"It's over, Micah," she said evenly. "You told me to expect sex and nothing more. This was a temporary situation. I told you I'd take whatever you could give, but I've changed 277 my mind. That's my prerogative just like it was yours to make conditions. I'll never try to keep you from your child, but you need to understand that I'm no longer willing to be the one making concessions."

As she said the last, her finger found the nurse call button. It was a cowardly thing to do, but she was hanging on by the thinnest thread. Pain, physical and mental, coursed through her chest and knotted in her throat.

"If you have any affection for me at all, Micah, please don't make this difficult. I'm tired.

I hurt. I'd like you to leave."

Micah stared at her, his lips pressed together so tightly they were thin, white lines. The door opened, and the nurse bustled in, an inquiring look on her face.

"Are you ready for more pain medication? I'm glad you changed your mind. Pain isn't good for you or the baby."

Without a word, Micah got up, and as he'd done before, he left the room without looking back.

Tears brimmed in Angelina's eyes as she watched the door swing closed.

Mistaking her upset for discomfort, the nurse placed her cool hand on Angelina's forehead. She wiped her hand into Angelina's hair in a gesture of comfort as she readied the syringe to inject medication into the IV.

"You'll feel better in just a few minutes," the nurse soothed.

She wouldn't feel better, but she'd made the right decision.

Micah stood outside Angelina's hospital room waiting for the nurse to wheel her out into the hall. He'd respected Angelina's wishes. He hadn't been back to her room, and he'd damn well given her plenty of time to think.

Well, he was done with all that now. Oh, he understood why she'd said all she did. It was nothing less than he deserved, and in an absurd way, he was proud of her for making a stand for their child. She'd make one hell of a mother. But hell would freeze over before he'd leave her to be a single mother and care for their child alone. And duty had nothing to do with it.

He paced back and forth until finally the door opened and the nurse pushed Angelina out into the hall. She visibly flinched when she saw him, but she didn't say anything. She just waited, her dark eyes looking so soulful that his chest tightened.

"Thank you," Micah said as he took the handles of the wheelchair. "I'll take it from here."

278 The nurse handed him Angelina's discharge papers and then smiled cheerfully at Angelina as Micah rolled her away.

He took her down in the elevator and out to the front, where his truck waited. She didn't say anything, but then neither did he.

He helped her into the passenger seat, and after making sure she was settled and buckled in, he walked around to the driver's side and slid in.

She kept glancing sideways at him. He hadn't told her he was coming to get her from the hospital. If he had, she probably wouldn't have been there when he arrived.

"Where are we going?" she asked in a nervous voice.

"Your apartment," he said in an effort to dispel her trepidation.

She relaxed against the seat and turned to stare out the window. Did she honestly think he was going to deposit her at her apartment and walk away while she prepared to walk out of his life?

Of course he hadn't given her any reason to think differently. That would change quickly enough.

He pulled into the apartment parking lot in front of her building and turned off the truck.

"Stay there. You need to take it easy," he said as he opened his door.

It was a gorgeous fall day. Bright blue skies and no hazy smog hanging over the city.

Beautiful day, and his entire life was falling apart. It seemed apropos.

He walked around and opened the door for Angelina. Hugging her arm to her injured shoulder, she wiggled across the seat. He reached up and carefully eased her into his arms so he wouldn't jar her ribs.

"I can walk," she said in a stuttering breath.

Her body trembled against his, and as much as he wanted to keep her in his arms, he didn't want to push too soon. Not yet.

He set her down and waited for her to get her feet underneath her. He kept his hand at her elbow to steady her, and they walked toward her door.

"Let me have the keys," he said.

She handed them to him, and for a moment, his hand curled around hers. She looked tired. Fragile. Lost. He wanted to pull her into his arms and go to bed for a week. Just 279 him and her. No outside world. No worry. No pain. No past.

