My Chance (Chance #2) (11 page)

My heart fluttered. “When did you add me? While you were in Paris?”

“No, when you were in the hospital. The day you kicked me out and told me you were leaving. I needed you with me, even if it was just ink. I know some people believe that if you tattoo the name of your significant other on your body, then the relationship will end, but we were already broken up. Anyways, I’m not superstitious, and I didn’t have anything to lose. “

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough.” I leaned down and kissed his tattoo. I looked at the leaf with his mom’s name, ran my index finger over it, and kissed it. “Your son is wonderful.” Then I looked at him. “Thank you.”

Another day passed without me losing my sight. I was scared to go to sleep, but I was happy when I woke and saw Alex. He was usually awake before me and would wait to see how I was. Since it was Thursday, I had an appointment with Dr. Russo. I couldn’t wait to see her and tell her that I could see. I didn’t want to sound overly confident that my sight had permanently returned, but I didn’t want to think about it going away either. If it was just a fluke, I’d really flip out.

Alex drove me to the appointment. I looked at the few trees. Their leaves had changed, and some limbs were bare. I loved the fall. We stopped at a red light, and Alex looked at me. Our eyes met. I could stare at him all day.

“I have a surprise for you.” He beamed his mega-watt smile.

“You do, huh? What is it?”

“You think you’re a clever girl, but there’s no way I’m going to tell you.”

“Hmmm… Okay, Mr. Logan, when am I getting this surprise?”

“Well, future Mrs. Logan, I’ll take you to it after your appointment.”

I was surprised. “It’s a place? Is it close? Have we been there before?”

“Miss Twenty Questions, I’m not telling you, but I’ll give you an ‘A’ for effort.”

The light changed. We were laughing when we walked into the doctor’s office because I’d continued my inquisition. I looked up and saw Garrett in the waiting room. We stopped laughing.

“Hey, Garrett, how are you?” I asked.

“Hi, Aubrey. How did you know I was here? Did you get your vision back?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Congratulations.” Garrett seemed genuinely happy for me. Garrett looked at Alex and extended his hand. “Logan.”

Alex eventually reached out and shook his hand. “Reed.”

“Garrett, would you mind coming into my appointment for a few minutes?” I knew I should have asked Alex before I spoke. I glanced at Alex to try to gauge what he was thinking, but he had no expression. He didn’t even look at me.

Garrett did though. He smiled brightly and said he’d be glad to. He left to check to see if Dr. Russo was ready. I nodded and sat in a chair. Alex sat next to me and stared forward.

I turned toward him “Alex, please understand. I need him in there for what I need to say.”

He looked at me. “Whatever you need is fine, baby.”

Garrett came back to tell us they were ready. We walked in and were greeted by Dr. Russo.

“Aubrey, it’s good to see you, and you too, Alex.”

“It’s good to see you too.” I smiled.

“I’m happy to hear you say that. I understand you wanted Dr. Reed present today?” She sounded as if she didn’t believe Garrett and needed to hear it from me.

“Yes, just for a few minutes, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. So tell me, how are you?”

I sat on the couch, and Alex sat next to me. Garrett and Dr. Russo took the chairs in front of us.

“I’m great. That’s actually why I wanted Garrett here.” I took a breath and counted to five in my head—that seemed to help. I cleared my throat and tried to sound as confident as I could. “Garrett, I wanted to thank you for all that you’ve done for me. If you hadn’t written your thesis about the effects of anxiety and stress, I may not have ever been diagnosed correctly. I still might be blind. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for that. I also wanted to wish you luck in the future and hope you’re as happy as I am.” I grabbed Alex’s hand, which he brought to his lips and kissed.

Garrett looked at my hand in Alex’s and then back to me. “Thank you. I hope that your sight stays and your anxiety remains controlled. I’m happy for you and Alex, and I wish you both nothing but the best.”

I stood, and Alex did as well. I dropped his hand and hugged Garrett. “Thank you.” I returned to Alex’s side.

He shook Garrett’s hand before Garrett left the room. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see him again, but that was okay because I didn’t need to. We sat back down to continue with Dr. Russo.

Dr. Russo scribbled on her notepad and then looked at us. “So, Aubrey, how did that feel?”

I thought about the question before I answered. “Liberating, I suppose. I don’t know why, but I feel lighter in a way, stronger, I guess.” I shrugged.

Dr. Russo nodded and wrote again. “Mmm hmm. Lighter how? What do you mean by that? Do you think you were afraid that you still might have unresolved feelings toward Dr. Reed?”

Alex sat up straighter and stared forward. I noticed Dr. Russo shift her eyes between me and Alex, who looked tense.

“No, I don’t have feelings for him,” I said. “I think that I just felt unsettled.”

“And now? How do you feel now?”

“Better now that he knows that he hurt me. I didn’t think he cared. I feel better knowing that he knows what he did made me feel used. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Alex decided to chime in. “If I may speak?”

Dr. Russo directed her attention toward Alex. “Please, go ahead.”

“I think that what Garrett did to Aubrey not only made her feel used, but unworthy of accepting love. I think he did a head trip on her that affected her on many levels. She doesn’t see the beautiful woman I see, and her confidence was shattered. At work, she’s self-assured and knows that she’s good at what she does. That’s totally the opposite of the way she is with her personal life.”

My mouth hung open. I kept looking between Alex and Dr. Russo waiting for them to say something else.

I was about to say something, but Dr. Russo beat me to it. “And what about what you did? What impact do you think that had on Aubrey?”

Alex’s brow furrowed, and his face dropped. He rubbed his chin and looked uncomfortable. “When she witnessed my stupidity, it manifested into something bigger: blindness. But I love Aubrey, and I apologized. Garrett just dumped her and left.”

