“Coming to check on you.” Luke shrugged as if it was nothing. It wasn’t nothing. It was everything. This man, this beautiful, beautiful man just had his whole world implode and he’d come to check on me. I didn’t deserve him. I didn’t deserve him but there was no way in hell I was going to give him up.
“Well, Charlotte, I see you’re in capable hands. I’ll leave you to it. But if you need anything …”
“I know where to find you,” I finished for him. “Thanks, Liam. You’re one of the good ones,” I reminded him, kissing his cheek.
“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone.”
“No worries. Your secret’s safe with me,” I promised, making an X over my heart. With a wicked wink, Liam headed out the door, saying something I didn’t catch to Luke before pulling the door closed.
Alone in my office, the air felt like it was suffocating us. Luke looked deliciously exhausted. Last night when I’d gone to his place and packed a bag, he’d asked me to throw in a pair of jeans and a sweater so he could change out of his uniform. The man was hot as hell in his uniform but out of it, he was just as attractive.
“You ran away before I had a chance to talk to you,” Luke accused, pulling me into his arms and burying his face in my neck.
I hugged him back tightly, feeling him tremble in my arms. “I didn’t run away.”
“Charlotte …”
“Not exactly.”
After a few minutes of just standing there holding each other, Luke sank down onto the seat, taking me with him and arranging me in his lap. When he reached up and brushed the hair from my face, I snuggled closer. He just felt so warm. So safe. So much like home. I never wanted to let him go.
“Wanna tell me why you ran?”
“I …”
“Don’t say you didn’t.”
“I … I just … I thought you and Isla needed a minute.”
“With you,” Luke cut me off. “You’re part of our family, Charlotte. You needed to be there. We needed you there. And more than that, we wanted you there.”
“You did?”
“Of course we did. And not just because you understand what’s going on better than we ever could. We wanted you there because we love you and you’re one of us.”
“But I’m not,” I confirmed, wiping away my tears. “But it’s not about me. How’s Isla handling it?” I asked, trying to divert the attention back to what was important.
“Honestly? I think she’s handling it better than me. Other than the needles and the annoying beeping, I don't think she really understands. She’s too busy focusing on the Jell-O.”
“To be fair, the Jell-O is pretty good,” I offered.
“What do we do, Charlotte? I need you to tell me what to do.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, Luke.”
“Yes, you can. And I need you to. Because I can’t. I can’t. My daughter is sick, Charlotte. She has cancer and I missed it. I fucking missed it. My daughter has cancer, and I was too busy with my head up my ass and I missed it.”
The pain in Luke’s voice was heartbreaking. He was blaming himself. I knew he would. It was only a matter of time. Parents always blamed themselves for missing the signs, but the truth was, it wasn’t their fault. It was no one's fault. It was just a shitty hand some people got dealt. And I hated the fact, Isla was one of them. If I could’ve swapped places with her, I would’ve in a heartbeat.
“I missed it too,” I admitted, feeling even more guilty. If anyone was to blame it was me. I was a doctor, a god damn oncologist. And on top of that, I was the reason Luke was distracted. I was taking up his time, too much of his time and Isla was paying the price.
“It’s no one’s fault. You know that, right?” Luke tried to convince me. He could try all he wanted, but we both knew guilt was going to be a burden we both carried until Isla was given the all-clear.
“I know,” I conceded, not wanting to fight. Fighting wouldn’t help anyone right now.
“What do I do, Charlotte?”
“Luke …”
