Her eyes welled with tears. She threw her arms around Owen and hugged him tight. “Thank you for understanding. And for continuing to be my friend. I’d hate to lose you.”
“We’ll always be friends, Erin. You’re never gonna lose me.”
She pulled back and squeezed his hands. “I’m holding you to that. And we did love each other, once.”
“Yeah, we did. It just wasn’t the forever kind of love. We were just too blinded by other things to see that.”
She nodded. “You’re right.”
“Erin.”
“Yes?”
“I’m so sorry. For everything I put you through.”
She reached for his hand. “I forgive you.”
He let out a sigh. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”
They made their way back to Owen’s apartment and she said good-bye. Not a forever good-bye, but a definite end to their relationship. She felt much clearer.
Now she had to go to Jason and fix the colossal mess she’d made of her relationship with him.
CHAPTER
thirty-five
IT HAD BEEN a long, tiring day, and Jason was exhausted. One more client and he could go home. He walked through the hall and saw his dog, Puddy, had found a nice quiet corner to curl up and sleep.
“I know exactly how you feel, bud,” he said to his dog as he made his way to the room in the back. He lifted the chart, frowning as he saw the name.
What the hell was she doing here?
He opened the door and Erin was in there with Agatha. Agatha’s tail whipped back and forth when she caught sight of Jason, and Erin’s face lit up with a bright smile.
Jason’s gut tightened, but he was at work, so right now he was Dr. Callum. His personal feelings didn’t count.
“So, what’s going on with Agatha?” He took a quick glance at her leg. Her cast had come off two weeks ago, and as far as he knew she was running like a champion.
“It’s her heart, doc,” Erin said, coming over to stand close to him.
Jason breathed in Erin’s fresh scent, trying his best not to be affected. Wasn’t gonna happen. He could never be close to her and not feel anything.
He frowned. “What’s wrong with her heart?”
“She’s brokenhearted without you. As is her human.” Erin laid her hands on his chest. “I miss you. I love you. Just you. No one else but you.”
Her words sank in. She said she loved him. But could he believe in that? Believe in her? Did she even know what she really wanted? “You made an appointment to tell me that?”
“Well, it was important. You see, I realized that you’ve always stood on the sidelines, waiting for me to open my eyes and see the wonderful man in front of me. And sometimes—okay, more often than sometimes—I’m clueless. But not anymore.” She stepped forward and took his hand in hers. “I see you. I see your kindness, how you’ve always been there for me. I see the amazing, wonderful and thoughtful things you’ve done for me. I see how unselfish you are, how you always put others first. I see the only man I will ever love for the rest of my life. And I need to apologize for not seeing all of that sooner. Much, much sooner.”
“What about Owen?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry about that. I had this misplaced sense of guilt and responsibility when I heard his diagnosis. And I felt like I needed to take care of him.”
“And now?”
“Now you’re my priority. Not that we’re abandoning Owen, but if we see him, we’ll do it together, provided you agree with that. Since he’s our friend. But I can’t make this about Owen anymore. I need this to be about you and me. Just you and me from now on. I’m sorry I didn’t do it much sooner.”
Relief flooded him as her words sunk in. Relief, and a whole lot of love for this woman. He scooped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “That’s okay. You can spend a lifetime making it up to me.”
“Yeah? How will I do that?”
“Just love me.” He kissed her, telling her with his kiss how much he’d missed her, how much he needed her. He deepened the kiss to tell her how much he loved her.
The door opened and Casey, his tech, came in. “Dr. Callum, do you need—”
He pulled away and turned to Casey. “Busy here kissing the woman I love. I think I’ve got this.”
Casey grinned. “I can see that. Sorry, Doc.”
She inched the door closed and Erin laughed, tangling her fingers in his hair. “So that’s a ‘Yes, I forgive you’?”
“Yes. I forgive you.”
She laid her head on his chest and just feeling her close to him healed the gaping hole in his heart.
She pulled back and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
“I had a long talk with Owen. We’re friends. We’ll always be friends. All of us. But there’s nothing between him and me. I need you to know that nothing happened between us after he got back. I just felt a need to help him and I had some momentary confusion about what that was all about.”
“I believe you. And I understand. You went through hell with all of that. It’s understandable you’d be confused. But let’s make something clear. In the future, when you’re confused about your feelings on things? You talk to me. I’m always going to be here to help you.”
She laid her head on his chest. “I love you, Jason.”
He wasn’t sure his heart could contain all the emotion he felt for Erin. But he sure as hell was gonna try. “I love you, too, Erin. Now I need you to do two more things for me.”
She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “What’s that?”
“Pack up your things—and Agatha—and come live with me. Because I don’t want to go another day without you. And marry me. Because I’ve waited long enough for you.”
She sucked in a deep breath, and he saw the shimmer of tears.
