“Tomorrow?” Kali repeated, rubbing her eyes. She wasn’t a morning person.
Betsy sighed. “Yes, tomorrow, as in the day after today.”
“I can’t. I’m scheduled off tomorrow, sorry.”
“I’m telling you that I’m rescheduling you.”
Kali gritted her teeth. She knew she requested that day off well in advance. It was Luke’s birthday. There was no way she could miss it. She rushed downstairs to look on her laptop. “No, I can send you the confirmation email that I got that approved.”
“No, I’m sure that you didn’t,” Betsy said. “I was being nice and going to cover the shift for you, but that doesn’t work for me anymore.”
“It’s not covering my shift,” Kali said, feeling anger bubbling in her chest. She found the email where the day off was confirmed. She couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice. “I’m scheduled off. I just forwarded the email to you.”
There was an urgent knock on the door – Craig clearly heard that she was awake and wanted to hang out at precisely that moment. He kept knocking, so she covered her phone before cracking the door open and gesticulating that he needed to keep quiet.
Instead, as soon as he caught her eye, he said, “Oh thank goodness you’re awake, I need to – ”
Her eyes almost bulged out of her head. Without thinking, she threw a hand up to cover his mouth. He gave her a puzzled look.
“Kalista…” Betsy asked slowly, “who was that?”
“Door to door salesman,” Kali said quickly. “Did you get my email?”
“Do I need to remind you that you’re on thin ice?”
Kali slowly pressed a finger to her lips to signal to Craig that he needed to keep quiet. He nodded.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Kali replied.
“I have a picture of you,” Betsy said, lowering her voice, “canoodling with one of your former patients. Did you think I’d just forget?”
“Betsy.” She made sure to keep her voice even. “I am scheduled off tomorrow, and I can’t change my plans. Thank you for checking in.”
“I heard him! I heard his voice! I know you have him there, did he spend the night? Or are you going to say it was some other British guy you picked up?”
Kali’s heart started thundering. Was this all a bad nightmare? Why was Betsy so awful yet so perceptive at the same time? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice cracked, betraying her.
“Listen here little miss thing, you’ll be here tomorrow morning or I will report you to the hospital ethics committee.”
The line went dead. Kali felt the blood drain from her face. The ethics committee? She definitely didn’t want to defend herself in front of them. But what if she had to? She wouldn’t lie about Craig. She couldn’t. When she told them the truth, they’d understand that she did the right thing. Right?
Craig approached her slowly. “I am so sorry. I didn’t realize you were on the phone this early, and I really needed to talk to you because – ”
The doorbell rang – a second unpleasant surprise. Craig froze. Kali gave him a puzzled look.
“Because?”
He cleared his throat. “I think that’s for me.”
She stared at him for a moment before she realized what he was saying. “Oh. Oh! Let me get it, they’ll freeze out there!”
Kali hurried over and opened the front door to an elegantly dressed Bernadette McKinsey. She didn’t know how to pretend that she hadn’t spent two hours stalking her online with Ashley and that she didn’t recognize her. Bernadette towered over Kali in a pair of stiletto heels; Kali looked up at her with her mouth slightly open. Bernadette slid her sunglasses down her nose.
“Hello there, I’m looking for Craig Watson?”
Kali practically jumped back. “Yes please, come on in! He’s right here.”
Bernadette strode past, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. She had on some sort of long, draped coat and a fur around her shoulders. It looked like she walked out of a magazine.
“Craig, sweetheart!” She outstretched her arms when she saw him. “I’ve been so worried about you!”
“I’m sorry to have worried you,” Craig said, stepping toward her. She delicately placed her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his face once.
“Are you alright? I came as soon as I got your message.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he replied, blushing a little. “I’d like you to meet my – friend and hostess, Kali Mitchell.”
Bernadette released Craig and turned around. “It’s so nice to meet you. You can call me Bunny, all of my friends do. Thank you for taking such good care of my Craig.”
