AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good, me too. And that means staying in Virginia. Which I was planning to do. I just have more of an incentive to stay now. I’ll agree to keep things secret until I sign a contract with Mercy, but after that, all bets are off.”
“But when the women at work find out, they’ll all boycott my shifts. They may even try to disappear me if they think you’re off the market.”
He threaded his fingers over hers. “I’m off the market, and so are you. Get used to it.” Leaning over, he kissed her lips while debating whether he could drag her back into bed and still make it to work on time.
“Is there any chance you could align our days off so we can have more time outside of work together, like Christmas weekend?”
“Yes. I was really just trying to give myself a break from you.”
He brushed her hair back off her neck and cupped her face. “I get it, being around you and not being able to do this has been torture.” Her mouth met his in a tender, gentle kiss. “But now you can have me anytime you want me.”
Drake could see the doubt in her eyes, and it stung to know she wasn’t sure she could believe he wouldn’t leave again. He knew there were still quite a few obstacles; securing a job at Mercy in the ER, or at least in Virginia, and getting out of his existing contract in LA. Not to mention convincing Margo that his feelings for her had never changed, and he was staying for good.
Chapter Eighteen
Drake
Sitting in the waiting room in the oncology department with his brother and his dad was a surreal moment for Drake. He and Ian had seen more of each other in the last month than they did in the last ten years, and they were getting along. They say a crisis can bring people together or rip them apart. It seemed like his relationship with Ian was ripped apart when they were kids, but now, with their mom’s illness, it brought them back together.
“Dad, did you know Drake is dating Margo again?” Ian said, breaking the silence.
His dad’s eyes found his, and he smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me. She’s a fantastic doctor. Your mother will be ecstatic, but if things don’t work out this time, she might disown you and keep Margo.”
Ian snickered.
“Thanks, man.”
“I mean, if you’re bringing her over for Christmas festivities, you may as well let them know now. Besides, this waiting is killing me.” Ian stood and started pacing.
Their mom was having more tests to see if the doctor’s surgery and second round of chemo had done the trick, or if she would need to do a third round.
Drake was staring at the large pink metallic bell that hung on the wall across from where they sat. Patients would ring it every time they were told they were in remission, cancer free. It may sound silly to some, but the accomplishment and the goal of beating cancer were compounded by the euphoria the patient, and likely their family, felt when they heard that bell ring.
When a nurse popped out, they all stood.
“Mr. Monroe, your wife would like you to come back now.”
Their dad moved with surprising agility for a sixty-year-old man, like a cartoon character whose feet were moving faster than their body.
“And then there were two,” Ian said, flopping back down in his seat.
Drake laughed. “This is really torture. I can’t believe how emotional this is, and we aren’t even the ones with cancer.”
Before Ian responded, Margo entered the waiting room, and they both just watched her float past the rows and make her way over to stop right in front of them. She had pink flowers and a gift bag in her hands.
“Hi, you two do not look like things are going well.”
“We’ve been waiting an excruciating thirty-five minutes,” Ian said, raising his voice and looking at his watch. “And they just called our dad back.”
Margo smirked. “Then the hard part is over. They’re probably reading the results now.”
Ian stood and began pacing along the wall where the bell hung.
Margo sat next to Drake and set the gift bag on the floor and the flowers on her lap.
“That was thoughtful of you to get flowers and be here with me. You didn’t have to.”
She leaned over. “I’m actually here for me. Your mom has stayed in touch with me over the years. A card on every holiday and birthday flowers every year. When she was diagnosed and she asked me to attend a few of her appointments, we grew even closer. I’ve been bugging her doctors ever since.”
