Page 31

Chapter 31

Goose

“I’d like to keep you here for a few days for observation before moving you down to a regular room by the end of the week,” Dr. Vance remarked, making notes on his tablet after his examination.

“When can I go home?” My voice grew stronger each time I used it.

The doctor met my eye. “I’m going to be honest with you, Mr. Gusev. You’re looking at a long recovery. Your brain and body have mostly healed while you were unconscious, but there will be lingering effects from the coma. Every case is different, but with the length of yours, I would expect you to need months of physical therapy. Your muscles have weakened with disuse. You’ll have to relearn even the most basic of motor functions, such as walking.”

I wasn’t fool enough to ask when I could get back on the ice. I was lucky to be alive. If I never played another game of hockey, it would be a small price to pay for surviving that car crash.

“Is it possible to have someone come to my home? I have a gym set up; we could get additional equipment—whatever the therapists need.”

Dr. Vance hummed, mulling it over. “Is your house handicap accessible? If I release you to complete therapy at home, you’ll be in a wheelchair. There’s no telling for how long.”

I was determined to get out of here as fast as humanly possible. Whatever it took, I’d make it happen.

“Make me a list of what modifications need to be done to my house so that you’ll sign my discharge papers.”

“Very well. If you can prove to me your home meets your specific physical needs, I might be able to have you out of here in a week.”

I sighed, itching to break out of this place. “Fine. What about visitors?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“What are the limitations on visitors while I’m stuck in here.”

The doctor’s eyes shifted to Gemma standing beside my hospital bed. “We’ve allowed your wife unlimited access.”

“I’m not asking about my wife.” I smirked, peeking at the woman I loved whose gaze had dropped to the floor as I leaned into her lie. What she didn’t know was that it wouldn’t stay a lie for long. “From what I can tell, my friends have been here, but only one at a time. What are the rules about having the group of them come?”

He frowned. “Normally, we only allow two visitors inside an ICU room.”

I reached for Gemma’s hand. “Think you could make an exception? Just this once?”

“How many are we talking about?”

“Eight, not counting my wife.”

Eyebrows shooting sky-high, he repeated the number. “Eight?”

“Wait.” I turned to Gemma. “My mom’s here too, right?”

“Yeah.” She gave a slight nod.

“Then make it nine.”

Closing his eyes, Dr. Vance exhaled heavily like I was trying his patience. “I can give you an hour. That’s it.” He gave me a stern glare. “And not a minute more.”

My grin grew wide, and I offered him a mock salute. “You got it.”

“I’ll have someone from PT come up for an evaluation so they can develop a treatment plan specific to your unique needs. I’ll return this evening to check on you.”

“Thanks, Doc!” I called after him as he walked out of the room, shaking his head.

Squeezing Gemma’s hand, I declared, “Time to round up the troops.”

The weary look on her face matched the tone of her sigh. “Sasha, you’ve barely been conscious for an hour. Does it have to be right now?”

“Yes.” I gave a firm nod. “I want everyone here as soon as possible.”

“What Sasha wants, Sasha gets. Story of my fucking life,” she grumbled, but I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

Gemma slipped her hand from my hold, reaching for a bag set on a chair in the corner. Producing her phone, she tapped the screen, typing out a text and sending it. Immediately, several responding dings sounded in quick succession.

“They’re on their way,” she announced.

“Good. I should probably call my mom. Do you know if she’s been staying at my house?”

“Maddox set her up in a hotel a block away so she could be close to you.”

That’s the guy I know and love.

“Perfect. Hand me my phone.” I curled my fingers in a gimme motion.

When she placed it in my palm, I hit the number I had on speed dial.

My mother’s voice was apprehensive when she answered, “Sasha?”

Gemma shot me a curious look when I began speaking in Russian. But I didn’t want to spoil the surprise I had planned once we were surrounded by our closest friends and family.

When I hung up, my girl quirked an eyebrow. “What was that?”

