by Lexy Timms
“I’m on my way home now, I’ll check it when I get to my place.”
“When do you want to go dress shopping for you?”
“I hope to come back next weekend. I—”
“Next weekend? Elijah said the wedding’s in three weeks. Girl, we need to shop now! I’ve booked Simon, me, Elijah and your Dad off. I hear Elijah’s mom is taking care of everything down at the massive house.”
“What else did Elijah tell you? Or didn’t tell you.” She laughed. “I don’t need anything fancy. It’s going to simple so as long as the dress is white or creamy white or something close to white, I’ll be good to go.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“What? No! Is everyone going to think that?”
Julie giggled. “Probably, but who cares? Start looking at stuff online and fly home Friday night. You and I are going dress shopping in New York City Saturday. We’ll take the train into town and hit a few of those off the rack shops. You can buy it there, they’ll do whatever simple fitting it needs and voila! We take it home.”
“Sounds too easy. Have these dresses been worn before?” She knew it was silly, but she didn’t want to wear some wedding dress from a broken marriage. She wanted her own, only to be worn once, dress.
“Dresses are brand new. I’ll get it all settled. Just pretty-please be here so we can leave early Saturday morning.”
“I’ll try. If I plan on taking another two weeks off after—”
“Nope. Not good enough. Say: I’ll be there. I promise.”
“Stop cutting me off!” Charity laughed. “Has anyone ever told you how frustrating it is to talk to you on the phone?”
“Simon says it all the time. I’ll keep doing it till you promise.”
“Fine! I promise!”
“Perfect. See you Saturday at seven am.” She hung up before Charity could even respond.
Chapter 6
Charity came back to her office an hour before the ribbon cutting. She had woken early and after dusting her place and grabbing a few groceries she was out of things to do. She decided to head in early and go through and log the donations that had come in while she had been in New York. It had been nearly four weeks, and while Amanda had opened letters she knew were donations for the hospital fund and recorded everything appropriately, there was still a small pile Charity needed to do.
She opened the safe and recorded what had been donated, and made notes for sending thank you cards and plaques to display requests. She opened a last letter that she had stuffed in the pile while talking to Elijah.
Inside was a typed letter. She knew right away it was from a lawyer. She saw the corner of a check behind it and scanned the letter.
Forever Hope Hospital
Attention: Charity Thompson
The Estate of Mrs. Nancy Gordon has been left to Forever Hope Hospital. Through the years, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have spent several occasions here. From the birth of their son, who was killed while fighting for our country, to the cancer treatments of Mr. Gordon and then Mrs. Gordon, Forever Hope has always treated them with respect and the best care they could possible give.
Mrs. Gordon requested half of their estate be given to the hospital. Enclosed is a copy of the check for three million dollars. We hope your campaign will put this money to good use in the hospital. Please contact our law office to pick up the original.
Charity leaned back against her chair, dumbfounded. She had no idea who Mrs. Gordon was but that was about to change. The whole hospital was going to know. Somewhere a massive plaque – a shrine on a wall – would be built in honor of this family. She realized she was grinning, big time. She couldn’t stop. Talk about a surprise for today’s media-covered ribbon cutting.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and jumped up. She needed to be upstairs. She grabbed her folder with the short speech she had written and stuffed the letter inside.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she raced up and then had to knock on the door as it was locked from the stairwell. Thankfully someone was leaning against it and opened it up for her.
“Thanks,” she gushed as she squeezed through and made her way to where Malcolm and several other doctors, political people and an athlete she recognized from the news were standing. Malcolm had done a terrific job rounding up the right people for the ribbon cutting.
A beautiful gold-embroidered ribbon hung on two makeshift pillars. That had been the only thing Charity had organized for the event. She had used the pillars before and ordered the ribbon online from a client she had used before. The woman did excellent work and the ribbon was actually a tapestry that could be hung on the walls or framed after the ceremony.
Malcolm waved when he saw her. She squeezed her way through the crowd and moved close to him. “You are not going to believe this,” she whispered.
He must not have heard her. “Charity, I don’t believe you’ve met Davina.”
“Hi,” she said, automatically holding out her hand. “I’m Charity Thompson.”
“Nice to meet you,” Davina replied, her beautiful brown eyes glanced at Malcolm as she smiled. “Malcolm’s told me lots about you.”
“All good I hope.” Charity liked how she glanced adoringly at Malcolm. Davina was very pretty with her chestnut brown hair, brown eyes and petite build. They made a striking couple.
“Mostly.” She winked at Charity. “He forgot to mention how beautiful you are. I’m teasing, it’s really nice to meet you.”
“You, as well.” Charity glanced at Malcolm. “Do you have a minute?”
Malcolm checked his watch. “Can it wait till after the ribbon cutting?”
Charity smiled. “Sure.”
Malcolm walked to the podium and introduced himself. He then talked about the hospital, the floor and asked the mayor to come up and say a few words. After the mayor spoke, the state senator made a speech. Malcolm introduced Terence Smith, the well-loved basketball player in Atlanta. Cameras flashed as Terence spoke about the hospital and how he couldn’t wait to see the children’s wing, the next step in the plan, for the hospital’s reconstruction. He timed his speech perfectly. When Malcolm introduced Charity and asked her to say a few words, she almost ran to the podium.
