It wasn't enough, but then again, when it came to this woman nothing ever would be.
In one smooth motion, I hoisted her up; her glorious legs immediately wrapping around my waist. As I walked us back to the bedroom, I just knew this woman was potentially dangerous to that thumping thing inside my chest.
Hell if I cared though.
Chapter 19
MIA
"You're looking extra happy today."
I shook my head and made my way to the front of Mrs. DuBois's bed. "I'm always happy when I see you." Winking, I pulled her file off its hook.
"No, no. This is different. Almost like you have a glow about you."
Lifting my gaze from the page, I eyed her with a raised eyebrow. "Must be the lights."
Mrs. DuBois clicked her tongue before smacking her hands together. "That boy has gone and done it, hasn't he?"
My lips curved into a wider smile out of their own volition. Afraid my eyes would reflect my thoughts, I shifted my attention back to the page. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh no, you don't, missy. I want to know everything." She continued speaking but my brain tuned her out while it tried to make sense of everything I was reading. None of it good.
"You had a fever last night and even with the IV, you're not holding anything down." Even to my own ears, my voice sounded robotic. This wasn't right. Her body wasn't fighting back anymore. This time when I looked her over it was with the eyes of a doctor, not a friend. She was too pale. Her cheekbones too prominent. Her eyes too dull.
"Stop it, Mia," Mrs. DuBois reprimanded, her voice firm. "Don't you look at me like I'm just a puzzle that needs solving, you hear?"
Her words slammed into my chest, sobering me instantly.
"I'm worried about you."
As I said the words, I knew Sebastian's concerns were warranted. I wasn't entirely sure how I'd feel if something happened to this woman who had come to mean so much to me in such a short period.
She patted the bed with one hand while beckoning me with the other. I returned the file to its spot before carefully perching on the bed.
"There are bigger things to focus your worries on, child. I'm old. I've lived. I've seen. I've experienced." Her bony hand sought mine out. "I'm more than ready to move on from this life."
Mrs. DuBois might as well have reached into my chest and squeezed my heart with her hands. "Please, don't talk like that," I begged.
Her voice was soft when she spoke. "I need you to know." She took in a deep breath and forced a smile to her elderly face. "Now, stop holding out on me. I want to know all about the kissing."
Because I couldn't say no to this woman, or probably because I was simply too invested, I told her what she wanted to hear—leaving out the bed gymnastics, of course. By the time I was done, she was already planning the wedding and naming our babies. I didn't mind. The excitement of it all had given her a touch of color and put a smile on her face. That was something at least.
"All right." I slipped off the bed. "You can hit me with more names when I come back this afternoon."
My heart still felt heavy when I walked out of her room a minute later, and for some odd reason, I wanted to talk to Sebastian about it. I was on my way to his office when the phone in my pocket buzzed to life.
Pulling it out, I frowned when I recognized Newlife hospital's number flashing on the screen. I hadn't spoken to anyone from there since my clinical rotations. With a shrug, I swiped the green button and pressed the device against my ear.
"Hello."
"Good day. I'm looking for a Dr. Mia Phillips," said the crisp feminine voice at the other end of the line.
"This is she."
Another thought struck. The hospital closest to aunt Vera was Newlife. What if something had happened to her? She was all by herself in that house. She could've fallen or worse, her heart could've given out. My blood ran cold while my own heart tried to break out of my chest. Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed the panic away.
"You're speaking to Dr. Victoria Shaw," she started. "I was wondering if you could come in for an interview."
What? "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Did you say an interview?"
Dr. Shaw let out a small laugh. "Yes, I did."
The lines on my forehead deepened. Lifting my hand, I touched my finger to my eyebrow, rubbing furiously along the hairline.
"But I didn't apply for a position at your hospital."
"Oh, I know. We're expanding and that means adding a diagnostics department to our hospital. We would prefer to bring someone on board who is familiar with our facility. It was mentioned that we look into some doctors who'd done their clinical rotations with us. Your name kept coming up which led to this phone call."
My ears were hearing the words, but my brain was having trouble understanding them. Feeling a little dizzy, I fell back against the wall. Dr. Shaw must've understood what my silence meant, when she spoke again, her voice was soft.
"This must be a lot to take in. Why don't you take some time to think about it, and I'll call you back in a couple of days?"
I licked my lips. "I'd appreciate that."
"Very well. We'll talk soon. Goodbye, Dr. Phillips." The line went dead, and I finally remembered how to breathe. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and dropped my hands to my knees, focusing on the floor beneath my feet.
"Are you okay?"
Lifting my gaze from the floor, I met Bridget's concerned one. I straightened slowly and tugged on the hem of my shirt. "I don't know."
"Oh no, what happened?" She was next to me in an instant, eyes furiously scanning my face.
Shaking my head, I told her about the phone call. Even saying the words out loud didn't help them sink in.
"Mia!" she exclaimed. "That's wonderful."
"I guess." I shrugged. "I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain around it."
Bridget smiled one of those smiles that said everything would be fine. "Of course you are, and that's okay."
"Please don't tell Simon. He'll accidentally tell Sebastian, and I prefer he hears it from me."