He pulled away and unlocked her door, shoving it open. She walked in ahead of him and when they stepped into the living room, it erupted in chaos.

"Surprise!"

The voices echoed across the room as people jumped up. Okay, the girls jumped up. The guys sort of stood there looking faintly amused as Julie, Serena and Faith ran over to greet Angelina.

Angelina took a step back, her expression horrified. Tears welled in her eyes and her face crumpled. With a choked sound, she turned and ran into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

The girls stood looking mystified at Angelina's abrupt departure.

"I told you this wasn't a good idea," Connor muttered as he walked up beside Faith.

"She's just getting out of the hospital after a hellish experience. The last thing she's up for is a damn welcome home party."

Micah sighed as he scanned the room. "Look, guys. I really appreciate this. More than you know. I love all of you. I know I can be a dick, and I know I've kept some pretty heavy-duty shit from you. I don't deserve your friendship, but I'm damn grateful for it.

But I'd really, really appreciate it if y'all could give me some time here. I'm fighting for my life. For a woman who means everything to me."

"I'm sorry, Micah," Faith said in a stricken voice. "I thought ... I don't know what I thought."

She looked so distressed that Micah immediately pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Don't be sorry, doll. You have a heart of gold, and the thing is, Angelina needs your kind of friendship. She's not upset at you. She's upset with me and rightfully so. She thinks she's moving back to Miami."

"And you're going to let her?" Julie challenged, her lips turned down into a ferocious frown.

"No, I'm not," he said quietly.

"Good," Serena said. "She loves you, you know."

"I know. I love her too. I just have to convince her of that fact."

280 "Okay, so let's get out of here and leave them to it," Connor said impatiently.

Nathan pushed off the wall and walked up beside Julie. "Connor has an excellent idea.

Why don't you take me home and convince me you can't live without me."

Julie snorted. "Like I want you to have the big head?"

They all filed past Micah, each of the girls stopping to give him a fierce hug. He didn't deserve their loyalty, but it felt damn good to have it. It made him feel good that part of it extended to Angelina and had nothing to do with him. She'd won them over, no thanks to any effort on his part to include her in his life.

After seeing them out, he shut the door and turned in the direction of the bedroom Angelina had disappeared into.

If there was ever a time he needed wisdom, needed just the right words to say, it was now. This was ... this was everything. His future, his happiness, his chance to have it all again. He couldn't af ford to fuck it up.

He paused outside her door, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he slowly pushed it open and stepped inside.

She was sitting on the bed, her head down, and she was crying.

Ah hell. It took everything he had not to go over and scoop her up in his arms, but he was determined to have this conversation with her without resorting to physical manipulation.

Their chemistry was off the charts, and that wasn't what he wanted deciding their future.

He wanted her heart, not just her body.

"Angel baby," he said softly.

She looked up and quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry. I was so rude."

He shook his head as he crossed the room to sit on the end of the bed. There was a respectable distance between them, and he didn't want to be any farther away from her than was necessary.

"No, you weren't rude. You just came home from the hospital. You're entitled to be freaked out by a half dozen people waiting for you in your apartment."

"It's not that," she said quietly. "I'm going to miss them. I really like them."

"And me, Angel? Will you miss me if you go back to Miami?"

281 She looked away.

"Look at me please," he said. "It's time I got a chance to talk. I listened to what you had to say. I gave you space. Now it's time for you to listen to me."

She raised her gaze to him, her lips trembling. "Okay."

Suddenly nervous, he stood and began to pace back and forth in front of her.

"I loved Hannah. You know that. David and I both loved her. I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with her. That was always my plan.

"When I lost her, a part of me shut down. All I could think about was getting away from a place where I saw her at every turn. I left Miami because I wanted to start a new life in a place where no one knew me and I wasn't faced with unhappy memories on a daily basis."

"I understand," she said in a quiet voice.

