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“I know. I was delusional. I want out. In fact, I’d really like to go back home. This traveling thing isn’t for me. I thought I could do it, but I can’t—”
“Slow down. First things first. There’s a contract in place, and I can’t just break it. But I’ve yet to find you something else in Montana to accommodate the extension you asked for, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem getting you home.”
“Great,” I sigh, walking toward the bedroom.
“After your contract is up.”
“What? No. You don’t understand; I can’t stay here.” I vaguely hear the sound of a door opening and closing, but I’m too preoccupied, and I’ve got a one-track mind. “I need you to get me the hell out of here. I want out of Cunningham Falls and far away from Montana.”
Melanie says something, but I don’t hear because the phone disappears from my hand.
“Hey!” I whirl around to find Drake glaring at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asks, holding my cell in the air.
How dare he barge in here and talk to me like that? I square my shoulders and lift my chin. “I’m going home.”
“So I heard.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe you were going to bail without even talking to me.”
My eyes widen. “Talk to you? It’s funny you’d want that courtesy after breaking things off between us without talking to me first.”
“What?” He has the audacity to look completely confused. “What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t break things off with you.”
“Jesus Christ, Drake, I’m not deaf.” I yank my phone from his hand. “I was sitting right there. First you called what we had a
mistake, and then you said, and I quote, ‘It was wrong of us to continue a relationship, knowing it was against policy. I assure you we will no longer date while I’m in a position of authority over her.’”
Drake’s jaw drops. A couple of seconds later, he snaps it shut. “This is a fucking joke,” he mumbles.
Pushing his fingers into his hair, he turns and takes a few steps. “After last night, after everything we shared…” Hands on his hips, he looks at the floor. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I shout, stepping in front of him. If he wants to accuse me of screwing this up, he’s going to do it to my face. “You did this. You, Drake.” I shove a finger into his chest.
He grabs my wrist and pushes it away. “No,” he says, teeth clenched. “What I did was change my life around for you. What I did was give up the best fucking job for you.”
My heart stops, along with everything else around me. My phone rings in my hand, but it goes largely unnoticed.
“What are you talking about? What did you give up?”
Dropping his chin to his chest, Drake takes a deep breath. When he looks up, his eyes are glossy. “Everything.”
I swear I hear him murmur, including my heart, but I can’t be sure because he pushes past me and reaches for the door.
“Oh no, you don’t get to tell me you gave up everything and then just leave,” I say, grabbing his arm. I dig my heels into the floor to keep him from walking away.
“Why not? You were going to walk away from me.”
“You said—”
“I know what I said, Abigail. I know what you heard. But what you didn’t hear was me stepping down from my position as chief surgeon into a staff surgeon role. When I said we wouldn’t date while I was in a position of authority over you, I meant it literally. I gave up that part of my job so we could be together without breaking their stupid policy. And they agreed not only to keep you on until your contract expires, but longer, if you wanted.”
I stand still, unable to find words. I thought he had given up on us…on me. All of the shattered pieces of my heart somehow snap back in place. Every doubt melts away as though it was never there.
My heart starts beating again, only this time it’s stronger. This time, it slams against my ribs so hard I’d swear the stupid thing was trying to throw itself at Drake. But with the pained look on his face—a look I caused—I’m not sure he’d want it.
“I’m sorry.” I take a tentative step forward, but Drake holds up his hand, stopping me. “I didn’t know. You should’ve told me. You should’ve let me sit in on that meeting.”
“I should’ve done a lot of things differently.” His tone is cold and emotionless. “The first being thinking long and hard about giving up so much for someone like you.”