Laughing, she nudged my shoulder. "Speaking of Sebastian, there's a rumor going around that the two of you were holding hands in the cafeteria yesterday."
With a groan, I closed my eyes and turned my face toward the ceiling. What was this? High school?
"Are you serious?"
So much for keeping things on the down-low for now.
"Don't worry, Rose has a reputation of embellishing the truth." Leaning in close, she whispered, "But it's true, right? Are you and Sebastian… you know?"
No use in denying it. "We are."
I didn't miss the little flutter in my belly at the thought of Sebastian and I being an 'us'.
Bridget grabbed my hands and squeezed them hard. "Ohmigoodness, I'm so freaking excited right now! We should go on a double date. Soon." Winking, she added, "And then I'll tell you about my and Simon's first double date. It was interesting, that's for sure."
My brain felt thick and foggy; forming a simple sentence almost impossible. Still, I managed a half-assed, "Sounds fun."
"Hey," Bridget gave my hand another squeeze. "Stop looking so worried. Everything is going to be perfect."
As desperately as I wanted to believe my friend, I couldn't shake the feeling that life as I knew it was about to change. It was just a question of whether it was going to be for the better or not.
Chapter 20
SEBASTIAN
"You're sure about these?" Furiously scanning through the results, I didn't even spare the lab tech a second glance.
"I ran them twice, Dr. Ryker."
"Shit!"
I shoved the papers back into the envelope with a little more force than was necessary before stomping back to my office. After slamming the door shut behind me, I threw the results on my desk and swore some more.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
I was way too wired to sit; pacing the length of my office instead. Ch
eryl's body was shutting down and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I didn't even know what the hell else to test for at that point.
Tilting my head back, I dragged my fingers through my hair and stared at the ceiling; willing it to give me the answers I needed. There had to be something I was missing, something I'd overlooked.
Closing my eyes, I dragged a pull of air through my nose before releasing it through my lips. After doing it a few more times, I opened my eyes again and seated myself behind my desk. Reaching forward, I snatched the top file from the stack sitting on the corner and opened it to the first page.
The words remained unfocused as I aimlessly stared at it for who knew how long. Somewhere along the way, the best piece of advice my father had given me started ringing in my ears.
If all else fails, go back to the beginning."
So, that's exactly what I did.
Minutes melted into hours while I went through every symptom, every test, every treatment we'd administered to Cheryl. My desk was covered in scattered papers and medical books. The answer was there, I knew it was. I just needed to find it.
A knock on my door sounded and when I checked the time on the wall-mounted clock, I was horrified to see that I had already spent a good three hours nose-deep in Cheryl's medical records.
"It's open," I said, my voice croaky from not using it and not drinking anything either.
The handle turned and a part, a very big part, of me hoped it was Mia. Because if anything or anyone could ease some of the weight on my shoulders, it would be her.
Unfortunately for me, it wasn't my sexy little redhead on the other side but rather our Head Physician, Dr. Diana Sheppard.
"You got a minute?"
It wasn't a question. Without waiting for my reply, she stepped inside, closed the door behind her and carefully seated herself in the chair in front of my desk.
I leaned back against the leather, perching my elbows on the armrests, and balanced my ankle on my knee. "What can I do for you, Diana?"
Diana Sheppard was about a decade younger than my mother, but every bit as fierce. What else could you expect from Merrill Ryker's protégé? And when she studied me with slightly narrowed eyes, head cocking just a little, it felt exactly like one of my mom's looks. The ones that were usually followed with words of disappointment.
"There's a rumor floating around, and I need you to tell me it's not true."
"What rumor?"
Her assessing gaze roamed over my desk before meeting mine again. "Apparently, you're getting quite friendly with someone on your team."
Well, shit. "As far as I know there's no policy prohibiting me from getting involved with anyone who works at this hospital."
"That may be so," she replied a little too smoothly. "But out of the four doctors currently on your team, only one can stay. So, if it's true, if you are involved with one of them, she can't stay on in diagnostics at the end of her proof period. She needs to go to the ER."
"That's a load of bullshit, Diana."
She gave me a look, and I didn't need to be a genius to know she didn't like the way I was speaking to her.
"She's the best damn doctor on this team."
"You should have thought about that before you jumped into her bed." She pushed to her feet and smoothed her hands down her skirt. "I will not allow you to put this hospital's reputation on the line."
I stood too. "Reputation? Seriously, Diana?"
"Tell me, what do you think people will say when they find out the woman you choose as your right hand is also the woman you're sleeping with? What message does that send to the doctors who want to work here at Memorial?" She flicked her left wrist and touched the face of the golden watch strapped to it with her right hand. "As long as she is sharing your bed, you can't keep her."
Without another word, she pivoted and marched back out of my office, not even bothering with shutting the door behind her. By the time my brain caught up, I wanted to slam my hands down on the table. Wanted to yell and throw things in frustration.
No matter how I looked at it; Mia was going to end up hurt.
It wasn't freaking right. Planting my hands on my desk, I angled my head toward the board where I'd stuck photos of all four of them. Yes, there was no denying that any one of them would be able to step up and do a good job.
