Chapter 29 Paige
PAIGE
Iknock on the door to Ryan’s room and push it open gently. He’s in bed, with the prosthetic leg resting up against the wall and his wheelchair tucked in beside the bed. He sits up when he sees me and winces.
“Is it sore?”
He shuffles back in the bed to sit up and pats the space next to him. “It’s been worse.”
He pushed himself too hard, and now he’s back in bed. While the doctor prescribed bed rest for a week, I get the feeling he won’t stay down for that long.
“Where’s Noah?”
I sit on the edge of the bed, and Ryan puts his hand casually on my thigh. “He’s with Avery for a few hours. I’ll pick him up soon.”
He looks tired. Neither of us slept much last night, and the strain of the last few days has taken its toll on both of us.
“You didn’t break his bones, did you?” I couldn’t stop Ryan from going over to see Chad.
While I love the feeling of protection he gives me and knowing he has my back, I’ve been worried all morning wondering what he was doing.
I’m due to work at the Huntingtons’ tomorrow, and I want to know what happened.
“Worse.”
My eyes widen, and I clasp my chest. “Oh no.”
“Relax. He’s fine.” Ryan chuckles. “He’s going into the military.”
Surprised, I laugh. It’s the perfect place for him to learn respect and a fitting punishment for a man like Chad. “Will they take him?”
Ryan shrugs. “He’s not going to bother you again. That’s all I care about.”
His thumb trails down my thigh, sending prickles of heat up my leg.
“What happens now?”
Ryan being in my bed last night felt so right. But he’s got a lot going on. And as much as I crave him in my life, I’m not sure if he’s ready to jump into anything.
“Now? I need to rest for about a week. And then get on the program that Savanna has for me so that next time I’m on this leg, I can stay on it.”
“And what will you do once you can walk properly?”
Will he walk away? Is what I want to ask, but I can’t find the words. I’m too scared of how he might answer.
“The first thing I’ll do is walk around your house and clear up all those toys.”
He’s taking a playful tone, and I go with it. “You can try, but they just keep coming back.”
“The next thing I’ll do is see about plans for expanding your house. I assume you want to stay in the place since it was your mother’s.”
I stare at him, trying to process what he’s saying. “Wait, what? You…what?”
His hand squeezes my thigh. “If we’re going to give Noah a sibling, we’re going to need a bigger house.”
He sits up and nuzzles into my neck, and my heart jolts. “You want to have another baby?”
“Am I going too fast?” He leans back to look at me. “I want to stick around, Paige. For you and for Noah and especially for us. Sorry if I’m moving fast, but don’t you think we’ve wasted enough time?”
His thumb grazes my cheek, and suddenly a future I never thought possible flickers through my mind. The two of us, together, surrounded by the chaos of family life. Not just Noah, but more babies, and this time I won’t be doing it on my own.
“I loved you as Rose, and I love you as the mother of my son, and I’ll love you as Paige. Always.”
My chest swells as a lightness comes over me. It’s everything I ever wanted and never thought I’d have.
“I love you too, Sargent Gray, Ryan, whatever you want me to call you. It doesn’t matter. I love you just the same.”
His lips press against mine, and I sink into the kiss. My heart swells, and I’m calm and excited all at once. I have my man, and he’s not going anywhere.
A thought occurs to me, and I pull back abruptly. “We can’t expand the house. My shed and greenhouse are there.”
Ryan nips at the corner of my lips. “I saw this barn on the edge of town up for sale. If you’ll accept my late child support payments, they should be enough to get you properly established out there.”
I’ve seen the barn he’s talking about. It’s big enough for a proper nursery, a workspace, and all my tools. It’s perfect.
Excitement rushes through me, but it all seems too good to be true.
“But what will you do?”
“I’m guessing you’ll need some help with the way your business is growing. We can make it a family business. And I can help Marcus out sometimes at Bedrock Security. I might not be up for going out on missions, but I’m a great support guy.”
“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?”
His lips move to mine. “Not all of it.”
I push back onto the bed and crawl on top of him, being careful to avoid where he might hurt. “And what part haven’t you figured out yet?” I kiss his neck and press my chest against him, loving the way he groans at my touch. Loving that he’s all mine to touch as I please.
“I haven’t figured out when you want to have the wedding.”
I freeze at the word wedding and pull back so I can see his eyes. His expression is deadly serious. “Ryan Burke, are you proposing to me?”
My heartbeat speeds up, and I gape at him.
“Too soon?”
I slap him playfully across the arm. “I liked it better when you were on your back and less arrogant.”
He grabs me around the waist and pulls me toward him, grinding his hardness into me. “I like it when I’m on my back too.” I roll my hips onto him, and he groans. “But you haven’t answered my question.”
I press my body against him as I consider my answer. He’s right. We wasted three years. Why waste any more time? There’s only one answer. But he’s going to have to work for it.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll yell out my answer as you make me come.”
His eyes light up with desire. “Challenge accepted.”