“I told you I didn’t want to see you,” he said, but his voice cracked, and his eyes drank her in greedily, the longing in them belying his words.
“Yes, but you failed to tell me the real reason why.” She crossed the rest of the distance that separated them and sank down at his hip. “Oh, Quinn, you should know me better than to think that you could get rid of me so easily. Why didn’t you tell me you’d been hurt?”
He closed his eyes, clenching his fists at his sides. “What good does it do for you to see me like this? I can’t be a husband to you now. I can’t do anything without the use of my leg.”
She covered one of his hands with her own, her heart breaking for his pain and foolish pride. “I don’t believe that you won’t be able to walk again. But even if you can’t, it will have no bearing on how I feel about you, how good of a husband you’ll be to me.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice heavy with frustration, although he allowed her to twine her fingers with his. “I won’t be able to work, and I bring so little to this relationship as it is. I told you once before I can’t be your lapdog.”
“Oh, Quinn. I could never think of you that way.” Though there wasn’t much space, she stretched out in the bed beside him, nestling her head under his chin and holding him tight. His tension slowly abated.
“I know you think that this money that I bring into our marriage is an unsurmountable thing, that it somehow elevates me high above you.” She pushed up on one elbow and met his gaze, knowing she had to say this exactly the right way. “But I come from a world where the only thing men do for the money they’re given is be born. And I wouldn’t have the money I do if Roger hadn’t died.”
He said nothing, just stared at her, his brows creased as he obviously tried to figure out where she was going with this.
“Sometimes, I hate the money he left me. I know it gives me choices that I wouldn’t have, and I enjoy being able to help people with it, but you know how he earned it, you know that it’s blood money.”
“You’re doing good things with it. You make a difference in so many lives,” he said.
She nodded. “I hope so. But my point is, I don’t feel that I earned it any more than you will. But together, we can do even more good things. Even if you can’t go back to work, you can help me with Mercy House. You can help me figure out a way to channel it into something that will help even more people because you actually understand what’s needed. One of the reasons I chose to marry you is because I’ve always known that you would be a partner to me.”
“I don’t know what to say. Everything you’ve told me makes sense, but it’s still hard to think of doing nothing for the rest of my life, living on money that I did nothing to earn. I expected to be a policeman until the day I died,” he said, his voice still heavy with frustration.
“Yes, but you told me before that you didn’t love it, that it was just something you fell into. I know you like helping people, but just think how many more people you could help as my husband.” She didn’t like the slight desperation in her voice, but she could feel him slipping away from her, and she loved him too much to let him go.
Everything seemed to slow down as she realized that she’d never told him that because she hadn’t even admitted it to herself until today. And suddenly, what she had to do was clear.
Reaching out, she cupped his dear face with her palm, staring down into his emerald eyes. “But the main reason I want you to marry me is that I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you, Quinn. I love you so much.”
* * *
QUINN BLINKED AT ALLISON in utter surprise. She loves me.
He’d woken up yesterday morning to find that everything in his life had changed. He’d thought it meant the end of his dreams of a life with Allison, but then she’d come here, even though he’d tried to let her off the hook, and offered him everything he’d ever wanted. Could he really spend the rest of his life helping Allison make the world a better place? Could it really be that easy?
“You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever known,” he said softly, suddenly feeling as though with her by his side, he could get past this injury, that even if he had a bit of a limp for the rest of his life, it would be all right. “I would be a fool to turn down forever with someone who makes me feel the way you do, as though I could move mountains, as though I was ten feet tall. I love you too, Allison. I love everything about you. If you are certain that you don’t mind that I have a long road of recovery in front of me, I’d still love to be your husband.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she hugged him tightly. “Of course, I still want to marry you. I’ve never in my life wanted anything more. We’ll get through whatever life throws at us together. This is just one of those things.”
He buried his face in her hair and held her tight, his heart full and his mind clear for the first time in days. He’d been a fool to push her away when she was all he’d ever wanted.