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She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes sad. “I can’t. I need the health insurance.”
“Oh.” He looked away. He should have thought of that.
“When I applied, this small part of me thought maybe I’d have been up for a kidney by now. With a transplant, I’d automatically qualify for Medicare.” She rubbed a hand up her forearm and shrugged. “But obviously that hasn’t happened.”
“It still could,” Noah offered. “You could get the call next week.”
She pursed her full lips. “Or next year. At which point this opportunity would have passed me by.”
“What if you found a part-time job that offered benefits?”
“I thought about that, but I don’t think many places do that,” she said. “And even if they did, I haven’t been in school for more than a decade. I’m a little worried about my ability to maintain the GPA needed for the scholarship if I had to work even that much with a full course load.”
“You’re smart and hardworking. You absolutely could.”
She shook her head. “Plus, my class hours would change every semester. And it’s risky with my disease. If I had a flare while trying to work part-time and study... I just don’t see it working.”
He leaned forward. “What if you didn’t have insurance at all? Don’t those drug companies have assistance programs for that?” The medication for her kidney condition was unbelievably expensive. “Maybe you could get the drug for free.”
“Sure, Kinrovi would probably be free,” she said. “But I’d still have doctor visits, lab tests, and other bills. I know it hasn’t happened in a while, but when my blood pressure goes out of whack or the cysts mess with my electrolytes and I land in the hospital, it’s expensive. I need the insurance for everything.”
He deflated. “Oh.” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling that stubborn piece in the back stick up again. He sort of loved it though, because it drove Mia nuts, and her fingers smoothing it back down was the best part of his day.
“It’s probably for the best,” she said. “I have a good job, and I’m happy. I like the client interaction, and I love working with you.”
He loved that, too. “But it’s not your passion.”
“It’s good enough.”
“Is that really what you want? Good enough?”
“Don’t most people feel that way about work? How many people truly do what they’re passionate about as a career?”
“I do.”
“You’re lucky.”
“It wasn’t just luck. I worked toward that dream. You could, too.”
“I get to do it as a side hustle. I’m always cooking new things with a healthy twist, proving good nutrition can still taste good.”
“Except vegan cupcakes.”
One corner of her mouth quirked. “I’ll try again.”
“Didn’t you want to work in pediatrics? You need to find someone with kids so they can be your taste testers.”
Mia waved a dismissive hand. “Surely you’ll be married with kids in the next few years. Claire, too. I’ll be the cool aunt who’s always bringing treats by for my godchildren to try.”
Noah completely ignored her suggestion he’d be married with kids anytime soon and studied her, trying to decide why she was making excuses. Was it because she didn’t really want to do it, or because she was scared? An idea was slowly forming in his mind, but there was no way in hell he’d put it out there if he thought going back to school wasn’t something she really wanted.
“Let me ask you this,” he said. “If there was a way for you to keep your current insurance without working, would you take the scholarship and go back to school?”
She laughed humorlessly. “That’s impossible. I know your dad loves me, but not that much.”
“Humor me. Don’t worry about the logistics and answer the question.”
She sat there for a moment, a mere foot away, but he knew her mind was miles from his living room. Slowly, her head moved up and down. “Yes.”
