He let out a nervous chuckle. “You, uh, aren’t going to make this easy, are you…”
Instead of speaking, she folded her arms and looked at him, her expression impassive.
“Okay,” he began, hesitating as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. “I’m sorry for the other night. You didn’t deserve that.”
She raised an eyebrow and continued to watch him expectantly.
“Okay fine. I’m also sorry about the way things went when I begged you to have a real conversation only to turn into an asshole when I didn’t like what you had to say,” he continued, carefully gauging her reaction as he spoke. “I’m sorry for everything that put us here. I miss you.”
Her face softened at that statement. He didn’t say it for the reaction; he really did miss her. Constantly throughout the day he wanted to call or text her about something before he remembered they were on less than speaking terms. He couldn’t sleep. His temper was even shorter than usual. Everything was fucked up.
“I lied,” she admitted after a long silence.
Not wanting to guess at what she was talking about, he waited in silence for her to continue. She took a cautious step forward and placed a hand on his chest, causing him to inhale sharply at the contact.
“I don’t want to take a step back. I’m not sure why I said I did, but I shouldn’t have. So, I’m sorry,” she said so softly he had to strain to hear her.
“I know why you said it. We both know why. I knew why you were saying it that night, and instead of talking, I acted like a complete dick,” he admitted. “I really am sorry. I’ll spend as long as it takes making it up to you, if you’ll let me.”
She surprised him by gripping his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. Once the surprise wore off, he leaned into her, flicking his tongue along the seam of her lips until she parted them. She tasted like everything he’d been craving since he walked out of there two weeks ago.
“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asked hesitantly. He tried not to sound overly eager, but he’d be devastated if her answer was no.
“Come have dinner with my family tomorrow,” she invited, completely changing the subject. “Sheila invited us, but I’ve been avoiding her.”
“It’s pretty last minute to surprise her with our presence,” he pointed out, understanding why but still mentioning it. “I wish you said something sooner.”
“I told you I didn’t want more. This is more. And I’ve been avoiding her because I know I was an idiot for saying that shit, and I didn’t want to have to explain anything.”
Chris took a breath, trying to gather his thoughts. She lied about not wanting more. He still wasn’t completely sure if she lied because she was scared, hurt, or both.
“Lily, too?” he asked after a moment.
“Of course.” Her look of uncertainty was replaced with one of hope.
“I don’t know,” he hesitated. “It’s the last minute and bringing Lily to a family dinner is a really big step.”
“Think about it,” she suggested. “I know you have to get to work, and I need to get back inside. Sheila always cooks enough to feed an army, and I haven’t told her no yet, so don’t worry about it being last minute. You can let me know when you come pick her up.”
With that, she kissed him on the cheek and went back inside, leaving him staring at her closed door. He wanted to say yes, but he just didn’t know what was right. Lily had enough going on, so he didn’t want to add more people into her life that might not be permanent. He would think about it.
“What’s the deal with your family dinners?” Chris asked Michael as he pushed the stretcher carrying their equipment into the elevator.
Michael folded his arms across his chest. “Why? Are you guys coming? Last I heard, Sheila hadn’t heard back from my sister.”
Chris swallowed as he tried to think of a way to explain the situation to Michael without getting himself killed. One look into his icy blue eyes and he knew he had to go with honesty … without being completely honest.
“Well, there was a lot going on, so we haven’t talked much. I just found out about it before work. I told her I’d think about it.”
Michael looked as though he didn’t quite believe his explanation, but fortunately he let it go. “What’s there to think about? Lily’s been sleeping at Mallory’s when you work, and you’ve known me and Alyssa forever. Sheila is the kindest person on the planet, and I’m a lot like my dad.”
Before Chris could respond, the elevator doors opened, and they were facing the nurses’ station. Instead of someone who looked completely uninterested directing them to a room, they were all huddled around a chair behind the desk. The group made their way over to see what was going on.
“She’s having chest pains,” one of the nurses said as she pointed at the woman sitting in the chair.
The woman wore scrubs and had her salt and pepper hair pulled into a bun. She was sitting in the chair leaning her upper body against the desk. Her face was gray, and she was covered in a sheen of sweat. They had been expecting a resident, not a staff member.
Chris began asking questions while Michael began hooking the woman up to the monitor and taking a set of vitals. Their partners were both gathering whatever information they could from one of the nurses who stood with her.
