Her blue eyes sparkled teasingly. “Burgers, fries, and milkshakes twice a day? With donuts and waffles for breakfast?”
Doctor Parks shuddered a little. “Not exactly, no. Think more nourishing but calorie laden foods, with a little less emphasis on the grease and sugar. And before you start making excuses like you don’t have the money to buy food, I happen to know better, Scarlett. You told me yourself about the deal you made with your father.”
“Fine.” She exhaled in resignation. “I promise to try eating more. Starting with the three course lunch I’m going to order from room service once I get back to the hotel. After all, the bill from that place is getting sent to Jackson so might as well live it up, right?”
He laughed, giving her a thumbs-up. “Absolutely! Now, I need to head out, but I want you to promise me to not only take very good care of yourself, but to get in touch with me anytime you need medical advice. Or if you just need a shoulder to cry on.”
Scarlett waved a hand in dismissal. “Maybe the first one. But as a rule I never cry. You just caught me in a weak moment yesterday. I’m over the whole pity party.”
The doctor arched a brow. “Including the pink pony?”
She pouted. “No, damn you,” she muttered. “I still want the pony. Maybe I’ll just buy myself one or something similar in the hotel gift shop. Like I said, I’m not paying the bill.”
“You do that,” urged Doctor Parks. “And please don’t overdo, hmm?” He held out a hand. “It’s been a real pleasure to meet you, Scarlett. And I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
She shook his hand. “Thank you, Doctor. For everything. Dinner last night, for listening to me cry and carry on like a moody adolescent. And for just being nice. I don’t have very many people in my life who actually care about me, so - well, thanks.”
He gave her hand a squeeze before turning and walking out the door.
‘Well, hell,’ she groused silently. ‘Guess that eliminates one more possibility of who left you these fancy ass duds. That pretty much leaves one Jackson Gilmore as the responsible party. Figures that the asshole would try to make up for totally ignoring you by giving you gifts. Doesn’t he know that a ten word text would have meant a hell of a lot more to me?’
Sergio arrived then, pushing a wheelchair and looking entirely too smug about that fact for Scarlett’s liking. But rather than offer up an argument, or even a sassy comment, as the nurse was likely expecting, she merely sat down in her most ladylike manner and gazed up at him.
“Ready to go whenever you are,” she told him sweetly.
He laughed as he began to wheel her towards the elevators. “I’m going to miss that sassy mouth of yours, you know,” he told her. “And the new clothes look great on you, way better than the hospital gown.”
They chatted on the ride down in the elevator, and then through the lobby and out the front doors. Even at barely ten in the morning it was already warming up considerably outside, the hot air something of a shock after the air conditioning. She was suddenly grateful for the lightweight cotton fabric of her new shirt, as well as the cool white of her jeans.
She glanced around for the now familiar sight of Larry’s gray Mercedes sedan, frowning when she didn’t see him.
“Guess maybe my ride’s stuck in traffic or something,” she told Sergio. “Because I texted him earlier today when I knew I was being discharged.”
“Actually,” corrected Sergio, “I think your ride is right here.”
Scarlett looked in the direction he was pointing and froze, thinking that it was a good thing she was sitting in the wheelchair right now or else her legs might have starting trembling a little. Jackson was standing curbside on the passenger side of a compact but pricey looking SUV, and smiling at her in a way that momentarily made her forget how pissed off she was at him.
He was wearing his typical attire of jeans and a T-shirt, this one of a dark blue that was almost the same shade as her blouse. He was clean shaven, his dark hair neatly combed, and looked so handsome that her heart began to thump rather alarmingly.
He held out his hand as Sergio wheeled her right up to the car. “Do you need help getting inside the car?” he asked worriedly. “Doctor Parks said you were in a lot of pain and had trouble walking, so I can lift you inside if necessary.”
Scarlett glared at him, ignoring both his offer and his outstretched hand. She pushed herself up from the chair, biting the inside of her cheek so that she wouldn’t flinch from the momentary pain that movement caused. Not for the world would she let him see any weakness on her part. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to allow him to coddle her.
“I’m fine, thanks,” she mumbled. “And I can get inside the car without any help. By the way, why are you here? I was expecting Larry.”
Jackson exchanged a grin with Sergio. “Has she been this charming to the hospital staff?”
Sergio rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah. She’s been the ideal patient. Actually, she’s been kind of fun to have around, kept me on my toes and all.”
Scarlett settled herself on the plush passenger seat before scowling at the nurse. “And here you were just telling me how much you’d miss me.”
Sergio gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “You know I will, speedy. Just take it easy for a few days, okay? Make sure you’re popping those iron tablets, getting lots of rest, and eating a lot. You might think you feel fine, but you’re still awfully rundown.”
She nodded. “I’ll try. And, uh, thanks. I know I can be a real pain in the ass to deal with, so I hope I wasn’t too big of a brat.”
“Nah. And after what you went through you had every right to be a bit of a brat. Take care now, hmm?”
The male nurse waved farewell before wheeling the now empty wheelchair back inside the hospital lobby. Jackson, meanwhile, checked to make sure she was securely buckled in before heading over to the driver’s side of the car.
“So where’s Larry?” she demanded, even before Jackson could start the engine up.
“Gee, what’s the matter?” he asked sarcastically. “Can’t handle being around me for a few minutes? Hey, I realize I’m probably not your favorite person right about now, but let’s call a truce for a little while. Okay?”
She shrugged. “Sure, why not? And you’re right. You are totally not my favorite person right now. Not even close. I mean, I get it that you’re busy, that all of you are wrapped up in what’s going on with Hannah, blah, blah, blah. But how fucking long does it take to send someone a four word text - “how - are - you - doing”? Or something along those lines. I mean, you’re the one who pulled me into all of this. You and my stupid, equally useless father.”
“I’m sorry, Scarlett,” he told her somberly. “And you’re exactly right. I should have checked up on you, and with far more than a measly four word text. And while there’s no valid excuse for ignoring you the way I did, what I can tell you is that I’ve hardly had a minute to myself these past few days. Before you arrived in town I was working insane hours, we had half a dozen different major issues crop up with projects, and I was putting in fourteen to sixteen hour days. The fact that my father and Neil were spending most of their day at the hospital while Hannah was getting prepped for the infusion only made it worse, since I had to pick up the slack on some of their projects as well.”