Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Eloise
I can’t deny a word of what Penny said last night.
Dr. Morgan is smoking hot.
Today, he’s wearing dark gray pants and a light pink button-down shirt under his white coat. Not every guy can pull off a look like that, but Dr. Morgan is effortlessly conducting a master class in how it’s done.
“Penny,” he says my new friend’s name first while keeping his gaze on me. “Hello, Eloise.”
Again, I can’t tell whether he’s happy to see me. I wonder if learning the art of a poker face is taught in medical school because, once again, he’s nailing that.
“This is Daxton’s mother.” He touches the forearm of the woman standing next to him. “Mrs. Robinson, this is Penny and Eloise.”
“I’m Penny.” She makes sure that’s known in a voice that is way too loud for this private family waiting area.
A little brown-haired girl and a woman dressed in blue scrubs sitting beside her both turn to look at us.
Mrs. Robinson takes Penny’s hand in hers before she reaches for mine. No words accompany that, but that’s not the least bit surprising. Her son is facing a medical crisis, and she’s most likely been awake all night.
“Mommy!” The little girl suddenly rushes toward us. “Daxie. I want to see Daxie.”
I glance at the small child. She’s adorable, and with the pink bow in her hair and matching overalls, she looks like she should be in a playground, not the coronary care unit of a hospital.
“Saylor, let’s read another book.” The woman in scrubs approaches us. Her name and position are visible on the badge pinned to her top. She’s a cardiac care nurse. “I think your Mommy needs to talk to the nice ladies.”
“I want Daxie!” Saylor demands. “Please let me see him.”
Mrs. Robinson looks to Dr. Morgan for guidance. He crouches to get closer to eye level with the little girl. “Why don’t I take you to see him now? The thing is Saylor we need to stand behind a big piece of glass and look at your brother because he’s fast asleep and we don’t want to wake him up.”
Clutching a stuffed toy close to her chest, she nods. “I can be super duper quiet. I know how. Right, Mommy?”
Mrs. Robinson manages a weak smile. “You do know how.”
“Can I go with the man?” she asks, running her fingers over the stitching on his coat that identifies him by his name and his position as a member of the cardiology team. “He’s not a stranger.”
“You can go.” Mrs. Robinson nods. “Be on your best behavior, okay?”
“If I do that, can we get a donut?” Saylor laughs, tugging lightly on the stethoscope strung around Dr. Morgan’s neck. “I know there’s a place with food in here.”
“The cafeteria,” Penny says. “If you want, we can take her for a donut after she sees her brother.”
Mrs. Robinson looks skeptical as her gaze volleys from my face to Penny’s. “I’m not sure.”
“Dr. Morgan’s cousin is married to Eloise’s cousin,” Penny blurts out. “You can trust us.”
I lock eyes with Dr. Morgan and offer a small smile, but I get nothing in return.
“Go with the doctor,” Mrs. Robinson says to her daughter. “Then the girls can take you for something to eat in the cafeteria. Something healthy before you eat a donut.”
“A banana will be just fine.” Saylor giggles. “Let’s go see my brother.”
Dr. Morgan scoops the little girl in his arms and gives me one last glance before he looks at Daxton’s mom. “I’ll have her back in no time. If you need anything, let one of the staff know.”
With that, he’s gone without another word.
Penny tugs the sweater she bought from me out of the white paper bag I used to deliver it to her when we met up almost an hour ago. Since it’s a cardigan, she puts it on over her white blouse.
“I really like that,” Saylor remarks from where she’s sitting next to Penny across the table from me in the hospital’s cafeteria. “Can I have one?”
I look her over. “I can knit you one just like it.”
Her cheeks blush. “Thank you, Els, but I meant that bag. Can I have one just like that?”
I laugh as I watch Penny plop the bag in Saylor’s lap. “It’s all yours, cutie.”
“My name is Saylor,” she corrects Penny.
My name is Eloise, but I’m going with the nickname flow and learning to embrace being Els when I’m around Pen.
