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I laughed and clinked glasses, and we knocked back the shots.
“So…what’s new the last three-hundred-and-sixty-four days?” I asked.
“Not much. Working nonstop. More money than free time.” She raised a finger. “Oh, actually, there is something new. I was in a committed relationship for about six months.”
“What happened there?”
She shrugged. “He accused me of being more in love with my work than him. So he gave me an ultimatum: cut back on work or it was over.” Claire smiled. “Turned out he was right. I did love my work more.” She lifted the toothpick from her martini and used her teeth to slip the olives off. “What about you? Any special woman in your life this year?”
I immediately thought of Nora. We hadn’t spoken or texted since the night of my last date, the night she’d sent me the ass shot. My gut told me the next morning she’d decided she’d gone too far and reined things in again. Which was just as well. I needed to disconnect from her. Though stalking her vlog wasn’t exactly making a clean break—but baby steps. I was getting there. Tonight would be a giant leap.
I shook my head and lifted my drink. “Nope. Just my daughter.”
A half hour later, I was starting to enjoy myself. The food was good, and the company even better. Claire was smart and funny. There was never a lull in conversation. But then my phone rang, and Nora’s name appeared on the screen. I watched it flash two or three times, fighting the urge to pick it up.
Claire looked from my cell to me and back again. Her brows dipped together. “Do you need to get that?”
Images of Nora flooded my brain—and not even the ass shot or the bikini picture, but ones of her laughing. I fucking hated that I’d let her infiltrate my date. So I blew out a deep breath and reached across the table, taking Claire’s hand just as the buzzing finally stopped. “Nope. It’s not important.”
As if to callbullshit, my phone immediately started buzzing again. I tried to ignore it a second time, but each flash of her name had me growing more concerned. Nora didn’t call often. Definitely not twice in a row.
I pulled my hand from Claire’s. “I’m sorry. I’m just going to answer it quick.”
“Of course. Take your time.”
I swiped to answer. “What’s up?”
“Beck—” I knew something was wrong in that one syllable.
I stood from my seat. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Louise. She’s in the hospital. They say she had a stroke.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re in Tennessee. Memorial Hospital in Gatlinburg.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I swiped my phone off, dug into my pocket, and tossed a few hundred-dollar bills on the table. “I’m sorry, Claire. I need to go.”
“What happened?”
“My grandmother had a stroke.”
I grabbed the first cab I could hail and told him to start driving to the airport. I didn’t even know if there were any more flights out tonight, but I had to try. Using my phone on the way, I was able to grab a seat on a plane to Knoxville, but it was going to be tight to make. Fortunately, the line at security was light for once, and since I didn’t have anything with me other than my wallet, I made it to the gate just as they were announcing final call.
Two hours later, I was in Tennessee and a waiting cab took me the forty-minute drive to Gatlinburg. Nora had given me updates, so when we pulled up at the hospital, I went straight to the ICU. Nora was waiting in the hallway. The look on her face stopped me in my tracks.
“Did she…”
Nora shook her head. “No. No. She’s okay. Well, not okay. But stable at the moment. The nurses are getting her changed into a gown and stuff. They said it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and they’d let me know when I could come back in.”
I raked a hand through my hair. “What happened?”
“We were just swimming in the pool. One minute she was fine and laughing, and the next she started slurring her words and stringing together random things that don’t go together. At first I thought maybe she’d had a few drinks and hadn’t mentioned it. But then I noticed one side of her face drooping a little, so I called nine-one-one.”
“It was definitely a stroke?”
