“But you are still considering it?” Aaron asked cautiously.
“Yes,” Maggie admitted, “but it has nothing to do with barns versus big houses,” she assured him, looking up into his eyes. “If that was the only factor I would choose this barn with you over the biggest mansion in the world.”
“But it’s not the only factor, is it?” Aaron asked solemnly.
“No. It’s not. When I left Boston, I left in a hurry. I left a lot behind.” Maggie took a deep breath before continuing. “I was finishing my second year of medical school. My whole life all I’d ever wanted was to be a doctor. I left the Hamptons, left my family and all their wealth behind to pursue that dream. My mother had never supported my aspirations and I had to choose between a life of privilege or the one I really wanted. It’s been six years since I’ve seen my family.”
“That’s a long time to be alone,” Aaron said quietly, and Maggie knew that he of all people truly understood what it meant to be alone.
“It is, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t go home again until I was a successful doctor. So that I could show them what I had achieved, so that they would be proud of me,” Maggie’s voice faltered.
“But now you’re here.” Maggie could hear the desolation in Aaron’s voice as he realized the gravity of the choice that Maggie was facing.
“Now I’m here.”
“What happened?”
“I became obsessed with perfection. I had to score the highest on every exam, had to be at the top of every class. I had to be the best. I worked myself into the ground trying to achieve that perfection. I rarely slept, barely ate. I studied until my eyes felt raw and then pushed myself to study more. I had no friends, no life, and no other purpose. Then one day it all caught up with me. The pressure I put on myself, it was too much. I cracked.” It felt therapeutic to say it out loud, to admit her weakness.
“Anybody would have,” Aaron said soothingly.
“Unfortunately that moment came for me when I was taking the medical licensing exam. I had aced every other test I’d ever taken, and yet the one test that mattered the most, the one test that determined if I would go on, that was the one that broke me. I had a panic attack. I completely froze. I couldn’t breathe.” Maggie’s chest tightened as she remembered that awful moment.
“I ran from the lecture hall straight back to my dorm room. I felt as if my life was over. Like everything I had spent my life working for had just slipped from my grasp. I felt completely hopeless. And that’s when I saw it. A flyer tacked to the corkboard in my dorm hall advertising the need for a summer caretaker. It was like a saving grace,” Maggie explained.
“So you just left?” Aaron asked.
“I just left,” Maggie confirmed.
“And now it’s time to go back,” Aaron stated sadly. She could hear the resignation mixed with pain in his voice. He pulled her against him hugging her close, but it felt like a goodbye.
“But I’m not ready to say goodbye,” Maggie whispered against his chest. She wanted him to ask her to stay. She needed to know that he wanted her to. Not just for a little bit longer, but forever. Because only forever would be worth staying for.
“Maggie, I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t ask you to stay. I can’t ask you to give that up. Not for me.”
“What if I chose to stay?”
“Don’t.” He averted his eyes, refusing to meet her gaze.
“You don’t want me to?” Maggie’s voice trembled as fear and doubt took root in her mind. Maybe forever was too much to ask for.
“I was there last night, and I watched you deliver that baby. You were meant to be a doctor, Maggie. As much as I want to hold on to you, I love you too much to take that away from you.”
Maggie’s heart skipped a beat. He’d just said he loved her. It’s what she needed to hear. She made her decision, now it was his turn to make his.
“There may be another option,” she said hopefully. “Harvard isn’t the only medical school. There’s a program in Savannah that I could apply for,” Maggie suggested. Her heart was in her throat. She held her breath as she waited for his response.
“You would do that?” she could hear the excitement in his voice as he sat up propping himself on his elbow to look down into her face. “You would really stay?”
“If you want me to,” Maggie whispered. “If you ask me to, I’ll stay.”
Aaron grasped her face between his hands and stared down into her eyes. Maggie looked up at him hopefully.
“Stay,” Aaron said as he brought his mouth to hers. “Please stay,” he whispered against her lips. The kiss was hot and demanding laced with a mixture of relief and need. Maggie felt her body melting beneath his.
She wrapped her arms up around his back and pulled him closer. Her knees bent as she curled her legs around his waist. He slid his hand up her thigh, under her skirt as he kissed her passionately.