The problem was that the other three didn't want it as much as Mia did. Caring for people wasn't a part of them like it was ingrained in Mia's DNA. I let out a long, heavy sigh and dropped my chin to my chest.
"Shit! What the hell am I going to do?"
"Long day?"
My head whipped up and there was no stopping my lips from curving upward at the sight of Mia standing inside my doorway. I straightened with a nod.
"The longest. But it's certainly starting to look better now."
When she smiled, the weight on my chest lifted. I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her until nothing but the two of us existed. As if reading my thoughts, Mia looked over her shoulder before stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
I couldn't wait. The instant the door clicked shut; I pounced, reaching her in a couple of easy strides. Taking her face in my hands, I pressed my mouth to hers. There was nothing sweet or gentle about the kiss. Every ounce of frustration and need I felt came through with each rough swipe of my tongue.
Walking backward until her back connected with the door I crushed her body with mine, pressing all my hard planes into her soft curves. I wanted, no needed, to lose myself in her. My hands slid down her body before slipping beneath her shirt. A tight fit since scrubs weren't particularly stretchy.
Still, up and up they went until I could cover and squeeze her breasts. Mia let out a low moan that hit me straight between the thighs and pushed my hips forward. I needed more though. Needed to see her. Feel her. Tearing my mouth away from hers, I trailed a hot path along her jaw and down the column of her throat. Nipping and sucking as I went. The sweet sounds she was making were equivalent to pouring gasoline on the raging fire of need burning inside of me.
Mia pushed her fingers into my hair, but instead of holding my face to her skin, she tugged my head back and panted, "We're at work."
My gaze swept over her heaving chest and swollen, parted lips while I desperately tried to get my hormones under control.
What was it about this woman that made me so irrational?
Breathing somewhat steadied, I leaned my forehead against hers. "Sorry."
One of her hands came up and caressed my cheek so tenderly, I had to fight the urge to close my eyes and press into her touch. "We need to be careful. People are already talking."
And just like that the entire conversation Diana and I'd had moments ago came crashing into me. What the hell was I going to do? Call me selfish, call me whatever the heck you wanted to, I didn't want to lose Mia. This thing that had barely started was showing me how much more there was to life. That my work didn't need to be my only source of happiness.
But, shit, me holding on to her was also me holding her back from her dreams.
"Hey." Mia's fingers moved through my hair. I freaking loved it when she did that. "Where did you go?"
That right there was my opening. My chance to tell her the truth. Only I couldn't.
"I was just counting the hours until our shift ends." I forced a smile to my lips for good measure.
Mia saw right through it. Since our heads were still touching, I felt her skin move against mine as a deep frown formed on her forehead. "You're lying," she admonished softly.
I dragged my palms up and down her arms. "I'm just worried about Cheryl." Kissing the tip of her nose, I asked, "People are talking?" Knowing full well they were, but I needed her to shift her focus to something else. Tucking her hand inside mine, I led her to one of the couches at the opposite end of my office. Once we were seated, I laced our fingers together.
Mia was watching the action when she spoke, "According to Bridget, Rose is telling everyone we held ha
nds yesterday." She let out a laugh causing her dimples to pop. So damn beautiful. "Doesn't that sound so high school?"
Giving her a half-grin, I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I wasn't part of the gossip team in high school."
Mia raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "Jerk." She mock-glared at me for a few beats longer before she shook her head and smiled. "But Rose wasn't why I came here. I got a weird phone call earlier today."
"Oh?"
Nodding, she proceeded to tell me about an interview invitation. The more she spoke, the more I realized I genuinely was a jerk. If she went to this interview and got the job—which I was fairly certain she would—it would mean I didn't have to worry about telling her about Diana's demand.
"What are you going to do?" I asked with bated breath.
Mia's teeth worried her lower lip while her eyes shifted to our connected hands. "I don't know. I've never really thought farther than working here and learning from you. I'm still so new at this. What if I'm not—"
I trapped her chin between the thumb and forefinger of my free hand and drew her gaze back to mine.
"They came to you. Clearly, they believe in your capabilities. So why don't you? You're a great doctor, Mia. Go to the interview. You have nothing to lose."
I, on the other hand, had everything to lose if she didn't go.
Chapter 21
MIA
Were there different kinds of happiness?
I was always happy when I went to the store and spotted a tub of rocky road, or when my favorite series got picked up for a new season. Going out with Bridget and Ginny made me happy, and so did seeing Mrs. DuBois smile.
But being with Sebastian, now that was an entirely different kind of happiness. He made my heart smile. Considering we'd only been together for a few days, I knew exactly how that statement sounded. It didn't make it any less true, though.
"What's going on in that mind of yours?"
Sebastian's finger brushed over my forehead as he dragged it down the side of my face to push my curls behind my ear. We were tangled up on my couch; my body tucked between his thighs, our legs intertwined and my head resting on his broad chest. Some true crime documentary that I hadn't been paying attention to was playing on the TV.
Egotistical Jerk: A Hero Club Novel Page 11