She supposed the only way for their break to end was if she contacted him, though. He was going to respect her privacy as long as she wanted, she had a feeling… Sandy wondered if she should’ve given a set timeframe for their break. She felt shy about starting up chatting again. What should I even say?
Eventually, she couldn’t take waiting anymore so she sent him a quick text one evening after work, thinking he’d be home from work as well, or at his club. “Hey,” she said. Short and sweet seemed the best for an olive branch text.
She wasn’t exactly surprised when she got a text back on the heels of hers. “Hi,” Craig replied. “I miss you.”
Sandy smiled, a bit tearful. “I miss you, too,” she wrote back. “I think I’m ready to see you again.”
“That’s great,” he wrote back right away again. “Where would you like to meet or go?”
She appreciated he would still offer her a ride somewhere after she’d distanced herself from him. She’d half expected him to be distant from her now. It was a relief to know she hadn’t upset him too much with her sudden aloofness. “Can we go to the café where we first went on a date?” she asked. “I think something casual and laid-back would be the best idea.”
“I completely agree. :) Would you like me to pick you up at your place?”
Sandy thought about it. She thought seeing him again at the café would be nicer than first seeing him in the back seat of another of his hired limos. “I’ll meet you there,” she replied. “Thank you, though.”
Once they had a plan set into motion, Sandy went into her closet and agonized over what she should wear. She wanted him to think about who he'd been missing. She felt more attractive than she had in quite some time, so of course she wanted to flaunt it a little, while still being tasteful. She found a pretty hunter green dress with a low-cut top and she put it on, pairing it nicely with some simple black heels. It wasn't a model look by any means, but it would do nicely.
As soon as she felt she was ready, Sandy left her apartment and hailed a very enthusiastic cab driver. She didn't really have to wonder why the driver was so interested in giving her a lift. She blushed and smiled and gave him a generous tip when she arrived at her destination. Going into the cafe, she looked around for any sign of Craig.
She found him sitting at a table near the far back wall, much like she had the first time they met at the cafe. Instead of feeling shy this time, she went right up to him and threw her arms around him as soon as he stood up to greet her. He froze slightly at first as if shocked to receive this kind of reaction, but then he tightened his embrace.
"Hi," he said to her in a voice as warm as the coffee they were about to enjoy together. "It's so good to see you again."
They had a seat across from each other at the table. She was amused for a moment because neither of them was willing to be the one to leave and order their drinks. But then he looked her in the eyes and she knew drinks were the furthest thing from his mind right then.
"I've done a lot of thinking while we were apart," he told her. "I know it may be hard for you to believe, but I took the things you said very seriously and I've made some changes I think you'll like."
She stared at him, not sure what kind of changes he could've made that had anything to do with her. "I never asked you to make changes..." she said cautiously. "Except I guess I didn't want you to treat me the way you'd been treating me."
"But I was inspired by that feeling to make several changes. First of which, I'm sorry I treated you like I somehow had a copyright on your face. I never should've treated you like I'd made you. My services were supposed to help you, not turn you into a project." Craig had such remorse in his eyes. She knew he was sincere.
“Thank you for saying that,” she replied. “I sometimes felt as though I was taking things wrong or overreacting, but some of the time you made me feel like Frankenstein’s monster or something.”
He shook his head at her. “And doctors really shouldn’t make their patients feel that way, not ever. Especially not if the patient becomes their girlfriend.” Craig blushed a bit. “If a doctor wanted to treat his patient as something much more…”
Sandy hadn’t anticipated this either. She’d innocently thought he was purely feeling sorry because he didn’t want to upset her. But if he wanted her to be his girlfriend… That was a lot.
“I think the patient would like that,” she said, gazing back into his eyes. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay, great.” He took both of her hands in his and gave them each a kiss, which she thought was rather sweet. She didn’t think a lot of guys did that sort of thing these days. “What drink would you like? I don’t want to withhold coffee from you, since this is where we met up.”
She giggled a little. “A hazelnut macchiato?” she asked him, wondering if this fancy place even had things that places like Starbucks had. She couldn’t remember. She hadn’t been too focused on the coffee flavors last time.
Craig nodded and stood up. “Coming right up,” he said to her confidently, going over to the line at the front so he could order for her. Once again, Sandy was tickled by the billionaire doing her bidding instead of being the one who was being waited on. He came back to their table a few moments later, a tray of coffee and crullers in hand. They drank their coffees and nibbled their donuts happily together. She thought it was kind of funny; now they’d made their relationship official, they both seemed shy about it. She supposed it had a lot to do with them coming out of a break from each other, too.
“So, what have you been up to in this time?” he curiously asked her, seeming genuinely interested in the goings-on of her life.
She didn’t quite know how to answer because she didn’t think anything especially interesting had happened to her lately. “Not much, actually,” she told him with a smile. “I’ve gone to work, written sketches, normal things… I wrote to my dad about having him come back for a rain check soon. It’s almost the fourth of July, and we made plans for it since the last time he was here didn’t end so well.”
