by Ivy Wonders
The emotions had been too raw that night. We’d taken chances we’d never taken before. We’d had sex so many times that night, using no protection for the first time. I’d assured him that it wasn’t the right time for me to get pregnant—and I’d thought that had been the case, but I must’ve miscalculated.
I’d been reckless, and I’d made the decision to take responsibility for that. It had never occurred to me that I might see Arrie again. I’d never thought even once that he would still care for me as much as he did now.
And the worst part was that I cared for him too. If it weren’t for this secret hanging over me, it wouldn’t have taken me half a second to take the man up on his offer. If the Mayo Clinic would have me, I would already be planning my move to Minnesota. I would already have asked Arrie to stay with me until his friend got better. Then we could leave to start a life together.
But I’d lied, and for far too long. And while I could never regret the birth of my son, I mourned the happy ending I knew would always be denied me and Arrie.
Chapter 7
Arslan
After our talk, I left Reagan to herself. The more time passed, the more frustrated I became. I understood the fact that she didn’t want to bring a parade of men around her son, but she and I both knew I wasn’t just some guy.
I’m the guy!
That night, I had all kinds of dreams about her and me, remembering the past, thinking of the present, and even imagining the future. A future where she and I had it all—a family, even a couple of adorable dogs too.
When I walked into the hospital the next morning, I saw people walking around with pilgrim hats on and paper turkeys covered the walls of the lobby. “Happy Thanksgiving!” the woman behind the help desk called out to me.
“Yeah, you too.” I’d forgotten all about the holiday.
Heading to the ICU, I found Samantha and Gerald sitting in the waiting area. “Good morning, Arslan,” Samantha said quietly. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I tried not to be a Scrooge about a holiday that didn’t mean a damn to me. “Yeah, so I heard. I forgot all about it, to be honest.” Jerking my head toward the hallway that led back to the patients’ rooms, I asked, “Has Dr. Storey been in to see him this morning? Do you guys know?”
The nurse behind the desk answered my question, “Dr. Storey came in very early to check on Mr. Stone. She has the day off, since it’s a holiday.”
And that meant I wouldn’t get to see her today. “Oh yeah. Thanks.”
“Can we go back with you, Arslan?” Gerald asked me. “We haven’t gotten to see him this morning. The nurse said they’re running tests. Do you know what kinds of tests they’re doing?”
I had no idea. “One of his other doctors must’ve ordered them. Let me check first, and I’ll come get you if it’s okay to see him. You know I don’t want you to see anything that might upset you.” I took off, feeling a bit prickly about tests ordered without my consent.
A nurse came out of Lannie’s room just as I got to it. I picked up the chart as she asked, “Do you want to see the MRI results, Dr. Dawson?”
Looking at the chart, I saw two names under the orders for the MRI, Storey and Kerr, and neither had thought to fill me in on that at all. “Yes, I do want to see them.”
“I’ll get them for you.” She hurried away as I put the chart back.
Kerr and Reagan had been together that morning, and they’d made the decision to get the MRI done at four a.m. They wouldn’t have been able to speak to me at that time—at least I understood better now why I’d been left out.
The nurse came back with a large manila envelope. “Here they are, Doctor. Doctors Kerr and Storey told me they wouldn’t be able to get to them until tomorrow, since they’re both off today. Happy Thanksgiving, by the way.”
“You too. So, they ordered a test they won’t even see for a whole day?” It sounded frivolous to me.
“Dr. Storey told me you’d be in and you could see to them.” She smiled at me.
At least she’d thought about me.
I took the envelope and went into Lannie’s room to look at them. His color seemed better, and that made me happy. When I looked at the MRI results, I had more to be pleased about.
No bleeding on the brain, no bleeding around his heart, and the swelling had gone down a lot too. I went to get his parents, who looked happy to see me as I headed back into the waiting room. “You’re smiling,” Samantha said as they both stood.