“What?” I tried to school my features into an expression of innocence.

Her eyes lifted to the ceiling. “Just when I think you can’t shock me any more, you casually let it be known that you’re bilingual.”

I cocked my head. “You don’t know any Italian?”

Shrugging, she replied, “Few words and phrases. My cousins and brother know a little more but aren’t fluent. Not by a long shot.”

“Huh.” I shook off the assumption with a quick shake of my head, changing gears. “Where’s the bed remote?”

Stepping closer, Gemma pulled it down from behind my head. “Tell me what you want moved.”

“Nah. I got it.” I eased the remote from her hand and pressed the large red call button.

“What’s wrong?” Gemma’s voice rose in panic.

A nurse, the same one who wasn’t my biggest fan after the feeding tube removal, walked into the room. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Do you think you could arrange for the hospital chaplain to visit my room?”

“The chaplain?” The nurse’s brows drew down in confusion.

“Yes, we will require their services once our guests arrive.”

“You mean your visitors?”

I gave a dismissive wave of my hand. “Same difference.”

“Sasha, what’s going on?” Gemma hissed.

Capturing her wrist, I shifted my grasp until my thumb rubbed over the diamond of her engagement ring. “We’re getting married, baby.”

“What?!” she shrieked.

The nurse’s eyes volleyed between us for a moment before she broke the silence in the room after I dropped that bomb. “I’ll make a call and pretend I didn’t hear the reason why.” She shot a pointed look at Gemma, whose cheeks pinkened.

“Thanks!” I chirped cheerily.

“No, no, no,” Gemma chanted softly. “We can’t get married today.”

“Hey, come here,” I coaxed gently.

“No.” Her voice grew stronger as she paced the length of the small room. “I get that you’ve been faced with your mortality, but this is crazy!”

“I’m not waiting one more day to make you my wife. I’ve waited long enough.”

“Long enough,” she huffed. “We’ve known each other all of five months. One of which you spent in a coma!”

“Baby, I’d have married you the day I met you. You’re the one.”

Her hands flew to her hair, thrown up into a messy bun, before she glanced down at her clothing. “I’m in yoga pants and haven’t showered in days.”

“And I’m in a hospital gown,” I countered. “Do you think I care?”

Gemma’s eyes darted around the room, searching for an excuse to delay our nuptials. They landed on my face and traveled upward. “Don’t you want to wait until your hair grows back?”

“What?” My hand flew to my head, where, sure enough, my fingers encountered strands barely an inch or two long. “Why?” I looked to her for an explanation.

Wincing, Gemma replied, “They had to cut it to perform the procedure required to relieve the pressure from your brain bleed after the accident. I’m sorry.”

I let myself mull over my new look for a minute before flipping from the negative to the positive, teasing her, “Guess you got your wish. It was time to update my look anyway.”

“Sasha,” she said my name on a sigh. “Let’s just take a minute to think about this.”

“I don’t need a minute. I know what I want.”

She threw her arms up in the air. “Fuck it. Let’s get married. Why the hell not?”

“That’s my girl,” I praised.

The rest of our lives started today.

“Go figure, it’s the guy always barking up our asses about being late to the ice that’s the last one here,” I teased when Maddox and Bristol walked into the already crowded room.

Maddox rolled his eyes. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to get out of the house with a newborn?”

My gaze shifted to Bristol, who had a tiny bundle strapped to her chest. “Is that my godson I see?”

She stepped over to my bedside, leaning forward so I could catch a peek of the little guy. His angelic face was relaxed in sleep, his lips parted as he snoozed peacefully. A tuft of dark hair graced his head, clearly having inherited his coloring from his father.

“He’s beautiful,” I remarked. “How old?”

“A week,” Bristol replied.

“Think he’s up to the task of ring bearer?”

You could have heard a pin drop after I dropped that bomb.

Gemma sucked in a sharp breath, alarm seeping into her tone. “We don’t have rings.”

