by Emma Nichols
“It’s itchy. You can’t possibly understand.” I shook my head and continued to scratch at the scruff on my face. I’d forgotten to shave this morning, and by now, it was threatening to become a full-blown beard.
Her brow arched before she spoke. She hadn’t thawed in the least and I rather enjoyed it. “I’m a woman. You think I don’t know about shaving, razor burn, ingrown hairs, and discomfort from hair growth?” Maggie shook her head. “You’re ridiculously out of touch with the opposite sex.”
“Not that out of touch.” I turned my head and winked at her, only to have the collar of my shirt irritate my neck. As I reached to dig at my throat, she slapped my hand away.
“Your skin is going to be all red. Knock it off.” She huffed. Then she suddenly stood and began pacing. “He has been in there forever. How long can it possibly take to see he has had a panic attack and prescribe some anti-anxiety meds I have to con him to take every day?”
The waiting area was unusually packed for a Friday afternoon. The minute Maggie moved away from me, a woman stood up from her seat and plopped down in the one beside me. She leaned closer as I backed away. “Hello,” she murmured while batting her eyelashes.
Maggie froze mid-step and turned to glare at me. “Really? At a time like this?” She tapped her foot a few times. When the woman didn’t even acknowledge her, she threw her hands in the air.
I frowned as I met her gaze. “Let the record show, I did nothing to encourage this woman.”
“Like it matters,” she grumbled as she walked away from me and moved to the opposite side of the room which was closer to the door her father had walked through roughly half an hour before.
I stood and the woman panicked. “Wait! Where are you going?”
Without saying a word, I gestured toward Maggie, then wandered over to join her. The closest empty seat was across from her. I paused. There was a man on one side and an elderly woman on the other. Seemed safe enough. After inhaling deeply, I asked, “Is this seat taken?”
The woman nodded her head while wiping her nose, then tucked the tissue in the cuff of her blouse. The man barely glanced up from his paper. So, I sat and leaned forward, my forearms resting on my thighs, hands folded as I waited for her to acknowledge me. I watched as she looked everywhere but my direction, and even admired her efforts to avoid acknowledging me, although I’ll admit her behavior had me baffled. “Maggie,” I murmured.
Her head whipped around and she glared at me. “You didn’t have to come over. You could’ve stayed with one of your fans.” Her brow arched and her eyes flashed.
I grinned. “Yes, but clearly I prefer a challenge.”
She leaned forward with her lips pursed. “I’m not a challenge,” she began slowly as if she wanted to ensure I understood her. “I’m completely ungettable. Got it?”
“Oh, I got it.” I smirked and tugged at my chin as I leaned back. “This should be interesting.” My eyes met hers.
When I didn’t complete my thought, she scowled. “What?”
“Well, you should know, I’m used to getting what I want.” I shrugged and then turned my attention to my cell phone. I was also used to having the last word, but it seemed I had some competition in that department as well. Maggie seemed to be fuming in her seat. I could practically feel the heat rolling off her body, which was impressive, since she seemed more the ice princess type. I glanced at her and she seemed to be mulling over what to say. Maybe the crowded room had her holding her tongue. Either way, I had no doubt that soon enough, she’d let loose on me and I actually looked forward to it.
The door flew open and a nurse stood there scanning the room. “Family of Malcolm Wallace?”
Maggie jumped to her feet. “Here!” She rushed over to the nurse while I trailed slowly behind her.
The nurse glanced at me, the creases in her brow deepened. “Are you together?”
As Maggie opened her mouth, I leaned in and whispered, “If you want me to pay, then with you I stay.”
Her jaw snapped shut. Instead, she nodded weakly.
I toyed with laying my hand on her lower back, but I could absolutely picture her stiffening instead of relaxing into my touch and for some reason this caused an ache in my chest. Through the years, I’d never had to deal with rejection. This was a new and unwelcome experience.
“He’s in here.” The nurse paused outside the door. Then she gestured for us to enter the room. Once we did, she leaned in. “Someone will be with you shortly.” Then she shut the door leaving us alone with the patient.
