"Why? I'm going to be back. It's a few weeks on and a few weeks off. I'll come right back here. I'll be with you. And Leo."His hold on me is insistent. Too bad it's useless when I've already made up my mind."You keep the rings," Rex says and tries to shove them back in my hand. When I don't close my hand around them, he tries to squeeze my fingers into a ball. "Come on, Isabella.""Why would I keep them?""A promise. They're a promise. I'm coming back and when I do, we'll be together."The coil has nowhere else to go. I snap. "You'll always be coming back, Rex! You'll have to go on tour, you'll have to record an album, you'll have to go and go and go and it will never be enough for me."Rex's lower lip trembles. "You really won't let me even try to make it work?"He's not allowed to break down. Not when I'm so close to my own. "I won't hurt Leo by making him think that he'll have a life like all the other kids have.""You already have! He calls me 'Papa' and thinks we're together. Y
RexI stare at the party in front of me without seeing. Depravity. What else is new? Nothing I need to see. Not anymore. If I was tired of it before, now I’m downright exhausted by it.I balance my lowball glass of whisky on the arm of my chair, twist it carefully and try to discern if I could sneak out of this godforsaken hotel without anyone noticing me. There are the four of us from the band, a handful of girls, and then some of the crew. Maybe fifteen people in total. It’d be tricky but I could do it.“Lines!” a female voice shrieks in excitement.Across the room, a raven-haired woman with skin so pale I’m surprised I can’t see all her veins holds up a baggie of white stuff. Coke, obviously. I grimace as I watch her go about the business of pouring the powder onto the coffee table and forming the coke into tidy lines.I can thank Holden, our keyboardist, for her appearance tonight. Seraphina’s a groupie, which is surprising in this day and age that anyone takes the time to follow
I scrape my lower lip with my teeth and scan my bandmates. They're my best friends. We've been in this shit together since we were teens. We've slept on floors together, shared clothes, and survived on ramen just to fund our albums and tours.Now we have everything.Except... I have nothing."I'm not married," I say softly.Apollo's face drops. "I'm so sorry, dude. She didn't deserve you.""No, Apollo, I was never married."Everyone looks at me in confusion."Isabella and I... we met a long time ago. Last stop on our club tour before we signed with Interscope.""That's why you were in the desert..." Blaise says with a thoughtful laugh under his words.I nod. "It was just a fling. Except, when I had my accident, she ended up being the doctor to treat me and we reconnected and –" I scratch the back of my head. "Turns out I have a kid.""Oh shit," Seraphina peeps. Holden claps his hand over her mouth and she looks at him apologetically."Yeah, she's gonna need to sign an NDA or something
Isabella “What do you mean I’m not on the schedule?” I gawk at Amina. My resident smiles. “You’re not on the schedule.” I look at the paper scheduler in her hand. Sure enough, I’m not there. “No, I did not come all this way to not be on the schedule,” I grumble, whipping out my phone. I hurriedly navigate to my email where a schedule had been sent last week. I find the attachment and – “Ha!” I hold the phone out. “See? I am on the schedule.” “But you’re not,” Amina says with a shrug. Something is off. She’s got a lilt to her voice that’s playful and strange. “What’s going on?” She shrugs again, biting on her lower lip. She doesn’t even have to say, “I know something you don’t know.” I open my mouth to respond again, but hear my name said by an unfamiliar male voice. “Isabella Delgado?” I turn to find myself face to face with an older gentleman dressed impeccably in a suit and wearing aviators. An LA type through and through. I cross my arms over my chest, my scrubs wrinkling.
