Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 41635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
My heart skips a beat.
Aiden. He’s coming for me.
I didn’t think he would. No part of me thought this would happen, but there he is
Gorgeous, tall, intense. He looks pissed and even the security guard steps back away from me.
The whole room looks at him. Every single person is staring at Aiden Hill, gorgeous genius doctor. He’s an asshole, a bastard, but he’s here. He’s coming for me.
“Ruby,” he says softly.
“Sir, I’m sorry—” the guard starts, but stops when Aiden glares at him.
“Give us a second,” Aiden says.
The guy hesitates but sighs and steps further away.
Aiden looks back at me, takes my hands in his. “I’m sorry,” he says.
I nod sadly. “You don’t have to be. I’ll be okay.”
He frowns. “Of course you will. I just need you to wait for me.”
I blink at him in surprise. I thought he was apologizing for leaving me, for giving me up in order to keep on being a doctor…
“Wait for you?” I ask stupidly.
“I’m discharging your grandmother. She’ll be fine, by the way. When I’m done with that, we can get her home together.”
“We… can?”
“Right.” He gives me a strange look. “Are you okay?”
“Aiden, they’re kicking me out. I mean, I thought… I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
Understanding flashes across his face. “Oh, shit,” he says softly. “Ruby. I’m so sorry. I thought I texted you.”
I shake my head. “I haven’t gotten any messages.”
“Shit,” he says again, and pulls me into a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”
I hug him back, confused but starting to feel an inkling of hope. “What’s happening?”
He pulls back and looks at me. “Liza knows about our relationship. She threatened to use you against me… so I quit.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“I quit,” he repeats.
“You’re not going to be a doctor anymore?”
“No,” he says, laughing, “no, I’m still going to be a doctor. Just not at this hospital.”
“Can’t you lose your license for this?”
“Maybe,” he says. “But Liza agreed to back off if I agreed to leave the hospital. We made a deal.”
“For me?” I ask, barely able to believe this.
“For you,” he says, grinning. “I think I got the better end of this, by the way. I’m going to get you and I’m going to make a shitload more money in a private practice.”
I throw myself at him. I feel the weight of what just happened, the fear and the confusion, threaten to crush me. I hold him tight and I can feel tears forcing their way out of me.
“It’s okay,” he says softly. “Really, it’s going to be okay.”
“You asshole,” I manage. “You should’ve warned me. I was freaking out.”
“I know. Liza is a piece of shit for kicking you out like this. It’s just her last way of telling me to fuck off.”
“She must be pretty pissed.”
“That’s putting it mildly. She feels like she invested a lot in me… and I turned my back on her.”
“Oh, shit, Aiden.”
He smiles at me and wipes my tears away. “It’s really okay, Ruby. My little gem.” He leans down and kisses me.
I feel the whole room staring, but I don’t care. I feel like we’re completely alone in this room as he kisses me full and deep and slow. I want to crawl into his arms and let him hold me, let him comfort me.
I want to be warm against him. Safe and sound in Dr. Daddy’s arms.
“Now, go wait for me,” he says softly. “There’s a Starbucks around the corner. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
“With my grandmom?”
“With your grandmom,” he confirms. “We’ll get her home.”
I kiss him. “You’re perfect.”
“I know.” He grins, kisses me one last time. “Now go.”
We break apart. The security guard rolls his eyes and gestures for me to leave. I flip him off.
Aiden barks a laugh as he walks away, back toward the elevators.
The guard grumbles at me, but I’m already leaving. I keep my finger up, flipping off the whole damn place.
Aiden isn’t leaving me. He’s losing his job here, but he’s not losing his license. He’s going to be a doctor after all.
My Dr. Daddy.
I walk proudly from that hospital and I don’t look back.
20
Aiden
I tug Ruby along behind me by the hand. “Just up here,” I say as we walk down Spring Garden toward Sixth.
“How’d you find this place, anyway?” she asks me.
“Friend of mine told me,” I say.
“Friend?” she asks, grinning.
“I have friends.”
“Liar. I’ve never heard of a single friend.”
I sigh. “Okay, fine. He was a patient a few years back and we’ve kept in touch.”
“That makes more sense. You saved his life, right?”
“Pretty much.”
“He’s not your friend then. He just owes you.”
I sigh and squeeze her hand. “You’re rough on me.”
“Someone has to be,” she says, grinning huge. “You’re too smart and handsome. You get it too easy.”
I roll my eyes but I’m still smiling. We head down the block and halfway to Sixth, I pull her up short in front of a building.