Saving Our Hearts

by Velvet Reed

  When we get to the hospital, Olivia parks the car near the front entrance. “We’re going to the ER, right?” I ask.

  She doesn’t answer as she exits the car and removes Cooper’s car seat. My door suddenly opens, and my dad is there to help me out. “Daddy, is Charlie okay?”

  He smiles at me and kisses my cheek. “He’s fine, Sweet Pea. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  I stare at him in confusion. “Then why did we have to rush down here and why was Ruby at the garage with you guys?”

  He closes the door behind me, and takes Cooper’s car seat from Olivia. “We’ll worry about all that later. Come on. He’s waiting.”

  I don’t know what the hell is going on but my anxiety is increasing, and I can feel a panic attack coming on.

  We cross the parking lot with dad and Olivia keeping pace with me and my crutches, and I notice there are a lot of people milling around. As we step up onto the path that leads to the main entrance of the hospital, Olivia stops me. “I love you so much, honey. Just keep walking to the doors, okay?”

  I furrow my brow in confusion as she walks away from me. “Where are you going?” I call after her.

  She turns back and smiles wide. “Just walk to the doors, Gracie.”

  What the fuck is going on? Has everyone gone mad today?

  I turn to looking for my dad, but he’s nowhere to be seen... cue panic attack. Where the hell has he taken Cooper?

  Taking my first hurried steps toward the hospital, my ears are assaulted with an upbeat tune that I recognize instantly. Oh. My. God! My heart rate spikes and beats rapidly against my chest and I draw in a breath when hospital staff line the path with their attention focused on me.

  As the words of the song start, I know it’s not Bruno Mars’ voice I’m hearing. It’s Cole's, and he’s singing “Marry You”. I search the path and surrounding grounds trying to find him only to see Ruby walk out from behind the people that line the path way with a single yellow rose in her hand. She smiles up at me, and signs, ‘Cole loves you’. Trying to hold myself together, I smile down at her, and she motions for me to move forward, so I do with her walking beside me.

  Cole’s singing continues and then Brad from the garage is dancing out from behind the trees halting my progress. I stop, completely surprised by his appearance. He kisses me on the cheek and says, “Cole’s crazy about you," and then he hands another yellow rose to Ruby.

  A few more steps forward and Allison and the girls from Flaunting My Flowers, Mary and Andy, come dancing out together causing me to giggle. They kiss my cheeks and say in unison, “Cole cherishes you” and hands Ruby three more roses.

  I can’t believe this is happening. I’m on an emotional roller coaster. I’m ecstatic and happy and scared all at the same time. Mostly overwhelmed that Cole would go to such lengths to do this. God, I hope he’s doing what I think he’s doing.

  Ashley and Sam come out next performing some little line dancing number that has them twirling and clapping to the beat. Their routine is beyond hilarious as they move closer to me with each twirl. “Cole treasures you,” they tell me. Their smiles are huge when they kiss me and add more roses to Ruby’s collection. “Keep moving,” Ashley whispers before she dances away.

  I’m looking for Cole again as I continue moving forward when April and Charlie, who looks perfectly healthy, block my path doing John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever moves. The smile on my face conveys the sheer joy that seeing all the people I love involved in this moment brings me. They kiss each cheek at the same time and move back to bow theatrically. “Cole worships you,” they announce and hand over their roses. Charlie places a kiss on top of Ruby’s head before moving away.

  The hospital staff members in their colorful array of scrubs and uniforms are dancing in place along the path. How they can all be out of the hospital right now I don’t know, but it just adds more meaning to the moment. I notice a few nurses who looked after me after the accident as well as Julia from the NICU. This is truly incredible.

  Olivia and John tango out of the crowd next, their roses clenched between their teeth. John spins Olivia around and then dips her so she’s looking at me upside down. They straighten and remove the roses handing them over to Rubes. “Cole adores you, Gracie,” John says with a wink.

