George gave him a smile before he leaned forward and shook his hand. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Hamilton.”
Dex shook his hand. “Thank you for having me. And please, call me Dex.”
Everyone filed out of the auditorium and left the building, but the three of us remained. His parents didn’t say anything as they waited for Dex to come out, like nothing needed to be said, nothing could compete with what just happened.
Dex eventually came out, taking the stairs until he reached the aisle of seats. “So, what do you think? Did I kill it?”
Deacon grinned widely before he rose to his feet. “Yes.”
“Baby, you were amazing.” Now that Cleo no longer had to pretend Dex was just an employee, she was an affectionate mama bear all the time, wearing that motherly glow like she was still pregnant with him. She joggled slightly in her heels then reached him, landing against his chest and wrapping her arms around him. “What did I do to deserve a son like you?”
Dex hugged her back, resting his chin on her head. “Mom, come on. The only reason I’m awesome is because of you.”
Deacon walked over and encircled them both in his arms, forming a group hug like they did at the hospital after his first surgery. Deacon kissed Dex on the temple and squeezed him tightly. “What about me?”
“No,” Dex teased. “It was mostly Mom.”
Deacon smiled like the joke didn’t bother him in the least.
I stayed in my seat because it wasn’t my place to join them. But they were too cute not to stare. Every time they were together, it was like a Hallmark movie. They were the perfect family, like a warm cup of hot cocoa for the eyes.
Dex pulled away. “You guys didn’t have to leave work for this. You could watch it on YouTube.”
“I couldn’t care less about work,” Cleo said. “It’ll be there when I get back.”
Deacon kept his hand on his son’s back. “Wouldn’t miss it for anything.” He gave him a gentle pat.
Dex stood between them, absorbing the unconditional love of two parents who thought the world of their son. He slid his hands into his pockets then shifted his gaze to me. “What are you doing over there?” He waved me over. “Come on. Get over here.”
Like melted butter, a smile spread across my lips, loving the way he made me feel like I belonged, like we were somehow equals, when he was the one changing the world and I was just helping him get there.
I joined them, feeling my heart race faster and faster the closer I came to him, a little starstruck even though we were friends, even though he proved he the least egotistical person on the planet. There was no reason to be intimidated, to feel like I was meeting a former Beatle, but it happened anyway.
“You think we’re going to get those donations?” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at me with that charismatic smile.
“Absolutely.” Anyone who watched that segment had to be inspired, and anyone who had a heart would be moved by it. Wallets would open, and the money would pour in. The next time we checked the balance, it would be full once more. Ginny would get her surgery without a hiccup, along with anyone else who needed it. “You were unbelievable up there.” My hand moved to his arm to give him a gentle squeeze, and just that touch of affection sent electricity through my arm. “If I had money, I’d be giving it to you.”
His eyes softened. “Thanks, Sic. But I would never take it.”
He was usually double-booked on surgery days, doing one in the morning, and then exercise and a nap afterward before he took on the second one. I was there to provide lunch and everything he needed to make it as easy for him as possible.
I sat in his office and glanced at the clock.
It was almost seven.
He was supposed to be done with his surgery at six, but he was still in the operating room.
With Ginny Tompkins.
I’d brought him his dinner, and I could leave, especially since I had a date.
Yes. I had a date.
His name was Dom. We met at the gym.
I decided drooling over a guy I couldn’t have was a big-ass waste of time. He was totally out of my league anyway.
The longer I sat there, the more anxious I became.
He was usually on time with his surgeries, to the minute.
That meant something was wrong.
God, please don’t let there be anything wrong.
I was too anxious to wait in his office, so I headed down the hallway to the operating room. No one was allowed inside, and it was the one place where I couldn’t follow him, even if he did need me. There was a door that led to a theater galley, so I opened it and walked up the stairs, seeing the residents who came to watch his surgery. Not a single one turned to look at me, so obviously, something was happening.
“Again.” Dex’s powerful voice was audible, but I hardly recognized it because it sounded so unfamiliar.
I moved to the glass and saw Ginny on the table, her chest open, her heart still.
They pressed the paddles against her body and released the charge.
She gave a jerk, but nothing happened.
Dex stared at the monitor, waiting for her vitals to come back.
Nothing.
“Oh my god…no.” I cupped my mouth and felt the tears break through instantly because this little girl couldn’t die.
The nurses were fidgety and jerky, some of them already succumbing to tears because the end was inevitable. They turned to look at him, waiting for another order.
Dex breathed hard then looked down at Ginny. “Again.”
“Dr. Hamilton, we’ve already—”
“I said again. Now.”
The nurse did as he asked.
Dex looked down at her, his jaw visibly tight through his mask. “Ginny, come on… I’m not letting you die on me.”
Nothing happened.
The monitor stayed blank.
The nurse set down the paddles and stepped back, her hands moving to her hips, defeated.
But then it happened.
Her heart started again.
