“In such a short time, my life changed in ways I never knew it could and yet, with my ladybug, I’ve never been so happy. Hard times, yes, but never regret. She’s like my own little daughter. My life would end if something happened to her.”
A voice screamed in his head to not say the words he was itching to say. She’ll break your heart again if you do it. She’s done it before.
However, Micah threw caution to the winds.
“No, it wouldn’t end, because I would be there.”
***
Savannah glanced up from the contemplation of her niece to take in the intense regard of Micah’s amber eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Her breath lodged in her throat. Micah had looked at her like this before. It was the day he proposed to her. When he knelt on the ground in the rain, soaked to the bone but unheeding of it. When everything between them hummed with the distinct tinge of destiny. They were meant to be together.
Now this feeling of destiny, of rightness, surged between them anew. The answering throb of her heart as Micah took a step, and then another, let her know he must feel the same pulse as she did.
“I’m asking you to marry me, Savannah.”
A gasp from behind her intruded on the moment. The nurse who had been there stared at them with cow eyes. “Oh, this is all so strangely romantic,” the woman gushed. “It’s like one of those unrealistic medical dramas.”
“Do you mind?” Savannah said, irritated someone else was witness to this very intimate moment.
The nurse blinked owlishly. “I’m sorry, honey, but your man picked the wrong place to stage a proposal. I’m sure there are better places to ask a woman to marry you than in the ICU unit of the hospital. I’ve got to watch this little one. But I’ll try to keep quiet.”
Savannah tugged on the end of her braid in an attempt to retain some composure. “Let’s talk about this later, Micah.” She didn’t want to talk about it later, though. The hum of this thing between them was tangible. An invisible thread which united them.
He’d just asked her to marry him again. How should she respond? Could they simply turn back the clock and pretend the betrayal and abandonment hadn’t happened?
Hadn’t his kiss soothed her? She blushed at the memory. Both instances earlier today, when theycameso terribly close to touching lips had been thwarted. When he held her in his arms outside on the floor, the panic receded. The touch of his lips along her face had stirred her. There were not memories or hidden agendas to stop her. Her tears had dried and like a magnet, she turned to capture his mouth with her own. At the contact, she felt whole again.
“I don’t care if she tells it to every single person in this hospital. I don’t care who listens to what I have to say to you.”
He grabbed her hands and clasped them in his big, warm ones. “Savvy, I believe Liliana is going to come out of this fine. And I want to be there when we take her home.”
“Home?” she repeated softly.
“Home is wherever you are, Savvy.” His voice deepened. He let go of her hands and traced a long finger down the side of her face. “You’re so perfect. So perfect.”
“Micah—”
“No, let me finish. I love you, Savannah. After all this time, I have never stopped loving you. When I met you, all the sick, empty places in my heart had been healed. You’re my cure. I wanted to stop because it hurt so much when you went away. It was the reason why I moved away from New York to Chicago. The city wasn’t big enough or busy enough to rid me of your presence.”
A hand drifted to her throat. She was too moved to say much of anything to this declaration. Micah had put into semblance the very thing she’d experienced when they parted. A sudden thought made her gasp inwardly. Had that been the true reason why she stopped modeling? At the time, she blamed it on events with Nascha and for a desire to not deal with the mind games; the industry had a way of screwing around with a person’s self-image.
Had Micah been the real reason? Before, when she went on the road,shealwayswantedto hurry back to see Micah. No matter how busy his schedule,he madetime for her. Drop everythingon a dime and rush to her side.
She went back to New York after three weeks of being abroad and found herself alone. How she detested that feeling. Alone. There was no answering call in her heart as she waited for Micah to ring the bell. No rush of pleasure as they prepared to hike in the woods outside the city. No quiet evenings spent over the table to chat about whatever came to mind. No quick burst through the rain to see the latest superhero movie, or his indulgent smile as she bought chocolate bars and sweet cakes.
There had been nothing to come back to New Yorkfor.
Now here they were, in a desolate situation, and she felt invigorated. Alive…simply because he was there.
“I don’t want to live life without you again. I don’t want to go back to that horrible existence.”
He came closer until he blocked the overhead lights. All she could see was the love shining in his eyes. Unfettered, untamed, and ubiquitously hers. It had belonged to her since the beginning of time. It would remain hers long after time ceased to be.
“Well, I guess we have a problem then.” She sighed.
His eyebrows came together in the center of his forehead. “What problem? What could possibly be the problem?”
“I can only say ‘yes’ in one language.”
Micah went stone still for a split second. And then he lifted her into his arms. “Oh, Savvy.”
Sudden tears wet her eyes and she gave a watery laugh. “Believe me, I wish I knew the word ‘yes’ in twenty languages so I could—”
His kiss stopped the rest of what she was going to say. They stood there in the center of the room, their bodies so close together, Savannah didn’t know where she ended and he began. But then, such distinctions didn’t matter.
Micah’s lips roved over her gently, caressing her with the same butterfly light motion of his fingers. His mouth never left hers as he traced her hairline, the curve of her eyebrow, the contour of her cheeks, and the length of her neck. Her legs almost lost strength at the overwhelming tenderness.
