Chapter Eight

Stunned at what he was willing to show her, what he was trusting her with, Mia lay still. Didn’t move a muscle, barely breathed, stayed silent. She just held him, and let him hold her.

Time stopped then, as Mia lay in Nick’s embrace. His grip tightened around her and her fingers curled around his hospital robe, pulling him as close as possible. And for just a little while, they both forgot what was coming. They just breathed.

They breathed together.

After about ten minutes, Mia felt him shift his weight, and she lifted her head to meet his eyes. When she saw the pain in them, she stiffened in worry and quickly pulled away.

“No,” he rasped, hating how empty his arms felt all of a sudden. “Stay, babe.”

“You’re hurting,” she replied, not even bothering to phrase it as a question. “I’m going to get the doctor.”

“Not yet,” he said. “First, I want to tell you something.”

“Nick.” Mia tried to sit up, tried to move away, but once again, his upper body strength was nothing that she could even attempt to match. Even hurting and recovering from surgery, his physical power was enormous. “I need to get the doctor…”

“No.” He shook his head, so fierce and determined. “You need to stay. Just for a minute, angel. Please.”

The man had said ‘please’ twice in just a few minutes, and seeing as until this point in their relationship, he’d said it maybe that many times in a whole year, Mia paused. It seemed that Nick needing her was her kryptonite, and she lacked all ability to resist or fight that need.

“OK,” she said at last. “But talk fast. I don’t want you in pain for longer than you have to be.”

That gorgeous mouth quirked up in a devastating smile, and she was suddenly beating back the primal urge to kiss him, deep and hard. Reminding herself that post-surgery wasn’t an ideal sexy-time, but still feeling the need for physical contact, she reached out and touched his full lips.

“What is it?” she asked softly. “What do you want to say?”

“I love you.”

Mia smiled back at him. “I love you too. Was that it? Can I get the doctor now?”

“No,” he growled.

“Alright.”

“I fucked up, babe.”

“You – what?” She blinked. “You…”

“I fucked up.” Nick’s voice was rough now, though his hands on her body were nothing but careful. “Not telling you from the very beginning what was going on with me was a big mistake, and I’m sorry.”

“We’ve talked about this, Nick. It’s OK –”

“It’s not OK, Mia, and don’t you ever tell me that it was. I damn near lost you by keeping secrets, and I just want you to know this: I’ve learned my lesson.” He stroked some tumbled curls off her face, his fingertips loving her smooth skin. “I know that what’s coming is gonna be hard and tough as hell, but I’m making you a promise, right here and right now. I promise to never, ever shut you out again. I promise to tell you everything, and even though it may take me some time to find the words, I will find them. Just – just don’t give up on me while I’m stumbling around searching for the words, alright? I’m not going anywhere, and I’m asking you not to, either. I’m gonna fight for you – for us – and I need you to know that, babe. More than that, I need you to believe it.”

Mia’s eyes filled with tears, and he saw them. Stunned, his fingers moved to catch them as they rolled down her face.

“You’re crying,” he breathed. “At last. Mia…”

“I’m sorry.” She lowered her gaze, feeling like a weak, pathetic woman. Why was she crying when he was the one who’d just lost a leg? “I never wanted you to see me like this.”

“But I wanted to,” he said. “For the past three weeks, I’ve wanted to comfort you.”

“No. That wasn’t your place. Not with what you had to cope with.”

“If it wasn’t my place, then whose was it?” He smiled again, trying to get her to smile back. “Seems we’ve both been holding back some stuff from each other, huh, little sunflower?”