I didn’t even need to look at Adi to know we hadn’t been as okay as I’d thought. Her recovery was on track, but I was pretty sure working with Chris would not only make it faster but also easier on her.
All of which meant, knock to my pride or despising being seen as a charity case or not, I had to take him up on his offer. “Yeah, sure. Okay. When?”
I heard papers shuffling and briefly wondered when the last time had been that he’d made his own appointments. “I can’t find the tablet. I’ll have to give you a call to schedule something, but it’ll be early next week. Does that work for you?”
“That’s actually sooner than I thought, so it’s perfect.”
“Great,” he said, sounding strangely relieved. “We’ll see you then. Give my best to Adi.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
After I hung up the phone, Adi frowned at me and cocked her head. “You have a funny smile on your face.”
“Do I?” I hadn’t even realized it, but she was right. Try as I might, I couldn’t wipe it off. So weird. Is all this really because one doctor offered to help us?
I wasn’t used to being offered help, nor was I used to accepting it on the rare occasion the offer was made. As soon as Luna and Cyrus had heard about the accident, they’d immediately insisted on covering any medical expenses in full.
I’d declined, but I had a sneaky suspicion Cyrus had stepped in with the bills without my knowledge anyway. The final bill that had been presented to me had seemed way too low.
I’d vowed to take it up with Luna when I saw her. In fact, she was due here any minute.
A knock sounded at our door, and I knew it was going to be her. Her timing had always been scarily accurate.
They’d only gotten home recently, but she was spending more time here with us than she was at her flower shop. She’d been beside herself with worry for Adi and now seemed determined to check in on us every day. Unfortunately, I was somehow still wearing the funny smile when I went to answer the door.
Luna’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as soon as she saw me. “Is that a smile? What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.” I rolled my eyes, motioning her in. “Don’t pretend like I never smile. I’m a smiler.”
“Not like that you aren’t,” she said, dropping her gaze to give me a long onceover as if she would find the answer in a new pair of shoes or something. “That’s a me smile, not a you smile.”
“What does that even mean?” I asked. “It doesn’t sound like a real thing to me.”
“It’s real all right.” She followed me into the kitchen, making a beeline for Adi and giving her the biggest hug she could without hurting her. “How are you feeling today, honey?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” she grumbled.
Luna flashed her a radiant smile, batting those long lashes that got her whatever she wanted from her former alpha-hole husband. “We keep asking because we love you, of course. Cyrus sends his love, too. He’ll be popping in with me later in the week.”
“Oh, joy.” Maybe I’d just take the whole hospital bill situation up with him personally then.
My best friend cut me a glance before arching a brow at me. “Whatever it is you think he’s done, he hasn’t.”
“How do you know?” I planted a hand on my hip. “He doesn’t tell you everything, does he?”
Her ocean-blue eyes rolled as she shook her head. “If it has to do with you, he would have told me. Anyway, let’s get back to that smile. What was that all about?”
“It was a funny smile, right?” Adi asked.
“It was not a funny smile,” I argued, even though I knew it was a big fat lie. “It also wasn’t about anything juicy like you two seem to think. I just got a phone call with some good news.”
“Did you get a promotion at work?” Luna asked.
Adi answered her on my behalf. “No, I think she was on the phone to Doctor Chris, not to her boss.”
“Who’s Chris?” she asked with her eyes wide. “Why haven’t I heard about him before?”
“There’s nothing to tell about him. That’s why. Or at least, there wasn’t before. He treated Adi and he’s offered to help us out with her physical therapy at no extra charge.”
“It sounds like he’s a good guy if he’s willing to do it pro bono,” she said, her gaze filled with curiosity when it met mine. “Is it a hospital-employee benefit or a personal favor?”
“Personal favor. I think he likes Adi.” I shrugged. “Who knows why anyone does anything really?”
Luna crossed her arms, giving me a pointed look that said she didn’t believe me in the slightest. “Tell me about this doctor, Adi. Is he old and bald?”
Adi giggled, her eyes wide as she shook her head. “No, he’s a heartthrob.”
“What?” My voice came out an octave or two too high.
My daughter, little traitor that she apparently was, giggled again. “I heard nurse Agatha say it in the hospital.”
“A heartthrob, huh?” Luna grinned, her expression so filled with mischief and expectation that I waited for her to start rubbing her plotting palms together. “That’s so interesting.”
“It’s not interesting.” I lifted my gaze to the ceiling with a shake of my head. “I suppose one could say he’s a heartthrob, but he’s also a very good doctor. That’s the only part I’m interested in.”
Lies, all lies. There were several other parts of him I was interested in, mostly those beneath his clothes, but they didn’t need to know that.
It’d been years since I’d gotten laid by anything other than the crappy old vibrator in my drawer. Obviously, I could appreciate a little eye-candy to fantasize about for my bi-monthly alone time as much as the next girl.
