She looked away, wiped her hand across her cheek. “You can’t operate anymore. And that’s my fault.”

“C’mere.”

“No.” She stayed where she was. Folded her arms, her jaw clenched.

“What—why?”

“Because . . . I know if I walk over there, you’ll do something charming and then suddenly I’ll be crying or even crazily kissing you and . . . and . . . that’s not going to happen.”

“I promise to behave myself.”

“Now you’re just lying.”

He grinned. “C’mon. Don’t be mad.”

“I’m furious. And worried. And . . .” She sighed. “Sad. You scare the wits out of me! I can’t help but think this is all my fault.”

“Give me a little more credit than that. Haven’t you met me? I can’t stay away from trouble.”

“Yes, I have met you. And that’s the problem. Yes, you are trouble. One second you’re kissing me on the beach, and the next you’re having a heart attack.”

“It wasn’t quite in that order.”

“It felt like it!” She held up a hand. “I think we just need to admit the truth here.”

If she wasn’t going to come to him, he was going to her. He pushed his bed button to sit up more. “What truth is that?”

“The truth that we’re too differ— What are you doing?”

He’d taken off the ECG pads, and when the machine started beeping, turned it off. “We’re not that different, Tae. In fact, we’re very much alike.” He pushed to his feet. “We’re both driven by our hope to matter. To save lives.”

“Colt, sit down.”

He grabbed the IV stand. “Since the day I met you, you’ve been my Florence Nightingale. Just looking at you makes me feel better. Healed.” He walked toward her, dressed in his silly hospital jammies. “Whole.”

“Says the guy with a defective heart.”

“Swollen, honey. It’s just . . . a little bigger than normal. Like the Grinch.”

It earned him a tiny smile. “Stop.”

Not on his life. “Don’t you see, Tae, that you’re a crusader. And you need someone to watch your back. And that’s me.” He reached her and now put his arm over her shoulder, bracing himself against the wall, trapping her.

“And that’s you, huh?” She put her hand on his chest. “Even with your broken heart?”

He leaned in, kissed her neck. “It’s not broken anymore.” He looked at her. “Because you make it worth saving.”

She gaped at him, then rolled her eyes. “See, I knew this would happen.”

“What?”

She kissed him. Nothing crazy, just a gentle whisper on his lips. But in his head, he was sweeping her up into his arms, pulling her against him, deepening his kiss, drinking in the taste of her. Tae. Yeah, she very much healed him.