"I didn't think about you, Angel. I don't say that to hurt you. To me you were still the sixteen-year-old sister of my best friend. To think about you meant I had to think about David and I wanted my past behind me.

"And then you walked back into my life, only you weren't a teenager. You weren't a schoolgirl, nor were you my best friend's little sister. You were a gorgeous woman with a sexuality to match my own. But you were also the embodiment of everything I wanted to forget.

"I looked at you and I ached. I wanted you, but I also wanted you to go away. I didn't want to let you into my life because I didn't want to love again. I didn't want to risk losing someone I cared about. It was a lot easier to approach sex in a casual, fun way. No strings. No love. No relationships. I wasn't celibate in the three years since Hannah's death. Far from it. But I never gave away any part of myself in the process. Until you."

A tear slipped down her cheek as she stared up at him.

"You were right, Angel. I didn't want to want you. God, I fought it. I told myself all kinds of lies when it came to you. I told myself it was just sex. I told myself I could let you go when it was all said and done. I resented you for inserting yourself so fully into my life, and then one day I realized I couldn't imagine my life without you.

"And then when Chad took you, I was so damn scared. I was scared I'd lose you. I was scared he'd hurt you. I was scared I'd never get to tell you how much I goddamn love you.

I was scared I'd never get to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you alone after David died and how sorry I am for pushing you away when all you did was love me."

282 No longer able to keep his distance from her, he sat on the bed and turned so he faced her. His hands covered hers and he pulled them to his chest.

"I don't want to live without you, Angel. I want it all. I want you. I want our baby. I want us to be a family. I want you to love me as much as I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving that love to you."

A sob escaped and more tears trickled down her cheeks. She made no move to wipe them away. She shook almost violently, and he couldn't tell if it was from upset or a true chill, but he pulled her into his arms anyway.

His shoulders shook as he gripped her almost desperately against his heart. His breaths came out in a short staccato that had him feeling light-headed.

He kissed her hair over and over, and he prayed. Prayed she'd give him another chance.

Knowing he had more he needed to say, he carefully pulled her away, and his own eyes stung as he saw how ravaged her face was.

"I know I have a lot to prove to you, Angel. I know you're probably thinking a lot of crazy things right now. Like whether I'm saying all this because I feel guilty about Chad.

Or whether I'm only saying it because of the baby. I can't convince you of my sincerity in an hour or even a day. What I want, what I need, is for you to give us a chance. Stay with me here in Houston. Let's take it one day at a time. I want it all, baby. I want you to marry me. I want us to have lots of babies. But I won't pressure you. I want you to be with me because you absolutely know that I love you more than life. When you know that, that's when I want you to commit to being with me forever. But until then, I just want a chance. I want you to stay with me so I can take care of you and our baby. And one day I want you to marry me. When you're ready and when you trust me fully."

"Oh, Micah," she said in a tear-choked voice. "I love you so much. Are you sure you're ready for this? Are you sure you want me to stay here?"

"I want it more than I want to live. Give us that chance, Angel. Just say yes you'll stay.

We can work everything else out in time."

She went into his arms, wrapping herself so sweetly around his body that he closed his eyes at the exquisite joy of just holding her again.

"I love you. I want this to work. I want us to work, but I want you to be sure, Micah."

"I want us both to be sure," he said solemnly as he pulled her away to stare down into her eyes. "I'm not going to change my mind, and in time you'll know that, I promise. Until then, just promise me you'll keep loving me and take it one day at a time."

She smiled, her eyes all watery and red, her nose swollen and her lips ravaged from her 283 nervous chewing on them, and she'd never looked so beautiful to him than right now.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll stay." She looked down and smoothed a hand over her stomach. "We'll stay."

He closed his eyes, and for a moment he simply couldn't breathe around the knot of emotion welling in his throat. He tried to speak, tried to tell her how damn much he loved her, but nothing would come out. God, he loved her.

He put his hand over hers at her stomach. "Are you happy about the baby, Angel?"