“I spent the morning in infusion, I’m back on the floor for the afternoon. I think I see Mack first. Come find me if I can help in any way,” I offer, hoping we can get back to where we were before yesterday’s weirdness.
“Thanks for the offer, I’ll do that if it gets crazy again. And I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was out of line. I hope that you can forgive me. I’ll be stepping back from interfering between the two of you. Let you guys decide what things are between the two of you. I just want it on the record that I highly approve of this,” she says, circling her finger between Drew and me. “So does Grandmother,” she adds with a playful smirk.
“I’m sure she does.” Drew chuckles.
“She just wants you happy,” Lucy reminds him sweetly.
“She just wants us to start the next generation, is what she wants,” Drew retorts.
“And there’s something wrong with that?” Lucy asks him, raising a brow in question.
“No,” he says. “But I don’t see her hounding you to hurry things up to get married and have a baby, why all the pressure on me?”
“Oh, trust me, Drew. I’ve had the pressure just as much as you have. Although, I have noticed she’s backed off some since Adam and I got serious.”
“Yeah, she’s definitely expecting an engagement soon, just FYI,” he tells her. “She said so to me last weekend.” He looks at her like he won a battle of wits.
“We’ll see,” Lucy says. “Adam has hinted at things, but we haven’t talked in depth about anything like that yet. I’d absolutely say yes if he asked me, but I also don’t think that we need to rush things.”
“I agree, no one needs to rush anything when it comes to relationships. They’ll progress at the rate that is natural,” Drew says.
I let their conversation sink in, and his comments about relationships progressing at whatever rate is natural gives me reassurance. I feel like we’re moving ours along so fast, but it’s what feels natural. The more time I spend with him makes me want to spend all my time with him.
11
DREW
I SIT BACK, all this talk with Lucy and Megan about relationships and such, and realizing that just last weekend was when my grandmother was giving me crap about settling down. When that happened, I had no desire to make it a priority, and yet here I am a week and a half later, wondering where Megan came from. I feel like we’ve known each other for a lot longer than a few weeks, but I know there’s so much more for us to learn about each other. The gala Saturday night brought her into a new light, opened my eyes to her beauty. Made me see her as the woman she is and not just an acquaintance and co-worker.
I look back across the table at Megan and just drink her in. The simple way she’s got her hair pulled back in a ponytail, to her hospital standard scrubs. She wears minimal makeup, just a little mascara and tinted Chapstick that I’ve seen her apply a few times. Could we have a serious future together? Can she deal with my crazy schedule? Those are million-dollar questions for any woman I’d end up with. I already know my family’s money means nothing to her after seeing her reaction at the gala. When you have a trust fund the size of mine, gold diggers are a serious concern. I have no plans to tarnish my family’s good name, especially with some chick just after my bank account and local social status, and I have no doubt Megan doesn’t care one bit about any of that.
“Everything okay?” Megan asks a few moments later. I realize I just went radio silent, as I was deep in thought.
“Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind,” I do my best to assure her. “I should get back upstairs, though,” I say, piling my lunch trash together on the small tray. “Come find me before you leave for the day?” I ask Megan as I bend down to brush my lips across hers in a quick chaste kiss.
“Of course,” she says, a blush breaking out across her cheeks, which makes me grin. I love that I have that affect on her.
“Bye, Lucy!” I call out to my cousin before I leave the two of them at the table.
THE PAST FEW days have rolled by with a blur. Tomorrow is my surprise date with Megan, and I’ve got everything in place. I plan to take her out to my family’s beach house. I rented a van for the weekend that can accommodate her chair. I’ve got a brunch spread being delivered shortly after we arrive, and dinner planned at one of my favorite restaurants by the house, overlooking the water.
I step into my office just as my cell starts ringing. I pull the phone from my pocket and a number I don’t recognize is flashing on the screen, which isn’t unusual. I slide my finger across the screen and bring the phone to my ear.
“Dr. Montgomery,” I greet the caller.
“Hello, Dr. Montgomery, this is Kayla with the transplant team. We just got confirmation that your patient, Mackenzie Gibbs, has a new heart. The donor heart will be on its way to you later this evening. I’ll have more concrete details within the next couple of hours, but we wanted to give you a heads up so your team could start the preparations on your end.”
Holy shit, it’s really happening. I drop into my chair as Kayla tells me all of this.
“Thank you, I’ll get my team assembled and notify the patient’s parents,” I tell her before we end the call. I’ve jotted down everything she told me. The heart is being flown in from the Washington, DC area. It will probably be evening before it’s here and we can transplant it.
With a million things running through my mind, I leave my office and head for the pediatric floor. The first people I need to find are Heather and David. I want them both there for this news, so I pull my cell back out and call the nurses’ station.
“Pedi’s this is Candace.”
“Candace, it’s Drew. Are Heather and David around? I need to talk to them and am on my way, it’s urgent.”
“I believe so, but I’ll check, and if not, track them down for you.”
“Thanks, I’ll be there in five,” I tell her as I bypass the elevator, electing to take the stairs.
I’m slightly winded when I reach the nurses’ station. I see Brianna standing there charting. “Bri, I need you in Mack’s room ASAP!” I call out as I pass by in a blur.
I knock and push her door open, and thankfully find everyone I need here in the room. I even find Megan is here with Mack. She’s got her out of bed and sitting in a chair, playing a game at the small table in the room.
“What’s going on?” Heather asks. I can tell she’s nervous about why I’ve come barreling in here like I have.
“I just got the call. A heart will be arriving in a few hours. Once I know a better ETA for it, we’ll start Mack’s pre-surgery protocol. From now until surgery time, I’m ordering her to be NPO -nothing by mouth- so that she’s ready to go when the heart arrives. I’ll be ordering some labs to be drawn ASAP, we need some current baseline vitals and such.”
“Are you serious?” Heather gasps. She walks over to Mackenzie, picking her up and hugging her tight.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this. It’s finally happening,” I state, matter-of-factly.
“What time do you think she’ll be taken to surgery?” Heather asks.