by Kaylin Evans
“Could you send out a meeting invite to everyone in the apartment for this afternoon?” I ask her. “We have additional news to share.”
She nods again and I walk past her en route to my office.
As soon as I get inside, I close the door and smile. Damn, that felt good. I’ve been dodging Trish’s advances for months, stringing her along instead of telling her nothing was going to happen between us, all because some small part of me wasn’t ready to let go of that playboy attitude and it felt good to be wanted. But now I know that the only woman I need to feel wanted by is Alyssa, and I’m done playing games.
I’m the chief—or co-chief, which is fine by me. And what I say goes.
29
Alyssa
I float through the rest of my workday, then stop by my apartment after my shift ends to let Hattie and Carl know that I’m not dead, I haven’t been abducted, and I’m also not planning to leave Hemlock Hills anytime soon.
“You’re probably not coming back here though, eh?” Hattie asks, nodding to my half of the duplex.
I furrow my brow. “Why do you think that?”
“You’ve got that hunk now,” she says. “You’re shacking up with him, right?”
“Hattie, please,” Carl says, exasperated at the suggestion.
She waves her hand dismissively. “Oh please, Carl, join us in the twenty-first century.”
I laugh. “I’m with Carl, actually. Sawyer and I haven’t been dating nearly long enough to move in together.”
“But these things have a way of moving fast when they’re right,” Hattie says. “Carl and I were only going steady for a couple of months before we were married.”
“That’s because I wanted to get in your knickers,” Carl points out, and she smacks his arm.
“Go inside and take your pill,” she reminds him. “I’ll be there in a few.” He chuffs and turns slowly to go back into the house. When we’re alone, Hattie says, “He’s more romantic than he lets on.”
“Well, you’ve been together for how many years?” I ask.
“Forty-two and counting,” she says, clearly proud as she smiles at me. “And I have a feeling about you and that handsome doctor. Before you know it, you’ll be standing on your front porch, telling a cute young girl about the forty years of wedded bliss you’ve enjoyed.”
I smile. “I hope that’s true.”
She winks. “It will be, mark my words.”
I let her know that I’ll be staying at Sawyer’s apartment for at least another night, and I also fill her in on my dad drama just in case he makes a reappearance, even though it sounds like Sawyer ran him off for good.
Then Hattie says, “Well, I ought to get back in there and see if Carl’s meds are working yet.”
I know I shouldn’t ask because he’s not my patient, but out of professional curiosity and neighborly concern, I do. “What does he take medicine for?”
“Me,” Hattie says, and then she holds up a fist and pops her index finger straight out, giving me a lascivious chuckle.
It’s everything I can do not to let my jaw drop. I tell her to have a good night and she says she definitely will. Then Hattie goes back inside and I scurry to my car as fast as I can, before I have a chance to hear anything.
I was planning on actually going inside my apartment, picking up a few changes of clothes and a couple other small things, but now I can’t risk it. Instead, I drive out to a hiking trail at the base of the mountain and park my car at the trailhead. It’s a nice day and the sun isn’t going down for another couple of hours. I’m already wearing sneakers, and I could use a little exercise that doesn’t involve jogging the steps or making rounds through the halls of the hospital.
I get out of my car, bringing just my phone and my keys as I start a slow hike through the pines at the base of the mountain. The terrain here is pretty flat, but there are plenty of trails branching off this one that will me you all the way up the mountain in winding paths.
While I walk, I call my sister. She picks up on the third ring.
“Alyssa?”
“Hey, got a minute?”
“Sure,” she says. “I just got home from work.”
“I just got off too,” I tell her. “Guess who got the chief of surgery job?”
Taylor squeals so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. “Seriously? Congratulations! Is Dr. Stone totally pissed off?”
“Actually… he’s going to be the co-chief,” I say.
“Umm, what?”
