Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Reid nodded. “As best as I can.”
“Why does my throat hurt so badly?”
She smiled. “You had a breathing tube in until yesterday.”
“I don’t remember.”
“No, I suppose you wouldn’t. They put it in when they took you for surgery the first time.”
“The first time?”
“Yeah, they rushed you into surgery when we first got here. That’s how we found out you needed a transplant.”
“Oh.”
“How come you didn’t tell me you were sick?” she asked.
Grayson closed his eyes. “I didn’t want you to judge me or mother me about things.”
“I wouldn’t have.”
He eyed her questioningly, and she shrugged. “Okay, fine. I would’ve. But only because I care about you so much. This really scared me, Grayson. I thought I was going to lose you, and the last thing you would’ve remembered me saying was for you to stop faking.”
“Faking?”
“I thought when you asked for help that you were faking things because I told you I was going to start dating.”
“Oh.” His heart sank, and he knew this new one would love her the same because he loved her. Grayson didn’t need some blood-pumping organ to tell him how to feel. “Are you dating?”
She shook her head, much to his relief. “No.”
“Are you going to?”
“Maybe? I don’t really know right now, Grayson. There are things I want out of life.”
Tell her how you feel!
He squeezed her hand. While he might not know what those things were at the moment, he surmised he could probably give her something she needed or wanted. “When I get out of here, do you want to go on a date?”
“Of course. I’ll come over and make you a low-fat meal, and then eventually we’ll be back to doing trivia night at the Green Turtle.”
“Gross.”
She smiled. “Lots has to change, Grayson. You’re going to have to live a whole different lifestyle. I’m sure the doctors will fill you in before you’re discharged. I’ve already cleaned out the garbage from your apartment.”
He should’ve been mad, but he didn’t have it in him to be angry at her. He did, however, want an answer to his question. “So, about that date?”
“What are you talking about, Grayson? I’m with you all the time.”
Grayson tried to adjust but felt something pull and thought better of moving. Instead, he angled his head, hoping like hell he was flirting with her. “I want to take you on a real date,” he said. “Not out to dinner after work, but the two of us, where we get somewhat dressed up, go dancing, and have a nice meal.”
“Sure, but let’s get you mended first,” she said, a little less enthusiastically than he’d hoped.
Grayson lifted his hand toward her face. It hurt to move his arm, and thankfully Reid recognized this and came closer. When she was close enough, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her closer. “Reid,” he said before his lips pressed to hers.
She didn’t gasp the way he thought she would. Not how he imagined she would when they finally kissed again. Not how she had when they’d spent the one night together.
He hated that his lips were rough against her soft ones. Gently, he moved his lips with hers. Lightly caressing them as if she were the fragile one at the moment. The thump in his new heart felt stronger, sounded louder, affirming that he was, in fact, still very much in love with her.
Grayson went to deepen the kiss, but Reid pulled back abruptly. She tasted sweet like cinnamon apples, which reminded him of last fall, when they’d gone apple picking and then made a pie in her kitchen. He tossed flour on her, they flirted, and while he wanted to kiss her then, his life was so complicated.
A new heart removed the complication between them. He had a new lease on life. A second chance. And something deep in the recesses of his mind told him not to squander it.
She covered her lips with her fingers, and then it was like a veil had descended over her. The moment shifted.
“You should rest,” she told him. “You need to heal.”
He deserved the cold shoulder, the brush-off. If he were in her shoes, he’d act the same way.
There was a knock on the door, and then three doctors came in. They introduced themselves, and Reid said she’d be back in a minute. As soon as she was gone, the medical team began detailing his recovery, the need for physical therapy, and the strict diet he’d have to follow. That third item had Grayson rolling his eyes. He wasn’t some old man and shouldn’t have to eat like one.
“We also suggest therapy,” one of the doctors said. “You’ll need help coping with the changes your body is going through and accepting the magnitude of what you went through. Most of our patients know beforehand about their transplant and meet with a therapist prior to surgery. You didn’t get the opportunity to do that.”