Chapter 5 - The Gift on West ChicagoTwo weeks after the afternoon at the Drake Hotel, the morning sun broke warmly over a newly renovated, three-story brick building in West Chicago.
A large, elegant brass plaque mounted beside the glass entrance doors read:
THE EMMA REED COMMUNITY MEDICAL CENTER
Providing Free World-Class Healthcare for Families in Need
I stood on the sidewalk wearing a simple cashmere sweater and coat, staring up at the grand building in total, speech-bound awe.
Inside were four fully equipped examination suites, an emergency trauma room, a pharmacy, and a dedicated team of five full-time physicians and eight nurses hired under permanent, high-salaried contracts funded by the Vance Foundation.
Gabriel walked up behind me, wrapping his broad, warm arms around my waist, pulling my back flush against his solid chest, resting his chin gently against my shoulder.
"Do you like it, Emma?" Gabriel whispered softly into my ear.
Tears of pure, weightless joy flooded my hazel eyes as I turned in his arms, resting my hands flat against his broad chest, looking up into his storm-gray eyes.
"Gabriel... this costs millions of dollars!" I gasped, my voice breaking. "You built a entire medical center for me?!"
Gabriel reached out, his long fingers gently framing my face, his thumb stroking my cheekbone with an unexpected, breathtaking tenderness.
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"You spent your life working fourteen-hour shifts to care for strangers in dark emergency rooms, Emma," Gabriel promised, his deep baritone shaking with a profound, unshakeable devotion. "I didn't build this for you. I built this so the world can see the beauty of the woman who saved my life."
I pulled his handsome face down to mine, pressing my lips softly, fiercely against his in a deep, passionate, unhurried kiss that sealed our love under the morning sun.
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