Secret Love (The 4Ever Series Book 2)

by Isabella White

  At reception, Pam smiled at him. At least he thought that was her name.

  “What are you still doing here?”

  “Could you do me a favor?”

  “For you, anything,” she flirted.

  Jake clenched his teeth in irritation, but managed a smile. “I need all the interns’ files, please.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “The interns’ files?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said. They need to be looked over, nurses and doctors next, and lastly the rest of the staff.”

  He was lying through his teeth, without even flinching. He’d become adept at it for the past three years.

  “Okay.” She turned in her chair, gesturing for him to follow her.

  He followed her to a room on the upper level. Once she showed him where the intern files were, he dismissed her. “Thanks, that will be all for now.” He smiled, waiting for her to close the door.

  Turning to the cabinets, his fingers started flipping through the files. This was so stupid. She wasn’t going to be in any of them. He reached the section marked with an S. Slowly flipping through the first few files, his fingers froze on the fifth. It was there, written in big, bold, black letters. SCALLANGER. His eyes flicked between the H and the last name.

  With shaking fingers, he pulled the file out and opened it. The first thing to jump out at him was the picture of her in the top right corner. His heart clenched into a tight ball as he looked at the picture.

  “What the actual fuck?” he whispered to himself, his eyes scanning over the photo.

  He was at a total loss as to what to think. Anger bubbled up in him. How on earth had she become a doctor? He’d never taken her for being that smart, but there she was. He knew it wasn’t easy to become a doctor if you didn’t go to medical school right after college. He’d done it, and by the looks of it, she had, too.

  Grabbing his leather briefcase, he shoved her file into it, closed the cabinet, then opened the door.

  His heart was pounding.

  Why now? Why six months before my fucking wedding?

  Shutting the door behind him quickly, he left without a hint of a greeting to anyone.

  HOLLY

  When Holly finally crawled out of her hiding spot, Jake had left. She filed all Teresse’s paperwork after making sure she’d put everything back in the right order. It ended up being a lengthy process.

  Stupid Jake Peters. Why did he have to come back? Here she thought fate was finally on her side, just to get punched in the face one more time. She heard a shrill laugh inside her head, fate’s mirth at her expense. Fate would never be on her side. Ever.

  Fate was a bitch.

  She couldn’t stop seeing his face in her mind’s eye. He’d been so shocked to see her face, his face had been drained of all vitality. He’d been white as a ghost.

  And now, she could only assume what he must be thinking. Why had she become a doctor? And probably, how?

  She swiped at an angry tear. It was mixed with the rejection of almost five years ago. The humiliation. He hadn’t even said anything, but why would he? Never in a million years did she think seeing Jake would have this effect on her. She’d swear he’d gotten even more gorgeous over the years. Unbelievably, her heart ached for him, even though he’d left her in the deepest, darkest hole five years ago. How could she still ache for him?

  ************

  The following day, Holly was surprised to hear that Jake had been in to see Ty at four a.m. It could only mean one thing: he didn’t want to run into her again. The thought made her want to cry all over again. A small part of her had always wondered if he hadn’t simply gotten cold feet about the babies, then changed his mind afterward but had no way of finding her. Now she knew for a fact that that hadn’t been the case at all. He hadn’t wanted to see her, hadn’t loved her the way she’d loved him. The way she still loved him and always would, even though he’d never wanted her or their babies.

  How pathetic was she? He was a fucking asshole who’d thrown them away when they’d needed him the most. And she still loved him.

  The rest of the week followed the same pattern. Jake only saw Ty when Holly was not around. It was as if he had a crystal ball he peered into, pinpointing exactly where she was at any given time. But whatever. She dealt with it as best she could, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d thought. Besides, she didn’t really want to see him, either. When she slipped into Ty’s room one morning, Mavis flung her arms around Holly.

  “Okaaay, we are hugging, yet I have no idea why.”

