The doctor helped to prop up the pillows for me.
“Do you plan on staying conscious for me?” he asked with a chuckle.
I was sleepy and having a hard time staying awake.
“I’ll try,” I said. My mouth felt like cotton. “Can I have something to drink?”
“Of course.” He patted my hand. “I’ll let them know you’re up.”
I have no idea what he said, but seconds later Chase, with Amelia in his arms, came crashing into the room with Mom hot on his heels.
I tried to smile, but everything made my head hurt.
“I thought I dreamed your voice,” I managed to say.
Chase set Amelia down on the bed, and she crawled against me. He sat on the bed and held my hand. I wanted to be happy he was there. I wanted that so much.
If Chase was there, then it was his helicopter that scared Haha so badly.
“It’s your fault I fell off of Haha. Your stupid helicopter freaked her out. Why the fuck are you here Chase?”
“Language,” Mom said. She didn’t like cussing around Amelia. Normally I agreed with her, but at this moment that seemed so unimportant. What was important was why Chase was looking at me with so much concern.
I tried to sit up a bit more and struggled with my support pillows. He leaned in close, and I could smell him. He smelled like he had come straight from the beach. Fresh ocean air, sand, sunscreen. He smelled like all of my hopes and dreams.
“I’ve got you,” he said softly.
I was afraid to touch him, not certain if that was something that was still allowed. I wanted him to have me, but I didn’t know. Not after the way he couldn’t look at me in John’s office.
“Did someone check on Haha? Is she okay?”
“The horse is fine,” Mom said. “George got her into the stables. I’ll go check on her and give her a good brushing down after I know you are all right. You gave us quite a scare.”
“Gemma, is what the doctor said true?” Chase asked as he engulfed my hand in his.
I didn’t know what he was talking about. If the doctor told him I had a raging headache, then yes, it was true.
“Are we having another child?”
Oh, that. I forced my eyes to focus on the handsome face I loved so much. He didn’t look angry. He looked concerned, hopeful.
“You aren’t mad, are you?” I reached up to cup his face.
He leaned against my palm before turning his face into my hand and kissing it.
“I was. Forgive me.”
“I thought you chose John over me.” I wanted to cry, but my head throbbed. Tears would be a very bad idea on top of my concussion.
“It was a lot all at once. I did not choose John or CP Manhattan over you. I’m sorry if you thought I had. I needed time to process. As soon as I figured out that I should have left with you, it was too late.”
“And when was that? How many days did it take?”
“Gemma, I was on the street looking for you almost immediately. John and I had a falling out over you, and then I couldn’t find you. I thought I had lost you forever.”
He leaned in and placed his lips against mine. I was in too much pain to lean in and deepen the kiss properly, to take the confirmation that I wanted from him. Pain lanced through my head, and I winced.
He eased back. “Sorry, are you okay?”
“I will be.” I closed my eyes and let gravity pull me a little deeper into the pillows.
I could hear Mom and Chase muttering something, and Amelia snuggled in close to my side. This felt better, softer, more comfortable. I don’t know how long I lay there, resting. I must have drifted off, because I was horseback riding on the beach, with Chase on another horse running by my side.
When I opened my eyes again, I realized I had been dreaming, but the dream wasn’t that Chase was there. Chase was real. He smiled and I felt like I was left out of a big secret.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re going to make me a father again. That’s…”
“Shocking?” I suggested.
“Yes, in a good way. I was getting used to the thought of being Amelia’s father, and now I’m going to have two children.”
I groaned.
“Are you okay?” Chase jumped.
“I’m fine. It’s just, well, someone else told you first.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
I could tell by the tone he wasn’t sure if I actually had planned on telling him or not. I had gotten scared at his beach house, and I hadn’t told him anything when I should have bared everything to him, not just my body.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I was messed up, Chase. I thought I had messed everything up with you.”
“You never messed anything up.” He adjusted his position, so he was more comfortable. He ran a hand over Amelia’s head, she had fallen asleep at some point while I rested and was still out.
He looked over his shoulder. We were alone.
“I had time to think, to remember you. You had short red hair, that’s when I got you pregnant, isn’t it?”
I started to nod but thought better of it. “You remembered me?”
“I remember a woman, who could only have been you. Gemma, I wasn’t a decent man that night. I didn’t treat you the way you deserved.”
“And how did I deserve to be treated? I was a party girl looking for a fun time,” I said.
“No, you weren’t. I’ve paid attention to the words you’ve said to me. You’ve only ever been with one man, me. Right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That means I should have treated you with care, and not as a party fuck on the beach. You were a virgin. You deserved a man who at least asked your name.” He ran his hands through his hair.
I caught them in mine before he could do it again.
“I got the man I always wanted. I only ever wanted you. I knew what I was doing. Well, sort of,” I laughed. I stopped laughing and gazed deep into his eyes. “Chase, I’ve been in love with you since I can remember. I’m still in love with you, and always will be. You being the father of my children is all I’ve ever wanted.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.” He twisted his wrists until he was holding my hands. He lifted them to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I love you, Gemma. I want us to be together. To be a family.”
I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him fiercely, but sudden motions made me queasy. My head still throbbed.
“John’s going to be mad that you picked me over him,” I said.
“John can pull his head out of his ass. And when he does, maybe he’ll discover that he’s had an amazing family all this time. He’s an idiot to think that he must lose it all. But that’s his choice. My choice is to be with you.”
“What about the business? What about CP Manhattan?”
He shrugged. “I’ve decided to let John buy me out if that’s what he wants. If he wants me to stick around, that will be different. As it stands, he wants me out, and I’m not in the frame of mind to fight him over it.”
“What will you do?” I asked.
Another shrug. “I don’t have to do anything, really. I can always start another company. I’m a finance guy, I’ll figure it out.”
“You could marry for money,” I teased.
“I could. But I’d rather marry for love.”
Chase let go of my hands and leaned back so he could put his hand into his pocket. He pulled a small distinct turquoise blue bag from his pocket.
My jaw dropped open as he slid a small box of the same color from the bag. My hands were shaking. Tiffany and Company. I could barely breathe around the lump forming in my throat.
Chase slid from the bed and onto one knee as he opened and presented the box to me.
“I thought I could wait for a special moment. But I realized when the person is already perfect, all moments are special. Will you marry me? Let me be the father of our children?”
The ring he offered as a token of his love and affection was perfect. Round cut, classic, diamond solitaire.
“Oh Chase, I’ve dreamed of this my whole life. Yes, yes!” I held my finger out as he slid the ring on. It fit perfectly.
He stood and pressed a chaste kiss against my forehead. “Don’t get too excited, you’re still concussed.”
I held him tight when he hugged me.
“You could have waited until I recovered,” I teased more than I chastised.
“No, I couldn’t. I’ve wanted to slip that ring on your finger since before I bought it. If I waited something else might have gotten in my way. I love you Gemma, we belong together.”
Amelia began squirming and making sounds indicating that she would be up soon.
“Daddy and I are going to get married,” I said when Amelia woke up and looked around at us a little bleary-eyed.
“Tace daddy?”
“Yes, baby, Chase is your daddy.”