When he raised his head, she groaned at the loss.
“If I died this very minute, no one would be as happy as I am in this moment.”
She smiled, recalling the words he had said long ago. “Oh, Micah.”
He didn’t say anything but smile at her. With a motion toward the bed where Liliana lay, he gave her another glance and she knew what he wanted to do.
They both descended on their knees,heads bowed. They prayed silently together for long moments. For herself, Savannah was full of joy and hope. Liliana would come through this. God would heal her and bring her back better than before. Micah would be at her side and would never leave her again.
“Dear God,” Micah began to pray out loud, “I ask that you hear our prayers and heal…”
All of a sudden, Micah’s voice broke and a deep sob ripped from him. Savannah didn’t know what to think, so she reached over to grab his hand but stopped when she heard, “…heal my daughter.”
Savannah’s tears fell in earnest. Now she knew why Micah cried.
“Heal my daughter,” he continued, his voice heavy with weeping, but she knew they were tears mixed with both faith and joy. “Help her mother and me in this difficult time.”
He said more but Savannah didn’t hear him, for her own tears had drowned out his prayers. They were going to be together like they should have been from the start. They were being given a second chance. Another opportunity to be man and wife in the way she’d secretly hoped for. It was everything she had dreamed.
Micah pulled her to him and rested his chin on top of her. This is where she wanted to be…forever.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt you.”
They both jumped, having completely forgotten about the nurse who had been the sole witness to their vows to each other. Savannah, slightly horrified, wiped her face.
“Sorry,
we’re going now.” Micah told the woman as he stood, helping Savannah to her feet as well.
“This has probably been the best night of my life in a long time. But it’s not that. There are two women outside staring at you both but they don’t look none too happy about it.”
Savannah whirled around. “Tish and Connie, what are you doing here?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Savannah hurried out of the room, hearing Micah close behind her. Tisha and Connie stood there, and they bristled with dark emotion.
“We’re here because you called us and told us to get up here as fast as possible.”
Savannah blinked. “I did?”
“Yes,” Tisha replied, her hazel eyes intent. “We raced up here together because we knew you needed us.”
“I just didn’t think you needed us in more than one way,” Connie said as she twirled the pencil in her hair.
“I don’t understand.” Savannah hadn’t a clue what they were implying.
“Oh, don’t give me that. What is Micah doing here in the first place?”
“Micah is here because I asked him to come.”
Savannah gave a dry cough. Bad enough the nurse had heard everything she and Micah had said to each other. Worse for her friends, who loved her dearly, should be witness to the same event as well.
She glanced back at Micah. His eyes were wary but he gave a single nod.
Savannah took in a deep breath. Might as well get it over with. “Micah did ask me a question. He asked me to marry him.”
“What the—!” Tisha exclaimed. Her mouth dropped.
“Savvy, you can’t be serious.” Connie took a step toward her. “Say it isn’t so.”
“It’s so,” Savannah told them.
Micah’s large hand rested on the cap of her shoulder and she felt the tension, which had slowly risen, recede. Everything was going to be okay.
“And I bet you said yes to him, didn’t you? How could you do something as stupid and asinine as that?” Tisha’s dreadlocks swished emphatically with each word.
“Yeah. Have you forgotten what he did to Nascha?” Connie glared.
“I believe I told you once before to leave that subject alone,” Micah interjected. “You don’t know the full story nor its nuances, so I suggest you drop it.”
“Do I look like a kid to you?” Tisha snarled. “I don’t know what kind of voodoo you put on Savvy but I refuse to let her make the biggest mistake of her life!”
“Yeah,” Connie added. “What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t say anything?”
Savannah willed her friends to not say anything else. But before she could open her mouth, Tisha added, “She gained twenty pounds and stuffed her face with sweets. She stopped modeling. But the really bad stuff happened when Nascha died.”
“You weren’t there when Savannah nearly had a breakdown,” Connie pushed.
“Breakdown? What are you talking about?” Micah had come from behind her and stood next to her. “What breakdown?”
“Tish, Connie—” Savannah tried to intervene. Why bring up things that were better left unsaid?
But were they better left unsaid? a small voice asked. Shouldn’t Micah know?
“It was bad enough when you left, but when Nascha died, you weren’t there, Micah. Savanah had lost it. One of her dearest friends had died and you weren’t there. She begged you to come and you didn’t come.”
“I had no reason to come to the funeral of the woman who lied on me.” Micah seethed. Fury emanated from every line of his body. “Wild horses couldn’t have dragged me there.”
“Nascha didn’t lie, Micah. But the woman who was your former fiancé should have been important enough for you to skip out on your pride and go to her.” Tisha’s hand fisted. “Savannah wrote that letter because she was trying to reach out to you. She didn’t want to text you or give you a call. You would have ignored her. But when she wrote the letter, she needed you there.”
