by Amanda Aksel
It’s mid-morning in London when I arrive but the middle of the night at home. I just finally fell asleep an hour ago. All I want is to brush my teeth, take a shower, and see my dad. I ride the escalator down to baggage claim. A man dressed in a black suit holds up a bright screen with my name in bold on it. Thank God Melissa booked me a car. The man says very little when he takes my bags off of the belt and leads me to a small town car.
The drive to the hospital seems as long as the plane ride. Forty minutes later, we arrive at the modern-looking hospital with reflective windows in different shades of blue. I grab all of my things and hurry up to the fourth-floor nurses’ station.
“Yes, miss, how can I help you?” the nurse says in her kind sounding accent.
“I’m looking for David Donovan’s room. I’m his daughter.”
“Beau!” Suzanne’s voice calls down the hall. I turn as she hurries toward me with open arms, her short red hair flapping near her ears. I rush toward her at the same speed, meeting her in a tight embrace. Being close to her makes me feel like I’m that much closer to seeing my dad. It’s hard not to fall apart at this very moment, but I tell myself to stay strong, at least until I get out of this hallway.
“I’m so glad you made it here safely,” she says. “I’ve been so worried about you. Did you get my message?”
“No.” I’m not even sure where my phone is, I’m so drained. “I couldn’t think of anything other than getting here as fast as I could. What happened?”
Suzanne smiles and her pretty brown eyes light up. “He made it out of surgery. The doctor thinks he’s going to be just fine.”
“Can I see him?” I say, grabbing onto my suitcase handle.
“Yeah, he’s still sleeping, but come on.” She waves for me to follow her to a room at the end of the hallway. We pass by my dad’s entourage sitting in a row of chairs just outside of the room. Each of them is either staring at their phone or talking on their Bluetooth headsets. I step inside. A chill hits me as I breathe the sterile stink. His monitor sounds a steady stream of regular yet ominous beeps. There he is, sleeping like the dead and looking paler than ever.
“Daddy.” I run to his side and take his hand. His parched skin feels rough. He breathes softly with the help of an oxygen tube. Now I can break down. Now I can let myself fall apart over everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. Tears surface, ready to cascade down my cheeks into a small puddle on the ground.
“Hello, Suzanne,” A strong voice calls from the doorway.
I look up at the figure in the white lab coat, looking intently at his medical tablet. With his head lowered, I get a full view of his curly, caramel-colored hair.
It’s . . .
No, it can’t be. I must be hallucinating.
The doctor looks up from the screen and our eyes meet. And there’s no denying it now.
It’s, it’s . . . “Mick?” I blurt.
His eyes narrow and he blinks, seeming to not trust his own vision either. “Beau, what are you . . . ?”
Suzanne whips her head back and forth between us. “You two know each other?”
I glance at her confused expression, then back at him looking just as baffled. No doubt the expression of my gaping mouth is carrying the same tune.
“This is my patient,” he says, stepping closer to the hospital bed.
“This is my dad.”
Wait a minute.
The confident doctor is Mick Freaking Bonnaire? The man from my one-night stand? The one whose baby I’m carrying? The one who just saved my father’s life? In a city the size of London, what are the odds?
I suck in a deep breath as my pulse quickens. I glance from Dad, to Mick, to Dad, to Suzanne, to my shaking hands. The room spins and my head feels so light, I’m not sure how much longer I can stay on my feet. Then everything goes black.
11
“B EAU!” I RUSH OVER, BARELY CATCHING HER in my arms before her head hits the floor. I ease her down to the floor and press my stethoscope against her chest. Pulse is okay.
“Nurse! Get me a gurney!” I yell. Within seconds, a bed is wheeled into the room. Beau lays still in my arms like a child who’s passed out watching a movie. I settle her on the bed, and she’s still out cold.
“Is she going to be okay?” Suzanne cries over the gurney, her hands trembling near her face.
“She fainted,” I tell the nurse. “Get her vitals and start her on IV fluids. And someone page Claude.”
