Riley
“Lucas, what the hell are you doing?” I snapped as his hands gently tied the blindfold around my head. “Why am I being kidnapped? Are you going to sell my kidneys?”
I heard him laugh. “No, I’m not selling your kidneys. Chill, Morgan—it’s a surprise.”
“That doesn’t calm me down!” I protested, flailing slightly. “You know I hate surprises. And being blindfolded. And walking blind. And being kidnapped—”
“I said it’s not a kidnapping!”
“Feels like one!”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “Trust me.”
I grumbled but didn’t pull away. “This better not be a skydiving thing. I swear if I hear a plane, I’m jumping off the blindfolded cliff myself.”
Lucas just chuckled. “You’re so dramatic.”
I kept tripping every third step, even though he held my hand the whole time. The anticipation was eating me alive. “Seriously, if this is a public flash mob—”
“You’re giving me ideas now.”
“Lucas!”
“Okay, okay, we’re here.”
He stopped me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Ready?”
“No! I’ve been blindfolded for fifteen minutes and might have a heart attack!”
He laughed again. “Three, two…”
“Lucas—”
“—One.”
He untied the blindfold.
I blinked fast as light flooded in.
We were standing in a room—no, a clinic—with glass doors and white walls. But it wasn’t empty. The entire space was filled with people I knew. Zara was in the front row, grinning like a maniac. Her arms were linked with Raphina’s. Dr. Hill was there too, clapping, along with a few of my colleagues, a bunch of Lucas’s teammates, and some board members from his foundation.
And right above the reception desk, in bold letters on the wall, it read:
MORGAN PERFORMANCE & REHABILITATION — Powered by the Lucas Rivera Foundation.
I blinked again.
And then again.
I turned to Lucas, heart pounding. “What… what is this?”
He smiled, eyes soft and proud. “Welcome to your own practice.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“This—” I looked around, breathless. “This is mine?”
He nodded. “Your clinic. Your name. Your program. We had this dream since high school, remember? The one where you’d run your own PT center and I’d fund it like the future football star I claimed I’d become?”
My eyes were already stinging. “Lucas…”
“I never forgot that. And when all this crap happened, I realized we could actually do it. So, I made a few calls. Used the foundation. Pulled a few favors.”
“You mean moved mountains,” I whispered.
He shrugged, all casual. “Anything for you.”
I looked around again. The sleek rehab rooms. The strength and mobility section. A whole hydrotherapy area. State-of-the-art machines. My therapy journals stacked neatly on the desks.
And every single person I loved—standing there, smiling like it was their dream, too.
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
I turned and flung my arms around him, hugging him so tight I almost knocked him over. “Oh my god. We did it.”
He held me back, forehead resting on mine. “Yeah. We did it.”
And then I kissed him. Right there, in front of everyone.
The room erupted in cheers.
Zara screamed, “FINALLY!”
Lucas pulled back just enough to grin at me. “You really thought I was going to sell your kidneys?”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.”
He laughed. “Welcome home, Dr. Morgan.”
And for the first time in my life… I truly felt like I was.