  Mavis let her go. She beamed at Holly, but with tears in her eyes. “Teresse told us what you did, thank you so much.”

  “She did? Oh. Oh. It was nothing, really. You should thank my friend. He was the one who handed Ty’s file over to Dr. Peters. And him, too, of course. I mean, you should thank Dr. Peters.” She was rambling. “Just don’t talk about it ever again, and don’t tell anyone. I could lose my job,” she ended on a whisper. What she’d said wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want Mavis to talk about it. She didn’t want him to know she was behind it.

  Mavis laughed softly, then pretended to zip her lips closed with her fingers. “He’s so young, though, don’t you think?”

  “He is, but he’s the best. Mavis, he’s the one percent of doctors willing to operate. Please don’t change your mind now. I live with the friend I just mentioned to you. Trust me, I’ll not hear the end of it if you decide not to go ahead. Not only that, Ty needs this surgery. He’s in extraordinary hands.”

  “He’s just so young.” Mavis sighed

  “My mom’s only nervous because she drools over the guy whenever she thinks no one’s watching,” Ty piped up.

  “Ty! I’m nervous because the operation is very dangerous, and you are my child. And Dr. Peters is very young, younger than I’d like the doctor operating on my child’s brain to be. I’m not nervous because I think he’s good looking.”

  Holly snorted “Okay, truce. Yes, he’s young, and yes, he has that entire I’m-from-another-planet kind of sexy going for him, and yes, he knows it, too.”

  Ty chortled at Holly’s words.

  “But I promise you, with human brains, he is not only the best in the US. I believe he’s one of the top ten brain surgeons in the world. Doctors with his talent end up working for presidents one day. Don’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers.”

  Mavis nodded. “That’s pretty much what I thought, I just never expected he’d be so young. I always thought Peters was the Chinese doctor.”

  Holly laughed. Should anyone Google Jake Peters, the doctor, the first pictures to pop up were the ones of him standing next to Dr. Huyo. They looked like best buds in them.

  “So, what did he say?” Holly asked. She hadn’t gotten a breakdown or verdict, as she’d spent days worrying about stupid, shallow stuff.

  “He’s waiting for Mom to give her consent.”

  Holly gaped at Mavis. Ty could die at any given moment.

  “Don’t look at me like that. What he told us scared me.”

  “I hope he told you that Ty’s tumor can kill him at any moment.”

  Mavis confirmed with a nod.

  “He gave it to us straight. The percentage rate is not very high, something like 40/60, but that’s enough for me,” George said.

  “For me, too,” Ty reply tiredly.

  Mavis’s expression still belied her concerns. For some reason, she still wasn’t convinced.

  “Look, I know it’s scary, but Ty is going to die if that tumor isn’t removed. Would you rather watch him die knowing you didn’t give him that chance, or watch him die knowing you did and tried everything you possibly could have?”

  “That’s what he said, too,” Mavis whispered.

  “I’m sorry, but what is the problem then, Mavis? Ty’s on borrowed time. You know that. See this as the last resort. Don’t hesitate, but rather, grasp it with both hands. There’s a chance he’ll make it.”

  Sighing, Mavis finally
yielded. “Okay, okay, you’re right.” Stepping forward, she hugged Holly. “Thank you. I owe you.”

  “You owe me nothing. I’m just thankful I know someone who knows that arrogant jerk,” Holly joked, making Ty give another tired laugh.

  “And you—” Holly pointed at Ty—“breathe. It’s all you have to do for the next couple of days, you hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  ********

  On Monday morning, Holly made her way to the pediatrics reception desk. As she walked past Ty’s room, she froze when she saw Jake. She wished she could get rid of the feelings he was instilling in her again and pretend to be happy without a care in the world, but she wasn’t like that.

  Once she’d greeted Aggie, she went to make coffee for everyone, adding the nut essence and the chocolate syrup to the mocha blend the nurses took turns buying. Last month had been vanilla.

