“Or if you need anything else,” Natalie added. “Takeout Thai food. Gourmet ice cream.”
“Liquor,” Jonah added, and Tess managed to fake a smile.
“Thanks, you guys. I’ll be okay.”
Connor exchanged a brief look with Harlow that Tess couldn’t decipher—Jesus, her brain was fried—and then he said, “Is it okay if we take the scenic route before we go get the little guy from childcare? I’ve got to check on something really quick on my way out.”
“Sure,” Tess said. She hugged everyone goodbye, thanking them all and promising to call or text if she needed anything. Following Connor down the hall, she barely noticed where they were headed until they got to the double doors leading to the courtyard.
“So, here’s the thing about men,” Connor said, and Tess was so stunned by the non sequitur that she just listened. “Sometimes, we do really stupid stuff. Not that it’s gender exclusive,” he added. “But having done a really stupid thing that I needed to make right, myself, it’s kind of my moral responsibility to assist others when they’re in need.”
“Connor.” Tess looked at him closely. “Did you hit your head on something in the last five minutes? What are you talking about?”
“Payback,” he said simply, taking her by the shoulders and turning her toward the bench sitting in the farthest corner of the sun-shaded space. “You helped me find the love of my life once. Now, it’s time for you to go get yours.”
Tess looked. Blinked. Looked again to be sure.
Declan was standing in front of the bench, a woman who looked so much like him standing next to him and smiling ear to ear, and oh. Oh.
Saoirse hadn’t said no.
Tess walked toward them, and Saoirse met her halfway, leaving Declan where he stood. “You’re just how I pictured you,” Saoirse said, hugging Tess and leaving her speechless. “I don’t want ta keep you from my brother, but I had to thank you.”
“Of course,” Tess managed, although, getting the words past the massive lump in her throat was a task and a half.
“I’ll leave you to it, then. We’ll catch up when you’re ready.” Saoirse smiled one last time before turning toward Connor, who gave Tess a sheepish shrug before guiding Saoirse inside. Tess walked toward Declan on wobbly knees, but he was right there to steady her.
“Hey. I, ah. Should probably warn you that I’ll surely bollocks this up. I’m no good with words. But I’d really like it if you’d give me a chance to try.”
“Declan,” she started, her heart in her windpipe. “You don’t have to—”
“I do,” he interrupted, then winced. “Sorry. I knew I’d make a hash of this. But the truth of it is that I owe you a huge apology. I’ve been an ass. I spent so long thinkin’ my sister had abandoned me and that I didn’t have a place to belong, that I missed what was right in front of my face. I do belong. Right here, with you.”
“Oh,” Tess whispered, hope filling her chest as he continued.
“Saoirse and I have a lot of catching up to do, and some healing, as well. But I’m only able ta do it because of you.”
Tess took a breath, trying to calm her slamming heart. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I didn’t want to hurt you or make you mad. I just…I love you so much. I couldn’t lose hope that this would work.”
“I love you, too,” he said, taking both of her hands. “I know I said we’re through, but I was wrong. You and Jackson and I are just beginning. I want ta spend my mornings wakin’ up next to you, and my nights with you in my arms. Ta have and ta hold, just as we said in our vows.”
Her lips parted in shock. “You want us to stay married?”
The wicked grin that took over his mouth sent a prickle all the way over her. “What, do you want me to get down on one knee?” he asked.
And before she could laugh at the way he’d used her own words against her, he got down on one knee, keeping both of her hands firmly in his grasp.
“I love you. I am always going ta love you, and I’m always going ta love your son. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I can promise you this. So, will you marry me again, Tess?”
She had heard him say her name dozens of times. Hundreds, probably. But never, ever had it sounded quite like this. Like a benediction. Like a need, pure and simple and right. And she needed him, too.
So she said, “I will. Again.”
Declan stood and took her in his arms, kissing her softly. “Thank you for giving me hope,” he said.
“Thank you for giving me everything,” she replied.
And in that moment, Tess knew she had all she’d ever need, right there in his arms.
Chapter 33
The old saying that doctors made the worst patients was pure shit, as far as Tess was concerned. Doctors were way hairier to deal with when their loved ones were the patients.
And when the person in the center of their universe was having complicated life-saving surgery as an organ recipient? Doctors were downright impossible.
And by doctors, Tess meant her.
“Oh, my God, why is this taking so long?” Tess asked, pacing the family waiting room for the billionth time.
“It’s not,” Jonah promised her gently from his spot on the couch next to Natalie. “I’ve seen dozens of transplants, Tess, and I’ve assisted on a few more. I swear to you, this one isn’t taking longer than usual.”
“And you want them to be thorough,” Parker said. “Plus, Charlie’s in there. No way is anything bad happening.”
