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Grabbing her coffee from the nurses’ station, she took a gulp. Lukewarm liquid slid down her throat, and she grimaced. She liked hot coffee and iced coffee. Anything in between she found disgusting. Good thing she could get more soon.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Ross?” she asked, entering the patient’s room. Unlike on her previous visits to the room, a man, perhaps in his early twenties, and woman about her own age sat with Mr. Ross.
“My father needs another blanket,” the young man answered.
A blanket? He could’ve asked Mary for a blanket when she’d been in here checking his father’s vitals. “Certainly. Anything else?”
“I’d like to speak to my father’s doctor. Do you know when he’ll be here?” This time the woman spoke.
“He’s making his rounds. I’m sure he’ll be in shortly.”
The woman frowned. “He better be. I want some answers.”
Oh boy, not one of those. “I’ll get you the extra blanket, Mr. Ross.”
Escaping the room, she stopped quick. She’d recognize his profile anywhere. Like he had so many weeks earlier, Scott stood at the nurses’ station, his presence distracting every female hospital employee around. She hadn’t expected to see him until much later. While she’d hinted he should stay in New York tonight, he’d either not gotten the message or had ignored it, because he’d promised to see her when she got home. Since he stood feet away, he’d decided not to wait so long.
“Hey, Mary. Can you do me a favor,” she asked as the nurse’s assistant came out of the patient room next door. “The patient in room 323 needs another blanket. Will you bring him one?” Pretending she hadn’t seen Scott wouldn’t make him disappear.
“No problem.”
With no other pressing matters, Paige headed down the hall.
He must have seen her in his peripheral vision because he turned toward her before she spoke.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Didn’t you plan on visiting your cousin until I got off?” To her own ears, she sounded less than enthused about seeing him. Unless he’d suddenly gone deaf, there was no way he hadn’t picked up on it too.
“Decided to go over later. I stopped at my Uncle Mark’s office instead.” He took her hand and squeezed it, the gesture causing the fist around her heart to do the same. “Have you gone on your lunch break yet? I tried to get here the same time as I did before.”
If she said yes, he’d leave and she’d have a few more hours before she needed to answer his questions. But she’d lied enough to him already, and she did need some fresh coffee. “No, I was about to go. Let me get my things.”
The cafeteria was unusually busy for the time of day. “Someone’s at my favorite table,” she said, speaking for the first time since they’d left the CCU.
“If you want to pick another, I’ll get us coffee.”
“I didn’t get around to packing anything, so I’m going to buy
a sandwich or something. You find us a seat, okay.” She walked away before Scott could insist on doing it for her.
Scott was on the phone when she came back, but he immediately ended the call when she set down her tray. “Doesn’t look too bad. Meatball sandwich?”
“Eggplant,” she answered, handing him his coffee before taking a large gulp of her own. “Did you hear anything from the lab today?” She’d expected news by now.
Scott scowled, answering her question without a single word. “No. Not yet anyway. I’ll log in to the site again later and check.”
“At least you don’t have to wait for them to mail something out.”
“I wish Nicole had picked a different lab. I did a little research and some places guarantee results within two business days. This four to seven is bull— It’s ridiculous.”
Paige closed her hand over his, her need to comfort him in some small way too great. “Almost over. Was that work on the phone?”
Moving the topic away from the paternity test might help improve his mood. Hers as well. She’d already spent enough time thinking about it this week.
“Yeah, just an update on a new project in France. Looks like we got the green light.”
“Someday I’d love to visit. See Notre Dame and the Louvre. When I was in high school, the French club went to France for a week, but my parents wouldn’t let me go. They thought it was too far for a seventeen-year-old to go without a parent.”
Scott’s scowl faded, and something close to a smile replaced it. “I’ll be going over before the end of the year. When I do, come with me. While we’re over there, we can visit anywhere else you want.”