Luna looked at me with such a knowing gleam in her eyes that I was halfway convinced she’d heard my thoughts. She didn’t push the issue in front of Adi, though. “Okay, I have to go. I’m meeting Cyrus at the shop. He says he’s found us a new supplier. If I’m not there when he meets with the guy, he’s going to buy a bunch of stuff I might not end up being able to use.”
“Ah, your husband the overachiever,” I teased.
She gave her shoulders a what-can-you-do shrug, smiling as she gave Adi a hug goodbye. “Give me a call if you need anything, okay? I can be back here in ten minutes.”
“Sure thing,” I replied with absolutely no intention of calling her. Cyrus was an overachiever, but so was Luna.
As much as I appreciated their support, if I called them for anything, we’d be moved into their massive house and under their care in a heartbeat. So no.
We were fine for now. It was me and Adi against the world, and that was how it would always be.
With just a little bit of help from dearest Doctor Chris, of course.
Chapter 7
CHRIS
A knock on my office door made me look up from the computer. I’d spent the morning doing reports on my patients and formulating treatment plans, but I still had a mountain of paperwork to get through.
Hunter knew I had blocked out this time for admin, so I doubted he was the one interrupting me. I was about to snap at whoever thought this was a free-for-all when the door opened and April’s head popped in.
The fighting words died on my tongue and a surprised smile tugged at my lips. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“You never called to schedule our appointment, so we thought we’d drop by.” She opened the door a little wider to reveal Adi standing next to her. “Are we interrupting anything?”
I clicked save on the file I’d been working on and shook my head. “No, not really. Just some paperwork.”
She made a sympathetic noise at the back of her throat. “In that case, I’m glad we could come to alleviate your boredom for a while.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t called yet. I’ve actually been trying to move some things around to fit Adi in at times when the sessions wouldn’t interfere with her schooling.”
�
��I haven’t gone back to school yet,” the little girl piped up helpfully, giving me a shy wave from her spot slightly behind her mother. “Hi, Doctor Chris. How are you?”
“Better now that you’re here.” I got up from my chair and left my coat hanging on the back of it. “How are you feeling?”
She raised her shoulders, but her lips pressed into a thin line. “I can’t get my arm to move right.”
“You’ve come to the right place then.” I grinned and swept an arm in the direction of the therapy room floor. “Let’s have a look at it for you, shall we?”
April didn’t move from the door, even though I was waiting for her to precede me out of the office. “That’s actually what I came to talk to you about. Adi, will you be okay hanging out here for a minute?”
Hunter must’ve been hanging around because he appeared at Adi’s side seemingly out of thin air. “She’ll be just fine. I’ll show her around a bit.”
Like all kids, Adi looked a little apprehensive about Hunter but then recognition dawned in her eyes and her face lit up with a smile. “It’s you. Sure, I’ll hang out with you.”
“Great.” He put a beefy hand on her shoulder, shooting her a playful grin. “Stick with me, kid. I’ll make you famous.”
“Famous?” She frowned. “I don’t want to be famous.”
April took two steps forward to clear the door, then closed it behind her, cutting off what was sure to be a smart-ass reply from my friend. She cleared her throat before bringing her green eyes to mine.
“Let’s not beat around the bush,” she said with that same mama-lion-protecting-her-cub fierceness in her tone I’d heard before. “Do you really think you can help Adi?”
“I really do.” I met her gaze unwaveringly, keeping mine there. “If you tell me what concerns you have, I’m sure I can address them right here, right now.”
I respected her for putting her daughter above all else. As someone who’d dealt with my fair share of patients whose parents ranged from viewing us as a babysitting service to those who just didn’t care about therapy because it would eat into their own time too much, a mother who actually cared was always a welcome sight.
She leveled me with a stare, but her eyes were filled with doubt. “I’m just not sure what she can get out of this. I don’t want to get her hopes up that this therapy of yours could work when that’s not a realistic outcome.”
I nodded. “I completely understand that, and I understand why you would feel that way, but I’ve seen injuries like this one hundreds of times before. Recovery time differs from person to person, and I’m not saying it’s not going to be hard work, but Adi can absolutely come out of this with her use of her arm fully restored.”
“Guaranteed?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
I blew every rule the department had with just one word. “Yes.”
April searched my eyes as if she was looking for a lie. When she didn’t find one, she visibly relaxed. “Were you serious about doing this for free? Because I meant it when I said we couldn’t afford it.”
My feet were on the move to close the distance between us before I even realized my brain had given the command. I didn’t know what it was about this woman that drew me to her, but it was like I couldn’t stop myself.
Placing my hands lightly on her shoulders, I bent my knees to be at her eye level. “I would never have offered if I wasn’t serious. I promise you, April, I can help your daughter and I will. Will you let me?”
She held my gaze for another beat before letting out the softest sigh and finally nodding. “We’d love to take you up on your offer. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything. I’ve just learned that most of the time when something sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.”
I regarded her for a moment, wondering what the hell had happened to her to make her think my offer was either untrue or some kind of a trap. Having met her jewel of an ex, I suspected he was behind her apparently severe distrust of people.
