“Is my mother okay?” she asked, breathless, standing as Luke approached. He sat down beside her and gave her a reassuring smile. He didn’t want to rush off to the next case; making time in his busy schedule for patients and their families was important. They were the only thing that really mattered.
“Your mother is stable now, and we were able to remove a mass from her abdomen. It’s in pathology now, but it looks like it was a benign tumor. You’ll be able to visit her very soon.”
Luke clearly and gently explained all that had happened and everything they’d done for her mother. While he found conferences to be a waste of time, talking to patients’ families never was — even though many doctors seemed to feel that way. Luke had been on the other side of the table, so to speak, and he knew how important it was to talk to and reassure the families. Each time he was able to tell a daughter, a father, or a spouse that their loved one would be all right, a little bit of the burden on his heart lifted. At least for a moment. There was no feeling quite as good as helping someone, especially if helping someone meant saving a life.
The next patient was a young boy who’d crashed his bike while riding home from school, and Luke treated his wounds. Then came a woman in pre-term labor who Luke sent up to the maternity ward, then a group of college students with food poisoning. After that, the shift turned into a blur of work and patients, with no time to think about anything else.
It was after midnight when Luke left the hospital, more than six hours after his shift was supposed to end. It was drizzling outside when he walked to his car, and the gray clouds overhead obscured any hint of the moon or stars. No matter. Luke was too tired to enjoy the view. He drove home along the darkened, rain-streaked streets, stumbled into his empty house, ate a bowl of cereal, and collapsed into bed, succumbing to sleep in moments.
The next day, his alarm went off at five, and he headed back to the hospital to repeat the same thing all over again.
In the few spare moments Luke had before and after work each day, he prepared his speech for the conference. There was no way he was going to let speech preparation cut into his time with patients, and what was a few more hours of no sleep and hard work to a man used to burning the candle at both ends?
The closer the conference drew, the more resentful Luke felt. He’d been honest with Marco. He truly had no interest in speaking to pretentious doctors or, even worse, the evening of drinks and networking afterwards, which seemed more mandatory than suggested. His time would be much better spent doing what he did best — helping patients.
No good could come of this inane conference. Luke was certain of that.
CHAPTER 2
BELLA
Bella Nolan sent out the final tray of pastries and leaned back against the counter, letting herself relax a little. Her long brown hair was beginning to escape from the neat bun she always wore for catering events, and her green eyes showed her tiredness. She’d spent the morning cooking and baking for a huge baby shower with more than two hundred invitees. Now, with everything but the clean-up done, she was tired yet satisfied. There was no feeling quite as good as pulling off an event like this.
“Hey!” a female voice called from outside the venue’s kitchen, where Bella had set up. Bella hurried out, wiping her hands on her pink apron as she went. The honoree, a sweet young mother-to-be at least half a decade younger than Bella’s thirty-four, was waiting outside.
“Is everything okay?” Bella asked.
“It’s great! I just wanted to say that everyone loves the cupcakes. The baby does, too.” She beamed up at Bella, who smiled back. Next to this bubbly woman with her frilly baby-shower dress, Bella felt a little scruffy in her work clothes.
“I’m happy to hear that.” She wasn’t quite able to match the young mother-to-be’s enthusiasm, but she tried her best.
“Well, I’d better go!” The woman turned on her heel. “It’s gift time!”
Bella retreated into the kitchen to start the washing up. While she’d been cooking, a pile of pots, pans, and bowls had formed beside the sink and industrial dishwasher. Most caterers hired assistants to handle this kind of thing, but not Bella. She knew that a perfect event meant doing everything herself, and she didn’t mind. The first tray of clean dishes came out of the washer, steaming and smelling faintly of lemon, and Bella slid the second one in.
She truly was glad that the guests were happy. Bella had started her catering business, The Cherry on Top, four years ago after burning out in a dead-end office job that had sucked her soul from her. Since then, she’d poured all her time and energy into making her business a success, and it wasfinallyhappening. She was getting booked for events almost every week, and she got great feedback every time. Her joint passions, food and organization, had become her livelihood, just like she’d always dreamed.
Just as Bella was stacking the last of the clean frosting bowls on the drying rack, her cell rang. She fished it out of her pocket with her less-wet hand and held it to her ear.
“The Cherry on Top, Bella Nolan speaking,” she said in the pleasant voice she reserved for phone calls.
“Oh, thank goodness.” The man on the other end spoke fast, sounding stressed. “You’re the caterer, right?”
“Yes, I am,” Bella said, pinching the phone between her shoulder and her ear and reaching for a hand towel. “How can I help you?”
“Well, I’m an events organizer hosting a conference next week, and my caterer just pulled out. Is there any chance you can cater an event for around two hundred and fifty people at the Bright Ridge Hotel in Downtown Portland next Thursday?”
“Just a moment.” Bella took her phone away from her ear to open her planner app. Thursday was less than a week away, which meant not a lot of time to get a big event together. Still, she loved a challenge. “I should be able to help. What are your requirements?”
“Oh, thank goodness,” the organizer repeated, sounding relieved now. “We’re looking for passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a sit-down dinner and dessert.”
Bella’s eyes widened. That was a lot of food for a lot of people — but she could do this. This was the kind of thing she’d been preparing for, the kind of booking that could help The Cherry on Top achieve city-wide fame. Maybe she’d start getting booked for more conferences like this… Bella bit her lip. Logically, she knew she should probably turn this down, but her heart was already racing with excitement.
“That’s fine,” she said. “I’ll put together a price estimate and get back to you in a few hours.”
“Thank you!” The organizer hung up, and Bella realized she hadn’t gotten his name. That didn’t matter. She had his number, and she’d have a price estimate together shortly. Humming to herself, she started packing up her supplies to head home. Things with her business were finally going her way. Maybe shewas on her way to catering some bigger events, even opening her own restaurant…
She loaded her arms with supplies and slipped out of the kitchen. As she walked down the hallway, she could hear the sound of laughter and music from the party space where the event was being held, and she smiled to herself. She might not have close friends or family of her own, but at least she could help others make their events as special as possible.
