Two days ago marked six months since Ziggy left. He hadn't called me. He hadn't answered my call either. I knew I shouldn't have let it bother me, but it still did.

I had been working hard to let go by focusing on repairing what I actually had—my job, my reputation, my friends. I finally stopped ignoring Rebecca's calls and allowed her to apologize. Without her or Ziggy, I had no other friends here. Now that I didn't have Ziggy, it was more of a reason to forgive her.

I checked on my newest patient, Mary, who was still under the watchful eye of Theresa. She was entertaining, to say the least, but she used her sense of humor to hide her pain. She was here to receive a new fibromyalgia treatment, but would lie about her pain levels until she was literally blue in the face. Theresa put me on her case knowing I would be the only one who could get her to talk. I figured her out quickly.

"If you can't see it," she flipped the ace of spades between the fingers of one hand. "It doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Or does it?" She flipped the card back around in her fingertips and it was now a queen of hearts.

I gasped with surprise, snatching the card from her. "Are you fucking serious?" I'm such a sucker for inexplicable things like magic tricks. Mary laughed, looking like a kitten with her small features and stark black pixie cut. "You have to teach me how you do this. It's driving me insane."

"A magician never tells reveals her secrets." Her smile had a charming feline quality to it—something about the ironic pointiness of her canines. "But . . . if you go on a date with me I'll make an exception."

I laughed. Why does this keep happening to me? "You're my patient, Mary. That would be inappropriate." That reasoning would work from now on, I would make sure of it.

She gave me a playful frown. "Fine. You're way out of my league, but I'd hate myself if I didn't try."

"I would absolutely be in your league if I wasn't reffing the game," I joked. She laughed.

Her pale cheeks flushed as she started to say something else. She stopped when she became distracted by something in the hall behind me. "What the hell is that?"

I looked over my shoulder at what seemed to be a colorful cloud approaching the nurse's station. I froze when I saw what it really was. It was Ziggy and he was holding a vase of flowers as big as he was.

A smile spread across my face. "That is a long story," I said to Mary, returning my focus to what I was supposed to be doing. "Do you have any pain at all?"

"Nope."

"Really? Give me a number," I pointed to the chart we modified for her. A level four was her level one.

"Two."

"Thank you," I said, standing from her bed. I glanced back into the hall again. "I'll be back to check on you later."

"Enjoy the flowers," she said as I left.

When I walked out of her room, my heart pounded nervously.

Ziggy leaned onto the desk, schmoozing Denise and Tiffany. I stood and stared.

He was barely recognizable. His smile bright and wide, his hair long again and undyed. Though it was still styled in that hipster undercut, something about the dark brown made him look taller, darker, and made his hazel eyes pop. With his elbows on the counter, his biceps flexed and his shirt hung tight as his middle. He looked strong—muscular again—his body filling out his clothes nicely. Too nicely.

"Ziggy." His name left my lips like a gasp.

He turned to me and smiled. "Nurse Brennan."

He looked like a completely different person than the last time I saw him. Even though he had always been handsome, I had forgotten how hot he was when we first met. He gave me a knowing look.

I walked closer not knowing what to make of anything. "What are you doing here?"

"My six-month scans came back clean."

"Oh my God!" I covered my mouth with my hands. "Ziggy that's amazing!"

"It is. And it also means I am officially no longer a patient of this hospital. So . . . These are for you, as promised." He presented the flowers to me, but I wouldn't kid myself into thinking I could lift them.

I let my eyes dance over them. Multi-colored roses, an array of indigo, blue, yellow, orange, and pink, all unraveling like a rainbow on each bloom. They were impressive, but nothing more than a sparkling bow on my true gift. I looked up at Ziggy. "Rainbow roses?"

"Yeah. None of that basic red shit for you, right?" He set them back on the station counter.

My smile was so wide, my cheeks ached. "Why am I not surprised?"

He stepped closer and wrapped me in a hug. I stood in a stupor for a second, then draped my arms over his shoulders to pull him close. I buried my face in his neck, letting my senses convince me he was real. He smelled the same. He felt familiar, even though his muscles hid the bones that had been there the last time I touched him. His hair tickled my palm as I ran it over the back of his head. His hands sliding against my back sent an excited shiver up my spine. He was as real as real could be.

The emotions I thought I had let go welled up inside me.

He released me. "I haven't seen you in so long," I whispered. I let my hands slide over his cheeks before I regained the wherewithal to stop myself.

"What? Do I look different or something?"

His flirtatious smile made my belly flutter. "Yeah, very."

"I had to look pretty so you wouldn't be able to resist when I asked you out." Ask me out? He gave me a panty-dropping smile. "Are you busy tonight? Can I take you somewhere nice?"

The thought of reopening a door I had just managed to close made me hesitate. "I'm working tonight."

"Tomorrow then?" As usual, he didn't seem ready to take no for an answer.

I glanced up the hall and saw Dr. Smith walking with another doctor in the other direction. I prayed he didn't turn around and see. "I don't know . . ."

"She gets off at five tomorrow," Denise said. "She can go out with you after that."

"Thank you, Denise," he said to her. She gave him a mischievous smile and rolled her chair away from the desk. She wouldn't have been so nice to him if she knew he had called her a cow behind her back. "So should I pick you up at six?"