The reminder that Charlie was in the OR took the tiniest sliver out of Tess’s worry. Of course, she wasn’t performing the procedure—surgery this big on your best friend’s spouse hit too close to the “family” mark for their chief of staff, Keith Langston. But she wouldn’t let the surgical team (who, Tess had to admit, had an excellent reputation) screw anything up.
But why was it taking so long?
“Hey, guys,” Connor said, balancing two huge boxes stamped with the Sweetie Pies logo between his hands as he entered the waiting room. “Look who I found out in the hallway.”
“Jack,” Tess said, greeting Saoirse’s husband with a tight hug. “How are you holding up?”
“About as well as you, I’d imagine,” he said, smiling past his obvious concern. “I wanted ta FaceTime with the kids before my mam put them ta bed. It’s gettin’ late in Ireland.”
“Of course,” Tess said. She’d seen countless photos of her niece and nephews over the past week and a half. They were adorable. Good genes, Declan had said.
Her heart tugged at the thought of her own kiddo, who she missed like crazy right now. But this was no place for a baby, so Jackson was at home with Auntie Harlow, and the rest of them were crammed in here, waiting.
“Are you hungry?” Connor asked her gently, placing both boxes on the coffee table and flipping them open. “I got your favorite. Bear claws.” He gestured to the golden, gooey pastry.
Tess shook her head, but smiled. “Save mine? But do me a favor—send two of those crullers down to Don for me?”
“You got it,” he said. But before he could even lean forward to bag up the donuts in question, Charlie came rushing into the waiting room, clad in a surgical gown.
“They’re in recovery,” she said, her mask still hanging loosely around her neck and her smile humongous. “Everything went great, and they’re both stable, with a full recovery expected. Saoirse’s kidney was perfect.”
“Oh, my God,” Tess breathed, her knees threatening to take a leave of absence. “Thank you. Thank you!” She threw her arms around Charlie. Declan was okay. Finally. Finally. He was going to be okay.
She pulled back, her resolve in place. “I want to see him.”
Charlie coughed out a laugh. “You know the deal. You’ve got to give him some time to be extubated and start waking up,” she said, but when Tess opened her mouth to argue, she added, “But give me a minute or two to sweet talk the nurses. You’ll have to gown up, obviously.”
Tess nodde
d, and Charlie’s eyes lit up when she saw the box of donuts on the table.
“Oooo! Save me a couple of those. I’m starved.” She rubbed the tiniest hint of baby bump that was just starting to show beneath her surgical gown.
“If you get me and Jack past those nurses, I’ll buy you a car,” Tess said.
“Come on, then,” Charlie laughed. “Let’s get you reunited.”
It took a tiny bit of doing, but a few minutes and two gown/mask/gloves combos later, Tess and Jack made their way back to the surgical recovery area.
“Ah, Dr. Michaelson,” said the transplant surgeon, his eyes crinkling with the smile hidden by his mask. “I had a feeling we wouldn’t be able to keep you away. Everything went perfectly, just as expected.”
“Thank you. But it’s actually Dr. Riley now.” She might’ve grown up as Jameson and become a doctor with Michaelson, but it had taken a Riley to show her who she really was. Changing her name just felt right.
She gestured to the gurney, where Declan lay facedown and covered by blankets and bandages. “May I sit with him until he wakes up?”
“Of course.”
Tess sent a glance over at Jack, who was already sitting beside Saoirse’s gurney and nodding at something one of the nurses was saying, then carefully took Declan’s hand in her own. She waited patiently, even though it was not one of her virtues (or even in her top one hundred), watching his vitals and murmuring to him quietly until his fingers tightened around hers just slightly.
“Hey. Hey, don’t try to talk, okay?” she said, leaning into his field of vision so he’d know she was there. “It’s me, baby. You’re in recovery, and you did great. Saoirse did great, too. Everything went exactly the way it was supposed to. Just get some rest. I’ve got you.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in an approximation of a smile. He faded in and out of consciousness, not unusual at all for a post-op patient, until finally, his eyes fluttered open and stayed that way.
“There you are,” Tess said. She’d commandeered a stool, and was sitting right at eye level with him. “You feeling okay?”
“Sore,” Declan managed. “Tired.”
“That’s normal. Saoirse is doing well,” she said, because she knew he’d want to know. “Stable, and her vitals are fantastic. Jack’s with her on the other side of the room.”
“Good.” He squeezed her fingers. “Looks like…you saved me after all, love.”
Tess squeezed right back, her heart full and her eyes brimming with happy tears.
“You saved me, too, Irish. You saved me, too.”