Kali realized that she was standing there in pajamas that had ice cream cones printed all over the pants. Not exactly how she imagined meeting an heiress. “It was no problem.”
“You are too sweet,” Bernadette said, turning back to Craig. “Well then, are you ready to go? I have the jet waiting.”
Craig’s eyes darted between Bunny and Kali. He looked as surprised as Kali felt.
“Oh” he said, “I have work today. I can’t just leave.”
Bunny let out a laugh and tapped a dainty hand on Craig’s chest. “Always the jokester. Come now, Craig, do you have any belongings you’d like to take with you?”
“No really, I can’t leave without talking to Steven,” Craig said.
Bunny popped her sunglasses into her purse. “I think my Birkin is going to freeze to death out here, I don’t know how you stand it!”
“Birkin?” Craig asked, cocking his head to the side.
Bunny reached out and gently stroked his hair. “My goodness, you really must have had quite the blow to your head.”
“Her purse,” Kali interjected. She only knew this because Ashley found an article about how Bernadette – er, Bunny – paid $120,000 for the handbag that she now had casually hooked on her arm. It cost more than Kali’s townhouse…the townhouse that she was still paying off.
“See, your friend Kali knows what I’m talking about!”
Kali cleared her throat. “I’m sure Steven will understand, Craig. I told him that you’d rediscovered your identity when I was visiting on Saturday, I mean, I think he knows.”
“Oh,” Craig replied.
Bunny slipped her sunglasses on the top of her head. “If you’d like to stay for a bit, that’s fine with me. Just let me know and I’ll arrange it with the pilot.”
Craig looked down, then back at Bunny. “No – I suppose it doesn’t make much sense for me to stay any longer, then. If you have everything ready.”
“I do, but take your time. Here,” she reached into her purse. “I’ve bought you a new phone and reloaded all of your contacts. I assume yours went missing?”
“It did. Thank you Bernadette.”
“Oh Craig, please, call me Bunny. You do remember me, don’t you?”
“Of course,” he said. “It’s just – in bits and pieces.”
She touched his face lightly. “I’m sure it will all come back to you in no time!” Bunny flashed a beautiful smile.
Kali watched this exchange, her expression blank, as her stomach flipped around inside of her. Her feet were freezing standing so close to the front door and somehow it made her feel even more like a child, standing next to them barefoot. They looked like Barbie and Ken. But richer.
“Can I offer you some tea? Coffee? And Craig can get his things together,” she finally said.
“Tea would be lovely, thank you.”
“Kali,” Craig said softly, “could I bother you to use your phone to give Steven a ring?”
“Sure.” She handed him the phone before leading Bunny to the kitchen.
It was only a few feet away, and Kali never felt self conscious about how small her place was until that moment. It only took four strides of Bunny’s long legs to get there. She set it out of her mind and instead focused on getting the tea ready. The kitchen was a mess, of course. It was on her radar to clean it
– in fact, she planned to clean up right after breakfast and packing Craig’s lunch. A pang of sadness hit her – she’d never get to hear Craig call it “the best, and heaviest, packed lunch this side of the Atlantic” again.
Bunny chatted pleasantly; Kali asked about her trip and how everyone took the news of Craig appearing again.
“To be honest, it’s not unlike him to disappear for a few weeks at a time. He always turns up eventually,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh.”
“But this time, I knew something was different. I started to worry and sure enough, it wasn’t long before I got his message.”
Craig appeared in the doorway. “You know, I don’t have much to take with me that’s actually mine. I did want to say goodbye to Chip if I could.”
“I’ll see if I can find him,” Kali said. She welcomed a chance to step away from the two of them. She felt like an intruder, even though she was in her own home. After a brief search, she found Chip cozily tucked in her bed. He must’ve climbed into the warm blanket after she got up abruptly that morning.