RexThe past couple of shows have been better since telling the band about what happened in Ocotillo Valley. Not incredible, but much better than passable.We are in the homestretch of our set. Two more songs, then we're out and back on for an encore. I might be feeling inspired enough to do two songs tonight. After all, this is Madison Square Garden where all the greats have played, from Zeppelin to Fleetwood Mac. I'm not here to fuck around.I'm here to fuck it up.We're in the middle of one of our ballbusters, "Thought You'd Start to Care", which has one of our jam sections and, boy, are we flying tonight. My fingers are flying across the neck of my guitar and I'm sweating like hell, hair dripping, t-shirt sticking to my back.I lift my eyes to check on Holden. He's on his feet at the keyboard, totally lost in the sauce. I smile to myself.Swinging around, using my guitar to propel me, I check on Blaise, giving him a quick nod. He can feel it, I know. He's got a solo on him, ready
There’s some laughter.“Not only do I…” I have to pause to get a hold of my tearfulness, giving my attention back to Isabella.Her emotionality mirrors mine. Fuck, one of us has to stay strong.“…love her.”Isabella’s shoulders rise with excitement. And Leo points at her as if to say, “He’s talking about you!”I watch her laugh and kiss him.“With all my heart. And soul and mind and body and… with everything I got, I love her.”A place like Madison Square Garden is hard to silence when it’s filled to the brim. But you could hear a single footstep, it’s so quiet.“And as if she could make me love her any more than I already do, she gave me another human to love.” I can see the splashy tabloid headlines now and for once, I don’t care. Because I’m getting to tell my story. My truth.I want the world to know.“My son.”There’s gasping and cheering and clapping.I smile, wicking away a tear before it falls. “They’re here tonight. And I’d like to introduce you to them. If that’s –” I do a d
IsabellaThe view from Rex's suite is incredible. The expanse of New York City rolls out before us. So much open sky and space.I wrap my sweater around me. Spring in New York is much cooler than spring in Ocotillo Valley. It quickly becomes colder than I'd like.I head inside from the balcony and look at the thin edge of light spilling across the carpet from the bedroom. With a smile, I walk closer to the bedroom door and rest my head against the doorframe.“You’ll be here when I wake up?” Leo’s small voice pipes up from inside.“Of course,” I hear Rex reply, his voice warm like honey, dripping with exhaustion.“And what about the next day?”“If I’m not there, you can call me right away.”There is a pause. “I want you to be there,” Leo says.Another pause. “I want to be there, too, buddy.”“Tell Mama.”Rex chuckles. “You know what, I will.”“Because Mama will want you there too.”“You think so?” Rex asks.I smile to myself. It’s not as simple as all of that. But I’m learning to be ok
Rex knocks back the rest of the champagne and then closes the space between us, pressing his hands to the counter on either side of me. Except it's not a motion of want. At least not yet. Whatever he wants to say is so urgent and so heavy he needs me. Right here. "I want you on tour with me."My eyebrows jump. "What?!""You. Leo. Your mom. I heard she and Mickey hit it off actually," Rex says.I slap him on the arm. "Don't talk about my mother like that!""It was a joke!" he hisses, rubbing the spot my hand thwacked."I can't go on tour with you, Rex. I work."Rex shakes his head. "You don't have to work anymore.""Um, yeah I do."Rex narrows his eyes. "You know who you're talking to, right?""It's not about – I can't be beholden to you for money, Rex, that's just –"He places two fingers to my jaw and I stop talking. "I'd be taking care of you." This thumb settles against my chin. "Because that's what I want to do."My mind races. I don't want to give up my job. At the same time, I w
My skin buzzes at the sound of his deep voice. I have a second to wonder if it's my imagination before I glance toward the door where Luke is standing.In the flesh. Looking so good that it hurts.At my lack of response, he cautiously slips in and closes the door with a lock clicking, shutting us out from the rest of the world. My heart picks up speed as his gaze roams over me, then settles on my face. I swallow and finally push down my speechlessness."Luke...what are you doing here?"He's silent for a while as he just looks at me. Then he clears his throat."I saw you earlier. Wearing that...looking like that. You took my breath away, but you were gone just as quickly."The way he says it...I can hear his longing. The smile from earlier is gone, replaced by a desire glimmering deep in his gaze. There's a triumphant feeling inside me that he never looked at the gorgeous woman in white this way, but it's immediately smothered by the knowledge that they're still a much better pairing t
Olivia"Hey, Liv! I'm glad you could make it!"I grin at Wanda, who's already with Maria and Jasper when I find her. The three make a beeline toward me, giving me hugs before they take in what I'm wearing. A round of oohs and aahs come, and my cheeks heat up."Come on, guys. I just got this from a thrift shop. And it's basic black."The event was announced long ago: a small charity party with the doctors, the staff, and some of the hospital's major sponsors in attendance, held at the largest conference room. It didn't sink into my mind that it would be a semi-formal event or that it would fall on my day off until yesterday, but the black dress that has always been in my closet is a lifesaver.Medical assistants are not obligated to go, but the director wants us to. Nurses don't have to, but Maria and Jasper are free and said they wouldn't miss getting all glamoured up for the world.Maria rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "Sweetheart, if I looked like that in black, I would wear it every
I nod. "Yeah. For when the software has some technical problems and someone has questions about how to use the device."Henry shakes their hands, including Riley's. A seasoned veteran of life, he's friendly, outgoing, and pretty much will shake anyone's hand, which makes him perfect for his department. "Pleased to meet you both. Luke hasn't brought a lot of guests here, so it's good to see some new faces. Are you customers of the product? Or perhaps you're a new member of the team?" He beams at Riley. "And who's this sweetheart?"I look at Olivia, unsure how to play this. But before I can answer, Riley speaks first."I'm Luke's daughter."It's like a bomb dropping-at least, it feels that way to me and Olivia, if her wide eyes and stupefied expression are any indication. My head whips toward Riley, who is smiling at Henry, with Henry eyeing her curiously."You are?"She nods. "Luke is my dad." Then she turns to me. "You're my dad, aren't you?"Color me stunned and rendered speechless.
