Chapter Eight
Wren
“ T he answer is no. A firm no.” I glared something fierce and nasty at Genie while I spoke.
With her hands up in the air, she said, “Okay, okay. It was only a suggestion. It doesn’t hurt to be nice, that’s all. Because clearly you’re old friends. And he’s alone.”
“It’s not a good idea, and I’m not nice. Also, I just got back from a workout, and I smell. Exposing someone to that wouldn’t be very kind, would it?”
It was obvious Genie knew more about Daniel and me than she let on.
“I don’t think he would mind. Your smell, I mean,” Genie countered. She had an answer for everything.
“My heart rate is supposed to be coming down, not going up.”
“Oh, he does that to you?”
“Grrr.” I actually growled. A grown woman, capable of operating on the human body, a board-certified physician, and I made a sound like an animal. “No, you are doing it by aggravating me.”
“Sorry, boss,” she said, but we both knew she didn’t mean it.
It had been a week since I’d operated on Daniel Campbell. Of course he had a successful outcome and was moved a few days before Christmas to the rehab facility in this very hospital. I begged Genie to have him placed elsewhere, but she couldn’t get through the ‘newly minted red tape.’ Apparently Ryan Strauss, the star himself, made a generous contribution to the hospital for the excellent care they provided his friend, in exchange for their zippered lips. And apparently he’d footed the bill for a long rehabilitation, making sure Daniel stayed for physical therapy. In turn, keeping him in close proximity to me.
“It’s bad enough the nurses brought a Christmas tree to his private room. Now you want me to celebrate New Year’s with him. When is he leaving? He could probably fly home soon. Most people go home the same day or the next.”
“He’s not most people. And as for his friend, he’s really not an ordinary guy—”
She shut up at my side-eye.
Genie pulled up Daniel’s chart on the laptop in front of her. “Let me see. Since he’s the only patient of yours that you seem to have no interest in checking on while they’re here in rehab.”
“It will be close to two weeks at New Year’s. He should be cleared to go. He could’ve gone a week ago. There haven’t been any new concerns, right?”
“One minute, you’re Team He Should Stay, and the next, Team He Could Have Gone. Which is it? Why don’t you go see?” Genie smirked; she was a small dog with a big bone.
“I should fire you.”
She had the nerve to bat her eyelashes at me while she said, “You would never.”
Truth was, I’d been wanting to see Daniel but had forbidden myself. It was unlike my professional self not to follow up, and my personal side was hanging on by a thread—over a guy I knew almost two decades ago. Sure, I’d dated and temporarily fallen for a few other men, but there was something about the few but memorable stolen moments I’d shared with Daniel.
Blowing a long breath out, I said, “Fine, I’ll go check on him. Maybe I’ll even sign off on an early discharge.”
“You can’t do that. His PT team will go ballistic. You can’t override them.”
“Regina, please. Like I said, any other patient would have been home for a week or more already, bugging a family member to help them with their exercises and shuttle them to therapy. Campbell shouldn’t even be here except for his Hollywood friends.”
“Okay, go see him.”
“You won. I’m going. But I’m not bringing the New Year’s celebration to him. I’m hoping he skedaddles back to Los Angeles and this is the last we see of Daniel Campbell. Got it?”
I said it matter-of-factly, but the problem was, somewhere deep inside, I didn’t believe it.
“Good afternoon, Daniel,” I said, entering his room without knocking. I knew from the schedule that he was done with both occupational and physical therapies for the day.
“You haven’t seen me since I came up to this floor, and now we’re on a first-name basis?”
“How are you feeling, Mr. Campbell? There, is that better?”
He sat up taller, adjusting the pillow behind him. He wore some sort of golf label warm-up suit with a navy stripe across the breastbone that set off his eyes, but I didn’t say that aloud.
“I didn’t mind Daniel. Danny is fine too. It’s been a while, but for you, I’d make an exception.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I refocused. The tiniest flirt from this man had me off-center.
“How are you, Birdie?” Naturally, said man took advantage of the moment to flirt.