  “Ah, the famous coffee.” She heard Jake say just as she was finishing. She ignored him. “Unless it’s going to be thrown at me, may I please have a cup as well?”

  The nurses burst out laughing. Holly turned to stare at him through narrowed eyes. Jake looked at her for a second, then back at Aggie, raising his eyebrows as if they were sharing a private joke.

  Holly turned around again, huffed, poured herself a cup of coffee, and left. Why was he being so friendly? Surely, he knew who she was, or… although it hadn’t occurred to her before, he might have actually forgotten about her. No, she’d seen his face that day. He knew exactly who she was. So why was he acting this way today?

  The sound of laugher followed her, although she couldn’t hear what they were joking about, when she entered Ellie’s room to make sure she was comfortable and needed nothing.

  She spent the entire day thinking about Jake. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t know who she was anymore. They hadn’t dated that long, even though it felt like a lifetime to her. She couldn’t have meant that much to him.

  She phoned her mother again.

  “Hey, babe.”

  “Hi,” Holly sniffed. The fact that he didn’t remember her hurt even more.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t think he remembers me, Mom.”

  “What!”

  “He’s really friendly, but it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. We didn’t date for long, as you know, so it could be that he easily forgot who I was.”

  “No, baby. He didn’t. Believe me, he didn’t. You always remember the first girl you knocked up.”

  “Then why is he acting like he has no idea who I am?”

  “Guilt? Who knows? Just ignore him, and don’t let this bother you. If that’s the truth, he’s a bigger scumbag than I thought.”

  “Okay, maybe it’s a good thing. It means he will never find out, right?”

  “That’s the way to look at it. My thoughts are with you, sweetheart. I can only imagine what you are going through.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get over it, like I get over everything else.”

  “That’s my girl. Love you.”

  “Love you too, send kisses to my baby girl.”

  She steered clear of Ty’s room for the rest of the day, but walked past it late afternoon. A meow escaped from the room, just when she thought she was in the clear from any jokes about her cat ears.

  She laughed and peeked her head inside. No sign of Jake.

  “What’s up?” She asked Ty.

  “Miss Kitty Cat, did I do something wrong?”

  “Like what?” She gave him a sweet smile.

  “I don’t know, you’ve been ignoring me the entire day.”

  “I’m sorry, Ty. I’ve been busy.”

  “You sure about that… Bee Puke?”

  She froze. The scumbag did remember her. Huffing, she said, “Seriously. The idiot’s still here?”

  Mavis and George laughed.

  “He is freaking awesome, Holly,” Ty said with a bit more spark. It was so Jake to light fires in people.

  “Ha ha! Okay, I’m going to go now. And don’t take girl advice from Dr. Peters, Ty.”

  Holly shook her head as she left the room. So, he did remember her, and the nickname he’d given her as well.

  What the hell is he doing? Why would he tell Ty that? Shit, is he still here?

  JAKE

  “Bee Puke?” Ty asked.

  “Yes, just call her that,” Jake said.

  “You know her, don’t you?”

  “From a long time ago, but yes.”

  “I’d give anything to know what happened there.”

  “Ty,” Mavis warned.

  “It’s the tumor,” both Ty and Jake said mischievously.

  “She’s coming.” He heard someone calling her, and he lay down on the floor next to the bed just as she passed.

  Ty meowed. He smiled and closed his eyes. The kid was awesome. He couldn’t die.

  Her laughter made his heart clench.

  “What’s up?” Her voice was light and airy, and Jake got lost in the sound of it as she and Ty spoke to each other.

  As soon as she was gone, Jake got up off the floor.

  “Dude, she seriously hates you,” Ty said.

  Jake shrugged. “I can’t think why.”

  They all laughed. Laughter was good for tumors. He wished this one would decide to shrink from all the laughter, then tomorrow wouldn’t be so hard. But this was reality and tumors didn’t shrink from fucking laughter. If only.