Now she doesn’t know what to think, and before she ends up assuming I’m mad about this development and that it’s somehow screwed me over, I hurry up and explain the whole thing to her. Then I tell her the latest in the Dad saga, and cap it all off with the news that Sawyer told me he loves me and I realized I love him back.
When I’m finally done, the line is dead silent and I have to say, “Tay, are you still there?”
“Yeah, just digesting,” she says. “That was a lot of info.”
“Well, I wanted to catch you up but mostly I was calling to warn you that Dad’s probably coming back your way, if he hasn’t gotten there already.”
“Haven’t seen him yet,” Taylor says.
“Please don’t let him walk all over you,” I say. “It took me a long time to learn that lesson, and if it wasn’t for Sawyer, I’d probably still be trying to outrun Dad. If he gives you crap, or even if he doesn’t and you just want a fresh start, come out here. You can stay with me and I’ll talk to the chief about finding you a job at the hospital. I’ve got hiring power now.”
She laughs. “You think I’m cut out for the surgical department? No offense, but blood is not my thing.”
“No offense, but you are not qualified to work for me,” I shoot right back. “I’m sure I could get you a reception job, though, or worst-case scenario, you could work the coffee cart. You’d be bored out of your mind but you’d earn tips, and doctors tip well.”
“You’re trying awfully hard to get me to come out there,” she observes. “Either you want me to be there as an excuse for why you can’t spend time with Sawyer, or you want me to take over your lease so you can move in with him and have like, ten thousand of his babies.”
“Shut up,” I answer.
She laughs again. “So I take it the answer is the latter?”
Now it’s my turn to be a little quiet and contemplative. I’m walking past a little stream of clear, sparkling water, probably melted snow that’s run off the snow-capped peaks of the mountain. It’s peaceful out here, and warm and relaxing. And I don’t have to think long to realize the answer is yes.
I want to be with Sawyer in a permanent kind of way, and I even want to have kids with him. Not tomorrow—God, not tomorrow—but eventually. When the time is right.
And right now? I want to go back to his place, strip down to my lacy underwear, and be waiting to pounce the moment he opens the door.
I come back to the present moment and tell my sister, “I’ve got to go right now, but I’m serious about you coming to live here if it’s what you want. Just let me know and I’ll help you, okay?”
“Okay, thank you,” Taylor says. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you, Tay.”
I hang up and jog the rest of the way back to my car. I don’t want to wait another second to begin the rest of my life with Sawyer Stone: cocky surgeon, teddy bear at heart, all mine.
Epilogue
Sawyer
One year later
It’s been one of the best years of my life. After we got through a little initial adjustment period, Alyssa and I slid pretty easily into our new co-chief roles. I learned that I don’t hate doing administrative stuff as much as I thought I would, and Alyssa has taken a few of the surg techs under her wing, including—surprisingly—Trish.
With everything going so well at work, I was sort of tensed for a while to expect the rest of my life to blow up in my face, but the opposite has been true. For the first time ever, I�
�m a man in love, completely and utterly dedicated to one woman and—another big surprise—I don’t mind it one bit.
Alyssa’s sister ended up moving to town and crashing on Alyssa’s couch, although she drew the line at letting her big sister get a job for her too. She’s been slinging sandwiches over at Atomic Sub and she seems content for now. Alyssa’s sure happy to have her sister back in her life, and I’ve been pleased with the sleeping arrangements. With Taylor at her place, Alyssa started sleeping over with me more often, and after about three months of that, I asked her to move in with me.
It was a big move—a sort of scary one that I needed Ryder and Erin to talk me into. But once it was done and Alyssa started calling my place home, all my doubts dissolved.
I ended up patching things up with Silas, just like I promised I would, and that went more smoothly than I’d feared too. My whole family came out to Hemlock Hills for Christmas and it was perfect. Sensing a pattern here? Ever since I met Alyssa, I’ve been wondering if I’ve spent my whole life making things more difficult than they need to be.
