The Doctor’s Simple Life (Love Heals All Wounds #3)

30. Reece

CHAPTER 30

REECE

F rom the way her mouth drops open, I’m terrified that she’s about to burst into tears when she sees me. “Hey, Sienna,” I say sheepishly, trying my best to smile. “How are you doing? It’s good to see you.”

It’s not enough. Nothing I can say will ever be enough to make up for what I’ve done to her. But hopefully she can forgive me someday.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she snaps, then takes a harsh breath, planting herself on the spot.

I know exactly what look this is on her face. Now that she’s gotten over the initial shock of seeing me, her expression has turned into a careful mask of neutrality.

It makes sense. She’s a nurse. She’s good at masking her emotions. It’s part of the job.

I just wish she didn’t feel like she had to do it with me.

But I get it; I really do. I let her down. I can see it now, so clearly where I couldn’t before. From the second I said no to Mikey, no to the promotion, no to staying — that’s when I knew I had let her down. What she wanted from me was to stand up for her and the town, and instead, I was awful to her.

And I shouldn’t have been. And now I have to tell her this in a way that she’ll hear.

If I have to get on my knees and beg her to listen to me, I will.

“I bought the hospital,” I say, then clear my throat.

“Why the hell did you buy this hospital?” scoffs Sienna. “Don’t you have enough to do in your own life? Don’t you have someone else you could torment?”

“I didn’t mean to torment you,” I say, my hackles rising. Then I shake my head.

Arguing with her like this isn’t the right thing to do. Instead, I take a deep breath and hold out my hands. “Please, will you listen to me for two seconds? I have to tell you something.”

“You get two seconds. That’s all.” She folds her arms and glares at me.

I take a little steadying breath. This isn’t quite the reunion I’d imagined in my head. Not that I’d imagined forgiveness and roses, exactly, but I had kind of hoped she’d be more pleased to see me. At least a little bit pleased.

When I told Mikey I wanted to buy the hospital, he laughed and laughed until he was so red in the face that I thought his head was about to explode. “Buy Silverbell General?” he said. “You mean you liked it there that much?”

“Yes,” I said, and it was the most honest thing I’d ever said in my whole life. “Yes, I did.”

It took him a minute to understand what the hell I was saying to him. Then the realization struck him that I wasn’t joking, and his face turned from one of absolute humor to one of absolute rage. “You’re telling me,” he said and then sniffed, “that you are willing to give up a fortune and a respectable career for a hospital in the middle of nowhere, and for what? You’re not a businessman, Reece. You’re hardly about to start your own hospital empire. What in God’s name could you possibly want to buy this hospital for?”

After I hesitated just a little too long, he said, “It’s that girl, isn’t it? You seriously think you can get back in that girl’s good graces by buying her hospital?”

For two months, all I had done was lie about how backwater Silverbell was, so the only thing I could do was tell the truth. All I did was nod, letting that be all the confession it needed to be.

And Mikey understood. He understood that I was serious about Sienna. He understood that I was serious about Silverbell General. He told me that if I was serious about buying Silverbell General, then I could say goodbye to my job in Miami.

So I did. I packed my bag that night and signed the paperwork the next day.

And now I’m here.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” says Sienna as I finish my story. “Why the hell did you give up your job for this?”

“Sienna, don’t you see?” I rush over to her and take her hand. She snatches it away from me, and I throw mine up in surrender. I don’t want to force her into anything. “I haven’t given up a job that I loved. I’ve given up a salary that I loved.”

She scoffs hard at that, and her eyes shine with tears. Now or never. I have to make her see.

“Don’t you understand?” I say, desperation creeping into my voice. “In that month here with you, I was happier than I’d been in years. You were right. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how much status, how many friends. If you don’t have people who you truly care about around you, then what’s the point?”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me,” she snaps. “I can’t deal with this at all.” She presses her hand to her forehead, her face draining of all color.