  “I would love to know why.”

  “If you find out, let me know.”

  Wiggling his eyebrows, Jake slipped out of the room, but Holly was MIA again.

  HOLLY

  Skidding to a halt when she reached Rev’s car, as she’d run from the hospital to avoid Jake, she unlocked the door and threw herself behind the wheel. She hated the nights Rod worked and she didn’t; their schedule was screwed up. She missed the chats they used to have when they shared an off day. Apart from her mom, he was the only one she could talk to, and she needed him, needed to talk about the awful feelings in her gut, about what seeing Jake was doing to her mind, although she couldn’t mention Jake. He was playing fucking games with her.

  The engine roared to life as she started the car. Pulling out of the parking bay, she made her way toward the boom. In these almost seven months, she’d learned a lot about Boston. The traffic outside the hospital grounds was jam-packed, which meant the trip home would be a longish one, as well as the wait before she even joined said traffic. She was glad Rev had sorted the radio out with his first paycheck—seriously nothing to write home about—because she needed the distraction.

  When her turn finally came, she smiled and waved at Christopher, the night guard, as he lifted the boom. Traffic was a bitch, and she’d be lucky if she made it home in time to watch The Real Housewives at seven. She finally understood why Bern used to love it so much. She’d really became fond of it over the past few years.

  Crawling along, she bet some idiot either had a breakdown or caused an accident. The radio blared while she watched the time every so often. Fifteen minutes later, she’d barely gotten a mile away from Downsend. Little by little she inched forward until she drove by the problem. A collision. She followed a big-ass black SUV into a turn-off lane. If anyone else was going to bump someone, it would be this SUV. Driving behind it, she was protected, considering she was in a tiny Golf. As the light was red, traffic was stopped once again. She smiled when she noticed the SUV’s license plate: The Beast.

  The traffic light changed to green and everyone drove off except the SUV. “Ugh! C’mon.” Holly honked the horn, and she wasn’t the only one. A couple cars behind her managed to get a gap into the other lane, whooshing past her to pull in front of the SUV, honking once again at the driver. Frustratingly, the light turned red again. She hadn’t moved at all.

  “Stupid SUV,” she grunted. Some people just don’t know how to drive.

  The person in the SUV turned up the music. That confirmed her suspicions—it
was definitely a chick because of the song choice. Listening to the words, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes up to the sky. “Seriously, a little break, please?” she begged. She hated that song. It was funny how the characters portrayed in books and in songs didn’t exist. This particular song had played in the movie Pretty Woman, called “King of Wishful Thinking.”

  “I’ll get over you, I know I will…” she found herself singing the chorus, which was something that always happened, no matter how much you hated a song. The light turned green again, yet the SUV didn’t move an inch. What the fuck was going on? She blasted the horn again, but got no reaction from the driver. Turning on her indicator, she managed to find a gap and pulled out, slotting herself in front of the SUV. She finally managed to turn before the light turned yellow. Thankfully, the rest of the journey home was uneventful.

  Holly cooked dinner, which consisted of stir-fry chicken on white rice accompanied by a glass of red wine. Holly enjoyed Bridgette’s company. She wasn’t a giddy and giggly kind of girl, and her head was screwed on right, although she liked going to a bar on Thursdays. Holly had caught her coming out of Rev’s room a couple of times in the mornings, but other than that, she was the nicest out of the lot of them. Julia, as usual, sulked throughout the entire meal because Macaroon had spent the entire day at Downsend. She hated Julia for her obsessive crush on Jake. He was the highlight of her day and when she didn’t see him, she would sulk. It was so pathetic, Holly could puke.

  After dinner, Holly ended up doing the dishes as well. It would take a miracle for someone other than Rodney or herself to do them, and she refused to live in a pigsty. Satisfied she’d cleaned up to her liking, she took a long bath and had a second glass of wine before calling Jamie.

  “Hi, Mommy!” Jamie squealed down the line.