Dex closed his eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath. “There you go, sweetheart.” He got right back into it, giving the nurses orders, and they began to close her chest back up.
I fell onto the bench with my hands covering my mouth, so relieved that it felt like a mound of bricks had been pulled off me. “What happened?” I asked no one in particular, just anyone who would answer.
A woman in blue scrubs sat beside me. “When he got her open, he realized there was a lot of damage to the arteries in her heart. He had to clean them out, do the graft, and repair the hole in her heart within an incredibly short time frame, but he did it…because he’s Dr. Fucking Hamilton.”
“Why did her heart stop?” I whispered.
She shrugged. “She might have been on bypass too long, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to cut it close.”
Dex and the nurses put her back together, and they prepared to send her to the ICU. Dex stood there with his arms raised, his eyes on her vitals as the nurses slowly undressed him and removed his gloves and other protective gear, like his cap and lenses. Instead of turning to wash his hands and leave, he continued to stare. “Just let me watch her for a couple minutes, make sure she’s alright…”
The nurses stepped back and waited to make the transport.
He stared and stared, his eyes glancing down to watch her breathe. With his arms over his chest, he watched her body rise and fall, taking deep and even breaths. Then a slight smile moved over his lips. “Breathe, sweetheart. Breathe.”
I intercepted Dex in the hallway on the way to the waiting room. “Are you okay?”
He continued to walk, his head glancing my way. “Just a little shaken up, but I’ll be alright.”
“Are you going to tell her parents what happened?”
He didn’t ask how I knew. He was probably used to the fact that I just knew everything all the time. “Not right away, but I will.”
“No. It was just a complication from the bypass, but she’ll be fine. She’s little, but she’s strong.”
I smiled and grabbed him by the arm, giving him an affectionate squeeze. “Thank you…for being you.”
He stopped and gave me a pat on the back before he walked toward the parents.
Both of them were out of their seats so quickly, rushing to him with their arms wrapped around each other, bracing for the impact. I couldn’t hear their words, but I knew the moment Dex told them Ginny was okay, because they both burst into tears…and sobbed. Mr. Tompkins held his wife against his chest and cradled her as they both cried tears of joy. Now their daughter would have a long and normal life because of this man—who didn’t even ask for a penny in compensation.
Mrs. Tompkins then moved into Dex and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his scrubs.
Dex, not sure what to do, gave her a gentle one-armed hug.
Then Mr. Tompkins shook his hand.
When they broke apart, they shared a few more words, then Dex turned away.
“Wait, Dr. Hamilton.” Mrs. Tompkins came after him and pulled out a necklace from her purse, which had a cross with the Virgin Mary hanging from it. “I got this from the Vatican, where I asked the Pope to pray for my daughter… I want you to have it.”
Dex, always overwhelmed by their gratitude, had no idea what to do. “I can’t take this—”
“Please.” She grabbed his hand and placed it inside. “You’re a man of God. He works through you…every single day. Bless you.” She kissed his hand and stepped back, her eyes still watery.
Dex tightened his hand around the necklace before he gave a nod. “Thank you.” As with all the others, he unclasped it and put it around his throat, along with the other two that were already there, including the one she had given him already. Then he moved to the hallway and joined me once again.
I walked with him back to his office. “Is that common? For doctors to receive crosses from their patients?”
He shrugged. “My colleagues don’t get them.”
He already had three, like it was a custom or something. Or maybe people really felt God when they were in his presence. “It’s sweet that you wear them.”
He reached under his scrubs and pulled out the chains, the three of them hanging together. “Just not sure what I’m going to do if I get any more.” He stepped into his office, where dinner was waiting for him, and he immediately moved into his chair and started to scarf everything down.
I took a seat beside him, but then my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see that Dom had called me three times because I was an hour late for our date. “Shit.” I quickly sent him a text. So sorry. Work emergency. Can I meet you in thirty minutes? I doubted he even wanted to see me at this point.
Hope everything is okay. See you in thirty.
I was not expecting that response. Thanks. Sorry again. I put my phone back in my pocket.
“Everything alright?” he asked in between bites.
“Yeah, everything is fine.”
His look lingered on my face for a couple seconds, but he didn’t press me on it.
I wanted to stay with him, to make sure he was doing alright after that intense scene, but I’d already been on the clock for sixteen hours and I needed to go have a life of my own. “I would love to stay, but I have to get going. I’m sorry.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It’s okay. It’s…” He turned to look at the clock. “Jesus Christ, it’s after seven.”
“Yeah. When you didn’t come out of the surgery on time, I started to panic.”
“That makes two of us.” He grabbed his bottle of water and took a deep drink. “But I promised she would be okay, and I was not going to break that promise for anything.”
My eyes automatically softened, like they did a hundred times a day when I worked with someone like him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I rose from my seat and headed to the door.
“I’m about to leave too. I can give you a lift home.”
I turned back to him. “I’m not going home, actually.”