Malcolm laughed, “A little excited Ms. Thompson?”
“I am.” She leaned into the mike and tried to make eye contact with as many faces as she could. “Today is a great day… and it just got a little better.” She opened her file. “I received a letter this week from a lawyer looking after the estate of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon.” She glanced at Terence Smith. “You’re going to love this, Terence. The estate is donating a very generous three million dollars to Forever Hope Hospital. I believe that wing you can’t wait to visit is going to be here sooner than you think!”
For a second silence filled the air before the room erupted into applause. When Charity stepped away from the microphone, she had to nudge Malcolm to step back up to the podium to say something. Camera’s flashed as he stood mouth open staring at her. Charity nodded at the crowd and laughed.
“Oh yeah. Yes!” He shouted, grinning at the crowd. “Ms. Charity Thompson is part magician. I don’t know how she pulls these things out of her sleeves!” He clapped his hands. “Let’s get these fine gentlemen to cut the ribbon so we can have cake and tour the floor. There are patients down the one wing that would love some company!”
The rest of the ceremony and afternoon flew. Charity talked to reporters and newspapers, promising to share what details she could once she spoke with the lawyers of the Gordon estate. The news was very fresh, only learned moments before the ceremony and the media gobbled it up like starving animals. The day couldn’t have gone better.
That evening she spoke with Elijah and told him all about it. She spent the rest of the week talking to the lawyers and learning about the Gordon family. By Friday afternoon she had a plaque designed for the soon-to-be renovated new floor, a press release for the papers and her office semi-organized and sorted.
S
he headed to the airport just after four and sent Elijah a text: On my way now. I’ll meet you at the hospital around seven if everything’s on time.
The flight arrived early and because she only had a carry on, she grabbed the first shuttle available. The shuttle service dropped her off at the hospital around six thirty. She paid the driver and headed inside.
She stopped in the bathroom by the elevator and straightened her hair. She wondered if she’d get sick of living out of a suitcase and flying back and forth to New York. Eventually she wanted to settle back here. She stared in surprise at her reflection in the mirror.
It seemed a long time ago she swore she would never come back here and now she couldn’t imagine anything else.
She loved her job but she loved Elijah more. She wanted to be with him so she knew she couldn’t keep living in Atlanta or whatever city needed her next. Maybe it was time to start thinking about going back to med school. She could see herself going back. Otherwise what else would she do?
Maybe not stand in the bathroom for ten minutes staring at herself. If anyone was outside waiting… she’d die of embarrassment. She grabbed her stuff and slipped out, thankfully no one was there.
She rode the elevator in silence, deep in thought. As she walked down the hallway to Elijah’s office, she heard laughter, followed by Julie’s voice. She followed the voices to her father’s office and lightly rapped against the open door before stepping in.
Julie, Simon, Elijah and her father stood in his office. All of them were holding a glass of champagne.
“Charity!” her father boomed. “Perfect timing. We were just about to toast this wedding of yours.”
“You were?” She glanced at Elijah who winked and handed her his glass. “Without me?”
Her father waved his hand. “We’d have done it again when you got here. Julie took care of all our shifts and Elijah just booked the flights. It’s all set.” He held his glass up. “Two weeks to go! Cheers.”
She clinked her glass with his and the others in the room. “Is it okay if I set my suitcase down before I drink it?” she teased.
Elijah jumped over the red leather chair to help. “Let me throw this stuff in my office.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, honey,” he whispered in her ear. “Missed you.”
His warm breath sent a delicious shiver down her back. He disappeared out of the room, only to reappear a moment later with a juice glass. “It’s all I could find, but it works for me.”
Simon poured champagne into his glass and clinked the bottle to Elijah’s cup. Then he drank straight from the bottle.
“Simon!” Julie shook her head. “Can we please just leave him here?”
“Fat chance!” he wrapped his arm over Elijah’s shoulder. “I go wherever he goes. Like golfing tomorrow and pub tonight.”
Charity’s head felt like she was watching a tennis match. She looked at Julie, then Simon, then her father as he responded to the suggestion of golf, then back at Elijah. What had these guys been up to all week?
She processed Simon’s last comment. “Pub tonight?”
Simon nodded. “Yup. Boys only. We need to talk shop.”
Elijah gave her a guilty smile. “Maybe we can do the pub crawl tomorrow. Charity’s just got in.”
“She’s wedding dress shopping with me tomorrow.” Julie stepped between the boys and put her arms around both of them. “I can hang with her tonight.”
“No, you can’t.” Dr. Thompson chuckled. “You’ve got a surgery with me scheduled in about twenty minutes. We need to go scrub in.”
“And you’re drinking?” Charity blurted.
“I’m not!” Her father held up his glass. “I took one sip, that’s it.”
“Simon drank mine.” Julie ruffled her husband’s hair.
Charity laughed. “You people are crazy.” She smiled at Elijah. “Is your car here?”
He nodded.