“I have every reason to.” I gestured for them to follow me. “Come on. He’s resting comfortably. The other doctors ordered an MRI on him early this morning, and the results have made me very happy. No bleeding anywhere in his body. He’s healing well.”
Samantha and Gerald shared a look of relief as we walked into their son’s room. Gerald patted me on the back. “Thanks to you, Arslan. It’s all thanks to you.”
I had to give credit to the others, too. “And Doctors Kerr and Storey. They really are fantastic.”
Samantha walked to her son’s side and smoothed his hair out, before asking, “Arslan, would you please join us for dinner this evening? We’ve made reservations at Thirteen Coins at eight tonight. It’s a tradition for us. It’ll be awful if we spend it all alone, without Langston.”
“Of course I’ll come. How nice of you to invite me.” I knew holidays could be hard on the families of patients in the hospital. “I’ll be there. And now I’ve got to go shopping for something appropriate to wear, as I’ve only brought casual wear with me. I need to do some major shopping anyway.”
“What a day to plan on shopping, Arslan,” Samantha said with a smile. “I’m afraid you’ll find most everything closed.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Well, my hotel has a boutique. Maybe I can find something from there.”
Heading out, I called Henry to meet me in front of the hospital. “Hey, I’m coming out now.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said.
It being a holiday, I really needed to give the man the day off. So, as I got into the car, I told him where I needed to go, “Take me to the airport. I’m going to see what clothes I’ve got left on the jet, then I’m going to rent a car for the next few days. You can have a well-deserved break, Henry.”
“Oh, I don’t mind driving you, sir. Not a bit.” He smiled, and I knew he honestly didn’t mind.
But I also knew he had a family. “I want you to be able to spend some uninterrupted time with your family. And you’ll still be getting paid as if you were at my disposal.”
“No, sir,” he said. “I can’t take money I haven’t earned.”
“It’s holiday pay, Henry.” I wouldn’t have it any other way. “Now let’s hurry; enough haggling.”
Realizing he wouldn’t get his way, he got behind the wheel and drove me to the airport, where he left me with happy holiday wishes and many thanks for the time off.
On the jet, I found something that the steward had left behind when he’d brought my things to the hotel. A black Armani suit. He’d most likely thought I wouldn’t have a need for anything so fancy.
It would be perfect, and I took it, along with the dress shoes I found in there, and went to rent myself a car.
Later, as I walked up to the entrance of the restaurant, I could smell the scent of roasting turkey in the air, and it made me smile. I hoped Reagan and her family had a good day, and I wished I had gotten her number to tell her that.
I headed inside and was greeted by the hostess. “Do you have a reservation?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s for Stone.” I ran my hand over my jacket as I looked around.
“This way, sir.” She led me to the back of the restaurant and there I saw the most beautiful girl in the world sitting with Samantha and Gerald. And Dr. Jonas Kerr, too.
She sat right next to the man and was laughing as if he’d just said the funniest thing in the world. “Jonas, that’s hilarious.”
“Sorry I’m late.” I
took a seat on the other side of Dr. Kerr.
“That’s okay,” Samantha said. “We’ve only been here a couple of minutes.”
A couple of minutes that had cost me the seat next to Reagan’s. “I didn’t know they invited you guys too.”
Reagan looked at me with a smile. “Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Stone were nice enough to include us.”
Jonas also expressed his appreciation to our hosts. “I’m thankful for the invitation. My Aunt Betty decided to host Thanksgiving this year, and it wasn’t what I expected. She made roasted trout with watery rice and some other weird side dishes. The smell of turkey is making my mouth water for some real Thanksgiving food.”
Reagan put her hand on his arm. “Oh, Jonas, not that woman. What was your mother thinking to put her in charge? You remember when she hosted that luncheon for us?”
The face he made had Reagan laughing again. “Oh yeah, when we first opened up.” He looked at our hosts. “Aunt Betty is head of the auxiliary club, and she had a luncheon for all the doctors at the hospital when it first opened. She had something she called chicken spaghetti.”