  “And so do the rest of us,” Olivia adds as she wipes a stray tear from her face. They kiss and hug me, and gesture me forward.

  I’m not far from the door now but there’s still no sign of Cole. A few more steps and I stop when my dad walks out and places Cooper’s car seat in the middle of the path. He bends down, presses his fingers to his lips and then touches them to Cooper’s legs before standing up and staring at me.

  His eyes are glazed over and I feel mine began to tear up. He smiles at me, and then starts doing the most ridiculous dance of them all, causing me to laugh along with everyone else around me. He’s swing his arms from side to side while making a silly face. When he stops in front of me, he kisses my forehead. “Cole’s completely devoted to you, Sweet Pea.” My beautiful dad hands Ruby his rose, but then leans back to me, pulls me into his loving arms and whispers, “Just remember who loved you first, Gracie.”

  I can’t hold the tears back now and take the last few steps to Cooper’s car seat. He’s wide-awake and wriggling a little. There, lying cross his legs, are two more yellow roses and my favorite photo of my mom. I lose it... I completely lose it and have to let go of my crutches to cover my face as I sob. I hold nothing back, and I’m so overwhelmed by the fact that even though she's been gone a very long time, Cole still managed to involve my mom in one of the biggest events of my life.

  Cole starts singing the final part of the song as I stand here crying. When a warm hand caresses my cheek, I look up blinking rapidly as he brushes my tears away with his thumb. The music finishes and there’s a pause before Cole sings, “Grace Margaret Rivers, I know I want to marry you.”

  My tears continue their relentless journey down my face as Cole drops to one knee. It’s only now I realize he’s wearing his blue scrubs, just like he was the first time I saw him. He reaches into Cooper’s capsule and removes something, before looking up at me his beautiful blue eyes full of emotion.

  “Gracie, the moment I walked into exam room two on this day exactly one year ago and saw you, my soul found its mate. I fell for you hard and fast, and when we found out our families had a special connection, I knew it was fate. We’ve been through so much since that first day, and we’ve made it through together, only proving that nothing can keep us apart. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of and everything I never thought I’d have.” He stops and takes a breath, his eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

  “I never knew true love until you came into my life, and you give it to me unconditionally. Then you gave me Cooper when my heart was breaking, and he’s the little miracle that saved both our hearts.” He looks down at Cooper and back up to me.

  “I’ll never need another thing as long as I have you and your love, Gracie. And I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you, being crazy about you, cherishing you, treasuring you, worshiping you, adoring you and being completely devoted to you. I love you, Grace. Will you marry me?”

  My heart bursts with happiness and love. With tears streaming down our faces, there’s no way I’m going to leave him waiting. “Yes! Oh, God, yes!” I announce loudly so the whole world can hear.

  Cole’s on his feet instantly. He lifts me up and kisses me soundly, both of us giving in to the love and passion we share, making everyone else fade away. Our tongues dance and our lips rejoice as we pour our overwhelming happiness into this embrace. Loud cheers and clapping alert us to the fact that we still have an audience, and we break our kiss only to continue gazing into each other eyes and professing our love to one another.

  Placing me back on feet, he takes my left hand and slides on the most exquisite ring I’ve ever seen. “It’s incredible, Cole. Absolutely beautiful.” I cup his face and pull h
im in for another kiss.

  “Sweet Cheeks, I want you to know that since we’ve been through so much here at the hospital, I thought this would be the perfect way to erase the bad and make a happy memory here,” he confesses.

  “I would never in my wildest dreams have expected a marriage proposal like that, babe. You outdid yourself. It was perfect.”

  We’re still in our own little bubble when Cole asks, “Have you noticed anything familiar about your ring?”

  I look down at the sparkling diamond and platinum band that is encrusted with small diamonds down each side; it's spectacular and on closer inspection, I realize what he means. My voice cracks when I say, “It’s my mom’s engagement ring.” Smiling, he nods and turns away. I follow his gaze and see my dad smiling and crying at the same time and of course that sets me off again.

