“You.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “All I could think was that I love you more than life and I might never have the chance to tell you.”
“Oh, Jake—” Her voice caught as emotion grew thick in her throat.
“Since I was a kid, homeless and hungry, all I could focus on was security. To me that meant wealth. I forgot that money can’t buy happiness. That the best things in life are free.”
She took a step forward, close enough to feel the heat from his body. His breath stirred the wisps of hair on her forehead.
“I couldn’t agree more,” she said.
“For so long I’ve been putting all my energy into work and getting appointed medical director. Now that it could be off the table—”
“Oh, please,” she interrupted. “Havens wouldn’t dare fire the hero of the hour, the man who got between a crazed gunman and innocent bystanders.”
He grinned. “There is that.”
“The press would crucify him. I think he’ll be eating crow. The only question is how he’ll grovel when he has to get you back.”
“More important than that…” The honest intensity in his eyes was incredibly compelling. “The thing is… What I’m trying to say…” He thought for a moment, his gaze locked on hers. “Rich, poor or somewhere in between, whatever time I have on this earth, I want to spend in your arms. I’m completely in love with you. Marry me, Hope.”
Her heart filled to the rim and overflowed with happiness.
She smiled and touched his face. The scruff on his jaw scraped her palm and it was the best feeling in the world.
“I so wasn’t looking for love, but it managed to find me. And I learned the best lesson of all. Life is full of surprises—both good and bad. Love gets you through the rough patches.”
“Is that a yes to my proposal?” he asked impatiently.
“That’s a big, fat, try-and-stop-me yes.” His wonderful grin made her heart beat faster. “Thanks to my favorite doctor, I learned that every day is precious and every second of every day should be lived to the fullest.”
She stood on tiptoe, her mouth almost touching his. Before kissing the daylights out of him, she whispered, “My hero.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6592-3
THE SURGEON’S FAVORITE NURSE
Copyright © 2010 by Teresa Southwick
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The Surgeon's Favorite Nurse Page 19
