Her plan had merit, so I decided to suck it up and rally. It was the least I could do for the world’s best BFF, who dragged her very pregnant butt out of bed to comfort me. “We do, don’t we?” I grabbed my laptop and sat on the couch. “Let’s work on the menu, figure out what you want to serve.”
“Yay, sounds good to me.” She found her iPad deep in her purse and sat next to me. Sierra’s bag made my monstrosity look like a change purse. “But you pick the food. The thought of anything food related this early in the day makes me want to hurl.”
Her grossed out expression cracked me up. “I thought your morning sickness was over.”
“It is … as long as I don’t think about food.” Okay. “Besides, drinks are more fun. The shower’s early enough for mimosas, right?” She didn’t appreciate my eye roll. “What? I’ll be eight months by then. I can totally have a sip. A little champagne’s not going to hurt. It’s probably healthy. Just ask your doctor-” She stopped herself midsentence and scrunched her face, looking like a deer in headlights.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to tiptoe around me. I’m not going to lose it at the mention of his name.” I hope. “Anyway, today’s about you, not me. Okay? And to answer your question, I think mimosas sound perfect … for everyone but you.” She pouted and I laughed. “Come to think of it, see if they have a Krug Ambonnay or something that sounds like that. It’s really yummy.” I was surprised I remembered the champagne label from Asiate.
“Fine, but I’m totally having a sip. Hmm, I can’t wait.” Sierra rubbed her round stomach.
“Fine, one sip,” I deadpanned.
“Hear that, sweet girl? Aunt Lili said we get to have a glass of champagne at your party.”
What happened to a sip? She was too damn much, but watching her talk to her unborn daughter was too freaking adorable. I wanted that one day.
We got to work diligently researching our menus.
“Holy shit! Lili, do you have any idea how expensive that champagne is? When the hell did you drink that?”
“Um ... when Chase took me to New York, he ordered two bottles for us.” You know, the most amazing night of my life.
“Two bottles! Holy shit, you said he had some money, but come on, who spends fifteen thousand dollars on champagne? I’m all for a little splurge, but that’s insanity!”
Holy shit, she was right. Fifteen thousand dollars on a drink. And for no real reason. That was insane.
“Let’s be honest, Lil, doctors don’t make that kind of money anymore. Brain surgeon or not. Think about it ... freaking personal driver, two sick apartments, a bazillion dollar shopping spree that you said yourself he treated like a stroll through Target. What did he do, win the lotto or something?”
I never really thought about it.
“I ... I don’t know. His family has money, I think. Or maybe it’s from whatever device he invented or his company in Boston.”
“He owns a company? He invented shit? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about any of this?”
“Because I’m not really sure.” Suddenly I was … embarrassed. And not over yesterday’s courtroom debacle, or how the secret of my rural disaster betrayed Chase’s trust. I was ashamed that I couldn’t answer a simple question about this man, a man I’d grown to trust. I was an open book now, yet he was still a mystery.
“Not really sure?” she rightfully questioned. “I get he’s ridiculously hot and all, and I can only imagine how sick the sex is, but you can’t screw twenty-four, seven. So what the hell do you two talk about? Owning a company and being stupidly rich seems relatively major to me.”
Good question.
“You’re right. I know. But he doesn’t talk about himself that much. He hasn’t really told me anything.” God, I sounded pathetic. Now I was the one who was nauseous.
“And there lies the problem, girlfriend. No communication.” Sierra wasn’t a lot of things, but blunt was not one of them.
17
Bruised
Sierra left sometime in the late afternoon after we finalized the menu, spoke with the florist and picked out the favors. Her power of distraction worked to my advantage. I wasn’t wallowing. Completely. But, it didn’t stop me from checking my phone every five minutes. I was crawling into bed when the damn thing finally chimed.
Busy w Ash in NY.
Take Monday off. -CC
I stared at the mobile device in my hand, rereading his message. What happened to Xo? I was tempted to throw the damn thing across the room. All day I contemplated how I was going to react when he finally contacted me, but I wasn’t expecting blood-boiling rage. Beside myself. The tone of his text implied he wasn’t expecting a response back, as if he said everything he had to say. For real? Damn him. No, fuck him.
Yet all I wanted was him. I wanted us back. I wanted to feel the warmth of his arms around me. I wanted our intimacy.
I tugged the sheet up to my chin and shut my eyes. Too mad to cry. I cried enough. I cried a lifetime of tears. Control was stolen from me once before, there was no way I was allowing it again. Our relationship was not ending like this. He deserved my truth and I deserved his.
So I did take Monday off, but not because he told me to. I needed the pause. Technically it was the start of my new rotation and I called in sick. Instead of work, I ran until my legs felt like jelly and spent the rest of the day shopping, even though I didn’t need a thing. Chase had filled my wardrobe with enough new clothes to last several seasons. Instead I shopped for Sierra’s baby. And did I ever, enough to last her several seasons.
A text came in as I was paying for my coffee.
Gone for the week on business
Leaving after work. -CC
Where r u?
CC is obviously doing just fine without me.
I plopped down at a table outside of Starbucks and fiddled with my packages, pretending I wasn’t obsessively waiting or willing my phone to chime back. But there was no response. Nothing, that was it. Bullshit. He never mentioned a business trip, probably because it was never planned. Was he kidding me? He was treating me like a stranger. Maybe that’s exactly what we were. Strangers. Conveniently fucking.
Tuesday morning came way too early. Back in heels and trying to pull myself together, I stopped by Jorge’s cart and picked up a latte. Along with Chase, I hadn’t seen my personal Starbucks delivery since we got back from Wrangel. Not that I cared about losing the little luxury, I didn’t. It was a bit over the top to begin with, but I had to admit that his small gesture put a smile on my face every day. It showed he was thinking about me. It was stupid, but it made me feel ... special.
I went directly to my office to let the morning rush die down. Pediatrics was more laid back and I wasn’t responsible for rounding in the morning. I planned to hide out for a little bit before I met up with the new team.
“Hey! There you are. How’re you feeling?” Kate knocked and walked in, all smiles. “Where were you guys yesterday? Everything okay?”
“I called out sick, needed a mental health day.” It was the truth.
“What about Chase?”
I was confused. “What about Chase?”
“Well, just that it was weird that the on-call neurosurgeon covered his cases yesterday. Supposedly Chase, um … called in sick.” Kate needed to work on being subtle. “I assumed you two were together...” Her voice got quieter, until I almost couldn’t hear her.