Craig looked guilty, even going so far as ducking his head a bit. As if she might swipe at him over it, which of course she would never do. “I think that’s a great idea,” he said. “I’d like to meet him. As long as he doesn’t want to punch me for my brother accidentally hitting you.”
Sandy laughed a little, appreciating him understanding her father was angry at the people who’d hurt her. “He was mad at you when he didn’t know you, but I was also mad at you back then. Once he meets you, I’m sure he’ll like you. Especially when he sees how much I like you.” She reached across the table and took his hand in hers, gently squeezing it for a moment before releasing it.
Craig smiled back at her. “He probably won’t like me as much as you do, or forgive me as easily,” he said. “But hopefully he’ll understand it wasn’t my fault… And he’ll like how your nose is looking now. Which reminds me—”
She didn’t really like him bringing up her cosmetic surgery again, but she knew it was difficult to completely avoid it. After all, it was how they met and got close, even if it was a touchy subject for her now. She listened with curiosity as Craig went on.
“I’m changing my business model,” he explained. “I ran it by my dad first, don’t worry.” He chuckled. Sandy didn’t have any reason to believe he wouldn’t make sure his dad was on board whatever he was planning. “I’m not going to be doing plastic surgery for vanity’s sake anymore. I’m going to start focusing on corrective surgery for people who’ve been in accidents or perhaps born with defects they wish to change.”
Sandy stared at him, almost forgetting to breathe in her surprise. “Wow, what?” she asked him, her face cracking into another smile. “Are you serious?”
Craig beamed at her, so glad he could finally share this news with her. “Yes. You should come by my clinic sometime and see for yourself. I saw the happiness you felt once you’d healed up and I wanted to provide such a service to
others who could use it more than the wealthy folks who nip and tuck for the fun of it sometimes.”
He really did sound like he’d made a 180 on things and she was very impressed. If I ignited this passion inside of him, then I guess it’s not such a bad thing he thought of me as one of his successes…
“Well, now I feel bad for resenting you for thinking of me as your patient all the time,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t feel bad. I was wrong to treat you like just a patient, especially when you weren’t like that in my mind. I suppose I got too used to being Craig the professional surgeon that I’d forgotten how to be Craig the normal person who meets pretty women…”
Sandy blushed. “I hope it will be easier for you now.”
They finished up their coffee and crullers and then Craig called a car for them. At first, Sandy thought he was just going to accompany her back to her building, but instead they drove off in the opposite direction and she realized they were going to his clinic. She obviously hadn’t been back since her nasal packing and splint were removed, and she didn’t necessarily want to be back in there at first. But as soon as he led her inside the place and showed her around, she could see the changes he’d made. And instead of feeling self-conscious, she felt honored to have inspired him to use his skills and passion in order to help make people’s lives better.
She was so overcome by happiness and surprise that she leaned over and gave Craig a soft kiss on his lips. They held each other’s hand as they looked around the clinic together. Of course, he didn’t show her any of the files on the people who were his new patients, but he did show her the changes to the décor which showed he was working on restoration of people’s appearances and features, no more superficial work just for the sake of getting some work done. There were posters providing examples of the type of services he could provide, as well as magazines and even a video showing in the waiting area. Craig had clearly gone all out in order to implement these changes. He seemed very happy to be following his passion in his work now, and she could see it on his face as he showed her around and told her about some of the cases he’d taken on now.
“My mom all but said I’m better than Donnie in her eyes now,” he said with a laugh. “She and I both know he won’t be changing over his practice any time soon, but it’s okay. I can have my specialty and he can have his.”
Sandy looked forward to meeting the mysterious Donnie, but she had a feeling he completely paled in comparison to his kind-hearted brother.
Once they were done looking around the clinic, Craig told his driver to take them back to her place and he waited outside while she walked inside like he usually did, making sure she got home safely. She appreciated him doing it. He seemed to know as well as she did that the city wasn’t always a safe place for a woman to be alone.
But oh, she wasn’t really alone anymore! She smiled to herself as soon as she got into her apartment, collapsing onto her futon and letting out a laugh along with the smile. Craig was officially her boyfriend! Now she was definitely going to have to introduce him to her dad, who was practically the last person in her life to meet him at this point. She felt a bit bad about that; even Brent had met Craig before her dad. She knew it was largely because of the distance between where she lived and where her dad lived, but still. She hoped they would like each other, but she had a feeling they’d be able to find common ground pretty quickly.
“He changed his whole clinic for me,” she wrote to her friends before going to bed that night. “He’s going to be taking care of injured people all of the time now, instead of focusing on the usual cosmetic surgery racket.”
“Wow, awesome,” Annie texted.
“I was hoping he’d turn around and do something like that,” Trish said. “It’s a big step, but probably a rewarding one, too. And it’s practically like him naming a planet after you or something, you know. It means he really does care about you.”