“You used a past relationship to harm someone you claimed to love. How did that make you feel?”

Shit!
I didn’t know what to do.

“I’ll never forgive myself for hurting her. I broke a promise I made.” Alex looked at me and cupped my cheek. “I promise I’ll never intentionally hurt you again. I’ll make mistakes, but I’ll never do it on purpose.”

I leaned over, not caring that we were in the middle of a therapy session, and hugged him. “No more apologies. We both made mistakes. We’re good, better than good.” I moved my left hand in front of him. “See this? I said yes. I’m going to be Mrs. Alex Logan.” I smiled and kissed him.

Alex looked into my eyes and nodded. Then he looked over my shoulder at the doctor and back at me, raising his brow. I winked and got off his lap, which I hadn’t noticed I’d climbed on.

Dr. Russo looked at us and smiled. “Aubrey, I think it’s wonderful that you have worked through some of your issues. I still think we should meet twice a week. Between the medication and your ability to now cope with impending anxiety issues, I think, in time, you’ll be fine. But if you feel the need to see me between appointments, please don’t hesitate to call. I’m proud of you and what you’ve accomplished in a short amount of time. I think you were figuring out in Paris why you had flashes of sight. Whoever was with you in Paris must have made you comfortable. You should surround yourself with people like them.”

I smirked. I had been there with my parents and Alex, even if I didn’t know it was him. “Do you really think I’ll be okay?”

“I think you’ll be more than okay. You gave yourself time to recover physically, and you’re recovering emotionally. Trust in yourself, and I don’t foresee any future issues. But like I said, I’m here for you if you need me.” She looked at Alex. “That goes for you too. Even though you haven’t suffered any physical trauma, there’s no doubt you have emotionally. I suspect you’re afraid of losing Aubrey, so you pushed her away to protect yourself.”

Alex said, “Thank you, doctor. We’ll see you next week.”

We left the appointment, and I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my chest. For once in my life, I felt as though I had control of my feelings. Alex opened the car door for me, and I slid into my seat. He walked around the front, and I appreciated the view. He wore loose hanging, button-fly jeans and a navy T-shirt that perfectly clung to his body. He was delicious, and I just wanted to taste him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He opened his door and got inside.

I couldn’t believe Dr. Russo had said those things to Alex. I wondered if he’d held on to his grief over his mom and sister for so long that it was affecting him. I didn’t think he’d ever really talked about his feelings with anyone other than me, and we’d just scratched the surface of what he felt. I wanted to bring it up, but he interrupted my thoughts.

“Ready?”

“For what?” I knew what I was ready for—him. His voice did that to me.

“Your surprise.” He winked, and we took off.

I looked around, trying to figure out where we were headed. I thought maybe we were going to lunch, but he had already passed several restaurants. “Where are we going?”

He grinned at me. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”

I giggled. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“I guess not, but you’ll see soon enough. Hey, you know what?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re beautiful, and I’m extremely proud of you.” Alex kept his eyes on the road, but he grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles, licking them lightly.

I hoped we were going somewhere with a bed. “Thank you. It’s because of you, well, because of Chance.”

“What is?”

“My flashes of sight. It’s because you were with me in Paris. I don’t care if you were Chance, Alex, or Santa Claus—it was you. You knew what I needed, and you gave it to me.” The car slowed to a stop. I looked out the window and noticed we were near Creekside Park. “A picnic?”

“I can’t get anything past you.” Alex chuckled.

I looked at the joy in his eyes, and I felt like melting. “I love picnics with you.”

“Well, that’s a good thing because here we are and that is what we’re doing.”

We got out of the car, and Alex walked around to the trunk. He took out a blanket and a basket and one of his sweaters. I took the blanket, and he carried the basket and held my hand. The park was fairly empty except for a few runners. Alex found a spot, took the blanket, and laid it on the grass. It was early November, and it was chilly outside.

He set the basket down and handed me his sweater. “I figured you might be cold, so I brought you my sweater.”

I put his sweater on over my jacket. Even if I wasn’t cold, I wanted to be in his sweater. It was comforting and smelled of him. “Thank you. You think of everything.”

Alex opened the basket and took out a bottle of sparkling grape juice, a cheese and fruit platter, and sandwiches. He spread out the food and poured the faux wine. “I know it’s not the real thing, but since you can’t drink because of your medication, this is the next best thing.” Then he reached into the basket, took out a white orchid, and handed it to me.

“Thank you. My favorite.” I brought my nose to the flower and glided it across my cheek. I looked at him, and his eyes were shining brightly.

Alex opened and poured our wine and set the glasses on top of the basket. “I’m so happy that you can see and that we worked through everything. I told you I’d do this again once you could see. Can I have your ring, please?”

I gave it to him reluctantly even though I guessed what he was about to do. I didn’t want to ever take it off.

He shifted, got on one knee, and took my hands. “Aubrey Ryan, you are the love I have always dreamed of, my life and my future. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. I want us to share everything, have children, and grow old together. I’d go to the ends of the earth a million times and back for you. We’ll make mistakes along the way, but we’ll learn from them and become stronger together. I trust you with my heart. Will you trust me with yours and be my wife?”

Even though we were already engaged, it felt like a new proposal. I felt the love pouring from him. “I will trust you with my heart, and I promise to take care of yours. I’d love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

I watched as he slipped the ring on my finger, and I couldn’t help but get choked up. I looked into his gorgeous eyes. He smiled and hugged me until I fell back on the blanket. He hovered over me, his arms supporting him, and our chests brushed together. That was enough to make my nipples stand at attention. He dropped his lips to mine, and I savored him. My head spun with desire.

He lowered onto me and rolled us to our sides. Moving his right hand through my hair, he whispered, “You’ve made me whole.”