“Sit down,” I say, guiding her to a seat. This time she doesn’t fight me, and I’m glad, because it looks like she’s about to fall over for real.

“This has to be some sort of joke, right?” she says quietly, looking up at me with hurt and confusion in her eyes. “This is some awful prank dreamed up by you and your buddies from Miami just to make our lives here miserable. You really think we’re just little people for you to play with. We’re nothing to you.”

Her eyes fill with tears. I crouch down in front of her, reaching out for her hand again. “Sienna, look into my eyes,” I whisper.

She does, and I take a deep breath. I have to make my confession now, or I never will. “I love you, Sienna. I truly do.”

She chokes out a noise that I can’t decipher, but she doesn’t look away.

So I keep going.

“I know you might think this is out of the blue or crazy, but that person I turned back into when Mike got here… it’s not who I want to be. I’m sorry I let him hurt you. I’m sorry I let myself hurt you. I should never have done that. I guess seeing him again turned me back into that person who wanted approval, but it wasn’t worth it because I lost you.”

Tears really do fall down her face now, tumbling over her pretty cheeks. I want to reach up to wipe them away, but I’ve already done enough today without intruding on her space even more.

“Tell me this isn’t a dream,” she whispers.

“It’s not a dream,” I say with a smile. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me. I’ve moved back into the house near your grandmother. I’ll make it so our shifts are completely opposite, so you don’t have to see me if you don’t want to. I mean, I’ve got my own office now. You don’t have to deal with me.”

“No, Reece,” she says quickly.

“No?”

“No. I don’t want that.”

“You don’t?” I echo, my heart sinking. Maybe this was too much to ask for after all.

Then she rolls her eyes at me. “No, it’s not that, you fool. Of course I want you, Reece. I’m furious with you because you stole my heart. You stole it, and then you left. You didn’t say anything, and you made me think that I was nothing. How could I not be furious?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my stomach churning with the guilt of leaving her. Then what she says hits me, and I blink in surprise. “I stole your heart?”

“Yes, shut up,” she huffs, smiling down at me. I can’t resist any longer, and I reach up to wipe a tear from her cheek.

She leans into my touch, her eyes flickering closed. “This isn’t a prank, is it?”

“No, I swear on my life. This is no prank.”

“Good. Because…” She takes a shaky breath and squeezes both of my hands. “I have a confession for you as well.”

I smile. She’s going to tell me she loves me. She’s going to fall into my arms, and this is going to be perfect. Maybe this reunion isn’t going as badly as I’d thought.

Then she says, “I’m pregnant,” and my mouth drops open.

“You’re pregnant?” I say, and she nods slowly. “How did this happen?”

“You don’t need me to explain that, do you?” she scoffs.

I sigh hard, giving her a look. “No, I understand the physical process. I just… we were careful, weren’t we? We used protection, didn’t we?”

“These things aren’t perfect. You know that.”

“I do.” I pause, the new knowledge making me dizzy. “You’re pregnant?”

She nods. “I’m carrying your baby.”

“Then you’ll be mine?”

She nods again, and then her expression turns stern. “If you’re serious about this, if you want to be in our baby’s life — if you want to be part of the Silverbell community, of our town — and you really mean it, then yes, of course, I want you.”

My heart is pounding so loudly that I can barely hear anything else.

Suddenly, this is feeling too informal, too improper for the revelations we’ve just had. I shift to one knee, not able to think of anything else to do. “Sienna,” I say, reaching out my hands to her. “Will you?—”

“No,” she says, interrupting me.

“No?”

“Not no, I won’t, but no, don’t ask. Not like this. If you’re going to ask me, do it properly. Settle in here first. Become part of my life and mean it, then yes. I’ll marry you.”

A wide grin splits across my face, and I jump to my feet so I can kiss her on the lips. They’re as plush and soft as I remember, and despite the salt of her tears, it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had.

It’s a promise. It’s the first page in my new life.

It’s perfect.