“Yes, Doctor.” The nurse nods, wheeling her out of the room. I watch after them, hoping Beau wakes up.
“What happened? Is she going to be okay?” With pleading eyes, Suzanne grabs onto my lab coat. This poor woman’s been through enough in the last twenty-four hours.
I pat her shoulder. “It’s okay. I called the best ER doctor in the hospital. We’re going to take care of her, so please don’t worry.” Now if only she can comfort me—Don’t worry, the woman you haven’t been able to stop thinking about since the wedding is going to be okay.
“It’s my fault,” Suzanne cries. “I was a mess on the phone when I called her. Thinking the worst. She probably thought her father would be dead by the time she got here.”
“It’s all right,” I say, bringing her in for a reassuring side hug. “She’s a healthy young woman. I’m sure she’s just fine. I’m going to go check on her, and I’ll update you as soon as I can. Just stay here with Mr. Donovan.”
Suzanne nods, wiping tears from her face. I snatch the box of tissues from the counter and leave them with her before walking calmly, but very quickly, out of the room. On the way down to the second floor, my heart pounds rapidly against my chest. Beau is David Donovan’s daughter? Of all the movie moguls that could’ve been on my table. And now she’s here, in my hospital. I see her for two seconds for the first time since that night, and she faints. Faints! I round the corner and pass Dr. Claude in the hallway. Why is he not looking after her right now?
“Hey, Claude, where’s your patient?” I ask with slight irritation in my voice.
“The fainter? Room 204. She’s fine.” Claude points to the row of rooms behind him.
“She’s awake?” I ask like she’s been in a coma for weeks.
He shakes his head and makes a note on his digital chart. “Not yet. The nurses are keeping an eye out. Who is she, by the way?” Looking up at me, he arches his brow. Claude and I have been friends since our days at medical university. On my recommendation, he started here two years ago. It’s nice to have a friend in the hospital who’s more than a colleague.
“I’ll tell you about that later.”
He smiles and nods toward the room. “You can see her if you want.”
“Thank you,” I say and hurry to her room. Even with the bright overhead lights, the beeping monitor, and the IV in her arm, Beau sleeps soundly on the bed. By the looks of it, she’s going to be all right—just like Claude said. I step closer, getting a better look. Her skin is much paler than when we met. My heart sinks. Seeing her like this bothers the shit out of me. It almost hurts. Part of me is tempted to shake her awake just so I know she’s okay. I don’t understand what happened to her?
I pull up a chair and wait. And wait. The longer I watch her, the more vivid my memories of Kate and Drew’s wedding become. Not that I haven’t thought about it since then. I have. Many, many times. She’s the first woman I haven’t been able to get out of my head since my wedding. I was tempted to get her number from Drew about a hundred times. But every time, I stopped myself. Why pursue a woman who lives thousands of miles away? Plus, there were other things to consider. If things went badly, I’d risk causing issues with my new sister-in-law. Not to mention the other small detail that she never called after I left that note for her. My ego’s still recovering.
Finally, after about thirty minutes of sitting and reflecting on how odd this entire situation is, her eyelashes flutter. She groans, bringing her hand to her forehead, tugging on the IV line. Her eyes fly open and she ga
sps.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I take her hand and bring my chair closer to her bed. “You fainted, but you’re okay.”
She raises her wristwatch to her face, squinting at the clock. “How long have I been out?”
“Not long, about forty-five minutes.”
She blinks her eyes trying to orient herself, then props herself up on her elbows. “My dad. Is he okay?”
I smile. “Yes—”
Dr. Claude enters the room, his shoes loud against the tile. “Oh, good, you’re awake.”
“Who are you?” Beau asks, then shifts her eyes at me.
“I’m Dr. Claude.” He pulls his mini-torchlight and flashes it in her eyes. “Look up for me.” She obliges. “You had a little spill, but everything seems to be all right.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask since Claude hasn’t.
“Confused.” She looks it too.
Claude tucks the torchlight back into his coat. “You don’t appear to have a concussion.”
“She doesn’t,” I say. “I caught her in time.” Beau shoots me a surprised look.
