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“Is that normal?” Ruby asked. “To have a reaction after so many shots?”
“It happens,” Doctor Singh said. She was a pretty woman, her dark hair threaded with gray, her eyes warm and kind. Ruby knew a lot of doctors would have let the ER handle Olivia. That Doctor Singh had come in after hours on a Friday night validated Ruby’s belief that she’d chosen Olivia’s pediatrician well. “Is Olivia by any chance allergic to eggs?”
“Not that I’ve noticed,” Ruby said.
Doctor Singh nodded. “Keep an eye on that, look out for signs of intolerance. Some kids are allergic to eggs, and a lot of vaccines have an egg-based protein in them. In the meantime, I’ve made a note in Olivia’s chart that she won’t be able to have that particular vaccination, so hopefully we won’t run into this again.”
“She can come home?” Ruby asked.
“She can go home.” Doctor Singh looked at Olivia. “Hear that, Olivia? You’re getting out of this place!”
“Yay!” She looked up at Roman. “Can I take Bear with me?”
“He’s all yours,” Roman said. “He told me on the way up that he’d been waiting for you. All those days in the gift shop, all those people holding him, and not a single one of them was Olivia Bishop.”
Olivia grinned.
“Okay,” Doctor Singh said. “Olivia’s discharge papers are being drawn up. The nurse will be in with them in a few minutes. Tylenol for the fever. Call me again if it doesn’t work or the fever persists beyond the weekend.”
“Thank you so much,” Ruby said.
Doctor Singh smiled. “It’s my pleasure.”
She disappeared into the hall and Ruby exhaled all the stress she’d been holding in her body since the moment she’d realized Olivia had a fever.
“You look like you need a hot bath and a glass of wine,” Roman said, rubbing her shoulders.
She could feel him holding back, knew that he wanted to pull her into his arms. She wanted it too, but she was glad he held off for Olivia. Having him around as a “friend” was one thing — she definitely wasn’t ready for Olivia to think he was more.
Was he more? They’d only hung out a couple of times, and not always under the most romantic of circumstances. Had had sex once.
It wasn’t exactly an engagement ring, but somewhere deep inside herself she knew it wasn’t casual either.
“Thanks again for the car,” Ruby said to Roman. “It made things so much easier. I tried to call my sister to help me with Olivia on the subway but she didn’t answer.”
“It was nothing,” he said.
She laughed. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your Friday night. I’m sure you have better places to be than the emergency room.”
He stared down at her. “You’re here. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
“I can just take the subway home,” she said.
He scowled. “That’s not going to happen. Max is downstairs.”
She should say no. Olivia was better. They could take the subway. It was a bad idea to be so indebted to him.
Except she didn’t feel indebted, didn’t feel like he expected anything at all in return for his help.
And she was exhausted. Not just tonight, not just because she’d been in a panic for the past two hours.
Just generally exhausted. Of making all the decisions, of wondering if she was making mistakes, of trying to pay the bills and get to Olivia’s school functions and still be awake enough to be fully present with her sweet daughter who was growing up so fast.
In spite of Brooke and their dad, Ruby hadn’t realized how alone she’d felt until Roman had swept into her life.
She wasn’t even aware of making the decision to agree. “Okay. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
25
