“Then wait until you talk to her.”
Russ went and got them both some coffee. Together they sat down outside of the hospital room. He watched the nurses and doctors rushing around. There were a lot of noises, and sometimes tears. This was where loved ones gathered to be thankful or to mourn the loss of their dead.
“I’m in love with Anna.”
“Have you told her?”
“No. I’ve not told her. I don’t exactly know what to say. I know I can’t live without her.”
“Then tell her. This world is too short to lose the woman you love because you don’t want to say the words first.”
“You don’t think I’m rushing it?”
“Every person on their deathbed dies with some form of regret. You and Anna, you didn’t exactly meet in the best of circumstances, but you can make it work. I know you, Russ. You don’t fall for women, or have a crush. If you say you love Anna, then it’s the real deal.”
Moaning from inside the room had them both getting to their feet.
He followed Lewis into the room, and watched slowly as Mandy opened one eye. Her other eye was swollen shut.
“Hey,” Lewis said.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“You’re in the hospital. What do you remember?”
Russ saw her frown. A lump formed in his throat as the panic washed across her face. Leaving the room, he called for a doctor.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what has happened to me.” She tried to sit up, and screamed in pain as she didn’t remember she had broken bones. “Help me. Please, help me.”
Lewis took a hold of Mandy’s hand. He’d found the woman he’d been hunting for, but she wasn’t really there. Mandy was gone from her mind, but Russ had to wonder if she would ever want to come back.
Chapter Thirteen
Anna finished putting together several ideas for the one house, and she was just making herself a hot chocolate when Russ walked in. He’d sent her a text to let her know that he was at the hospital and that Lewis had found the woman he’d been searching for.
From the sorrow on his face, it wasn’t good news.
She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s going to be okay. I promise it’s going to be okay.”
He cupped her cheeks like he did back at the office, and claimed her lips in a searing kiss, leaving her breathless.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, breaking away.
“I love you, Anna. I know it hasn’t been long, and I’m not exactly the perfect guy to be married to or to be in love with, but I love you.”
“What?” She had to be dreaming. There was no fucking way this was happening to her.
“Life is too damn short to wait around, and after what I’ve just seen today, I don’t want to wait. I want you, Anna. I want my kid inside you, and I want my ring on your finger. I want you to belong to me.”
“That’s a lot of wants.”
“I always get what I want.” He stroked his thumb across her lips. “I can be the kind of man you want. I love you, Anna.”
“You love me? And you want to marry me, and have kids?”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too. I love you, and I’ve tried to fight it, and I can’t, and it has been killing me inside that I don’t know how to fight my feelings for you.”
“I want to marry you tonight. I’ve got a private jet. We can go to Vegas right now and get married. I don’t want to wait.”
Anna was led out of the apartment as Russ got on the phone. She really couldn’t believe what was happening. He placed her in the car, and he drove toward his private jet. While they were flying, Russ kept her on his lap, and he refused to leave her alone.
“Marriage to me is not going to be perfect, baby. It’s going to drive you crazy.”
“I can handle crazy.” She kissed his lips. “Are you sure you love me?”
“Yes. I’m sure. I’m surer than anything.”
Later that night, they stood in one of the strip wedding palaces after Russ had bought her a wedding band. They said their vows, and were warned their marriage would be binding in a court of law. Anna offered to sign a pre-nup, and Russ refused.
She didn’t want to have anything to do with his money.
They stayed in Vegas for their honeymoon, and the following morning, Russ called ahead to the club. Richard was the first one to answer.
“Are all the guys there?” Russ asked.
“Lewis is still at the hospital,” Richard said.
“Okay, I’ll call him after. Put me on speakerphone.”
“You’re on.”