“Good catch, Dr. Bonnaire. How is it that you two know each other?” He presses his lips together, hiding a smirk.
“Um,” Beau starts.
“Her father is my patient. She was visiting him, and I happened to be there when she passed out.” I also might be the reason she passed out. Good thing Mr. Donovan wasn’t awake to see it. The stress of it all would’ve given him another heart attack.
Beau gives Claude an awkward smile. I recognize it from the ones she was flashing everyone else when we danced at the wedding.
“Ms. Donovan, I just need to ask you a few questions. Would that be all right?”
“Okay,” she says.
“Dr. Bonnaire?” Claude breaks my attention from Beau. “Would you mind stepping out of the room?”
I glance at Beau, hoping she’ll ask me to stay, but she gives me that awkward smile instead.
“Sure, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I nod to the doc and step out of the room. It would be best that I go back upstairs and tell Suzanne that Beau is fine. Instead, I pull out my phone and dial my brother as fast as my hands will allow.
“Mick, what’s happening, man?” Drew answers cheerfully. I guess married life hasn’t gotten to him yet.
“Hey, listen. Beau is here at my hospital. I just performed surgery on her dad. She fainted and—”
“What?” Now Drew doesn’t sound as cheery.
“She’s okay but I wanted to let you guys know in case Kate wants to come be with her friend.”
“Yeah, mate, we’re on our way actually. We’ll be there tonight. So wait, her dad is your patient?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Holy shit, man! What a coincidence?”
“Tell me about it.” And he doesn’t even know the half of it.
“Well, at least he’s in good hands.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll see you tonight. Fly safe.” I end the call and head back to the room. Just before I step inside, Claude asks, “Are you pregnant?” I freeze, knowing that it’s not time for me to come back. Just as I’m turning around, Beau answers, “Yes.”
My head spins for a minute, and I can’t seem to hear a thing. It’s like a bomb has gone off on the second floor. She’s pregnant? She doesn’t look pregnant. That only means she’s still in her first trimester. Wait! Was she pregnant when we slept together two months ago? Or . . . is it mine?
No, it couldn’t be.
Could it?
Oh, shit. Now I’m the one who might faint.
Dr. Claude walks out of the room, and I shake myself alert. “Oh, hey, Mick. You can go in now. Probably just stress and dehydration, but I want to keep her overnight for observation and run a few tests just to be safe.”
I do my best to look him in the eye. “Thanks for taking care of her, mate.”
“Of course.” He heads for the nurse’s station, and I take in a deep breath before going back into Beau’s room. She’s sitting up, holding her arms tightly over her stomach. Over her baby. Hers and whose? She said she didn’t have a boyfriend. What if it turns out to be mine? What would that mean for us? Is she someone I’d want to be tied to for the rest of my life? I don’t think I’d mind it. And I’ve been ready to be a father for years. This just isn’t how I thought it would be. I want to do it the right way. Find the right girl, get married, have loads of sex, and then have a baby. I want at least two, but three would be best—just like my brothers and me. But I’m getting way ahead of myself.
It’s probably not mine, otherwise she would’ve called. But if it’s not, then whose is it? Does she have a boyfriend now? Does she love him? If so, where is this wanker? What if it’s with some guy she slept with one time and doesn’t even like? What if I like her? I mean, I know I like her, but I’ve never been into a pregnant woman before. How would that even work? Not that it matters. She’s only here to see her dad. In a week or two she’ll be gone, off to live her life, with her baby, and some guy.
“Hey,” she says, breaking me out of my insane thought cluster.
I clear my throat. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Like I’m in a foreign country where my dad’s just had heart surgery and I passed out after seeing, well, you. I didn’t think I’d run into you. Like this.”
“Well, I definitely wasn’t expecting to run into you here either.” And pregnant at that. “I had no idea he was your dad. If I had . . .”
“What?” She looks worried.
I let out a small sigh. “It’s just easier when I have no personal ties with my patients. That’s all.” If I’m the father of Beau’s baby, then this entire thing becomes a lot more personal.
