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Chapter 17

Melena – Paging Dr. McDreamy

Imanaged not to thinkabout my upcoming surgery. Dr. Webb had asked me to continue my medication, and I felt okay. It was easy to forget I’d passed out again. Denial was a talent. One I embraced, as I focused on each client and avoided any future plans except those for my business. My dream of owning my own spa was on track, thanks to Jimmy. The ER visit hadn’t been the financial nightmare I feared with his insurance. Living together was also a boon to my savings. I recalculated my budget based on the changes and was shocked that marrying Jimmy might help my dreams come through faster than I realized. Even one year of marriage would move my timeline up two.

I lived my life as normally as possible in the days leading up to my surgery. Yoga at the gym. Clients at the spa. Evenings with Jimmy, eating fabulous meals and playing video games or watching TV when he wasn’t at work. I wandered the house, picking away at a few random boxes, unable to settle on the nights he was on shift at the station. Wash, rinse, repeat. I still waited for him to complain about my weird hours or long days, but other than giving me a long, assessing look after I came home late and asking how I felt, he stayed quiet.

I’d even managed a lunch date with Tamra. Chase’s girlfriend was a nurse at the local hospital. She had a naturally contained and calm demeanor. It made her easy to talk to. Over our soups and salads at a café, our conversation turned naturally to my diagnosis.

“You know why Jimmy and I married?” I asked after we’d exchanged pleasantries about work and Chase and Jimmy.

She nodded. She’d come dressed for her work shift, in blue scrubs. Her dark curls were caught back in a low ponytail. Where I’d look like a founding father in that hairstyle, her perky features were cute in comparison, and it was sleek on her. She looked like a Disney princess nurse to me; wide smile and big eyes.

“Who are you seeing?” she asked.

“Dr. Webb.”

She nodded. “You’re in good hands there.”

My grin was too wide. “Tell me about it.”

I surprised a laugh out of Tamra and counted it as a win. “Yeah, his nurses have a proposal board going among the surgeons, and he’s in the lead.”

I tilted my head. “Proposal board?”

Her lips twisted in a smile. “It happens more than you’d think. In obstetrics, it’s usually the anesthesiologists who get the offers from laboring patients. But the surgeons get their fair share. It only inflates their big heads. We’re a competitive bunch.”

I shook my head. “He’s a handsome doctor, there’s no denying that, but I’m all tapped out on proposals for the year.”

She grinned at me and winked. “Still, he’s worth Kinnearing a photo of, for sure.”

I groaned. “Jimmy told you?”

She shook her head. “Chase told me.” She gave me a long-suffering look. “Get used to it. They’re as close as brothers. Not a lot happens the other doesn’t know about.”

I shifted in my seat. I didn’t know how to feel. I wasn’t used to someone being privy to my secrets.

“If it levels the playing field, I can tell you something embarrassing about me,” Tamra offered with a shrug.

I liked her sense of balance. She returned my smile, and my shoulders relaxed. My smile faded. I’d met Tamra because of my relationship with Jimmy. If our marriage ended after the year, would she still be my friend?

***

The night before myprocedure, Jimmy made a special meal. He appeared at home in our new kitchen, a black T-shirt stretched across his chest. He moved with quiet confidence and his lips turned up in a smile when he caught me watching from the table. He palmed two plates and walked toward me with a quirk of his lips.

My stomach growled as he set down my plate of pot roast, mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables. “You’re spoiling me,” I said.

Jimmy smiled and took his own seat. “You haven’t even gotten the best of my treatment yet. But I hope you enjoy everything.”

“Not bad, for a last meal.”