Malcolm was laying on a gurney with his eyes closed, his shirt unbuttoned and wide open. His face was still slightly pale, but he seemed to be resting comfortably. I watched as Maggie leaned in to kiss his forehead.
“How are you, Daddy?” she murmured as she pulled a chair closer to his side. The scraping sound seemed especially jarring with the regular beeps from the monitors.
I studied them, watching his heart rate, his oxygen saturation, and his breathing. He was well within normal range. The spare probes stuck on his chest confirmed he’d already had the EKG. Finally, he appeared somewhat relaxed, or at least as calm as a person could be in the drab hospital room.
“They gave me baby aspirin,” he mumbled. “Told me to rest.”
Maggie nodded. “I see. Did they say anything else?”
“No results yet. Supposed to share with the whole family.” His eyes slowly opened. “Oh, you’re here.” With one finger weakly lifted from the sheet, he pointed in my direction.
“Yes,” Maggie scowled. “His presence has been such a comfort.”
I chuckled. “I tried, Malcolm, but your daughter is one hard nut to crack.”
“She gets it from her mother, I’m afraid.” He offered the briefest of grins.
“And yet you won her over,” I reminded him.
“Yes, I did. There’s hope for you yet.” Malcolm closed his eyes.
“Whoa. There’s no hope. I don’t think he even wants hope.” Maggie glanced at me. “You’re not looking to… Never mind.” She sighed when she realized her father was resting. She gently took his hand in hers, then leaned forward and laid her chin on the bed.
Though I only had a side view, I could see Maggie’s eyes were watering. “He’s going to be fine.” I laid a hand on her shoulder. To my delight, she didn’t try to shrug it off or glare at me with those amazing green eyes of hers. In fact, I detected a hint of movement as she seemed to lean ever so slightly into my touch.
“How can you be sure?” she grumbled without even glancing at me.
“I know these things,” I assured her.
“Yeah? Well, you’re the type of guy who thinks he knows everything.” She pulled away from my hand and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.
I stuffed it in my pocket and moved to lean against the wall at the end of the gurney. “Not everything, but I do know a lot of things.”
“Doubt it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have butted in and ruined everything for us today.” Maggie turned further away from me and seemed to cling to her father even more.
My shoulders drooped. I stepped over to her side and squatted down. “Maggie, look at me,” I urged. She sniffled and I suspected the tears had finally spilled out. I grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter behind me. Then I gently turned her face with both hands, forcing her to meet my gaze. Wadding up the tissue, I dabbed at the tears. “Nothing’s ruined that I can’t fix. We’ll figure this out.”
Her tears dried up almost immediately. Staring at me sadly, she muttered, “What does that even mean?”
Cupping her cheek, I whispered, “Give me a chance. You’ll see.” Then I stared into her eyes. She had a valid question. What did I mean? I’d spent decades fixing other people’s problems. Hell, my entire company had been built upon that singular mission. I had employees, loads of them, scattered in cities about the globe. This time, however, something told me I’d be offering a more personal touch.
Maggie
&n
bsp; “He’s free to go,” the doctor announced after listening to my father’s heart once more.
“Is there a diagnosis?” I threw my hands up in frustration. We’d been there for hours and now we were leaving without so much as an explanation or a treatment plan? Not on my watch.
The doctor settled back onto the stool and wheeled over to the computer where he pulled my father’s chart. “Since he has been here, his vitals have been normal. His EKG came back fine. No signs of any heart problems. His bloodwork is normal.”
“I’m hearing normal, normal, normal, but there’s nothing normal about collapsing out of nowhere.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and tapped my foot.
Slightly behind the doctor, after making himself as unobtrusive as possible, Blaise was now motioning for my attention. I frowned and he nodded. When I turned away again, he started pointing to my eyebrow. I closed my eyes briefly and sighed. I swear I never even knew I was doing it. The brow was my natural response to situations like this. Feeling calmer, I waited for the doctor to say something useful.