“So, please, tell me what happened. How is he? Is he going to live? When can he come home?” Yeah, she’s definitely stressed. Maybe if she’d called me, I could’ve helped her alleviate some of it.
I sit on the edge of the bed and look into her sweet blue eyes. “Your dad suffered a heart attack. Luckily, the paramedics were able to sustain his heart until he got to the hospital. He went under for an emergency bypass. There were no complications during surgery, and I expect a full recovery. I’ve already spoken to his physician in Los Angeles, so he’ll be well looked after when he gets home. But we’ll likely have to keep him here for another week, and I’m going to recommend he stay in the city for at least another week after that. But you don’t need to worry anymore. He’s going to be just fine.”
Tears puddle in her eyes. “Thank you,” she utters, almost in a whisper. “Thank you for saving my dad’s life.” The moment the words leave her lips, those puddled tears fall down her soft cheeks. She lets out a cry, then covers her face, sobbing. I didn’t realize until this moment how scared she must’ve been to get that phone call all the way in LA. To worry for hours and hours and not being able to do anything. I climb onto the bed next to her and pull her close. She just cries and cries, and I squeeze her tight, wishing I were holding her for a different reason.
She takes in a wispy breath and pulls away, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m sorry. You must think I’m a total mess.”
“Not at all.” I hop off the bed and grab a tissue, handing it to her.
“Well, I am. It’s been a really rough couple of days.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, hoping she’ll tell me about the baby.
She lifts her brow, then blows into the tissue with a honking sound. I’ve never been so attracted to a woman blowing her nose. “Thanks, but Kate will be here soon. She might already be here. I don’t even know where my phone is.”
“They’re on their way. I called my brother a few minutes ago. They’ll be here tonight.”
“Tonight? The doctor says I need to stay here overnight. What am I gonna do in a hospital bed for the next however many hours?” She balls up her tissue and tosses it at the end of the bed near her feet.
“I’ll stay with you.”
“I
can’t ask you to do that.” The way she says it tells me that she doesn’t expect a thing from me.
“I’m happy to. I mean, we’re friends, right?”
“That’s really sweet. But I haven’t been much of a friend. I never called.”
I give her a wry smile. “A call would have been nice. But I get that New York was just a one-time thing. So, no hard feelings.” She obviously wanted it to be a one-time thing, so I’m playing it cool.
She looks away. “Right. A one-time thing.”
I glance at my watch. “My shift ends in an hour, then I’m on call. I’ll come back and sit with you until Kate gets in.”
She nods. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“You probably haven’t eaten in a while. Are you hungry?”
She shakes her head.
“Okay, well let me know when you are, and I’ll get you whatever you want,” I say.
“Are you usually this attentive to your patient’s daughters?” She hints at a smirk, and I can almost feel her relax a little. Good. It’s been nonstop intensity since she got here.
“Only the ones who faint.”
She smiles, color returning to her cheeks. Finally, she brightens up. This should be a very interesting evening.
“Beau Donovan?” A woman’s voice enters the room. I turn around. A doctor in salmon-colored scrubs wheels in an ultrasound machine. This is my cue to leave.
“Yes,” Beau says.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Ellis. Dr. Claude asked me to come down here and—”
“You know what, Mick,” Beau starts, “I think I am a little hungry.”
Dr. Ellis shoots a look my way.
“Sure,” I say, glancing between Beau and Dr. Ellis. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Um, chicken soup would be great,” she says with a tight-lipped smile. If only I knew what came first, my cock or the egg?
I nod. “Okay, I’m going to check on Mr. Donovan, then I will be back with that chicken soup.”
“Thanks,” she says, waving. “Tell my dad I’m okay.”
“Dr. Ellis.” I nod, then leave the room. I don’t think I could’ve gotten out of there any faster for Beau. She obviously doesn’t want me to know about the baby. But why? If I could just find out how far along she is, then I’d know if it could be mine or not. I should just ask, privacy or not. I turn the corner to Mr. Donovan’s room. Does he know he’s going to be a grandfather?