  “I love you so much, Cole Tierney, and I’m never letting you go.” I throw myself back into his arms and crash my lips to his once more.

  “Okay, okay, break it up. There’s a whole line of people here waiting to say congratulations,” Charlie chuckles and is the first to hug us both. "Congratulations, little sister. I’m so happy for you.” He kisses me cheek and turns to Cole. “Hurt her and I’ll break your pretty face.” He chuckles again, “I’m just kidding. Congrats, man, I couldn’t have picked a better man for Gracie myself.”

  “Thanks, Charlie, that means a lot,” Cole replies.

  I end up sitting on a bench beside the path with Ruby on my lap and the fourteen long-stem yellow roses beside me, while the next twenty minutes or so are filled with our family and friends hugging and kissing us, and with me thanking them for helping Cole make this one of the happiest moments of my life.

  Looking around at the people gathered, I realize there are so many more than those who were involved in the proposal. Not only the hospital staff, but even board members, people who are probably visiting their loved ones and a few photographers.

  I know I don’t have to worry about Cooper because Olivia has him with her and John while they chat with my dad and a few other people. Cole, Sam, Charlie and Brad are having a laugh with some hospital staff, and the girls are giggling as they compare everyone’s dance moves.

  I watch the scene around me with a serene smile plastered on my face. Everyone I love and care about is happy. I have my mother’s engagement ring on my finger, signifying my own engagement to the man of my dreams, and I have a beautiful baby boy. Life truly doesn’t get any better than this.

  Chapter 26

  Cole...

  She said yes! I’m officially engaged to the love of my life, and I’m sitting high on cloud nine.

  After having photos taken for the local newspaper, as per the hospital board’s request, and way too many congratulations to remember, everyone was heading to our place for the preplanned celebratory late lunch – early dinner. Bryan’s garage was closed and so was Ashley’s shop; everyone had the day off to be part of today for Gracie and me.

  I managed to convince Gracie to let Mom and Dad take Cooper home and have her come with me in the Camaro; it's what I’ve been driving to work since the accident. She was reluctant to leave him at first, but I begged for a few minutes alone as a newly engaged couple and she finally agreed.

  I take her hand and entwine our fingers as we watch my parents drive away. “He’ll be fine, you know that, right?” I ask.

  She turns to me and gives me a small reluctant smile. “I know. It’s just hard not being with him and making sure he’s okay.”

  “Well, we won’t be too long. I just wanted some time alone with you my soon-to-be wife.”

  A full-blown smile now takes over her features, and I marvel at her beauty. This woman is mine. “I still don’t understand how you all kept today a secret and how you managed to get all those staff members from the hospital there,” she says as we walk to the car.

  “It wasn’t an easy secret to keep, trust me. April and Allison played a huge part in planning this with me. I asked the board’s permission to stage the whole thing here, and they agreed on the condition that the newspaper covers the story to put some positive publicity out there after the negative stuff of late.” I refuse to mention the Troy situation to Gracie and have his name spoil or day.

  “The hospital staff... well, word kind of spread about what I was planning and people who were on their lunch breaks joined in and many of them actually came in on their day off just to help me out. Everyone knows what we’ve been through, Gracie, and they wanted to see us get our happily ever after.”

  I finish saying this just as we make it to the car, and I’ve opened her door. Gracie doesn’t attempt to get in though. She leans her crutches against the doorframe, then wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer. “You do realize that after pulling off a wedding proposal like that, you are going to get seriously laid for the next decade, right?”

  Grabbing her gorgeous ass, I press my body tight with hers so she can feel every inch of my now hard cock. “Baby, if that’s the case, then I’m just going to have to outdo myself with the wedding to ensure I have a lifetime of getting seriously laid.”

  She throws back her head and laughs. “I really don’t think we’re going to have to worry about our sex life, do you?”