“I’m reasonably confident this was a panic attack.” He stared at the screen.
My shoulders finally relaxed. There it was: a diagnosis. “Do you think this is something we could treat with medication?” I leaned toward him slightly, encouraging him to take the next logical step.
“We could. Does this kind of thing happen often?” He pulled his glasses from his face and began to clean the lenses.
“The anxiety is nearly constant since…” I swallowed hard. “Since my mother died.”
“That’ll do it.” The physician nodded. “I’ll prescribe something to take daily. It should help prevent future attacks, just help level him out, like a glass of wine almost.”
I rubbed my forehead and stared at the floor. “I could use some wine myself.” Then I looked up and realized Blaise and the doctor wore pitying expressions on their face which only made me feel worse. “I’m fine.” I peeked over at my father, who seemed to be napping. “We’re fine.”
“Good. Things will be even better once you don’t have to worry over your father’s health. Get this script filled right away. He can take one tonight, then start with one twice a day starting tomorrow. A nurse will be in with discharge papers in a few minutes.” He stood, held out a hand for me to shake, and then nodded and shook hands with Blaise before leaving.
When the door closed, Blaise clapped his hands together. “See? He’ll be better than ever. We’ll stop at a pharmacy.”
“Thank you.” I sighed and my entire body felt like it exhaled. Apparently, I was far tenser than I could admit to myself. Of course, the idea of suddenly losing my father and having no one left in the world was a terrifying prospect. While we waited on the nurse, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Today had been exhausting, every little teeny, tiny bit of it. “At least we can still get back to the expo,” I mumbled.
“That’s not happening. Your father needs to rest. You don’t want to inspire another attack.” I could hear his footsteps coming closer.
First, I opened one eye and then the other, and then my eyes narrowed as I stared at him. “You needn’t think paying one bill gives you the right to be the boss of me.” Slowly, I sat up straighter in the chair. He actually laughed at me. His blue eyes lit up and a smile lit up his face. What the hell did I have to do to push this jackass away?
“I don’t think I’m the boss of you, but I’m used to being a boss, so I’m sure I come off that way. If I offended you or stepped on your toes, I’m sorry. I can tell you love to run things.” Blaise chuckled.
I stood up from my seat and placed my hands on my hips. “What did you say to me?”
“An apology?” Blaise frowned.
Shaking my head, I took a step closer. “No, the other part.”
His head tilted. “There was another part?”
My brow shot up. This time I knew it. And damn, but he had earned it. “Think.”
“The running things part?” He chuckled. “Keep proving my point, principessa.”
I stomped my foot. “I’m not a princess, Blaise. I’m no diva.”
“Calm down, piccolina,” he urged as he moved closer and held my biceps.
“There’s nothing little about me,” I grumbled.
“You know Italian?” He beamed.
“I know several languages. I’m an interpreter.” My shoulders sank. “There’s not a lot of money in it, but I love words. I love romance languages. Those are my specialty.”
“Clearly.” Blaise chuckled. “You are a surprise, Maggie.”
“Okay, since you seem so fond of the unexpected: we’re going to the expo. We have to.” I glanced at my father. “He can lay low. I’ll…run the booth.”
The door opened behind Blaise as he shook his head. “If it’s about money, I’ll pay you to take the night off. Both of you.” He gestured to my father, who emitted a faint snore.
“Honey, I’d take him up on it. After all, the doctor wrote in the discharge papers that he’s to lie low for a couple of days.” She held out the clipboard for me to sign off.
I rubbed my temples. “That’s the entire weekend. That’s the entire expo.” In my mind, I could see my father’s reaction to losing the house. “No,” I whispered as I sat hard in the chair.
“I’ll sign,” Blaise murmured. “After all, I’m the one who’s paying for this visit.” He scribbled his name on the sheets. Then he sighed as he met my gaze. “I’ll pull up the car. An orderly can help you with a wheelchair. We’ll get him home.”
“But my car…” I groaned as I tried to process all my disappointment.
