Jenny took another sip of her tea, only to find that she’d drunk it all.
“I’ll get you a refill.” Philip took her cup and headed for the elevator.
“He’s just glad to have something to do,” Olivia explained. “Not so good at waiting around.”
“Is anybody?” Jenny felt nauseous. Her hand throbbed but she ignored it.
Nina burst through the door, spotted Jenny and rushed over to her, hugging her tight. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said. “You’re okay?”
“Yes. And Rourke will be all right.” Jenny had to believe it. “Nobody’s been allowed to see him yet.”
“I feel horrible,” Nina said. “Even responsible, in a way. Matthew was stealing the city blind, and I never caught on. That was why he was so desperate for the money. He needed to replace what he’d stolen before the auditor figured out what he was up to.”
“None of that is your fault,” Jenny said.
“I know, but I still feel terrible. I feel terrible for Zach, too.”
“Are you Miss Majesky?” A nurse came over and addressed Olivia.
Olivia shook her head. “That’s my sister, Jenny.”
Jenny tried to read the woman’s expression but couldn’t. No, she thought, please no.
“I’m Jenny Majesky,” she said. “What’s the matter?”
“He’s asking to see you,” the nurse said. “Actually, he’s not asking. More like demanding.”
Jenny swayed against her father, who steadied her. Both he and Olivia walked her to the door of the ICU. She went alone through the door, and the nurse took her to a hand-washing station and helped her don thin paper scrubs.
She didn’t know the stranger in the bed, surrounded by rails and tubes and equipment. Bags of medicine hung by the bed, and his chest bore a web of wires affixed with stickers. His face looked as if it were cast in colorless wax. Then he blinked and she felt his gaze on her. His eyes were still bluer than blue, and his lips were moving.
“You’ll need to come close,” said the nurse. “He just had a tube removed from his throat, and he can only whisper.”
Jenny hurried to the side of the bed. Smile for him, she told herself. Don’t let him see how worried you are. “Hey,” she said, studying his face. The crescent-shaped scar on his cheekbone, a souvenir of that long-ago summer, stood out starkly against his pale skin. She reached over the rail and tried to take his hand, but there were things clipped to his fingers and tubes running everywhere. Finally she settled on touching his shoulder, feeling the reassuring warmth of him through the palm of her hand. “I’m glad you’re okay. And you have a lot of people waiting outside who’ll be glad, too.”
“Rufus?” he asked.
“An officer took him to the vet. He’s going to be all right.” She hoped she wasn’t lying. A bullet had grazed his flank and the vet had assured her he’d heal.
“And you?”
She took a deep breath. She was ready to risk it all with him—more than ready. And the ultimate risk was to open herself up completely and quit worrying about the consequences. All right, she thought. Go for it. “I love you, and I’m not leaving you, ever. You’d better get used to me.”
His eyes narrowed, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. One of the machines made a rhythmic sucking sound, which echoed loudly in the room. “So here’s the thing.” He paused, coughed a little, and the rest came out in a whisper. “I was going to ask you to marry me. I was thinking maybe in the fall or next winter. But I changed my mind.”
Jenny braced herself. The trouble was, she couldn’t keep that wall in place, the one she’d erected to protect herself from her feelings for Rourke. That didn’t work anymore. She felt everything for him and it wasn’t as if she could pop a Xanax and get over it.
He was trying to smile. She could see that. “I changed my mind,” he said again. “I don’t want to get married next fall or winter. I want to get married now.”
“Now?” she whispered.
“Well, as soon as I’m out of here. I said I’d tell you someday how I wanted to end up. I’m telling you now.”
Now? Did she dream of being a bride, surrounding herself with friends and family, planning a special day she would never forget? Maybe, but there was a much more powerful dream, and it wasn’t about a single day but about the rest of her life. Yes. Her emotions dissolved into a feeling so powerful that it tinged everything in a gauzy haze. Even here in this strange, antiseptic place, with machines pumping and beeping, the world had never looked more beautiful to her.
“I wish I could beg you on my knees,” Rourke said, “but I guess I’ve got to do it flat on my back. I’ve loved you for more than half my life, Jenny Majesky. I want you to marry me and be my wife.”
She gazed down into his face. He was a complicated, difficult man. She’d been hurt by him many times, but that was because he’d worked so hard to stay away from her. Everything was different now.
“I have a feeling you’re not a big fan of diamonds,” he said. “That’s convenient, because I don’t have a ring. I’ll get you one if you want, though. Anything. Rubies and pearls. A giant sapphire, whatever. Just say you’ll marry me. And for God’s sake, stop crying.”
“I’m not crying.” She was, though. She couldn’t help herself. “I’m saying yes, Rourke, forever, yes.”
Food for Thought
BY JENNY MAJESKY
Everyday Celebrations
The perfect ending to every meal has nothing to do with dessert and coffee, and everything to do with the company you keep. Even so, any celebration can be made more enjoyable by food. At the Sky River Bakery, we create cakes