“Yes, you do,” my mom spoke up, reaching for the chain hanging around her neck. Pulling it from inside her shirt, the ring at the end caught the harsh fluorescent lights of the room—my father’s wedding band.

“Mom, I can’t,” I protested.

Unclasping the chain, she pressed the ring into Gemma’s palm, curling her fingers so that her fist closed around it. “Your father didn’t get a chance to watch you grow into the incredible man you’ve become. He’d be honored to have you carrying a piece of him as you embark on this new phase of life.”

Next, she slipped off her own wedding band and offered it to me. “This is for your bride. My only wish is that the two of you are as happy as your father and I were, even if our time together was cut short.”

Tears sprang to my eyes, and when I spoke, my voice was rough with emotion. “Thank you.”

“Wait,” Braxton cut into the tender exchange. “Just so we’re clear on what’s about to go down. You’re not already married?”

I reached for Gemma’s hand. “No. But we will be in a few minutes.”

“I knew it,” Maddox said.

My beautiful bride ducked her head. “Desperate times.”

Jenner patted Gemma on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth, you sold it really well. I bought it, even if our resident cynic didn’t.”

“How am I a cynic?” Maddox challenged his best friend. “I was right.”

A knock sounded on the open door, and a middle-aged man in clergy garments smiled at our gathering. “I hear today we have cause for celebration.”

“We sure do.” A bubble of joy expanded inside my chest. “I’d like to marry the love of my life today. If you’d be so kind as to do the honors for us.”

He dipped his chin. “It would be my pleasure.”

Our friends made a path for him to enter the room, and he situated himself on the opposite side of the bed from where Gemma stood.

“I’ve been warned by the nursing staff that your visitors only have about fifteen minutes left before they are asked to leave, so if it’s all right with the two of you, we’ll do the quick version.”

I nodded my agreement. “Works for me.”

Gemma laughed softly. “Par for the course. Whirlwind from start to finish.”

Gazing up at her, I countered, “Once you’re mine forever, we can slow down and enjoy the rest of our lives. That’s a promise.”

The chaplain cleared his throat. “If I could get your names before we begin?”

“Aleksander and Gemma,” I supplied.

“Very good. Let us begin.” He opened the book he held and read from the pages. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite Aleksander and Gemma in the bonds of holy matrimony. If anyone can show just cause as to why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

There was a pause, and I peeked at my friends, thankful they were here to share in this monumental moment.

“Do you, Aleksander, take Gemma to be your lawfully wedded wife? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

I brought Gemma’s hand to my lips, dusting a kiss over her knuckles. “I do.”

“Do you, Gemma, take Aleksander to be your lawfully wedded husband? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

Glassy hazel eyes peered down at me from where she stood, and she whispered thickly, “I do.”

“Do you have rings to exchange?” the chaplain asked.

“We do.” I gave my mother a look of gratitude, and she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Wonderful. If you would repeat after me, Aleksander,” he prompted. “Gemma, I give you this ring as a symbol of my unending love and devotion.”

With her hand in mine, I said, “Gemma, I give you this ring as a symbol of my unending love and devotion.” Then I slid my mother’s wedding band down her finger until it rested flush against her engagement ring.

“Gemma, your turn,” the chaplain said.

Taking a shaky breath, my girl’s voice wavered as she spoke. “Aleksander, I give you this ring as a symbol of my unending love and devotion.” She leaned over the bed to access my left hand, sliding the ring down my finger.

The weight of it was strange but welcome, and I flexed my fingers into a fist around the plaster cast resting against my palm.

Sniffles sounded from the women gathered in the room, and a quick glance revealed each one snuggled into the arms of their husbands, most likely reliving their own wedding days.

“By the authority vested in me by the State of Indiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

I chuckled under my breath. “You’re gonna have to give me an assist on this one, baby.”

The love I felt for this incredible woman was reflected back at me in her eyes as she dipped her head, and our lips met, sealing our union.

Forever wouldn’t be long enough with this woman. But I’d make do.