Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
X avier hadn't been back very long. Having had the idea and spoken to the sperm bank Grace was using, he had acted immediately on something that might very well turn out to be a completely crazy idea.
In truth, he was well aware that the only reason they had even entertained his hare-brained notion was because of his own impeccable medical credentials and the fact that he had a cursory, but solid relationship with the director of the facility.
That hadn’t given him free access by any means. He’d still had to argue, long and hard, in order for them to facilitate his proposal, and in turn, he’d agreed that the only steps they would take would be to provide the raw information to Grace, as they would with any potential candidate… but also to provide his name, which was against normal protocol.
Most sperm donors obviously didn't want their identity to be revealed, for obvious reasons. But then Xavier wasn't most donors. He was providing a single sample—potentially—for a single candidate.
Grace would be provided with the information, along with all the other potential donors' she received for evaluation. The rest was up to her.
Now that he was back in his office, Xavier wished he hadn't cancelled all of his appointments, because suddenly, he had far too much time to think!
A commotion coming from the reception area caught his attention. He could hear someone shouting and banging on the security door that prevented people from just barging into his office and the consulting rooms.
An irate patient, no doubt, upset that his appointment had been cancelled on short notice. Sick people weren't always the most tolerant. Xavier was well aware of that. Pain made people rash and irritable and provoked them into acting in ways they wouldn't normally consider.
As he stood and rounded his desk to find out what was going on, his receptionist came hurrying through the door. "Dr. Diaz, I'm so sorry," she flustered. "The woman just wouldn't take no for an answer. It never occurred to me that she would barge her way?—"
The words were cut off by the familiar, dulcet tones of a voice he knew all too well. "Hello, Xavier. I'm sorry I appear to be causing a problem, but I needed to see you and your receptionist refused, even though there isn't anyone else in the waiting room."
Xavier's eyes latched onto Grace and his breath stuttered. His brain short circuited and he just stood there, drinking her in like a man who was weathering a drought.
It seemed like forever before he got his wits about him again, though it was surely only a few brief seconds.
His receptionist was wringing her hands and threatening Grace with security. And Grace had a look of fierce determination on her face that said she wasn't budging.
Shaking himself mentally, Xavier took control of the situation. "Don't worry, Penny. It's fine," he addressed the fretting woman soothingly. "I'll speak with Ms. Miller in my office."
He checked his watch. "It's almost time to close up anyway, and since there are no other appointments this afternoon, why don't you take an early day?" he suggested.
Penny looked at Grace suspiciously. It was clear she wasn't happy with the interloper, but the expression on her face also revealed that the lure of an extra hour appealed to her.
Xavier acted on her indecision and directed Grace to his office, while he ushered Penny back toward the reception.
"Just put the latch on the main door so we don't get any unexpected walk-ins, and I'll lock up properly when I'm done," he instructed her decisively as he held out her coat and tried to curb his impatience.
Grace was right here with him, and his heart ached to find out what she was going to say.
There was a chance it wouldn't be what he wanted to hear, of course, but that small kernel of hope had somehow rejuvenated. It was alive and well and telling him that if she wasn't open to the gesture he’d extended, then she most likely would just have ignored it, rather than acted on it.
As Penny closed the main clinic entrance door behind her, it was time for Xavier to face the music and find out once and for all whether there was any future for him and Grace.
Or whether the new dreams he had dared to harbour were about to be scuppered once and for all.