“Come here you little bed monster.” She carried him downstairs, cradled in her arms like a baby. He loved being carried like that. He was an unusual kitten.
Craig scooped him up. “There he is, my furry little prince.” Chip purred as Craig rubbed his cheek.
“My goodness, what a little angel!” Bunny said, standing up. “Don’t tell me he’s yours?”
“I found him under a car,” Craig said. “Brought him home and promptly overran the place with fleas.”
Bunny smiled. “Glad to hear you’ve been causing trouble wherever you go.”
He planted a kiss on Chip’s head. “Goodbye little man. I’ll miss you.”
“You can visit him any time you like,” Kali said, stretching out her arms to take him back.
Craig smiled at her. “Kali – I don’t even know what to say. You saved my life. Thank you a thousand times. You’re welcome to visit anytime. I mean it.”
She smiled. “Thanks Craig. Travel safe, okay?”
He nodded. “Will do.”
“Take care Kali!” Bunny said before striding towards the front door.
Kali followed them, opening the door with one hand and cradling Chip with the other. They stepped outside and the cold air gushed through the doorway. A black Land Rover sat on the road, waiting. The driver hopped out and opened the back door for Bunny. She disappeared inside.
Craig turned around, a frown stretched on his face. He raised his hand to wave. Kali waved back, forcing herself to smile. He dropped his arm and stared for a moment before turning and getting into the car.
The driver closed the door. Within a moment, they set off. Kali watched as the car disappeared in the distance. Once she could no longer see it, she closed the door and slid the lock into place.
Chip wriggled out of her arms and ran back upstairs. He wanted to get back in bed before Kali did.
“Little stinker,” she muttered as she watched him bound up the stairs.
She went back to the kitchen, feeling far too awake to fall back asleep. The problem was that there wasn’t much for her to do. Kali sat at the kitchen table, staring at her tea. Maybe she would visit someday.
Sure. Why not? It’d be fun to have friends in London. She’d never been outside of the country before, and perhaps Bunny could take her shopping and show her how to be fashionable. It’d be nice. It’d all be really nice.
That’s what she told herself, at least, so that she wouldn’t keep replaying that look on Craig’s face before he got in the car. What was that? Sadness? Regret? He probably missed Chip. He’d get over it. Soon he’d be back to his fabulous life. And she’d be back to her own life, like nothing ever changed at all.
Nope, nothing different at all.
Chapter 16
When Craig stepped onboard the jet, he felt like a little kid.
“This is so cool! Can I talk to the pilot?”
Bunny gave him a puzzled look. “Whatever for?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe I can be the copilot.”
“And kill us all? No.” She pointed him towards a seat. “Settle in and don’t cause any trouble. Your mother wants you to stop in for dinner when we land.”
Craig sat down. “What time does she expect us?”
“Oh, I can’t make it. You’ll have to press on without me.” She lowered a sleeping mask over her eyes. “I need to catch up on my rest just now.”
Before the plane took off, Bunny was sound asleep. Craig was disappointed; he’d hoped to ask her at least a hundred questions, but he decided she must be behind on sleep after flying out to pick him up. He stared out of the window, watching the buildings fade into the distance. He finally found out who he was. He knew he should be happy – but why did it feel like his heart was sinking into the plane’s cargo?
Trying to push the feeling away, he leaned back in his seat. An attendant stopped and asked if he’d like anything. “Some fresh strawberries?” She suggested.
It felt strange to send this poor woman for strawberries, so he politely declined. Instead he pulled out his new cell phone and scrolled through the contact list. It was full of names that he didn’t recognize. After debating for a minute, he added Kali’s number – he didn’t want to forget it, plus he may need to talk to her for one reason or another in the future. At this point, she was still one of the few people he actually knew in his life.
He took a picture of himself and sent it to the contact labeled “Mum.”
“Coming home!” he wrote.
She responded instantly. “Can’t wait to see you XOXO KISS KISS!!”
