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Moments later, Paige’s name came across the screen as his smartphone rang.
“Sorry, somehow I turned off the ringer,” she said after he answered.
“No problem, I’ve done it myself.” He had more than once, but his gut told him she hadn’t. At least not tonight. “Feeling better?”
She cleared her throat before she answered. “A little. I went to bed right after we talked yesterday. Didn’t wake up once, not even during the crazy thunderstorm I guess we had. Plan to do the same thing tonight.”
“Yeah, we got a similar storm here. I got the invitation to Derek’s wedding. Looks my mom couldn’t change his mind. It’s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. The ceremony is at eleven with the reception right after. I want you to come with me. They’re keeping it on the smaller side. Just family.” When it came to Sherbrooke family events, smaller took on a whole different meaning. Regardless, this wedding would be nothing compared to his cousin Sara’s in June. “This weekend after we see your parents, I thought we could stop and visit mine. My plan is to get out of the city early Friday, so I should be there around two if there’s not much traffic.”
“No need to rush. I’m working Friday.”
First, she avoided talking to him and now she didn’t want to see him either. “You don’t usually work Fridays.” In the two months since he’d met her, she’d never worked a Friday shift.
“Shelly needed the day off. Some family reunion, so she asked me. I’m covering her for Saturday morning too. She’s only scheduled until three though.”
He wanted to ask why she’d agreed. Another nurse could have filled in. The weekends were all they got. Scott refrained because he doubted he’d get the real reason behind Paige’s actions over the phone.
“I already canceled our plans with my parents for Saturday night.”
The more Paige spoke, the more suspicious he became.
“If you’re off at three, we would’ve still had time, Paige. You didn’t need to cancel.”
“It’s no big deal. We can do it some other time. My parents understood.”
His chest grew tight at her words. Damn it. She was withdrawing from him.
“Is Sunday okay to have dinner with mine?” When he saw her, he’d demand answers, but for now, he’d play along.
Seconds ticked by and all he heard was Ryder barking in the background. “Um, probably. Can we decide for sure this weekend or do they need to know before then?”
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. Even before this call, he’d been suspicious. Now he feared the worse. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do a single thing about it tonight. Some conversations you couldn’t have over the phone. He’d have to wait until Friday.
“Mom said they’re around all weekend, so we can talk about it again when I see you.” And we’ll talk about other things too.
“Awesome, thanks for understanding. It’s been an extra crazy week, and I’m already beat. I can’t think about the weekend tonight.”
“Get some rest, and we’ll talk tomorrow.” He saw no point in keeping her on the phone. “Love you.”
“Will do. Love you too.”
Scott ended the call. Fuck. In less than a week, his life had turned itself upside down. And tonight he had no way of righting it.
Paige Foster, you’re a giant chicken. She plugged in her smartphone so it would charge and went for her chocolate stash. Tonight definitely called for the good stuff. She hated lying to Scott, but she also couldn’t talk to him right now. Every time they spoke, it only reminded her of what she needed to tell him. He sensed she was avoiding him too. She heard it in his voice. He’d gone along with it, but he didn’t fully believe her. At least, not anymore. Perhaps he had until she’d told him about working this weekend. She could’ve and should’ve told Shelly no, or at least not agreed to both shifts. There were plenty of other people her coworker could’ve asked. When she’d asked though, Paige had agreed right away. Working gave her a legitimate excuse to cut the time she spent with Scott this weekend short. Or forever, for all she knew. Saturday, no matter what, she planned to tell him everything. Who knew what he’d do afterward, especially if by then he’d gotten the paternity test back confirming he was Cooper’s father. Regardless of how he felt about her news, he might decide he didn’t have the time for a relationship now. Knowing Scott, he’d want to devote as much time as he could to a son, which meant there might not be anything left over for anyone else.
She bit into the candy and savored the rich dark chocolate, which contained just a trace of sea salt. Heavenly. Chocolate might not solve any problems but it sure helped get through the day. Breaking off another piece, she considered the best way to approach the subject when she saw Scott. Should she just announce she might never be able to have children because she only had one fallopian tube and ovary, which made it potentially more difficult to get pregnant? Or should she explain how she and Benjamin had tried for a few years and when it didn’t happen he’d left her rather than consider other options. She’d rather not discuss that time in her life, but it might help him understand her feelings on the matter. Decisions, decisions. She’d rather be considering whether to have more of this chocolate bar Scott had brought back from his most recent trip or switch to the cheaper stuff. Her stash of Favre chocolate was running dangerously low, and there was a good chance she’d need a lot of it to get her though the upcoming days.
***
Paige left room 320 and checked her watch as she walked back to the nurses’ station. Before she could do anything about it, she yawned and again she kicked herself for taking Shelly’s shift.
“I haven’t seen you in forever. Did your schedule change?” Mary, one of the nurses’ assistants, asked. For a long time they’d worked the same shift, but after having a baby Mary had switched to part-time and only worked Friday and Saturdays. Paige couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen the woman.
“Nope, just filling in. How’ve you been?” Paige answered.
“Great. I just left the patient in room 323, and he’s looking for you.”
What else was new? Since she’d started her shift, the patient had been calling for her every ten minutes. “Thanks, I’ll go see what he needs.”