  I know she can feel my hard-on against her stomach, but I grab her hand from my neck and move it so it covers my cock to prove a point. Her eyes smolder with heat at the contact. “Gracie, this is what you do to me with just a few words. This is what happens when I think about you. I can assure you, baby, I'm going to have you screaming my name in ecstasy for the next fifty or so years.”

  “I can certainly live with that,” she replies and then kisses me. I return the kiss, sweeping my tongue across her lip asking for entrance. She obliges and we deepen the contact, moaning lightly into each other’s mouths. The hand on my crotch starts rubbing my cock while her other hand tangles in the hair at my nape. The friction on my cock has me on the verge of exploding in my pants, and I have to break the kiss before I embarrass myself, not only in front of Gracie but in public, because yet again, we’ve both forgotten where we are.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I mumble against her lips as I press one last kiss there.

  Pouting, Gracie eases into the car while I deal with her crutches. God, I can’t wait to get rid of these things. Jogging around the other side of the car, I slide in and glance at Gracie. The desire in her eyes does nothing to alleviate the throbbing hard-on I have. There’s no way I can take her straight back to the house when we’re both hot and ready, so I make a snap decision, put the car in drive and head out of the parking lot.

  After a few minutes of driving, Gracie realizes that we aren’t heading in the direction of home. “Babe, where are we going? Everyone’s going to be waiting for us back at the house.”

  I place my hand on her thigh and slowly glide it in up her leg. “They can entertain themselves for a while. We’ve got some unfinished business to attend to, and I don’t plan on having an audience while we do it.”

  Her cheeks flush red in understanding, and damn, I’d loved to pull over and to take her right here and now. “Cole,” she whispers breathlessly and I know she’s just as turned on as I am.

  A few more excruciating minutes pass, I’m pulling into my parents’ driveway and hitting the garage door button. When I’ve parked the Camaro inside, I hit the switch again and the door closes behind us, I don’t want anyone knowing where we’ve escaped. I’m out of the car and helping Gracie out in seconds.

  “You do realize we can’t do anything here, babe. Mom has everything set up meticulously for the party and if a single thing is out of place, she’s going to know about it,” Gracie says while looking at me forlornly.

  Shit! I hadn’t even thought of that. The only thing on my mind was privacy and with my parents at our house, I thought this would be the perfect place to come. As I try to think of an alternative... any alternative, Gracie hobbles past me to the front of the car.

/>   “You know, ever since I bought this car, I’ve fantasized about having sex on the hood. It’s such a sexy car and well... since no one’s around, and we can’t make use of a bed...” Gracie’s husky voice trails off leaving very appealing images dancing through my mind. Hell, yeah! That’s one fantasy we’re going to make come true right here, right now.

  I take a few steps until I’m standing in front of Gracie, and without saying a word, I wrap my hands around her waist, pick her up and sit her on the hood of the car. We stare at each other a moment, both our chests rising and falling rapidly as the anticipation of what’s about to happen increases. When it gets too much, I’m on her, my hands cupping her face and pulling her lips to mine as I capture them in searing kiss. This is no gentle embrace; it’s hot and needy, and full of pent-up desire and passion.

  We’re frantically pulling at each other’s shirts, but it’s getting us nowhere. We’re so desperate to be together that we’re hindering any progress. Moving my head back, Gracie whimpers as I break the kiss. “Let me get these clothes off you, baby,” I say and grab the hem of her shirt as she raises her arms to help me get it off.

  “Your turn,” she says, so I reach back and drag my scrub shirt over my head and off.

  Her gorgeous breasts are still incased in a sexy pink bra so that’s the next thing to go. As soon as I’ve got if off, my mouth devours her right nipple as I caress her left breast. Gracie moans and arches her body toward me offering more. I kiss my way across to the other nipple and nip at it, causing Gracie to gasp and then moan again as I lave it with my tongue to soothe the sting.

  “I need more, Cole,” she pants, and I know what she means because God knows I need more too, but before I take her for the first time as my fiancée, I want to spread her out across the hood and taste every single bit of her.