Craig cracked a smile. He didn’t have a memory and even he knew the X’s in XOXO stood for kiss. Or perhaps it was the O’s?
The plane provided an internet connection, which Bunny made sure was already connected prior to giving him the phone. He grew tired of looking at it after about half an hour. Bunny was still asleep; it’d be unkind to wake her for his own entertainment.
Instead, he went to the back of the plane to chat with the two attendants. At first they seemed startled, as though he were going to reprimand them for something.
“Really I’m quite bored,” he confessed. “I don’t mean to intrude, is this a staff only area?”
The attendant laughed. “No sir, you can go wherever you please.”
He waved a hand. “Please don’t call me sir – Craig is fine. Do tell me, how does this little drink cart work? Where are the brakes?” He knelt down to examine the fancy, and very heavy, looking cart. Ever since working with Steven, he developed a special interest in understanding how things worked. He’d come a long way since not knowing how to unbolt a toilet.
Craig spent the next few hours chatting with the attendants and eventually made his way up to see the pilot. He was surprised to find the pilot so welcoming, allowing him to take a seat while patiently explaining the various controls and screens. After not too long, Bunny came to get him.
“I was worried when I woke up and you were gone!” She said. “I was afraid you’d run off on me again.”
“Never,” he said with a smile.
He finally had the chance to talk to her. First he admitted that he still had many gaps in his memory, so he asked her to tell him some of the basics – where she grew up, what she did for a living…what he did for a living.
“You’re a businessman, of course. As am I.”
“Where do I work?” he asked.
She laughed. “You don’t have to work. We don’t have to go to absurd 9 to 5 jobs like everyone else.”
That didn’t make much sense but he didn’t know what to say. He settled on, “Oh.”
She waved a hand. “And you have many advisors that will practically run the company for you once your father passes away.”
Craig retracted, surprised. “Is he ill?”
“No, of course not. I just mean – you know, when you are to inherit.”
“Oh, right.” He pa
used for a moment, unable to decide if he should share the thought that just popped into his mind. Oh, why not? “Kali secured me a job while I was in Wisconsin. A friend of hers was a contractor. On my first day, he told me to take a toilet of the floor. I had no idea how to do it, didn’t even know how to take off the tank lid.”
“Oh that sounds horrible,” Bunny replied. “I hope you’ve showered since working on all of these toilets.”
“I haven’t, is that a problem?” he said with a smile.
She sighed. “There’s a shower in the back of the plane. Do freshen up.”
“I’m only joking!” he said. But she was already engrossed on her laptop.
“Sorry dear,” she said, “I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
“Not a problem.”
They landed not long after and on his way out, Craig thanked everyone and told them that he hoped they’d see one another soon. Bunny reminded him that this was one of his planes, so he could see them literally whenever he wanted by ordering the plane.
“That’s not very nice,” Craig said without thinking. “I should give them some sort of a schedule, don’t you agree?”
Bunny scoffed. “What else do they have to do with their time?”
Craig couldn’t tell if she was serious – but it seemed like she was.
They walked off of the plane and towards the two waiting black cars.
“This is where I leave you, my love,” she said, planting a kiss on his cheek. “We will catch up tomorrow?”
He smiled. “Of course.” He opened the door to her car and watched as she pulled away.
Craig enjoyed his ride home. Some of the sites seemed familiar to him while others seemed brand new. Memories of his parents trickled back in pieces – and he was disappointed when he realized that he didn’t have a big family like Kali. He was an only child, actually. There were some cousins that he was particularly fond of, and plenty of aunts and uncles as well. But no little brothers or sisters. That much he remembered.
What he still could not remember, no matter how much he tried, was anything about Bunny. He didn’t know how they met or how he proposed. There were no memories of her family, or of any of those international trips that she’d documented so well on her Instagram. Somehow, she remained a black spot on his mind.
Nurse's Date with a Billionaire Page 10
