Saving Forever - Part 3 (13 page)

BOOK: Saving Forever - Part 3

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“The joking?” Charity asked.

“No.” Elijah grinned.

Charity wondered if she’d missed something.

Her father stood abruptly and set the chart in the holder at the foot of the bed. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He left without another word.

Charity turned to Elijah, confused.

He leaned over and pressed his lips against her eyebrows, trying to soothe the tension away from them. He moved slightly so his face was inches from hers. “I didn’t mean the joking. I meant the family. I could get used to the family. Being part of yours.” He paused, his eyes flitting back and forth to hers.

“You want to be part of my family?”

He smiled.

A light clicked on to what he might be referring to. “You want to marry me?”

“Wow. That’s kind of sudden but alright, I’ll marry you.”

If she knew it wouldn’t hurt her ribs and abs she would have tried to head-butt him.

He kissed her hard on the mouth. “I’m teasing you. I planned on asking you last night. I even asked your father a few weeks back and I have a ring.” He patted his pocket. “Shoot, it’s actually in my tuxedo pants pocket. I changed when I got to the hospital.” He quickly stood and Charity gasped from the sudden movement. Elijah froze. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled.
People need to stop asking me that.
“I’m actually pretty fantastic at this moment.” She felt her smile grow bigger.

“I’ll be right back.” He raced out of the room before she could say anything else.

Charity stared at the bare room. Void of color except for white and a pale blue. Is this what she wanted? To marry Elijah? Her heart leapt. Literally. It wanted her to say yes. She couldn’t argue with it. She could finish her contract with Forever Hope and move back here. They could make a dozen babies. Okay, maybe not a dozen. Or they could go to New Zealand. She didn’t care. Her cheeks started to hurt and she realized she was still smiling. She tried to stop, but her lips kept curling back up.

The door swung open and Elijah stood in the doorway, his chest heaving. His eyes were bright as he looked at her. He grinned.

He couldn’t be more handsome than he was in this moment. And here she lay in a hospital bed, hair probably everywhere, skin three shades to the wind and wearing a near matching outfit to him. She wished they could rewind back to last night and imagined him asking her in his tuxedo and her in her gold dress. It would have been picture perfect. She knew where she wanted to have the wedding reception; no gun shot crazy woman was going to stop that.

Elijah strode over to the bed and dropped down on one knee. “Charity, marry me? I love you and don’t want to be without you.”

The perfect words never crossed her mind. There was nothing more perfect than Elijah. She nodded, fighting back tears again.
I will not cry. I’m not going to cry.
She hardly ever cried. Now was not the moment.

Elijah opened a small silver ring box with a lion on top of it. She stared in amazement. That was the box her mom’s rings were in. She remembered playing with it as a kid. “When I asked your father, he suggested using your mother’s diamond. I went to Birks and found out the pattern of the ring was called Forever. I didn’t want to have it melted into something else. I couldn’t. If you don’t want to use it, we can pick out something else. I just…”

Charity stared at the ring in his hand. The weaving pattern in the gold showed a symbol she fully understood. It came together to hold the diamond. “It’s perfect.” She couldn’t believe her father had suggested it.

Elijah slipped it on her finger and kissed her hand. “Last night I was thinking of asking you, but when I thought I might lose you, I knew I
had
to ask. I’ll go anywhere you want. Just don’t leave me. Ever.”

She reached for him, loving the feel of the ring on her finger and seeing the sparkle of the diamond. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her. “I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got me forever.” Her lips met his. As she kissed him, she poured all her heart into it.

THE END

Stay tuned for Part 4…

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