No more, though. I’m a reformed man and everything is easy with my woman at my side.
Well, everything except complicated flight changes and international customs. Alyssa and I have been traveling for most of the day, but we just touched down at the Venice airport and suddenly I’ve got all my energy back.
“We’re in Italy, baby,” I say, scooping Alyssa into my arms and making pests of us right here in the concourse.
I don’t care if we’re that kind of tourists—I love this woman and I can’t wait to spend the next week basking in the sun, eating incredible food, and dragging Alyssa to bed every chance I get. It’s our first vacation together, and I’ve been dreaming of it for months.
“I still can’t believe Chief Cane let us both take vacation at the same time,” Alyssa says, and I press a finger to her lips.
“Shh, that is the last thing I want to hear about the hospital until we’re back on American soil,” I tell her, and she laughs.
“Fine, fine, let’s find our luggage,” she says, taking my hand and guiding me until we’re no longer standing in the middle of everything. We get our bearings, figure out where the baggage carousel is, and head in that direction.
A few hours, a quick nap at our hotel and a steamy shower later, we’ve got all the boring parts of travel out of the way and we’re refreshed for our first romantic night in Italy. Alyssa’s wearing a strappy silver dress that I’m having a hard time tearing my eyes away from, and she knows I’ve got something special planned for tonight.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?” she asks as we go outside and start walking up the road.
She’s been asking since we woke up from our nap, and I might have broken down and told her already if it wasn’t so damn cute when she gets frustrated like this.
“We’re just a few minutes away,” I tell her. “I think you can wait at this point.”
She gives me a wry look. “Don’t overestimate me.”
I laugh and ask, “Do you want a clue?”
“Umm, yes.”
So I pretend to push her into the canal that we’re walking alongside, grabbing her hand and pulling her back from the edge at the last moment. Alyssa yelps with fear, then punches my arm.
“You jerk, is that any way to start a vacation?”
I’m still laughing. “That was your clue—it’s not my fault if you didn’t get it.”
A few minutes later, we arrive and Alyssa’s eyes go wide with excitement. “This is it? Really?”
We’re standing at a set of stone steps leading down to the water, where a gondola awaits us. It’s stereotypically romantic in every way, and I’ve been banking on the hope that Alyssa would love it. I can tell from her expression that she does.
“Yeah, I made a private reservation while you were in the shower earlier,” I tell her.
“Buona sera,” the gondolier says, holding his hand out to help Alyssa into the boat.
“Good evening,” she answers, grinning from ear to ear as she gets on. I follow, a little shakily because I don’t want my girlfriend watching me take some dude’s hand to climb aboard. That wouldn’t exactly set the scene I’m going for.
A couple minutes later, Alyssa and I are cuddled up together in the center of the boat, my arm wrapped around her shoulder. Our gondolier is paddling us peacefully through the canal. There are streetlamps on the buildings on either side of us and the gondolier acts as tour guide whenever there’s something interesting to point out. Mostly, though, Alyssa and I are just enjoying this magical moment we’ve carved out for ourselves.
“This is perfect,” she sighs as we’re gliding beneath a bridge with stunning architecture.
“As it is?” I ask. “There’s nothing else you can think of that would make it any more ideal?”
She wrinkles her nose at me. “You’re being weird… you have been since we got off the plane.”
“I’ve been a little nervous,” I confess. I look over my shoulder, signaling to the gondolier that it’s time for what we discussed over the phone. He stabilizes his oar and we start coasting. He pulls a small wind instrument from a case at his feet and by the time he starts playing, Alyssa is looking suspiciously at me.
“Sawyer, what did you do?”
“Well, I haven’t done it yet,” I say, reaching into my breast pocket and pulling out a ring box.
“Oh my God!” Her hands fly up to cover her mouth.
“Will you forgive me if I don’t get down on one knee?” I ask. “You saw me wobbling on my way into the boat—I’m not sure I’m capable at the moment.”