Not ready to leave Remington yet? Not to worry! There’s lots of hotness to go with these familiar faces:
Charlie and Parker’s story, BACK TO YOU
Jonah and Natalie’s story, BETTER THAN ME
Connor and Harlow’s story, BETWEEN ME & YOU
Sofia and Emmett’s story, BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
Shae and Capelli’s story, DEEP BURN
Quinn and Luke (the paramedics) story, IN TOO DEEP
And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter right here for all sorts of exclusives, like freebies and giveaways, sale notices, deleted scenes, new releases, and more!
Read on for a sneak peek at the first book in the Station Seventeen series (firefighters and cops and hotness, oh my!), SKIN DEEP.
Kellan made his way up Washington Boulevard, where he’d parked yesterday morning before shift. Funny how quiet the city could be before things like rush hour and regular workdays kicked in, all soft sunlight and clean storefronts. He slid in a breath of cool air, scanning the sidewalk and the two-lane thoroughfare where Station Seventeen was situated.
He saw the woman leaning against his ’68 Camaro from forty feet away.
Kellan’s pulse flared even though his footsteps never faltered. Long, denim-wrapped legs leading to lean muscles and lush, sexy curves. Loose, confident stance that spoke of both awareness and strength. Long, caramel-colored hair that she tossed away from her face as soon as she saw him coming, and God dammit, that was the second time this week he’d been blindsided by Isabella Moreno.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, wincing inwardly as the words crossed his lips. Not that he didn’t feel every inch of the attitude behind them, because after her fuck-up had put his sister’s life in danger three months ago, he so did. But slapping his emotions on his sleeve wasn’t on Kellan’s agenda, good, bad, or extremely pissed off. Of course, Isabella already knew he was chock full of the emotion behind door number three, anyway.
She pushed herself off the Camaro’s cherry red quarter panel, sliding one hand to her unnervingly voluptuous hip while the other remained wrapped around a cup of coffee. “Waiting for you.”
“I got that.” His tone left the what-for part of the question hanging between them, and Kellan had to hand it to her. Moreno wasn’t the type to mince words.
“I need a favor. I want you to walk me through the scene of Monday’s fire.”
Jesus, she had a sense of humor. Also, balls the size of Jupiter. “You want me to take you back to the scene of a fire that gutted a three-story house just to give you a play by play?”
She nodded, her brown eyes narrowing against the sunlight just starting to break past the buildings around them. “That about sums it up, yeah.”
“It’s a little early for you to be punching the clock, isn’t it?” he asked. Most people weren’t even halfway to the door just shy of oh-seven-hundred on a weekday morning.
Moreno? Not most people, apparently. “What can I say? I’m feeling ambitious.”
Kellan resisted the urge to launch a less-than-polite comment about her work ethic, albeit barely. “I already told you and Sinclair everything I know.”
“Okay.” Her shoulders rose and fell beneath her dark gray leather jacket, easy and smooth. “So humor me and walk me through it again anyway.”
His sixth sense took a jab at his gut, prompting him to give the question in his head a voice. “Is this part of the investigation?”
“Why do you ask?” she said, and yeah, that was a no.
“Because you called it a favor, and you just answered my question with a question.”
Moreno paused. “I’m a cop. We do that.”
Nope. No way was he buying this. Not even on her best day. “And I’m a firefighter who’s not interested in putting his ass in a sling just to humor you with an unsanctioned walk-through.”
The RFD might offer a little latitude on firefighters revisiting scenes—a fact Kellan would bet his left nut Moreno damn well knew—but just because he’d worked the job didn’t mean he had carte blanche to prance through the place like a fucking show pony now that the fire was out.
Not that a little thing like protocol seemed to bother Isabella in the least. “Your ass will be fine. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that one from you before.”
The words catapulted out before Kellan could stop them. Moreno flinched, just slightly, but it was enough. “Look, I need to get back onto that scene,” she said. “Are you going to help me or not?”
Kimberly’s books
The Remington Medical Contemporary Standalones (sexy medical romance)
Back to You
Better Than Me
Between Me & You
Beyond Just Us
Baby, it’s Cold Outside
The Station Seventeen Engine Standalones (super-sexy firefighter/cop romantic suspense):
Deep Trouble (prequel, with 1,001 Dark Nights)
Skin Deep
Deep Check
Deep Burn
In Too Deep
Forever Deep (companion novella to Skin Deep)
Down Deep
The Cross Creek series (available in KU):
Crossing Hearts (second chance lovers)
Crossing the Line (opposites attract)
Crossing Promises (friends to lovers/workplace romance)
Crossing Hope (forbidd
en lovers)
The Line series (chef/first responder contemporary novellas):
Love On The Line
Drawing The Line
Outside The Lines
Pushing The Line
All four books available in a bundle: The Line Collection
And for a look at my sexy standalone, Just One Taste, click here!
For the Pine Mountain series, click here.
Beyond Just Us (Remington Medical Book 4): A Single Parent Marriage of Convenience Romance Page 29