Chapter 41
Luca
My eyes were heavy as the murmur of conversation around me and the antiseptic smell began to register.
I’d either made it out, or I was in heaven.
Moving my eyes behind closed lids hurt, ruling out the afterlife, but the cool air blowing up my nose was a welcome relief.
I tried inhaling deeply, only to cough until my chest hurt. Nope. I was still here. Thank god.
“Mr. Vaughn, can you hear me?” I moved my head for the soft-spoken man, but his voice wasn’t familiar. It wasn’t the one I wanted to hear. But I knew Axel was here somewhere. I could feel his energy.
“Do you know where you are?”
“Hospital.” My throat ached. “Not heaven.”
He chuckled. “Yes, you’re in the emergency room. Can you open your eyes?”
I tried, but shook my head. “Hurts. Scratchy.”
“That’s okay. Let’s irrigate with saline.
” I listened intently to the things going on around me until he lifted each lid to flush it out.
Opening the left, then the right, I squinted from the bright lights.
My gaze cut to an older man with gray hair.
His smile was kind, but he wasn’t Axel. “There you are. I’m Dr. Baker.
” He paused. “Do you remember what happened?”
I swallowed, trying to think. The last thing I remembered was Axel talking to me on the phone. “Yes, but it’s foggy.” Every word scraped coming out like dry sandpaper. I reached for my throat. “Can I have water?”
“We need to hold off on liquids for a bit, but we’ll swab your mouth again for moisture. Then we’ll try ice chips.”
I didn’t care as long as the scratchiness went away.
While a nurse took care of me, the doctor continued. “We’re going to keep you at least overnight for observation and to make sure you’re breathing okay. Your palms are banged up, but nothing that requires stitches.”
I nodded. But my attention focused on the familiar sound coming from the hallway. Axel. Hearing his voice settled me.
“Do you feel up to a visitor?” Dr. Baker asked. “He’s been very anxious and insistent on seeing you.”
“Always.” My brain was foggy, but I’d always recognize him.
It hummed with electricity when he was near, and I could feel it when he walked in the room.
Opening my eyes, I drank him in. He moved to my side, took my hand, then dropped his head to our clasped hands.
His tears dampened my skin. “I thought I lost you.”
Gripping his hand, I brought the other one to his head. “Never,” I whispered.
“How do you feel? What can I do? I can’t lose you, Luca. I won’t survive without you.”
My eyes welled up at how much this had hurt him. “I’m so sorry.”
He raised his head, eyes bloodshot and red. “You’re coming home with me, permanently. I’m done with this separation business.”
I didn’t want to fight him anymore. I just wanted to be with him. “Okay. You win.”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “Yes. I’m ready.”
Every time I coughed, his face contorted in pain. “Don’t talk. Just breathe, love.” His fingers grazed my face.
We sat, holding onto each other, afraid to let go, until Dr. Baker came back. “Good news. We’ve got your room upstairs. Respiratory is going to check in on you later to make sure your lungs are clearing up.”
“Private room,” Axel demanded. “I’m staying with him.”
Dr. Baker raised his hand. “No one will make you leave, Mr. Hughes.”
Axel’s shoulders relaxed. “How long will he be here? What do I need to do at home? Will he need oxygen tanks?”
“We’ll make that assessment tomorrow.” Dr. Baker put my chart down. “I think you’re in capable hands, Mr. Vaughn.”
“Me too.”
“They’ll be in to move you soon.” He walked over and extended his hand. “Take care, Luca. The team upstairs will take over your care, but I’ll check in later tonight before I go home.”
I shook his hand. “Thank you.”
Axel stood and extended his hand. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
When he left the room, Axel sat back down. My brain caught on to something. “Do you have a game?”
He snorted. “Tomorrow. But Karlsson’s got it. I’m not going anywhere.”
I shifted in bed. “Axel, I’ll be…”
“No,” he cut me off. Running his fingers through my hair, he scanned over every inch of my face. I could see how worried he was. “I’m not leaving you alone until I’m convinced that you’re okay. Please don’t ask me to change my mind.”
“Okay,” I said. “I won’t.” Looking into his tired eyes, I gripped his hand. “Before this happened, I would have fought tooth and nail for my independence. I would have insisted I was okay and could take care of myself. Pushing you away was exhausting, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”
The tension in his shoulders relaxed. “That’s progress.”
I smiled until I remembered Edith. “How is she? And the others. Edith needs…”
“She’s taken care of, love. I left her with Decker, then sent my father to make sure she got settled.
” He looked down at my bandaged hands. “Decker took Edith to his house. She wants to see you, but I thought we could video call. Leanne will get her settled at the Covington until things are sorted out. My father made arrangements for everyone to stay there.”
“Really? He was there?”
“Yes. I called him.”
“I’m glad you weren’t alone.”