She laughs and nods enthusiastically, allowing me to pry one of her hands away from her face so I can hold it in my own.
“Alyssa Grant, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and also the smartest,” I tell her. “You’re the only person I’ve ever been able to picture myself spending a lifetime with, and every time I do, I can’t wait to ask you this question… Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she screams, her voice echoing off the water as she flings herself at me. The gondola rocks and the music cuts off as our gondolier has to grab onto the sides of the boat.
“Whoa, calmarsi,” he says, but he’s smiling too. “Congratulazioni!”
“Grazie,” I answer, Alyssa’s arms still flung around me. “Can you please take us back to the hotel?”
“Certamente,” he says, a knowing look in his eyes as he picks up the oar again.
Alyssa is sitting in my lap and I carefully open the ring box and slide the diamond onto her finger. “Wouldn’t want to lose this in the canal,” I say. “Do you like it?”
It’s a large solitaire in a marquise cut, simple and classy and timeless just like Alyssa. It catches the lights from the streetlamps and the sparkle of the water, and she admires it for a moment, then kisses me hard and passionately, like we’re the only two people in the boat.
“I’ll take that as a yes?” I ask when we come up for air.
“Yes, I love it,” she says. “And I love you.”
“I love you so much it hurts sometimes,” I confess. And then, just because I haven’t completely gotten used to being this happy, I have to cut the tension with a joke. “No, really, you’re crushing my balls.”
Alyssa looks alarmed for half a second before she realizes I’m joking. She smacks me in the chest, but readjusts herself on my lap anyway, then asks, “Why were you nervous?”
“Are you kidding?” I say. “You hated me for so long, I figured there was a fifty-fifty chance you would toss me into the water when I proposed.”
“I never hated you,” she says, then leans in close and whispers directly in my ear, “in fact, when we get back to the hotel, I’ll show you just how much I don’t hate you.”
A shiver runs down my belly and I start wondering why these damn gondolas have to go so slow. Can’t they attach motors to these things?
Back at the hotel, Alys
sa takes a couple of items out of her luggage and disappears into the bathroom. She appears a couple minutes later in a black satin number with barely-there lace over her breasts.
I arch an eyebrow. “Did you know what I was going to do in the boat?”
“No,” Alyssa says, slinking over to me, her hips swaying seductively. “Does a girl have to get engaged to show her man how much she appreciates him?”
I shake my head, my hands gliding up the cool, slick fabric on her thighs. “Well, I appreciate you more than I can say.”
“I know,” Alyssa says, wiggling the fingers of her left hand in front of me, making the diamond on her finger glitter in the light. “And now I want to say thank you.”
She trails that hand down the front of my shirt and by the time she gets to my belt, I’m rock hard and struggling not to throw her down on the bed and take her. I can see her pert nipples through the lace and all I want to do is draw them into my mouth.
Before I get the chance, though, Alyssa drops down to her knees in front of me.
“Oh fuck,” I groan as she unbuckles my belt, then unzips my fly.
“In a little while,” she says, smiling coyly up at me. “We’ve got all week and while I’d love to see more of Venice, I also wouldn’t be too upset if we never leave the hotel room again.”
God damn, this woman is going to be the end of me.
She yanks my pants down and frees my cock, taking it in her fist. She takes her time teasing me, licking the head and kissing her way down the shaft, her big round eyes flitting up to catch my gaze every so often. I have to brace myself with one hand on the nearby bedpost and concentrate to keep from coming right into her pretty little mouth.
I love the idea, Alyssa taking me deep inside her mouth and lapping up my cum… but I want something else right now. I want to bury my cock inside my fiancée’s wet pussy and I want to fill her up until she’s screaming with pleasure.
Okay, I can’t wait anymore. I need her now.
The next time Alyssa comes up for air, kissing the tip of my cock, I draw her back up to her feet and spin her around until the backs of her knees hit the mattress.