Kimber any help she needs, okay?”
Holly gave Caren a quick hug as well, turning away quickly, probably on the verge of blubbering, just as Tessa was. “I’ll call the taxi service for you.”
Moving forward, Tessa gave her friend a long hug, feeling sadder than she should under the circumstances. This was a fabulous opportunity for Caren, and she should be glad for her.
She was. She was just feeling weepy and out of sorts for some reason today.
“Email me as soon as you can. And call if you need anything.”
“You can count on it, honey. Don’t go and get married or anything before I get back.”
That was one thing she could reassure Caren about. “I’m not planning on marrying anyone for a long, long time. Maybe even never. I have too much to prove to myself first.”
If things hadn’t gone south between her and Clay, she might already be married. But their relationship might have wound up on the rocks, like his other marriage. Part of Tessa wondered if she was even marriage material. She squirmed at the thought of a man wanting to protect her. Or pay her way.
She felt for any guy who ended up getting involved with her.
Caren glanced at her face and then smiled. “Be careful about saying never. And definitely look at those jars when you go to work tomorrow. And I hereby deny all knowledge.”
Something about the way she’d said that…
“Knowledge of what? Caren, what did you do?”
Holly came back over. “Taxi is en route.”
“Saved by the cab. Okay, I’ll go stand with my luggage so Sam doesn’t have to wait around. Love you guys.”
“Love you, too,” Tessa and Holly said.
Holly turned to her. “I need to run by the hospital and check on my schedule for next week.”
“I’ll straighten up.” Tessa was actually glad to be by herself for a few minutes. She’d been running on nerves since she left Clay’s this morning. Maybe she could take a bath in peace for once. It had been a long time, in fact, since she’d had a day off. It was sorely needed today of all days.
And it might give her a chance to figure out what to do, or at least work up the courage to do something that would make sure she wasn’t pregnant.
She waved the girls off and slumped into one of the chairs, where she sat for several minutes, just staring at the empty fireplace in front of her.
Her eyes closed and her hand slid across her tummy. “Please, God, don’t let me have to make that choice. Anything but that.”
A gust of wind blew against one of the windows, making it rattle in its frame. Somehow she couldn’t get it out of her mind that the Big Guy might just be looking down at her and laughing.
Clay was in the lobby when she arrived at work the next morning. And the man did not look happy.
Her stomach clenched, but she forced a smile. “Hi. You’re here early.” Tessa had purposely arrived a half hour before her shift. Obviously, if she’d been trying to avoid Clay, her plan had failed miserably.
And she still hadn’t started taking her her birth control pills, because she didn’t know if it would do any good at this point. But what she had done was decide to make an appointment with the head of Maternal Fetal medicine here at the hospital and see what she had to say.
You would think as a doctor Tessa could formulate her own professional opinion. And she could, medically speaking. But it wouldn’t be objective. And that’s what she needed right now, someone to talk her off whatever ledge she was standing on.
Clay still wasn’t smiling. “I need to warn you about something.”
This time it wasn’t her stomach muscles that reacted but her heart, the organ racing within her chest. “Warn me about…?”
Surely he didn’t know about the Pill fiasco.
No. How could he? She’d told him she was on them, and he’d obviously believed her. And she had been. She certainly hadn’t been lying or trying to pull any kind of funny business.
And if she wound up pregnant… would he still believe her then? That it had just been a fluke?
“Come with me.”
She shied back from him as if he was going to grab her hand, which of course he wouldn’t. Not here at the hospital.
They did have practice today, so they would have seen each other at some point anyway.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her for a minute, then he simply spun on his heel and walked toward the bank of elevators. Left to her own devices, she followed him, assuming that’s what he wanted. He pushed the button for her floor. “You might want to do something about it.”
Again her heart skipped a time or two.
Stop it, Tessa. He has no idea that you missed taking your contraceptives.
She didn’t ask what he wanted her to do something about, figuring that’s why he’d come up to the floor with her. Maybe there was a problem with a patient. Or maybe even the one they’d worked on together. Except he wouldn’t be on this floor.
“Is Mr. Phillips okay?”
He glanced back at her. “As far as I know. I haven’t checked on him today.” He motioned at the desk.
Her eyes skipped across it, seeing the two collection jars.
Wait. The jars. Caren and Holly had mentioned them, and Caren had denied any wrongdoing.
She walked slowly toward the desk, her eyes on the clear glass containers that were now lined with green bills. They were both stuffed almost full.
And then she saw it.
The labels had been changed.
Oh, God.
The simple names the jars had sported before had morphed into hand-drawn likenesses of them. Only these were no ordinary pictures. They’d each been made to look as if they were puckering up. And the jars been turned so the lips met… so she and Clay appeared to be kissing.
Each other.
She made a low sound of distress, and Clay moved to stand beside her. “It’s obvious that someone saw us outside the hospital.”
“Are they all like this?” she whispered.
“Every single one of them. It isn’t Lloyd’s doing this time.” His breath whistled out in a long pained sigh. “And the worst thing is, we’re not the only ones who’ve seen them.”
Since the jars were in an open area on every floor, that stood to reason. “I guess the whole hospital knows about that kiss, then.” She groaned, knowing there were going to be endless