“I’ll help you get it later. Promise.” He turned to the nurse. “Wheelchair, please.”
She nodded. “Yes, Mr. Draco.” Then she disappeared from the room.
“See? It’s all set.” He stared at me evenly. I could tell he expected a fight, but at the moment, I had no words. Blaise came closer, squatted in front of me, then lifted my chin with his fingers. “I can tell you’re stressed.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m broken. I’m completely destroyed.”
“There’s nothing I can’t fix,” he murmured as he stared into my eyes.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked blandly.
He licked his lips. “Positive.”
“Even me?” My brows peaked in surprise, even if I doubted the veracity of his bold claims.
His eyes closed for a split second as he took a deep breath. When they opened, I inhaled sharply from the intense way he looked at me. Then he recovered and responded to the question I’d already forgotten I asked. “Especially you,” he murmured. Then he slowly stood and, as he did, he grazed my forehead with his lips.
An indescribable heat rushed through me, so much so I thought I would need to fan myself. My eyes widened. “What was that?”
“That was the first of what I hope will be many kisses.” He smirked. “So, has it been so long that you don’t recognize it, or am I doing it wrong?”
I licked my lips while choosing my words. “Oh, no. This time, you were right.” I grinned. “Really, really right.”
Blaise relaxed and chuckled. “Finally.”
“Eh, the odds were in your favor.” I waited until he looked at me curiously before explaining. “You were bound to be right eventually.” He groaned while I snickered.
4
Blaise
“Did you leave your door open?” We had pulled into the driveway and naturally, as the security guy, it was the first thing I saw. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I already knew the answer. No one ever leaves the front door open.
Beside me, Maggie frowned. “Nope. I locked it before I left. I was the last one out of the house.”
“That’s right. I was in the car because you threatened me.” Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest, but after taking the first anti-anxiety pill when we left the pharmacy, he was too mellow to get worked up.
After rolling her eyes, Maggie ex
plained. “He was slow. I gave him to the count of three to get in the car. Then I locked up. I even turned off his computers.” She inhaled sharply. “His computers!”
The car was in park, but I hadn’t turned it off. Now, I didn’t intend to. I’d go in and make sure there wasn’t a burglar inside. I shook my head. In a neighborhood filled with beautiful two story executive homes with perfectly manicured lawns and magnificent landscaping, this was the smallest, most dilapidated house in the neighborhood. The paint was peeling on the siding. One window had a crack repaired by packing tape. The grass was a little too long, the trees and shrubs were overgrown, and the roof looked like it was about five years past its prime. No robber came here by chance and yet clearly someone had been here. Already, I’d come to the same conclusion as Maggie, but she had bolted from the car before I could stop her. “Wait!” I called out as I opened the car door.
“But…” She pointed at the door and her desperation was obvious.
Standing, I turned and glanced at Malcolm in the back seat. “Please stay here. Keep the doors locked. If anyone comes out, hit the panic button.” I pointed to the red button I’d had installed in the console. After he nodded, I shut the door behind me and rushed to catch up to Maggie who stood impatiently on the stoop. “Don’t touch anything,” I urged as I pulled a glove from my pocket. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t comment. “What? Draco Security, remember? We handle residential, commercial, and online security issues.”
“I see.” Then she gestured for me to go inside.
“All I want you to do is note if anything is missing, after you call 911. I’ll clear the house and come back for you. Got it?” I waited for her to take my phone since she didn’t seem to have one on her.
She stomped her foot. “Fine.”
I chuckled. “You actually make me look patient.” Then I squeezed her hand and carefully pushed the door open the rest of the way with my glove. In order to gain access to the house, the door had been kicked in. There was nothing elegant about this. I glanced at the lock, but quickly realized there were no tool marks to suggest access was attempted any other way. To the left, I found the dining room. There was a huge silver candelabrum on the center of the table and the sideboard had a silver platter and a silver serving bowl. My guess? If I’d have opened the drawers, I’d have discovered an untouched set of silverware too.