“Did you know how long she waited at the grave site? She waited for hours, Micah. Hours. The grave diggers had already placed her friend’s body in the ground and had left. Still she stayed, hoping you would show up. And you didn’t.” Connie pointed a finger. “When we came to her house, she was sitting in the middle of the floor, holding a picture of you two and just staring at it. All around her, she’d ripped up her wedding dress into confetti.”
Why had they brought up that awful time? She could barely recall the day after she came home. She remembered picking up her wedding dress, but things were vague then. The guilt that somehow, by the very fact she’d met Micah, she caused the events that led to Nascha’s demise. She’d thought by not marrying him, she’d done enough to absolve herself, but the cold gravestone had shown she hadn’t done nearly enough.
Nor had the love she felt for Micah left like she thought it would.
“Savannah, is this true?”
She didn’t answer him. “Look, girls. I know you both are looking out for me, but I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you? Why would you want to be with him when he refused to admit his incompetence?”
“Look, Tisha and Connie.” Micah wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It seemed heavier to her for some reason. “I am not the reason Nascha committed suicide, do you understand? Now, it’s late, and we all need to get back to our beds.”
“Oh no,” Tisha wagged her finger like a teacher to a small child. “Savannah has to accept the truth.”
The former joy which had encapsulated them before they walked out of Liliana’s room dissipated like fog in the sunshine. What Connie and Tisha said was true. Despite everything both she and Micah longed for, besides the love they had for each other, Micah was the cause behind Nascha’s death.
How could she forget that?
“Look, Savannah now knows I’m innocent. We’re going to be married and that’s it. There’s simply nothing you can do about it. I’m not going to let anyone break us up again.”
“There certainly is something we can do. We’re going to talk some sense into her,” Connie answered back.
Their voices faded. Nascha’s face appeared in front of her like a specter. The ugly disfigurement of her lips ballooned to where she could see every twisted detail. “How can you marry a man who can do this to me?” Those were the words Nascha had used over and over again at one point or another.
“Savvy, will you tell them you do believe me so we can drop this and go home?”
Home. Home to her dead sister and brother-in-law’s house. Home to the memory of being left alone at the grave.
Those amber eyes narrowed. “Savannah, just tell them.”
She couldn’t say the words. She believed he was guilty as sin.
A pleat crinkled the center of Micah’s forehead. His features had lost the soft edges of his hopes and dreams which had been evident when they knelt side by side in Liliana’s room. The prayer he offered to God and its calming surety had vanished. Now the planes of his face tautened.
“You still think I’m guilty?”
Savannah gulped. Why did Tisha and Connie have to show up? Why did she call them when she’d already spoken to Micah? Was it because some part of her wanted them to say these words? To bring up the past so she wouldn’t be swayed by him?
“Yes, Micah. I do.”
His arm fell away as he stumbled back like an invisible fist had launched itself at his chest.
“You can’t be serious.” Micah’s voice rose with incredulity. “After all we said to each other, you still believe that woman’s lies?”
A voice screamed inside her head. You’re about to cut the thread of destiny. You’re going to give up your chance at happiness.
“I—I—”
“I don’t believe it. You can’t do this to me.”
“What was she supposed to do?” Connie snorted. “Act as if none of this had happened?”
Micah backed away from her like she’d had a contagious disease.
Savannah felt some
thing die inside. For those moments in Liliana’s room, she thought it was possible to get rid of the past and move forward to a new tomorrow. A new tomorrow with them as husband and wife, caring for their niece.
Had she been kidding herself? Obviously there was a bad joke being played here. She couldn’t trust Micah to admit the truth of his wrongdoing. There was no way he would. He hadn’t in three years and wouldn’t now.
Something in Micah’s gaze seemed broken. His eyes carried a depth of sadness she almost responded to. Was she killing him softly?
Mentally, she shook the thought away.
“Savvy, you have to believe me. Please, believe me,” Micah pleaded with her.
Pride gone, once more. Shouldn’t that mean something? Nascha’s face appeared once again. “You can’t marry him, Savannah. Not after this.”
Savannah squared her shoulders and held his gaze. “There’s nothing you can say that would change my mind.”
***
Oh dear God, please let this be a nightmare. At least if this is a nightmare, I can wake up from it.
Micah’s plea went unheeded. Savannah stood still there with her clear, two-tone gaze and reinforced the words of her belief of his guilt. Micah took a step back. His legs almost collapsed from the crushing, invisible weight that threatened to send him to the ground to wallow in a black, bottomless pit.
“There’s nothing you can say that would change my mind.”
What had he been trying to tell her when they were in Liliana’s room? That he loved her. Surely the fact of his love was proof enough of his innocence. Could a man love any woman, be it wife, mother, or friend, and still lie to her if he was guilty? Perhaps some could, but that was not Micah.
They had kissed on the both sides of the door, an exchange he thought for sure meant that Savannah was now ready to believe in his innocence.
Idiot! How could he have fallen for the same trick twice? He poured his heart out to her. He trusted her once again and look where it got him. Betrayed once again. Heartbroken again!
The Cure (A Michigan Sweet Romance #1) Page 13