His brow pulled together. “He kept me from being arrested, and he took over when I got in the ambulance with you.”
Before I could ask more questions, our conversation was interrupted by the nurse. “Mr. Vaughn, they’re ready for you upstairs, so we’re going to take you up.”
Axel stood but never let go of my hand. His expression dared anyone to ask him to let go. When I settled upstairs, he still looked worried. When I complained about my throat, the nurse brought me a popsicle to ease the pain.
“Are you okay?” I croaked.
He sat down by my bed and took my right hand. His expression was introspective. Something heavy was on his mind. “I can’t do this again. My heart won’t take it. I’m going to need you to marry me.”
My mouth fell open, and I dropped the popsicle. “Shit,” I muttered.
He chuckled, then handed it back to me. Axel took my bandaged hand to his mouth to kiss my fingers before bringing my hand to his cheek. “I love you, and I’m going to need you to be mine forever. Legally. On paper.”
I blinked at him as my eyes pooled with moisture. Maybe I hadn’t heard him correctly. Oxygen deprivation might have caused hallucinations. “I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”
Axel’s eyes teared up. “Let me clarify. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t go through this type of thing again, only to be told I’m not your next of kin.
I want to be your permanent emergency contact.
I want a family with you, a dog, and kids.
I want to change your name and give you the world.
Dance with you in my arms under the stars for the rest of our lives.
My life means nothing without you. Marry me, love, and let me give you the life you deserve. ”
Axel was the person I’d longed for my whole life. “I guess I heard you correctly.”
Axel shrugged, trying to hide a smile. “I know it’s not the most romantic place to propose, but I don’t wait for moments. I seize the day. And today is that day. What do you say, Luca Vaughn? Will you marry me?”
As terrified as I should have been, I wasn’t. And I knew the right answer. “Yes.”
His expression was heartbreakingly sweet. He stood over my bed and took the dripping popsicle away. Gently sweeping my hair out of my face, he leaned down. His mouth tipped up in a smile before lowering it to mine. Axel was going to be my forever.
I rested my eyes periodically while he made a few calls.
Drinking him in, I watched him transform from the sweetest human on Earth as he cared for me, to the team captain checking in with Karlsson and his coach before shifting to a business mogul making plans to house the seniors as long as needed at the Covington.
He refused to leave the room, glancing periodically at me between calls, making me fall even deeper in love with him.
When he was finished, he came back to my bedside. “You should eat. What would you like? I’ll order delivery.”
This was what the rest of my life would look like. Axel being Axel. “I’ll take anything they’ll allow me to eat.”
He stood. “I’ll check with the nurse. Are you up to speaking with Edith on a video call? She’s very worried.”
“Of course.” I wiggled my fingers at him. “Give her here.”
He made the call and handed me the phone. “I’m going to speak to the nurse,” he said, kissing me on the forehead. “I’ll be right there in the hallway.”
“Okay. I’ll be here.”
Axel smirked as he walked out the door. I picked up the phone to talk to Edith. “Hey. How are you?”
It took some time to convince her I was okay. She cried and apologized for sending me down to the basement. “You had no way of knowing what would happen. I would do it again.” That wasn’t exactly true. I may never go into a basement again, but she didn’t need my issues or the guilt weighing on her.
When Axel came back in, he sat by listening before he took the phone and assured her, I was okay.
I moved over on my bed and patted the mattress.
He hesitated, then climbed into bed with me.
Right where I needed him. “See. I’ve got it under control,” he assured her.
“He’s even agreed to marry me.” The unease I expected was nothing but happiness
Axel promised to keep her updated. When he ended the call, he gazed down at me. “I’d like to hire her to stay at our house when I go on the road.”
Our house. That was going to take some getting used to. “That would be good for her. And me. It will give her a chance to see I’m okay.”
Turning to my side, I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Somehow, he’d slowly maneuvered us until we fit comfortably together.
I smiled to myself, because that’s exactly how he’d been from the moment we met.
Nudging me along until he worked his way past my defenses and into my heart.
He’d known what I needed all along. Him.
His phone buzzed with an incoming message. Picking it up from the bed, he checked his messages. “Sorry, love. That’s our dinner.” He kissed my forehead and unwrapped himself from my hold. “I’ll be back.” Axel climbed out of bed, leaving me to get comfortable. But it wasn’t the same without him.
A short time later, he walked in carrying four bags. I snickered at him. “I’m hungry, but not that hungry, Hughes.”
His face lit up. “Good. One bag is ours, the other three are for the nursing staff. I sent some food from us to the ER, too.”
Us. Every plural pronoun had meaning now, and I was in awe of him. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”
He only shrugged but didn’t respond to my question. “They’re overworked and understaffed. It’s the least we can do.” Another plural pronoun.
I watched as he carefully unloaded the bag onto my hospital table, then took the others out to the nurse’s station. When he walked back into the room, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.