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Ashley’s mouth curves into a smile and her eyes drift toward the bag I’m holding. “Is that blueberry muffins?”
I return the smile and rest a kiss on the top of her head, before handing over the bag. “Of course it is. Do you mind if I speak to Luke outside for a minute?”
Her eyes twinkle. “Uh oh! Someone’s in big trouble.”
“I should go anyway,” Luke mutters.
“Nooo! What about our rematch? This place is so damn boring!” Ashley exclaims.
“Hey, language, Miss!” I lecture, only to get some significant eye-rolling sent in my direction.
“I only said damn, Mom.”
“I’ll come back in, let me just talk to your mom for a minute,” Luke offers, tousling Ashley’s hair before stepping out of the room.
“Mom, it’s the most fun I’ve had in this place since I’ve been here. Don’t be mad at him. I like him,” she whispers the last part to me. Ben was a good dad in the sense that he always provided for Ashley, but he never spent much time getting to know her or play games with her.
“I’m not mad, honey, I promise, we’ll be right back.”
“I’m sorry. I just want to get to know her.” Luke shoves his hands in his pockets when we enter the hallway.
“I’m not mad. I was just a little surprised to see you here this morning. I’m a bit shocked at how accepting she is toward this whole thing.”
“Look, I don’t know what role I’m supposed to play here, but I want to get to know Ashley—develop a relationship with her. I know we haven’t talked about that yet.”
He places his palms on my upper arms, lowering his face close to mine. When his sexy, masculine scent invades my senses, I go weak at the knees. An electric current runs through my body, and I’m unable to help myself when I run my palm across his rock-hard chest, just needing to touch him, immediately feeling a heaviness between my legs.God, I need to get a grip.
“It’s fine, Luke. I’m taking my cues from her right now, and if it makes her happy, then it makes me happy”
“She’s a special girl.” He grins.
“She is,” I whisper, our faces so close I think he might kiss me.Please kiss me.
A throat clears behind us, and I turn to see Dr. Collins. “The results are back.” My fists clench, and I swallow down the lump in my throat. Dr. Collins mouth twitches then he smirks. “Luke's a match.”
Luke
Ihold her tight as her entire body trembles, afraid she’ll fall if I let go. Tears spring from her eyes as Doctor Collins directs us back to the waiting room. “Since she just finished a round of chemo, she’s already had the preparative regimen, so we’d like to do the procedure right away.”
“Oh my God, yes!” Sarah whimpers, and I curl my arm around her waist tight.
“We’ll do your procedure first, Dr. Harris. I can have the rest of the team here by this afternoon. The procedure is quick, and you’ll need to stay overnight.”
“Fine.”
“You’ll just be a little sore and tomorrow someone will need to drive you home.”
“I’m ready. Let’s do this,” I say excitedly.
“Perfect, we can have our girl set up with a catheter and receiving the marrow by tonight. It’s similar to a blood transfusion and will be quick and simple for her. We’ll continue monitoring her cell counts over the next few days, to make sure it’s working, and she may even be able to go home in a week or so. After that, we’ll need to see her here at the hospital on a daily basis over the next few months to monitor and test her, but we can go over all that later.” Dr. Collins places his hand on Sarah’s shoulder, and she peers up at him. “She’s a strong young lady, and she’s going to come through this like a pro.” Doctor Collins lets out a nervous chuckle when Sarah stands and hugs him. “Luke, can you be back here around three for the procedure?”
“I’ll be here.”
Dr. Collins leaves us, and I turn to face Sarah. “It’s gonna be okay, Sunshine, I promise.” Sarah wraps her arms around my waist and squeezes tight.
Her glossy eyes gaze up at me. “Luke, I…I don’t have any words to describe how grateful I am. I will never be able to repay you for this. You’re saving her life.”
“You don’t need to repay me. I’m just so thankful I can help her.” She peeks up at me, and I have the sudden urge to kiss her, but this is not the time, so I take a step back.