LukeBeing in Olivia’s house again after taking her so thoroughly a week ago feels more intimate than I anticipated, but it’s also exciting. It’s my third playdate with Riley, who doesn’t have movie-watching in mind this time.“I still have homework, Luke, and I should finish it today.”“Oh. Do you want help with it?”“No. I want to do my homework by myself. Mom says to ask for help if I’m confused, but I’m not confused.”It’s another way of saying she’s independent, which amuses me as I follow her to a room that her mom made into her homework area. The small table is already littered with books, crayons, and the like. I watch Riley start coloring before I gingerly sit on the stool beside her.Immediately, she giggles. “You’re too big for the chair, Luke.”I grin. “It’s okay. I just want to watch you.”She finishes coloring and starts on some math problems. I wait for her to ask for help. But she doesn’t. Realizing my presence might be a detriment more than anything, I carefully stand
I curl my hand inward until his head tilts just a little bit to rest on it. Luke emits a longer sigh, his weariness visible. But he doesn't even care about that.The guy who acts out in front of everyone, sometimes even to patients, has a good heart. I've seen glimpses of it throughout our interactions and the way he treats Riley, but I guess I've been holding back from fully seeing this side of him. He's also just human-the type who, at the end of the day, feels for his patients and gets affected by their condition no matter how hard he tries to separate himself from them.It's this understanding that propels me forward until I'm no longer just cupping his cheek but hugging him, too. I can sense his surprise from his sudden tension, but it's gone in a blink as his arms wrap around me. I know I'm the one comforting him, but the warmth he emits is a source of comfort for me, too."Liv...what is this?"His voice is gruff and just a little bit confused."I just thought you needed a hug."
OliviaI pace the office, done with work, and find myself stuck with nothing to do. I’m sure many people would kill for that problem, but without anything to do, my mind can’t help running a mile a minute as I wait for the person I need to speak with the most.I jump at the knock on the door, then turn to Wanda as she peeks in.“Hey. Wanna get some of that fresh bread down the street before we head home?”I force a smile out. “Sounds great, but I’ll have to pass. I’m staying for a bit.”“Isn’t it past your work hours?”“Yes, but I need to check in with Dr. Jennings about the surgery progress. It’s easier to record everything now than tomorrow.”She shakes her head and mutters about me working too hard, then waves and leaves. I glance at the clock. I should be going home, but it’s one of those lucky days where Nancy asked to stay longer since she needs the extra cash.But as it turns out, I don’t have to wait long as Luke walks in a few minutes later, already scrubbed down.I already h
Luke“If I didn’t know better, I swear you’re acting like this because you haven’t gotten laid in a while.”Not many doctors can say that to my face, not even the hospital’s director, but I suppose Kyle Malone is an exception. He’s not a resident doctor, but he’s trusted and experienced enough that he’s become the regular go-to when we have doctors on long leaves and the hospital needs a temporary replacement.He’s also a childhood friend, who came from the same background as me and rebelled from his wealthy family to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, which his family considered beneath him.“I’m just knee-deep in work, that’s all.”Kyle raises a brow. “When you’re that overloaded, you’re usually snapping at everyone and acting like a grump, not mooning over your desk with bags under your eyes. What’s up?”Okay, so there’s no denying that I’ve been sleepless lately. And when I do sleep, it’s filled with dreams—and let’s just say those dreams are too raunchy to be said out loud. B
"It's the one talent Riley didn't inherit from me.""What about art? Did she inherit that from you?"I look up, surprised that he remembers me mentioning it years ago. I shake my head. "It's too early to tell. But so far, she's not interested in doodling.""I see. Do you still draw? Or paint?""Sometimes. When I'm stressed or when there's time.""Are you stressed lately?"I nod. "Yeah, but I don't have time to draw or paint.""Too bad. I would have liked to see your work."Right. He doesn't know that my work is available to the public-or at least, samples are available online, as well as some finished works for people to purchase or check out should they want to commission me. I debate telling him about it, but my decision is waylaid when one of his hands leaves my waist and takes my hand."Luke?""You've got callouses. I never noticed. This is an artist's hand."I suck in a breath when he caresses my fingertips, specifically the callouses on them. It's supposed to be nothing but an o
Olivia"How is she?"I close the bedroom door quietly and turn to Nancy, Riley's babysitter for the past three months. She's wonderful at it and I've had no complaints. But she's also young, just recently eighteen, and I know the situation rattled her a bit."She's fine. The fever's gone now, actually, and I think it started going down right after you called me." I smile in reassurance. "You did a good job giving her medicine and that warm bath."Nancy eyes my smile, then sighs in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was nervous. I don't usually get nervous since I've had plenty of experience babysitting, but I think this is the first time someone had a fever under my watch. Since you're a medical assistant, I thought I should call you and let you know in case it's something more serious.""It's probably just the weather, but I'll monitor her. Don't worry about it. You can go home, Nancy. Same time tomorrow?""Of course."I walk her to the door, appreciating her more for admitting her nerve