Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“It’s good to have you home.” I smile and he nods, picking up his fork and taking a bite of his salmon.
“It’s good to be home,” he replies.
“How was New York?” I ask him as my phone rings from beside me, his eyes flying to it.
“Why do you have your phone at the table?” he asks me, and I look down to see it’s my mother calling. I press the side button to silence the ringing.
“I was setting the table,” I explain softly, taking a bite of my own meal, “and I had the phone next to me in case you called me.” I shrug. “I must have forgotten it was here.”
“Dinners are our time,” he reminds me and I look up at him. “It’s time for us to connect again. Talk about our day.”
“Yes, of course.” I smile. “I want to hear all about New York.”
“You know you’re lucky you have me, right?” he says the words I hear about ten times a day.
“I do,” I agree with him.
“Your focus should be on me tonight, especially since I’ve been gone for the last three days.”
“Of course.” I take another bite. “I’ll turn off the phone,” I say, switching the phone off, my heart feeling very heavy in my chest as I do it. The screen shows my mother not only called; she also left me a voicemail. The screen turns black and the back of my neck burns but I fight it, turning to him. “So, tell me all about New York.”
four
Kirby
I press the button on the parking meter, waiting for the machine to spit out a slip. Snatching it, I pull into the first parking spot I see. I take my phone out of the center console and grab the iced coffee, along with the white bag that holds a blueberry muffin in it, before slamming the SUV door shut.
The sun is high in the sky and it’s already burning my head and I’m wearing a baseball hat. I walked out of on-ice practice twenty minutes ago with my hair wet from the shower and it’s already dry. I make my way into the hospital, the glass doors opening when I get under the sensor, and the cool air hits me right away.
I’m making my way over to the elevators when I spot her. She’s standing in front of her husband, who has his white coat on. His hands are in his pockets while he says something to her. She’s wearing white pants that go all the way to the floor, but fall just short of it because of the brown wedges she’s wearing. Her blue-and-white striped, long-sleeved button-down shirt is folded and tucked in with a big brown belt wrapped around her tiny fucking waist. She has two gold bracelets on her wrist with a gold watch and that big-ass fucking diamond on her finger.
“I have a reputation to uphold.” I hear his voice as she nods at him. Her hair is parted today like it was the other day, but it’s tied in the back at the nape of her neck in a ponytail. “Don’t embarrass me. You know your role here.”
“Trent,” she says his name, “I have a meeting with Cheryl and thought I would bring you coffee. I didn’t think it would be that bad.” Her voice wavers and she looks a bit uncomfortable as if she did something wrong by coming to visit her husband at work. She’s saying what he wants to hear and I have to think if she maybe said what she said about me just so she could placate him.
“It’s not bad,” he says softly, holding the cup in his hand. “I just don’t like you surprising me at work. We went over this. I like to know when you are coming.”
“Well, it was a last-minute meeting and I didn’t want to disturb you,” she murmurs and she looks over and sees me. Her eyes flash with something before she looks back at her husband.
“Hey, you two,” I say, stopping by them, not even trying to hide the smile on my face, knowing that he thinks he’s better than anyone here. “Nice to see you guys here.” She looks at me, not saying a word, and I have to wonder if she even knows who she is. Is this the real Lexi or was she forced to be this Lexi? “I’m here to visit with some of the kids,” I announce, even though neither of them has asked, “and then I think we all have a meeting with Cheryl, right?” I look right at her, knowing she has to answer.
She puts one hand in the other. “Yes.” She gives me a fake smile. “Cheryl and I will be meeting with all of you in an hour.”
“Sounds good.” I turn back to look at her husband, who is just watching. “I’ll let you go save lives.” I chuckle and smack the side of his arm, knowing he will probably fucking hate it. “The real hero of the place.”