“Yep,” Sandy wrote back. “I know that for another reason, too. :) He told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend and I said yes.”
She wondered if it was silly for a woman her age to be called a girlfriend but she preferred it over partner. Partner just sounded so formal and businesslike. It had been a while since she’d last been someone’s girlfriend and she just liked the way it sounded. There was something so sweet about it.
“Awww, OMG, that’s great!” Annie said.
“Wow, it seems like you went from being on a break to getting married, LOL,” Desmond texted.
It wasn’t quite so extreme, but Sandy had to laugh. She was glad her friends approved of the match. She didn’t know what she would have done if they disapproved of her continuing to see him.
From now on, she told herself, she and Craig were going to be open with each other about how they were feeling and if their words had confused either of them. She didn’t want to leave him in the dark anymore about how she was feeling, and she liked the idea of knowing where he was coming from, too. Their relationship wasn’t going to be some superficial thing, but it was going to be rooted in understanding and support for one another. And one of the best ways to see to that was for them to spend time with each other’s families so there was no more confusion.
“I know he feels really bad about crashing into me,” she texted her friends. “And soon I’m going to find out if his brother feels the same way.”
Epilogue
Craig and Sandy were both nervous about introducing each other to their families. It was a normal thing for a couple to do together, but it didn’t make it any less daunting. Since his family lived close to the city, it was decided she was going to meet them first and then he would meet her dad. They rode out together to Southampton and his parents hosted a lavish dinner at their mansion. His brother Donnie flew in on a private jet from just outside Atlantic City. She was definitely more nervous about meeting him than she was about meeting their parents.
“We’ve heard a lot about you,” his mother said to her, giving her a friendly hug rather than a plain old handshake.
His father wasn’t quite so huggy. He offered his hand to her and they shook gently. He smiled at her then and nodded to his son. “I approve. She’s got a strong handshake and she’s every bit as beautiful as you described.”
Craig grinned with pride at that, which made her raise an eyebrow at him. “She’s not only beautiful, but she’s funny and smart,” he added so his father wouldn’t get the wrong idea. She smiled as he added to her list of attributes and praise. “She writes some of the best sketches on The Banana Peel, you know.”
His parents looked at her, impressed.
Then it was time for her to meet Donnie. He was standing with their parents but keeping quiet so they could meet each other and chat without being interrupted. At least, this was what Sandy thought. In actuality, Craig knew his brother was blown away by how pretty she was.
He probably didn’t even realize who she was at first, Craig thought with a slightly prideful smile. He hadn’t wanted to introduce her as ‘the girl you hit with the Maserati’ so instead he simply introduced her as his girlfriend. He’d thought Donnie would put two and two together right away, but apparently he’d been wrong on that. Donnie could be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, especially after a long week of work.
“Wow, I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” Donnie said to her as he shook her hand. Her hands were so small in Craig’s brother’s meaty hands. “I want you to know, first of all, how sorry I am for what happened. I was an idiot. I don’t drive like that normally, I promise.”
His parents raised their eyes at Donnie and Craig knew they were going to have a lot to talk about while his brother was still in town. But tonight was not the best night to have that conversation…
“It’s okay,” Sandy said in a moment of pure eloquence and optimism. “If it wasn’t for you, I never would have met your brother. I think he and I are both better off with the way things turned out.”
Donnie smiled a sort of relieved smile, which made Craig feel great about how things were going. Sandy had forgiven Donnie, so now he didn’t have to worry about her hating him anymore. He hoped they’d continue to get along well so family gatherings could be fun and casual.
At the end of dinner, before Craig and Sandy headed back to the city on a private plane – which she was thrilled about! – his mother gave her another warm hug and even Donnie gave her a light one. “I don’t normally say this, but Craig’s done right,” he said as he held her for a moment. “I hope to see you again and often.”
She really enjoyed meeting him, which was surprising since she’d been so upset with him at the beginning. She supposed she’d never really known him, so it was pretty hard to judge him for one of his dumbest mistakes in place of that. “I look forward to seeing you again too,” she said to him before they left.
When the fourth of July came around, Sandy’s dad flew into JFK Airport. Craig and Sandy met him there this time instead of waiting until late at night to spend time with him. He also didn’t have to be cramped in her apartment on the futon because Sandy had moved into Craig’s penthouse with him. Now, her dad got his own room in the guest room.
After she introduced the two men to each other, they shook hands, smiling friendly smiles. Sandy watched her two favorite guys as they chatted about the flight and the things they could do while Mr. Davenport was in town this time. He’d brought along a guidebook with him, but Sandy didn’t think they were going to end up needing it. He had two guides who were quite willing to explore the city with him.
Craig apologized profusely to him for being in the car that caused her injury. Her dad was surprisingly understanding about it.
“Accidents happen, right?” he said with a smile and a shrug.
Sandy thought it was perhaps the best way of putting it.
Billionaire Hearts Club- The Complete Series Collection Page 23
