“Nope. It’s all set.”
A sense of dread filled my abdomen. Open heart surgery was a huge deal. And though I shouldn’t be this emotional over a man I barely kept in contact with, I was.
“Well, if they think it’s for the best.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“It is. I’ll be up and around in no time.”
“The world still needs you around.”
I bit my bottom lip, refusing to acknowledge Aaron or the first words he’d spoken since I entered the room.
“The world will be fine with or without me. Anyway, Patience, I was telling Aaron about you living in Oakland.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“You’ve been there what five, six years now?”
“Almost six.” I cleared my throat again. “I’ll let you two catch up and then come b–”
“Nonsense.” My father waved his hand, dismissively. “We were talking about some of the changes Oakland has seen in the last decade. You know Aaron’s company, Townsend Industries, does a lot of donating to literary charities here in Williamsport. I bet you could convince him to extend that to Oakland. She works at a library in Oakland,” my father informed Aaron.
I bit the inside of my cheek, both anger and embarrassment rising up in the pit of my stomach. I will most assuredly not be doing any convincing where Aaron Townsend is concerned. I mostly remained silent while my father continued talking about God knows what. Aaron chimed in a couple of times here and there but I did my best to ignore him, never once looking in his direction. But just as if they were his hands, I felt it every time he looked my way.
I don’t know how many minutes went by, but finally Wilhelmina entered the room. I decided that would be my time to escape and I could make an appearance later in the day once Aaron was gone. I told my father I would be back and didn’t give anyone a second glance as I made a beeline for the door.
I pushed out the air from my lungs as soon as I shut the door behind me, while I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips, attempting to quiet my nerves. Two seconds later, I jumped as my father’s hospital room door was forcefully thrust open again and the man who was the cause of all the stress that just barely begun to unravel in my body emerged. I finally gave him a once over, taking in his immaculately tailored suit. Probably something Italian because Aaron only wore the best. He towered over me by ten inches. I let my eyes travel up his body but I refused to let my gaze settle on his eyes.
“Patience.”
A ringing in my ears sounded. Why did my name sound both like a command and a plea from his lips? I was not going there. I quickly side-stepped him, thanking God that my balance remained intact while I wasn’t so sure about my sanity.
Refusing to acknowledge him, I moved toward the opposite end of the hall, toward the nurse’s station, to get to the elevators. He didn’t call my name again, but I felt him. He was still there, following me. I wanted to either break out in a run or pick up the nearest pair of scissors and stab him with them. I couldn’t decide which to do so I kept walking. Within ten steps of the elevator, the door chimed and opened up.
“Mommy! Kyle keeps teasing me!” Kennedy ran to me, circling her little arms around my legs. “Make him stop.”
“Mommy, Kennedy’s a liar! I just told her the truth,” came Kyle’s petulant reply. He also ran up but stopped a few inches from me, cocking his head to the side as he stared behind me.
I squeezed my eyes shut. This could not be happening.
“I’m sorry, Patience. They got restless and wanted to come see you,” Ms. Ryan came rushing around the nurse’s station to inform me.
I gave her a tight smile. “Th-that’s okay.”
“Mommy, I’m hungry!” Kennedy whined, arms still around my legs.
“We’re leaving now, baby.”
“No. Why don’t you stay?” a deep, booming voice sounded behind me and I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me where I stood.
****
Aaron
I had to be losing my fucking mind. I absolutely had to be. Maybe the late nights and early mornings in the office were finally catching up to me. Because I refused to fucking believe what I just saw. Ithadto be a figment of my imagination. Of course, I doubted I even had a fucking imagination. I didn’t indulge in bullshit fantasies, so whatever I was seeing in front of me had to be reality.
“Are they mine?” I asked Patience, seething, as soon as I slammed the door behind us. I’d practically dragged her into one of the private waiting rooms.
She forcefully pulled her arm away from me, giving me the same deadly glare I was giving her.
