Chapter 13
Riley
The cool salty breeze wafts through my bedroom window and I snuggle into my quilt.
I love sleeping with the window open. The fresh air calms me, bringing new life and a reminder that there is always hope.
Sunlight filters through the sheer curtains creating a mosaic pattern on the bed.
The scent of bacon wisps through the air from the kitchen and I smile.
Then I stop.
Bacon?
Who’s cooking bacon?
My heart drops and I leap out of bed, rushing down the hall.
“Noah?” I call out.
I overslept. He was hungry. Surely he wouldn’t try to cook by himself. He knows he’s not allowed to use the stove unless I am standing right there with him. But as I get closer to the kitchen, the crackling sound confirms that someone is in fact making bacon.
“Noah!” I call again and then I stop, my heels sliding on the floor.
“Good morning,” Cameron’s voice is chill, easy and comes with a smile as he looks over from the stove. Meanwhile, Noah is sitting at the table coloring.
“Look mama! I drew a reindeer!”
“I…see that,” I say, trying to take in just what exactly is going on in my kitchen right now.
Cameron shut off the heat and places all the bacon on a plate along with eggs, toast and fruit– all things he must have gotten at the store because the only breakfast foods I had on hand were Fruity Pebbles and maybe some oatmeal.
“How did you sleep?” he asks.
Sleep. I must’ve fallen asleep. But that was on the couch…
“How did I end up in my bed?” I ask.
“I carried you in there. I hope that’s okay. You were out like a light.”
I nod slowly and skeptically.
“I stayed up with Noah for a while. I wanted to monitor him,” Cameron says as he pours orange juice for Noah then sets down two coffee mugs for him and I. “Are you hungry?”
“You didn’t have to do any of this,” I say as my stomach rumbles at the side of the food. Am I hungry? Ha. Is the sky freaking blue?
“It’s alright,” he says and I realize he is waiting for me to sit down before he takes a seat. “It’s my job.”
My lips tug in a small smile. “It’s your job to make us breakfast?”
Cameron runs a hand through his hair which is ruffled from the night, most likely a night sleeping on the couch, and my heart does the smallest of flips at how attractive he looks fresh out of bed. “Well, maybe not that part. But I am his doctor. Sit, please.”
I do as he says, taking a seat next to Noah. My mouth waters and I take a bite. It’s delicious. “You know most doctors don’t do housecalls,” I point out as I take a sip of my coffee which is also perfect.”
Cameron lifts his coffee mug to his mouth with a smile. “Yeah, well, I’m not most doctors,” he says with a wink and my heart does another flip.
After we eat, I am in a hurry to get out the door.
Luckily, Cameron’s phone is blowing up too so there’s no need for awkward conversation.
The whole my kid’s hot doctor stayed the night at our house thing is awkward enough.
After dropping him off with Brianna next door, I make my way across town to get to work.
As my life would have it, traffic is atrocious and I am going to be late.
My nerves are all abuzz this morning. Maybe it’s because of the date last night, a date that was very much not real and yet…
felt kind of real. There was a point somewhere in the middle where things felt blurry.
Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was Cameron being more charming than I care to admit.
I like to think he’s a dick, aside from his bedside manner with Noah.
It keeps things less complicated if I don’t like him.
And yet…he really was a different person as we sat there going back and forth playing peek-a-boo with our lives, showing each other little glimpses of who we are.
Obviously, the whole point was to get to know each other so when people see us or his lawyer or brother hold a magnifying glass over our “relationship” they won’t find any red flags.
But that’s not the only thing about last night that has my mind racing.
He stayed the night, and not to put some kind of presumptuous move on me.
He wanted to make sure Noah was okay. God.
The only thing worse than a man being nicer than you thought is a nicer than you thought man who is also the dream doctor for your terminally ill son.
Fuck my life, right?
When I walk into work I am no less than twenty six and a half minutes late. Think she’ll notice?
“Miss Underwood?” Katherine’s disapproving tone doesn’t echo through the room because that’s not how acoustics work in this stuffy building and yet I swear I can hear it bouncing off the walls in my brain.
I glance down at Lindsay who gives me a sidesways yikes look before going back to her laptop. I take in a breath, let it out and replace my panic with a smile before responding.
“Coming!” I practically sing then realize how over the top that sounded. I also don’t really care at this point.
“I’m sorry, I know I’m–”
“Close the door.” Katherine’s tone is flat. Short. Pissed. I nod and close the door like she asks then fold my hands and sit prudently in the high back chair facing her desk. “You’re late.”
“I know. My son was up with a fever and I forgot to set my alarm and–”
“Miss Underwood,” she snaps and then waits for me to blink. “What do we do here?”