It made me wish, once again, that I’d put my fucking fist through his face. “You didn’t sound ungrateful. You just sounded like a mother who didn’t want her kid to get hurt again. I admire that about you.”
Her brows swept up before they pulled together. “Did you just say you admire something about me?”
“I did.” I grinned. “Why does that surprise you?”
She hesitated for a long minute, looking at me like I was a thousand-piece puzzle she needed to put together. “You’re not at all what I was expecting, Doctor Sexy.”
“Doctor Sexy?” I repeated, blinking in disbelief. “Did you just—”
“Don’t take it personally,” she said, her voice even but a rosy blush spreading across the tops of her cheeks. “It’s what the nurses call you behind your back.”
I almost snorted out loud in my attempt to hold back my laughter. “I know. I just didn’t expect to hear it from you.”
“Why?” she asked, a smirk on her lips. “Does that surprise you?”
With her repeating my own words back to me, the laughter finally broke free. I slung my arm around her shoulders and guided her to the door. “Come on. Let me give you the grand tour. You and Adi will be spending quite a bit of time here for the next few months. You might as well make yourselves at home.”
She was tense against my side, but she didn’t step away from me. When she glanced up at me, confusion, curiosity, and amusement warred for control over her expression. “Are you a real person?”
“I’m not a toy if that’s what you’re asking.” I winked down at her. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” she said, confusion winning out for a moment. “You’re just different.”
“As are you.” I dropped my arm and put a more respectful distance between us when we walked toward Adi and Hunter.
“All the best people are if you ask me.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced at all, but her attention shifted to her daughter. “So, what’s first on the agenda?”
“Your tour, and then we’ll take a look at that arm,” I said, drawing to a stop when we reached them.
Adi’s eyes were lit up with excitement as she looked around. “Will I really be coming here a few times a week from now on?”
“Yep.” A thought occurred to me as I watched her taking the place in like it was Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve. “Is this the first time you’ve been out since the surgery?”
She nodded enthusiastically, then winced when she must’ve pulled at a sensitive spot around her wound. “Mom said it was better to stay at home to avoid getting an infection in my scar.”
So she is a bit overprotective. Good to know my instincts are still accurate.
“You don’t have to worry about infections here. We run a pretty tight ship.” I smiled down at her. “Can I show you around?”
“Sure.” She glanced at Hunter. “Can he come too? He’s my new friend. Did you know he’s not really scary?”
“Yeah, I did actually. Hunter is nothing to worry about. Once you hear how he giggles like the Pillsbury Doughboy when you poke his belly, there’s no way you can be afraid of him.” Without warning him, I stuck my arm out and demonstrated for her.
Hunter was good with kids, though, and used to this drill. He pretended to try fighting me off while squealing like a little girl. Adi broke out in a fit of giggles, and even April cracked a smile.
She seemed more relaxed while I showed them around but stiffened when I pulled her to the side while Hunter kept Adi entertained at one of the machines. I only led her a few paces away from them, lowering my voice so we wouldn’t be overheard.
“I’m going to take a look at Adi’s arm now. No matter what, I want you to remember that having full motor function is important at her age. I will make sure she’s okay, even if her mobility is more impaired than I might know right now.”
“You’ve seen something, haven’t you?” she asked, looking right into my eyes.
I didn’t want to
lie to her, so I nodded. “I kept an eye on her while we were walking. But again, no matter what, I will make sure she’s okay. We just have some work ahead of us.”
April blew out a soft breath. “Why would you be willing to do all that work for free?”
“Helping people is all I ever wanted to do,” I said earnestly. “It’s never been about the money. That was just a fortunate side effect that now allows me to help more people.”
“Okay,” she said, not questioning me for once. “When do you want me to bring her in?”
“Friday morning at nine.”
“We’ll be here.” She pursed her lips to the side, nodding as she cast a worried glance in Adi’s direction. “But Chris, please promise you’ll be honest with me. If it’s bad, don’t sugarcoat it.”
“I won’t,” I lied through my teeth because there was no way I was letting either of them down. Even if it was bad, I wouldn’t let them know unless I could no longer guarantee a full recovery. Which wouldn’t happen.
Come hell or high water, I wasn’t going to let that Craig asshole’s irresponsible actions dictate the rest of this girl’s life. On behalf of my entire fucking gender, I was going to prove to both April and Adi that there were a few good men out there.
I might not always be one of them, but I could be one today—for the sake of this one family who’d crawled underneath my skin somehow and refused to fucking leave.
Chapter 8
APRIL
“Could you pass me the parmesan please?” Katie asked Adi, who had been crowned as her executive assistant in the kitchen.
Adi hopped off her seat, putting two fingers to her forehead to salute my sister as she headed for her fridge. She quickly located the cheese and took it to her aunt, who grated it over whatever dish she was cooking for lunch.
Katie and Adi made a magnificent team in the kitchen, and while I always offered to help, it was nice not to be the one doing the cooking every once in a while. All I had to do was sip my tea at the table and keep them company.
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