I had just moved on—or was actively convincing myself I had—and now he was standing in front of me, asking me to do something I never thought he would. Ziggy had a way of encouraging me to make bad decisions. "I can meet you somewhere at seven," I resigned.

"Perfect. I'll text you the details." He stepped forward and took my face between his hands. My eyes widened until he leaned in and pressed a slow kiss to my cheek.

The kiss ended but he lingered with his mouth just a breath away from mine. He stared at me as he traced his thumb over where his lips had been. I didn't breathe until he dropped his hands. "See you tomorrow."

"See you," I murmured while he walked away.

"Girl . . ." Tiffany growled.

"You better get it," Denise added.

I turned and gave Denise a playful glare. She and Tiffany smiled back and looked as happy as I felt. I leaned forward and smelled the roses.

The next night, I was freaking out about being on time only to find myself running late. I left the hospital at 6:15. Ziggy made reservations at a fancy restaurant for seven. There was no way I was going to make it in time unless he expected me to show up in scrubs. I sent him a text on the way to my car.

Just left work. Can we reschedule for 8? Is that too late?

No of course not. See you then

I started to feel bad until I saw his next message. It made me cackle.

I'm not going to let you cancel on me. Don't even try it.

I had changed outfits six times. When I finally decided on one, I was running even later than before.

My nerves were shot. To make it better, my uber driver couldn't find the restaurant. I told him to pull over and tried to keep from running to the restaurant. I should call him, right? I pulled out my phone and did just that.

"Hey," he answered.

"My Uber driver got lost. I'm almost there, I swear."

He laughed. "Okay, good. I'm straight back to the left." If I didn't know him better, I would have missed the nervous edge to his voice. That made me more anxious than before.

I stumbled into the restaurant and looked for him. I saw him just where he said he'd be. His dark hair matched his dark suit made and made him look handsome as hell. I picked a little black number, figuring I couldn't really go wrong with that. It was form-fitting and flattering, but I dressed it down with an oversized blazer and booties. I wished I hadn't, this place was a mandatory jacket kind of restaurant.

He stood when he spotted me walking over. "You made it." He kissed my cheek.

"Finally, right? I wouldn't be me if I made it somewhere on time," I joked. He gave me a pity laugh while I scooted into the booth. My outfit looked ridiculous next to a crystal centerpiece and white tableclothed table.

"You look amazing," he said as if reading my mind.

"Thank you. You look great. Like, really great."

"Thanks," he smiled. "I ordered us some champagne."

"Oh, perfect!" Liquid courage.

He poured two flutes and handed one to me. I took a nervous sip. When I sat it down, I looked over and found him eyeing me. Not knowing what to say, I picked up the menu and tried not to choke when I saw the prices.

"You know, I never asked if you even like lobster," he mused.

"I do."

"Good. Let's get that then." I nod and hand him my menu.

The waiter came by with a bruschetta appetizer. Ziggy ordered for us and the waiter left us again. Another stretch of silence continued. I took a piece of bruschetta and bit it to fill the space. "Does this have truffle on it?" I asked him as he took a bite.

"It better. I googled 'pretentious as fuck restaurants' and this place was top of the list." I chuckled and finished my piece. "Are you nervous?" 

I swallowed and looked up at him. ". . . A little. Yeah." 

"Me too." He reached over and took my hand in his. "I have to admit I had ulterior motives inviting you out tonight."

"I'm sure you did."

He laughed. "I think you have the wrong idea." He ran his thumb over the tops of my fingers. My heart dropped when his expression grew serious. "I asked you out tonight because . . . I want a chance with you."

I stared at him. "A chance with me?"

"Yeah." His nervous smile made me anxious. "Going through what I did . . . It put a lot of things into perspective. Living in fear of dying showed me how much I had already let slip away. I was so desperate to feel all those things I thought I had missed, and I went about it in all the wrong ways. But, through my chaotic rollercoaster of pain and fear . . . there you were. Right by my side no matter what." He took my other hand and stared at them. "With as much as I had to look forward to in my life, all I know is that, when I was in that bed, I wanted to wake up so I could have another chance to see you."

It took me a moment to find words, and when I did, all I could say was, "That's . . . a lot."

"It is." His gaze fell back to our hands. "I know you thought I was crazy when I told you I loved you before surgery. And I'm sure you thought I only felt that way because I was dependent on you, especially at the end. But that wasn't it." He looked me straight in the eyes. "I fell in love with you, Sabine. And I am willing to do whatever it takes to make you fall in love with me too."

I wanted to cry, but I fought it off. I tried to say something but I couldn't find the words. I looked to him for help.

"Give me a chance. Please. That's all I want."

I stared into his eyes. It was always so off-putting when Ziggy let his vulnerability show. I had just accepted the fact that he was gone from my life, and now he was back, practically begging me to fall in love with him. It was too many emotions happening all at once. I felt lost. All I really knew was I didn't want to be without him anymore.

"Okay," I whispered.

He perked up. "Okay?"

"Okay."

He leaned forward and kissed me. It felt amazing having his lips on mine, but it revived the pain of being without him for so long. I placed my hands on his cheeks, wanting him closer, and never wanting him to leave again. 

When he pulled away too soon, his smile was huge. He looked so happy.

I was happy too.