Chapter 35
Nick
I was in with a patient when my phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw my mother was calling. Declining the call, I sent her a text.
“Hey, Mom. I’m in with a patient. I’ll call you back when I’m done.”
“Yvonne, I want a full blood panel drawn.”
“Yes, Dr. Russo.”
I pulled her to the side. “I also want a drug test done. I do not believe her,” I whispered.
I left the room, pulled my phone from my pocket, and called my mother back.
“Hello, Nick.”
“Hi, Mom. What’s up?”
“Your father and I are in Los Angeles.”
“Why?” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.
“We think it’s time to meet your fiancée and the mother of our grandchild in person. We’re only here for a couple of days since we’ll be back in a couple of weeks for the wedding.”
“Okay. We’re having the gender reveal party tonight down at the beach. I get off at five o’clock. I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay. We’ll see you later, son.”
I sighed as I ended the call. The ER was pretty quiet, so I went up to the rooftop to grab a cup of coffee.
“Hey.” Christian smiled. “The ER let you loose?”
“It’s quiet for right now.” I smiled, grabbing a cup of coffee.
“I hear there’s a gender reveal party happening tonight.” He placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I grinned. “I can’t wait to find out the babys sex. There’s one problem, though.”
“What’s wrong?” Christian’s brows furrowed.
“My parents are in town and want to meet Claire in person tonight.”
“Oh. So, they’ll be at the party?”
“Yep. Now I have to call Claire and tell her. You know how they are, Christian.”
“It’ll be fine as long as they keep their mouths shut.” He smirked.
“Exactly. I don’t need them ruining this for us.”
“I don’t think you have to worry.” He patted my shoulder. “Your mom hasn’t said anything to you when you and Claire Facetime her, right?”
“No. She hasn’t.”
“That’s a good sign. They already like her. I have to go scrub in for surgery. I’ll see you later.”
“See ya, Christian.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed Claire and hoped she wasn’t sleeping.
“Hello, handsome,” she answered.
“Hi, babe. Is someone over? I hear talking.”
“Um, well. I’m at the office,” she said.
“The office? I thought you were taking the day off and resting?”
“I tried. I couldn’t.”
“Claire—”
“Nick, I love you, so don’t say another word.”
I let out a long sigh.
“I love you too. I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“My parents are in town and coming over tonight.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“My mom said they want to meet you in person before the wedding.”
“Shit, Nick. Talk about no notice. Who does that?”
“My parents.” I breathed out a laugh.
“The house is a mess,” she said.
“Impossible. It was as clean as a whistle when I left this morning.”
“Your clean and my clean are two different things.”
“Claire, stop stressing. The house is fine. I told my mom I get off at five, so I’m sure they’ll be there around five thirty. I’m just giving you a heads-up.”
“Thanks. I have to finish reviewing these reports,” she said.
“Okay. I love you, babe. Do not stress out over this.”
“I love you, too. Bye.”
I sighed as I put my phone in my pocket and returned to the ER.
Claire
Shit. Shit. Shit. I closed the file folder, grabbed my purse, and told Tessa I was leaving. Walking down to Shaun’s office, I popped my head through the door.
“I have to leave. Nick just called and said his parents are in town and are coming over tonight. I have to make sure the house is spotless and run to the store to pick up a couple of things.”
“See, you should have listened to me and stayed home in the first place. This is payback for being so stubborn.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“Very funny.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll see you tonight.”
After I stopped at the store, I went home and started cleaning. There wasn’t much to do, but I needed to make sure everything was perfect for when Nick’s parents arrived.