Saylor kisses her stuffed lamb and drops it in the bag. “Night night, Piggie.”
“Your lamb is named Piggie?” Penny asks.
“Yup.” Saylor takes another bite of the donut I picked out for her. I opted for a small salad with chicken strips on the side, the requested banana, and a glass of milk.
She polished the lunch portion off quickly before she started on the donut covered in pink icing and candy sprinkles. She’s savoring every bite of that.
“Do you have a stuffed pig?” Penny keeps the conversation on that track.
I can’t say I blame her. After Mrs. Robinson explained that Daxton has a genetic heart condition and requires a procedure to have a device implanted to regulate his heartbeat, this discussion with Saylor has lightened my mood, and I suspect Penny’s, too.
She comforted Mrs. Robinson with a huge hug before we left the CCU to head here to give her a much-needed moment with her son.
“Stuffed with what?” Saylor asks before she shoves another piece of the sugary treat into her mouth.
Penny winks at me before she rephrases her question, “Do you have a pet pig?”
Saylor nods as she points at her mouth. “Can’t talk. Chewing.”
I glance over my shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dr. Morgan, but I highly doubt the man eats at this cafeteria. He looks like he has at least a six-pack under his shirts.
“I do have a pet pig,” Saylor announces. “He’s named Giraffe.”
Penny laughs. “I’d love to meet him someday.”
“Are you going to marry my brother, Pen?”
Penny’s eyes widen as her mouth falls open.
I take the lead because promising anything to a four-year-old and not delivering is a recipe for disaster. “Penny and Dax are brand new friends.”
“Like we are?” Saylor looks to Penny before her blue eyes stall on my face. “You two are my brand new friends.”
“We are.” I reach across the table to squeeze her hand. “If you finish up, we can take you back to see your mom.”
“There’s my other brand new friend!” Saylor’s out of her seat and whizzing past me with the paper bag in her hand before I realize what’s happening.
I’m on my feet in an instant, chasing her down.
Grateful that I’m wearing sneakers and not heels, I race after her.
I’m only two steps behind her when she reaches her destination. It’s Dr. Morgan’s arms.
He scoops her up so quickly that the bag in her hand falls open, and her toy tumbles to the cafeteria floor.
“Oh, no!” She screeches. “Piggie fell. She fell on her head. Someone help her.”
“I’m a doctor,” Dr. Morgan says in a gentle tone. “I can help.”
I drop to a knee to pick up the toy. I brush it off before I offer it to Saylor.
“That’s not a pig,” Dr. Morgan says, gazing down at me. “It looks like a lamb.”
Lamb.
A memory from my past washes over me like a tidal wave, sending my heart rate racing by what feels like a hundred million beats a minute.
I jump to my feet, stepping to the left clumsily before I find my footing.
“Els, are you okay?” Penny’s hand circles my elbow as she steps in place beside me. “It looked like you almost fell.”
I did. I fell into the memory of the best night of my life.
I keep my gaze on Penny’s face. “I have someplace I need to be.”
That’s anywhere but this place because my mind is playing tricks on me. Dr. Morgan uttered the same word that my masked lover called me when he brought me to orgasm with his skilled hand in a club I had no business being in.
Why did Dr. Morgan sound just like that man when he said lamb?
“I think I’ll stay with Saylor and Mrs. Robinson,” Penny says. “Unless you want me to get you home.”
“I’m fine,” I reassure her before I look at Saylor. “I’m going to go, okay?”
“Please make Piggie a sweater just like Pen’s if you can,” she whispers.
I nod. “I’ll give it to Penny to give to you.”
“Thank you.” A soft smile accompanies the words. “Can I have a hug, Els?”
I take a step forward to wrap my arms around her, acutely aware of how close I am to Dr. Morgan. I’m so close I can smell his cologne.
That cologne. That word. This man.
It’s him.
I let Saylor go with one last stroke of my hand over her forehead before I hug Pen and turn around in search of the nearest exit.