Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Brooke frowns. “I know it seems like it’d be more work, I do. But Sam, the right guy helps your life…not the other way around.”
Almost as if on cue, her fiancé Chase Dawson comes strolling through the door, his head craned toward the haul of goodies in his arms. “Okay, I got pickles, ice cream, cookies, some animal crackers, and they even had those mini-Oreo snack packs you love, so I got some of—”
He looks up midsentence to see me standing there, and his face melts into a smile. “Oh. Hey, Sam.” He sets Brooke’s snacks down on her bedside table and, after a quick look around and a dust of his hands, looks back at me. “Where are the boys? Do you need me to watch them while you hang with Brooke for a bit?”
Brooke grins pointedly in her best I told you so, but I ignore her and smile gratefully at Chase instead.
“Thanks for the offer, but Seth is with Noah, and Grant is at home sick with Zoe.”
“Oh shit. Is little G okay?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Probably just a twenty-four-hour bug.” I hope.
“How is Zoe, by the way?” Chase asks conversationally. “Did she get into that master’s program at Vanderbilt?”
Zoe is actually a friend of Chase’s family. When I started working at La Croisette, his sister Mo put me in touch with twenty-three-year-old, money-needing, college student Zoe, and it’s been a match made in heaven ever since.
“Nope.” I frown. “Wait-listed.”
“Damn, that sucks.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Selfishly, though, I’m secretly a little—okay, a lot—grateful.
Zoe is in her senior year at NYU and currently figuring out her next big plan. One of which was to move to Nashville, Tennessee, and attend grad school at Vanderbilt. I swear I want the best for Zoe, but the mere idea of her not being in New York is terrifying for me. I don’t know what I’d do without her. Right now, she’s my lifeline. The sole foundation of how I keep things afloat.
Of course, I don’t dare say any of that out loud. It sounds awfully selfish even inside my own head.
“Are you getting released today?” I ask Brooke instead. “Or are they keeping you overnight?”
“I’m pretty sure I’m going home today, but the doctor is supposed to come in shortly to give me the rundown,” she answers around a mouthful of mini-Oreos.
I glance at my watch, trying to decide how much more time I can hang around here before I need to relieve Noah of his Seth duties and stop at home to drop Seth off with Zoe and check on Grant before I head into work.
“Sammy, you don’t have to stay,” Brooke adds, silently sensing my dilemma. She’s a pain in the ass, but at the root of it all, my sister cares about me deeply. “I completely understand if you need to leave. I’m good. The baby’s good.” She grins down at the insane number of snacks on her bedside table. “And I have enough snacks to last my pregnant ass for at least another hour or two.”
“I know, but I want to stay. Let’s just see how long it takes for the doctor to come in.”
The door swings all the way open, and a pretty brunette in purple scrubs walks in with a clipboard in her hand. “As luck would have it, he’ll be here in about five seconds.”
I smile awkwardly, but she just grins. “Hi. I’m Melody, Brooke’s OB nurse. I’m guessing you’re her sister, right?”
I nod. “Guilty.”
“Knock, knock,” a tall, fit doctor with a vivid smile says as he steps through the door.
“Hi, Dr. Cummings,” Brooke greets cheerfully.
“Looks like you’re feeling better, huh?”
“Much better.” My sister sits up straighter in her bed and drops the empty mini-Oreos wrapper onto the bedside table. “It’s amazing what some fluids, food, and a nap can do.”
“Thrilled to hear it. Let’s go over all your tests and get you discharged.”
Nurse Melody clears her throat, and Dr. Cummings’s head swings to her. All he has to do is look at her, and, instantly, he’s smacking himself in the forehead.
“Oh. Yeah. Protocol is for one more fetal check before you go, too, and you have to finish the iron IV.”
Melody smiles, and Brooke promptly starts investigating. “Okay, I have to know. How long have you two worked together? You seem pretty in tandem.”
Nurse Melody laughs, but Dr. Cummings smiles proudly as he walks toward her and pulls her into his side. “Not only is Melody your fabulous nurse today, and the best help I’ve ever worked with, but she’s also my wife.”
“I freaking knew it!” Brooke exclaims through a giggle.
“Uh-oh…are we that transparent?” Melody asks with wide but playful eyes.
“Let’s just say that we know a little something about mixing fun in with the job,” Brooke answers and pulls Chase toward her with an affectionate tug of his arm.