“Plan events?” I ask carefully.
“Yes. And what would happen if your son got sick or you neglected to set an alarm, a task that takes no more than five seconds, when you were supposed to be at a very costly, very high profile event?”
“It would be bad?” I ask.
Her eyes land on me and the heat from them is enough to give me third degree burns. “It would cost me money. Which would cost you your job. Which if I wasn’t such a kind and giving person you would no longer have right now as it is.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love my job. I do. It’s just that I am a single mom–”
“Excuses don’t equal changes,” she says with no amusement in her tone.
“No, you’re right. I’m not making excuses Katherine. I’m just trying to be honest. He needs lungs and I need insurance to make that happen. And I know I haven’t been perfect but–”
“Plenty of jobs would give you insurance, Miss Underwood. But this job…is only for someone who can meet its demands. Do I make myself clear?”
I blink once to appease her. Meanwhile, I’m holding back a river of tears. “Yes,” I say. “Crystal.”
“Good. Now don’t let it happen again.”
As I make my way out of her office I can feel the attention of everyone on me.
People are wondering if I am going to back up my desk or if Katherine spared me.
I turn off my feelings for the rest of the day as I make phone calls, take notes and arrange the details for the annual holiday charity event, the event that I could orchestrate with my eyes closed and yet would rather get a root canal than be a part of again.
By the time five o clock rolls around, I close my computer and make my way outside, stopping only when the fresh air hits me in the face.
I take a deep breath and let it out. I’m angry.
I’m hurt. I’m frustrated. I am all of the things but most of all I am done.
But what can I do? My dream job was to be an independent event planner, focusing mostly on high concept parties for the city and weddings.
Not working for Satan and all her puppets.
But again, with Noah’s medical demands and a stack of unpaid bills on my thrifted kitchen table, what can I do?
I step off the curb and am about to cross the street to the parking garage when an Uber driver gets out of his car.
“Miss Underwood?” he asks and I stop. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I was hired to take you to the mall north of here.”
“Hired by who?” I ask carefully, gripping my purse.
“A Doctor Cameron Reinhart?” he recites.
“Cameron Reinhart? Hired you to take me…”
“Shopping,” he says. “And I think to get a massage and…a nail and hair appointment.”
A high pitched laugh bubbles out of my throat. “Why?” I ask because I have no idea how to respond other than that. Because what the fuck? “Actually. Don’t answer that. Just…one second please.”
I pull out my phone and shoot Cameron a text.
Riley- So fun story…
Cameron- I’m all ears.
Riley- There’s an Uber waiting for me outside my work. The driver says you hired him and that I should get in the car?
Cameron- I guess normally that would sound like a very not safe thing to do but yes. I hired an Uber to pick you up from work.
Riley- Why did you send an Uber? I might be struggling a little but I do have a car…
Cameron- Because we are going out tonight.
Going out? Is there a date I don’t know about?
Riley- Out?
Cameron- Hospital holiday party. I talked to Brianna before we left. Noah is excited to have a sleepover with Bailey and he’s also doing much better too. I made sure.
Riley- That still doesn’t explain the whole Uber thing…
Cameron- The driver has an itinerary. He’s also been vetted. Enjoy yourself and I’ll see you tonight.
With that, I feel like I have no choice but to get in the car.
And honestly, I’m glad I do. Because Cameron wasn’t kidding that there was an itinerary.
Our first stop is a massage parlor where I am treated to an essential oil bath followed by a deep tissue stone massage.
It’s so heavenly that I actually fall asleep for a few minutes on the table.
After that, we move on to a nail and hair salon where I get a shampoo, deep condition, head massage and a blow out.
I’m going to be completely honest– I didn’t even know what a blow out was.
But listen, it looks good on me. Who knew my hair could have so much volume!
I feel like one of those girls on the Pantene Pro-V commercials.
From there it’s one fancy boutique after another, in a shopping district that I have never actually set foot.
The driver is patient while I browse store after store, all places that Cameron has called ahead so they will wait on me hand and foot.
In the end, I am able to convince the driver to go around the corner to a more eclectic little store where I find a green dress that is both quirky and stunning because at the end of the day, I’m not really into those high end places.
By the time we are headed to the venue, the sun is gone and the city is lit with nightlife.
I clutch the gold bag that the shop owner talked me into because it goes perfectly with my dress.
I hold it firmly in my hands realizing that in a few minutes I’ll be walking into this venue as his date.
A doctor’s date. And as much as I am trying to pretend that it’s not exciting…
It kind of is. Even if it’s not real.
Even if it’s only for a little while.