Reagan took over, “It was terrible. Chicken legs—still on the bone, mind you—covered in what she called homemade spaghetti sauce. It had to have been plain old canned tomatoes and nothing else. Each plate had a pile of overcooked noodles, one boiled chicken leg, and that awful sauce.”
Jonas jerked his thumb at Reagan. “And this one figured out how to ditch her food without my aunt finding out.”
“I had to figure something out. I knew that as soon as I saw the food.” Reagan looked at me, and I liked that she was finally paying attention to me. “I found an empty plastic bag someone had tossed into the trashcan. Luckily, I’d worn a dress. After I’d forked the food into the bag without her seeing, I hid it under my dress and went to the bathroom to get rid of it.”
Jonas shook his head. “Meanwhile, the rest of us had to eat our food and we all came down with food poisoning.”
“I might not have been sick, but the next day I did have to work my butt off, since the majority of the doctors were hugging toilets.” Reagan put her hand on Jonas’ shoulder, and I really didn’t enjoy seeing that. “But it was worth it.”
The waiter came and brought the drinks they’d ordered before I got there. “Oh, we’ve got a newcomer.” He placed all the drinks in front of everyone. I noticed everyone except Gerald had ordered cocktails. “And what can I bring you, my good man?”
“Water.” I never drank a drop then drove anywhere. And as I watched Reagan have one drink then another throughout the dinner, I made the decision that she’d need a ride home as well.
After the meal, we all headed out to the parking lot, and I stepped up to walk beside Reagan. “I’m taking you home, Reagan.”
She stopped mid-stride. “Huh? I mean, no.”
Protesting would get her nowhere. “Yes. Come on.” I took her hand and pulled her with me. “You had two drinks, and that’s two drinks too many to be driving.”
“Arrie, I’m fine.” She sounded stern, but I wasn’t going to budge.
“And I want you to stay that way.” Unlocking the car, I opened the passenger door. “Come on. You know I’m not going to change my mind about this.”
Looking up at the night sky, she seemed to be thinking. When she looked back at me, she asked, “And how am I supposed to get my car in the morning?”
“I can bring you here to pick it up.” I’d have an answer for anything she could come up with.
“No, I’ll take a cab in the morning to get it,” she said with a shake of her head, but she got into the car. I closed the door, happy to have that much. And then we were alone together again at last.
Chapter 8
Reagan
“So, you rented this car?” I asked Arrie as he got on the freeway without asking me my address.
“Yes. I wanted to give my driver some time off, since it’s a holiday.” He looked over at me then put his right hand on the console between us. “Do you remember how we used to hold hands whenever we drove anywhere?”
Looking at his hand and knowing it to be an invitation, I shook my head. “Yes, but we’re not together anymore.”
The way his jaw clenched told me he didn’t like the reminder. “Well, we are sitting together in this car, and my hand is itching to hold yours, so there’s that.”
Taking his hand even though I knew it was a terrible idea, I had to admit mine itched to hold his too. “Arrie, do you mind if I ask where you think you’re taking me?”
“To my hotel.” He gripped my hand as I tried to pull it away.
“Arrie, no!” Shaking my head adamantly, I protested even further, “I can’t spend the night with you.” Technically, I could. Skye had stayed at my parents’ house after we’d eaten lunch. He’d be there for the night. If I wanted to be with Arrie, I could. But I knew one night would only open the door to many more of them.
“You’ve obviously got a babysitter, Reagan. If they’re not already planning on being there for the entire night, you can call and ask.” He brought my hand up to his lips, kissing it softly. “Why not come join me for the night? You always loved staying in nice hotels back then. Bet you still do. And this one is nice. Plus, there’s a spa tub that we can lie back in and reconnect.”
