Page 104 of I’m Dreaming of a New York Christmas

‘Hey, no no no. Please don’t do this. I… really like you, Flora. I want to stay in touch after tomorrow. I—’

I cut him off before he could make this any harder. ‘No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

‘You’re telling me you don’t want to hear from me again?’

I looked up at him – his eyebrows were contorted inwards in confusion.

‘Of course that’s not what I want! But I do think that would be easiest, yes.’

‘Flora, please. Listen to me. I think I’m—’

But before Ethan could finish, Elle burst out of the venue, her shoulders relaxing in relief as soon as she spotted us.

‘Oh, thank God. Flora – the venue just got a call from someone called Anneka asking us to pass on an urgent message. It’s your mum, Flora – she’s been rushed to hospital in an ambulance.’

Chapter 22

I jumped to my feet, still 50 per cent shoeless.

Elle explained that the venue had taken a phone call from a hospital called NYU Langone, with Anneka asking to get an urgent message to a British guest called Flora because her cell phone wasn’t connecting. The member of staff had overheard Elle’s accent and assumed she was the correct recipient, and Elle had then made it her mission to find me and pass the message on.

‘Did they say what happened?’

‘No, just that they were both at the hospital and you should head straight there.’

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay, how do I get there?’

‘I’ll sort a car,’ Ethan said, unlocking his phone.

‘Elle, can I use your phone? I never got around to sorting a roaming plan that works over here,’ I said. ‘I want to call the hospital and see what else I can find out before I get there.’

‘Yeah, here you go,’ Elle said, unlocking her device and passing it to me.

‘And could you try and find my coat for me, please?’ I asked. ‘It’s extremely long and very pink.’

‘On it,’ she replied, heading straight back inside.

I looked up the hospital and pressed ‘call’.

‘NYU Langone?’ a voice quickly answered.

‘Hi, umm, I’ve just been told my mum has been brought in by ambulance. I’m on my way there but can you give me any more details? Her name’s Jennifer Bell. She’s British.’

Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay.

‘Hold please.’

I locked eyes with Ethan as he repocketed his phone.

‘Will the car be here soon?’ I asked, placing my hand over the phone speaker while I was on hold.

‘It’ll be here in three minutes. And it’s a twenty-seven-minute journey.’

‘Okay, thanks.’

‘This is Langone ER?’ The voice on the phone sounded harangued.

‘Oh, hi. I’m trying to find out more information about a British patient who’s been brought in by ambulance. Jennifer Bell? I’m her daughter.’