanted, and needed.
Amy’s hand threaded through his hair, sending jolts of pleasure along his spine. He abandoned himself to the sensation, knowing that it was only the beginning. Soon, he could take Amy home from the hospital and they could start their new life together. A life with the most important person in this world for him: his best friend and his love, Amy.
Epilogue
Amy held still while Poppy adjusted the veil in her styled locks.
“Here you go, Ames. You can turn now and take a look.” Poppy grinned and brushed her bob behind her ears. “I think I did a pretty good job as your makeup artist, but you can tell me to tone it down a notch if you want.”
Amy inhaled. “Let’s hope I’ll like what I see. We don’t have time to start all over. The ceremony starts in twenty minutes.”
Poppy hadn’t allowed Amy to so much as peek at her reflection since this morning. She’d covered every mirror in the hotel room with thick fabric and made Amy promise she wouldn’t touch them.
Amy worried a little that Poppy’s extreme fashion sense and her enthusiasm for the wedding preparations would make Amy end up looking like another person. Colton had told Amy that he preferred the way she looked when she had just woken up. He even swore that the pi
llow wrinkle on Amy’s cheek was a major turn-on for him.
Go figure. Men were truly weird sometimes.
“Why do you have that smug smirk?” Poppy asked.
“Nothing. I just remembered how Colt said he’d want to marry me even if I showed up in his station apparel T-shirt.”
Poppy rolled her eyes. “Ah, he’s a hopeless case, but it’s sweet. He really is your true match, Ames. I’m so glad you both finally realized what Zach and I have known forever.”
“And what is that, oh Poppy the Wise?”
Poppy pulled her nose into a serious frown and stroked her nonexistent beard. “That, my dear Amy, you and Colt were made for each other. Your friendship, though you both wanted to deny it, always carried the seed of growing into something more. Something spectacular.”
Amy’s chest warmed. Poppy might have been doing a poor imitation of Dumbledore, her favorite fictional character, but her words rang true. Truer than Poppy realized.
Amy recalled the day she'd met Colton, when Zach came home from school and announced that a new kid had joined his class. Maybe the seed about which Poppy spoke had been planted in that exact moment. Who knew?
Poppy tapped Amy’s shoulder. “My favorite bride, are you ready to look at yourself or what?”
“Sure, sorry. I was just remembering something about the past.”
“No problem. I could watch you with that dreamy expression on your face the whole day, but we need to get going soon. So please check if my efforts of dressing you pass your approval, okay?”
Amy nodded and twirled around.
Poppy stepped up to the mirror and pulled the blanket from the silver surface.
Amy gasped. “Oh my. I look … how did you make this happen?” She brought her hands to her face, then down to her waist, and then up again to her chest. She couldn’t believe what Poppy had accomplished.
The woman in the mirror looked exactly like Amy, but more gorgeous. Poppy’s styling tricks complemented Amy’s innate beauty without making her look like a fake Barbie. The mocha color of Amy’s eyes was enhanced artfully with a delicate lavender hue, which complemented the dark mascara on her eyelashes.
Saving His Heart Page 15
