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“Yep,” June answers, distracting me from my dour thoughts. “Say good-bye to Leo.”
“Bye, Leo.”
The boys hug, and June and I do the same.
“Take care of yourself, Lyla,” she tells me.
Alex told me the same thing. I must look as bad as I feel.
“Thanks for watching him last night,” I say.
“Of course. Anytime. Soon, whenever you’re feeling up to a do-over of last night.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
June and AJ leave. Leo heads back to his room to play with toys and unpack from his sleepover.
I’m left in the kitchen by myself.
CHAPTERFOUR
LYLA
Sunday night is another restless sleep. I wake up on Monday morning with dry eyes to the heavy patter of rain hitting the window. I make breakfast and pack lunch before waking Leo up, then change into my workday uniform of slacks and a blazer while he’s eating his eggs.
I force him to bundle into a jacket, then hustle him out the door and into the elevator. The drive to Leo’s school usually takes about ten minutes. There’s more traffic today, drawing the trip out to fifteen.
I drop him off just before eight, then continue driving.
Usually, I head straight to the office. Sometimes, I stop for a coffee. Today, I end up in the parking lot of Philadelphia General.
Inside the hospital, I head straight for the nurses’ station. “I’m here to see Dr. Ivanov.”
The nurse eyes me. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“Is there some sort of emergency?”
I swallow. “No.”
“Then, I can’t help you.”
“Please.” I lean forward. “He treated me yesterday. I just came to say thank you.”
The nurse hums, typing on the keyboard. “Yes. A lot of Dr. Ivanov’s female patients return to request follow-up care.”
I flush. “It isn’t like that. We’re…old friends.”
“Really?” She leans back and looks up. “Which is it? Are you a patient or an old friend?”
“Both,” I insist. “Please, just let him know I’m here. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, he doesn’t have to.”
The nurse sighs, but she picks up the phone and dials. “Dr. Ivanov? Yes. No, we’re fully staffed down here.” She pauses. “There’s a woman here, insisting to see you.” There’s a pause as Alex responds. The nurse looks to me. “Name?”
“Lyla Peterson.”
“Lyla Peterson,” she relays. Her expression shifts from annoyance to curiosity as she listens to whatever Alex is saying. “Okay.” She hangs up the phone. “He’ll be right down.”