“I’m good with driving home and chilling. You and Simon go. I have a feeling you barely left the hospital this week.” She looked for her suitcase. “Let me just grab my stuff from your office.”
She chuckled as she handed Simon her glass. Crazy boys. They were like kids sometimes. She crossed the hallway to Elijah’s office and went to grab her things. A bath in his Jacuzzi tub sounded pretty good. Maybe a glass or two of wine.
The door to the office closed quietly. Her back to the door, she knew Elijah had come in. She turned and looked at him, then turned back to gathering her things.
“I want you so bad right now.”
She smiled, but didn’t let him see. She kept her voice neutral. “Your place. Two hours.”
“Hell, yes.”
“You’ve been a bad boy.” She glanced at him from her peripheral vision as she turned slightly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He wanted her. A week apart and just a moment alone wasn’t nearly enough.
Elijah checked the door and groaned. “Don’t talk to me like that right now. Come here.” He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, kissing her hungrily on the mouth. His tongue forced her lips apart.
Simon pounded on the glass of the door. “You coming, Elijah?”
They quickly pulled apart.
“Go,” she told him.
“Two hours.”
“Not a moment longer.” She shook her head, grinning as he slipped out the door.
Chapter 7
Charity enjoyed a luxurious bath, content to be in Elijah’s house knowing he would be home soon. She giggled to herself whenever she thought of the conversation they had in his office. She felt like such a tease… and loved what it did to him and how it made her feel.
Wearing just a towel, her hair high in a bun, she dug through her clothes and frowned. Why didn’t she have anything sexy? She had a gorgeous dress but there was no way she was dressing up in that to seduce him. What she needed was lingerie. Not only now but for the honeymoon as well.
It was after nine o’clock and she wasn’t about to head out to try and find some late night sex novelty shop… as much as Elijah would probably love that. She laughed and joked out loud, “What guy wouldn’t?”
She found a red lace bra in her bag but no matching undies. She wanted to seduce him, not look like a whore. She slipped the bra on and tucked the towel around her hips as she glanced around the room. Maybe a splash of red lipstick? She went back to the bathroom, added it and came back to the room.
Elijah wore designer labels and had great taste in clothes. The walk-in closet might have something sexy. Maybe a button-up shirt? Flipping the light on, she went in and went through his clothes. The air inside the closet carried his musky sent. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it fill her nostrils and absorb into her body. “Delicious.” She could feel herself grow warm. Apparently a week apart was too much for her.
Not finding anything suitable for what she had in mind she decided to give her clothes one more sort through, there had to be something. She reached to turn off the light and saw one of Elijah’s medical coats from the hospital.
She grinned wickedly when she checked the shelf above and found an old college doctor’s kit with a stethoscope. “Perfect.”
The coat was too big so she found one of his belts and tied it around her waist. She checked in the mirror and shook her head. This wasn’t her. She looked ridiculous.
“Charity?” Elijah called from the other room. “You still up?”
She froze… then frantically began pulling at the belt, putting in another knot instead of untying it. She tugged with one hand, clutching the top of the coat to hide the red lace bra.
Elijah leaned against the doorframe an amused look on his face. “Everything alright?”
She stopped struggling and from the burning sensation on her face, she knew she was blushing. She continued to hold the top of the coat together. “Do you mind helping me?”
Elijah grinned and tilted his head. “Are you… You’re dressed up like a doctor?” His lips broadened into a smile. “Or
are you a nurse? A naughty one?”
She clutched the medical coat. “No. No. No!” She covered her eyes with her free hand. “I can’t do this. It’s so not me.”
Expert hands untied the knot around her waist with ease. He wiggled his fingers. “These weapons of repair are masterminds on their own.”
She smiled despite her utter embarrassment. “How many times have you said that to yourself in the mirror?”
He tossed the belt on the floor. “Maybe every day before I go into surgery.” He moved behind her and into the walk-in closet, reappearing with a fluffy white bathrobe. “I bought this for you after surgery but you didn’t seem to need it.” He chuckled as he wrapped it around her. “Seems like you could use it now.” The grin on his face needed to be wiped off somehow.
She loved him for his smugness… only because he was so stinkin’ cute. She took off the coat and handed it to him, enjoying the moment when his eyes went large as she stood in only her red bra. His mouth dropped open but she didn’t give him a chance to say anything. “The robe’s very nice.” She slipped her arms through and tied the belt loosely. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He began unbuttoning his shirt, pausing a moment to point at her cleavage. “That’s very pretty.”
She slapped his hand. “I looked like a slut.”
“You did not! I liked the outfit, and your innocence that goes with it.”
They stood grinning and smiling at each other like a couple of school kids.
“I’m not taking the robe off.”
He blinked. “Alrightie then. Why don’t I jump in the shower and meet you back in here, say, in five minutes?” He winked and headed to the bathroom.
When she heard the shower door close she whipped off the outfit and settled for a tank top and a pair of his boxers. She climbed into bed and settled under the sheets, leaning against the headboard.
Elijah returned with just a towel around his hips. He smiled at her but didn’t say anything.
“Now what?” she asked wearily.