As much as I wanted to reconnect with him, I knew I couldn’t. “Look, this is sweet of you. It really is. And I can see you want to try to make things work this time.”
“I can make things work this time, Reagan.” He took an exit, and I found myself happy that he could quickly get to my apartment from his hotel. I didn’t want to make him drive clear across town to drop me off at home—which he would be doing, as I wouldn’t be staying the night with him.
But his confidence had me curious, and I had to ask. “And how, exactly, would you make this work?”
“I don’t have to go back to the Mayo Clinic. I can work at Saint Christopher’s with you.” The smile he wore told me he thought he’d figured it all out.
But that was only half of the issue—though he didn’t know that yet. “This hospital doesn’t pay anything near what you’re making now. Financially, your idea makes no sense.”
Shrugging, he said, “I don’t even need the money I make from my career. My father passed away a few years ago, and I’ve already received my inheritance. I’m already a billionaire, Reagan.”
To know he’d left out something as important as his father dying filled me with confusion. “Arrie, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me about his passing sooner?”
“I don’t know.” He looked straight ahead, as if talking about it bothered him. “I just don’t like to think about it. And I hate thinking about how Mom married Dad’s best friend only six months after he passed.”
“Do you mind me asking how he passed?” Being a doctor made me curious about those kinds of things. Arrie’s father would’ve been in his mid-fifties, a bit early to die from natural causes.
“He and Mom were in Mexico, and he came down with pneumonia.” His eyes stared into the night. “Mom said it only took two days for it to kill him. We had to fly down to Mexico to retrieve his body and found he’d been cremated before we got there. The swiftness of everything disgusted me.”
“I can imagine. And I’m so sorry, Arrie. That had to have been a terrible time for you.” I pulled our clasped hands up and held his to my heart. “And your mother felt it right to go ahead and let you have your inheritance?”
“She had to.” He sighed. “Dad changed his will only a month before he died. Almost as if he’d known what was coming. He left half to Mom and the other half to me. So, you see, I can do whatever I want. And I want to be with you more than I want to work at the Mayo Clinic.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t even know me anymore. It’s been six years, Arrie. And I have a son. He takes up all my time outside of work. There’s not enough time for a man in my life.” I wasn’t being totally truthful on that—I could�
�ve squeezed him in if I hadn’t been lying to him for so long.
But it seemed he’d thought of that, too. “If we lived together, then you’d have plenty of time to spend with us both.”
“I really don’t think moving in together anytime soon would be a good idea. Not with a kid involved.” That part was no lie. Skye would feel all sorts of confusion if a strange man moved in.
“A month of dating and you taking me around him and he’ll be overjoyed with the home I’ll provide for us.” He pulled into the parking garage of the hotel instead of using the valet. He parked, turned off the car, and then gave me his full attention. “I did nothing but dream about us last night. We have something, you and I. We’re meant to be. I dreamed that we had a family, and even a couple of really cute dogs.”
“So you’re psychic now?” I teased him. But hearing him say that he would want a family meant a lot to me. “And these kids … how many did we have?”
“A boy and a girl. And they were adorable. A little more so than the dogs.” He kissed my hand.
“And just how soon would we be having these kids?” I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but couldn’t seem to help myself.
“After the wedding, of course.” His lips barely touched the top of my hand. He used to pepper feather-soft kisses over my entire body. And I wanted to feel those kisses again, pretty damn badly.
“And when would this wedding be?” I stopped breathing as his eyes met mine.
“I’ve thought about that too. I think one month of dating, three months of living together, and then we make it permanent and get married.” He ran his tongue lightly over my hand, making me shudder with desire.
“You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?” I couldn’t tear my eyes from his. I wanted to say yes to everything, but I knew I couldn’t. “Arrie, things aren’t that easy. And as much as you’ve thought about this, you haven’t thought about how it will affect my son. He’s been my world for the last six years, when you count the pregnancy. I’m the center of his universe. Adding you in would take away from him.”