“Oh, where are you off to?” He turned in the chair, holding his container of food in front of his chest as he continued to eat, looking sexy in those loose scrubs without even trying.
I felt awkward for giving my answer, but I shouldn’t feel that way. He’d probably be relieved that I was moving on to the other fish in the sea. It had been tense for a week after that conversation, but after this, it would really be over. We could pretend like it never happened. “A date.”
He stilled at my response, holding his fork in midair without closing the gap and putting the food into his mouth. A second passed before he lowered the fork again. He gave a slight nod before he said something. “That’s great…”
“Yeah, he’s a good guy.”
“Where’d you meet him?” He started to eat again, but at a much slower rate now.
“The gym.”
“I thought you didn’t work out?”
“I didn’t. But after working for a cardiac surgeon, I started to realize how important it is, so…”
He gave another nod, continuing to eat. “I’m glad that you’re taking care of yourself. It’s much easier to exercise thirty minutes a day, every day, than it is to go under the knife and repair all the damage that could have been prevented.” Now his eyes were down on his food. “Well…have a good time.”
“Thanks.” I felt like I was leaving on a bad note because there was heavy energy in the air now. But it was probably just a misinterpretation of the moment, of the awkwardness, of the fact that he was probably exhausted and mentally burned out. “See you tomorrow.” I turned to walk away.
His voice followed behind me. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
14
Dex
I washed my hands before I left the lab and headed back to my office down the hallway.
The door was open, and Sicily was inside. I chose to come at the perfect time because she was bent over in her tight skirt, making the material squeeze against her nectarine ass and show the definition that would be perfect against my lips. On top of that, the reason she was bending over was to put food on my desk.
Sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
The skirt was short, but she had black tights underneath, so I couldn’t get a peek of her panties, G-string, thong…whatever thin material she was wearing. Maybe they were cotton, maybe they were lacy. Maybe they had little bows on them…
Jesus, Dex.
When I walked through the door, she had straightened, so I didn’t have to fight the temptation to continue staring at her ass. “Hey.”
She turned around to look at me, immediately giving me that smile that was so warm, it was like a summer day. Her long hair was in big, soft curls and pulled into a high ponytail, so her lovely face and slender neck were on display. She had a really nice neck, long and fair, with beautiful skin, a sexy hollow to her throat. Hoops were in her ears, and she had smoky makeup over her eyes.
Her date was a lucky bastard.
“I was on the other side of town, so I went by that sandwich shop you like so much.”
It’d been a few days since her date, and it took all my strength not to ask her about it. Did it go well? Did it go really well, and he slept over? Was she seeing him again? What was he like? What did he do for a living?
Her eyes faltered slightly. “Dex?”
“Sorry, I was thinking about something in the lab. That’s great. I love that place.” Her outfit was totally professional, but it was hot. She had that tight little skirt that flared out a little bit, the tights, little brown boots, and a purple blouse with a gray cardigan on top. She always looked hot, but there was something particularly sexy about her appearance now. I liked her hair down, I liked it up, I liked jeans that hugged her perky ass, I liked loose sweaters that hung down one shoulder… I liked it all, man.
When she took my words at face value, she didn’t look concerned anymore. “If you have a couple minutes, I’ve been in touch with Doctors Without Borders, and they have a schedule in mind.”
“Sure.” I moved to my seat behind the desk and unwrapped my favorite sandwich, which she had memorized, down to the no onions and extra pickles. I picked up the sandwich and took a bite.
She sat in one of the armchairs with perfect posture, her high ponytail big and trailing down one side because her head was slightly turned. “So, they’re thinking the first two weeks of March. Your schedule is already clear. They want you to return to South Africa and have informed the villages that you’re coming.”
I nodded. “Alright.” I’d been to South Africa many times, and I loved it every single time. It was a completely different way of life, culture shock to most people, but I felt right at home. People warned me it could be dangerous, because their military was weak and there were a lot of criminal organizations that would love the opportunity to steal a rich American for ransom, but since I was a doctor sent to heal people, they seemed to respect that.
“So, I can confirm that you’re coming?”
“You mean we?”
She lifted her chin and looked at me, the confusion in her eyes. “Do you mean we? As in, me?”
“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to come…” She was stuck to me like glue, so I assumed where I went, she went.
“I just… I don’t know what I’d do there.”
“Same thing you do now. They don’t supply a lot of help when I do these things, because they’re doing it as cheaply as possible, so it would be nice to have my own resources. But if you’re uncomfortable or scared or anything—”
“I’m not scared of anything. I just…wasn’t expecting that. I don’t have my vaccinations or anything like that, but I could get them.”
“There’s honestly no pressure. If you want to take a two-week vacation, I’d understand. You work like a million hours a week, so you deserve time off if you want it.” Now that I was used to having her around all the time, I couldn’t imagine functioning without her, feeding myself, organizing myself, nothing. I’d be like a kid who just moved out of his parents’ house for the first time.
The Doctor Who Has No Closure (Soulless Book 10) Page 15