“I’m not the one recuperating. Speaking of, I looked at your chart and you’ve reached all your necessary milestones. There’s no reason to keep charging your Hollywood bestie thousands of dollars a day so you can stay here. Time for you to go home.”
“But tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I don’t want to fly home and welcome midnight alone.”
“Stop whining. I’m sure the same nurses, or whoever brought you a tree, would be willing to celebrate with you.”
“I dinnae…”
In my mind, I thought about what the heck he meant…and I realized his accent was coming out despite him being in the US for decades.
“I don’t know,” he repeated, sliding to the side of the bed and standing. He walked toward me. “I don’t want to celebrate with them.”
“Well, they may be all you have. Or you could go home. I’m sure there’s some posh catering service you can call, order yourself a shrimp cocktail and whatever else you want.” As I rambled, I noted Daniel was so close to me now that I could feel his breath on my cheek as he exhaled.
“How about this? You tell the PT peeps to send me on my way. You’ve made it clear you’re not my doctor. And then I can ask you to have dinner with me, on New Year’s Eve?” He ran his index finger down my forearm. “Something quiet, easy. So we can reconnect, talk, get to know one another as grown-ups.”
I took a step backward.
“Are you afraid of me? If you didn’t know, I have a bum leg. I’m not sure there is much I can do.” He said it with a smile on his face, letting me know he was joking.
“No, no.” I repeated myself because the first time my voice squeaked. “I was at the gym before coming here, and stuck my scrubs back on— Gah, I don’t know why I’m explaining all this…”
“Because you want to have dinner but don’t want to admit it.”
Sweat started to bead—again—on the nape of my neck and I could feel my hair curling.
“Send me on my way and have dinner with me, Birdie.”
Out of the side of my eye, I glimpsed the tree some other woman was all too glad to bring to him. In my mind, I knew he’d spent his life as a bachelor, entertaining many women. Deep in my heart, I’d dreamed of this moment, seeing him again, thinking I’d never be granted it.
“Okay,” I whispered.
In this instance, I was likely breaking several ethical codes of conduct, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I’d spent my life doing what others wanted.
I had disclosed to the hospital that Daniel was an old friend when his actor friend flashed all his money around; they were willing to do what made everyone happy. Meaning, Ryan Strauss and Daniel Campbell, as long as it meant lining their pockets.
“Great!” Daniel clapped his hands together and gingerly walked toward the door. “Let’s tell them…”
“Hold up, cowboy. Sit down. I’ll allow your team to review your chart and go from there.”
I looked to see if he’d heard me, and Daniel was already punching some numbers into his phone.
Four Seasons , he mouthed.
Of course he was securing a room—likely a suite—at the nicest hotel in Boston, and it occurred to me that he’d want me to visit him there.
Quickly leaving his room, I considered telling PT to keep him in rehab, but the sooner he left the hospital, the quicker he went home. Which meant the faster he was out of my life.
That was what I told myself as I went back to chat with Robert, the physical therapist assigned to Daniel.
I nodded as Robert talked. “He’s ready to roll, for sure. He has full movement and has been walking without crutches for several days. We have a physical therapist in LA ready to go and he can finish there with the next few stages.”
“Why is he still here?” I tried to temper my anger, knowing the answer. But I hated being manipulated—yet wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Daniel.
“His friend wanted him to get as strong as possible. And if I may say so, Mr. Campbell has been stalling, almost like he was waiting for someone or something…”
Like me, and dinner , which I didn’t say aloud. “Well, let’s send him on his merry way.”
“Okey-dokey, Doc. Hey, do you think we will get invited to the movie Ryan is filming near here? My girlfriend would lose her shit…we wouldn’t mind a day trip to New Hampshire.”
“I don’t know, Robert. I’m hoping our relationship with Ryan Strauss is coming to an end and I can get back to work.”
“Alrighty, captain.”
Fair-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed Robert got back to work as I avoided going to see Daniel again. If I knew him as well as I thought, he’d be in touch.