Dee cupped my cheek. “I’m so fucking sorry, Mimi.”
“It’s for the best really. He deserves to be happy.”
“You could have made him happy,” Dee argued.
“Not really. Not with all my baggage and shit. In the end, it would’ve been too much for him.”
“So you’re never going to tell him about the baby?”
Part of me wanted to conceal it from AJ forever. That way I wouldn’t have to ever see or hear from him ever again. But deep down, I knew that could never happen. He was a famous musician who would always be thrust in my face. At the same time, I knew I couldn’t deny my child its father.
I drew in a ragged breath. “I’ll let the dust clear on his engagement, and then I’ll call him.” Dee gave me a skeptical look. “I won’t be selfish and deny him the chance to be a father. I promise.”
“Okay then.” Dee glanced around. “Are you ready to get the hell out of here?”
“Yes. Please.”
As we started down the hallway, Frank stepped in front of us. A smile stretched across his face. “Boy, I bet AJ was sure surprised to see you, huh?”
I exchanged a look with Dee. How was I supposed to play this one? “Um, he looked kinda busy, so we’ll catch him after the show.”
Frank’s salt and pepper brows furrowed. “Oh okay.”
Wagging a finger, I said, “Don’t say anything. Surprise, remember?”
“Sure, sure. My lips are sealed.”
“Thanks, Frank. Take care.” I gave him a quick hug before grabbing Dee by the sleeve and hauling ass down the hallway before I ran into anyone else.
“You think Frank’s not going to ask AJ about seeing you?”
“I’m hoping he’ll forget...or that AJ just won’t give a shit about me with his happily-ever-after.”
“We’ll see,” he replied before we hustled outside of the arena and started going against the stream of fans rushing inside.
Two nights later, I was back home and at work. There hadn’t been any calls from AJ, so I assumed he either didn’t know I had shown up or he didn’t care. I secretly hoped for the second because it made it easier to turn off the feelings I had for him. Pregnancy hormones didn’t make matters easier either. I cried way more than I wanted to admit.
It was a relatively slow and quiet afternoon as Dee and I sat working on charts at the nurse’s station.
“Oh hell no. You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.”
Giggling, I didn’t bother glancing up from my paperwork. “Don’t tell me that Mr. Johnson has decided to take another nude stroll down the hall?” When Dee didn’t reply, I nibbled thoughtfully on the tip of my pen. “What is it about our post-surgery male patients that make them all go a little crazy? Just for once, I’d like to see some female patient go ape-shit on her meds.”
“It ain’t Mr. Johnson flashing his Johnson.”
“Oh?”
Raising his voice, Dee practically shrieked, “No, it’s some crazy motherfucker who needs to turn his lying, cheating ass around right this instant!”
Whirling around in my chair, I couldn’t believe he stood framed in the doorway, a bouquet of my favorite flowers—pink roses—draped in his arms.
“Dev,” I whispered.
My hand swept over my chest, my fingers digging into the fabric of my scrubs over my heart. After seeing AJ with a fiancée, I didn’t think my ticker could take much more shock. Yet, there he was standing right in front of me as if it were only yesterday we were a couple. His black hair still fell in waves over his forehead while his chocolate brown eyes still appeared warm and inviting. Of course, there were dark circles underneath his eyes that I didn’t remember being there before.
He gave me a hesitant smile. “Hey, baby.”
While Dee growled, I merely cocked my brows. “Baby? You have the nerve after everything you put me through to show up at my work and call me ‘baby’?”
Dev’s broad shoulders slumped a little, and he swayed nervously on his feet. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to show up here and upset you.”
“Too fucking late,” I snapped.
“Can I just talk to you for a minute?” he pleaded.
“Mimi, please let me call security and have them haul his sorry ass out of here,” Dee said.
I patted Dee on the shoulder. “That won’t be necessary. I can handle the lying, cheating, bastard myself, thank you.” Narrowing my eyes at Dev, I said, “Leave now.”
“Mia, please, just give me five minutes.”
For reasons I couldn’t possibly understand, I rose out of my chair and motioned to the break room. “Five minutes and then you get the hell out of here, capiche?” Dev nodded before glancing nervously over at Dee as if he feared Dee was going to come barreling over to kick his ass. Instead, Dee just glowered at Dev until he disappeared into the break-room. Before I closed the door behind us, Dee wagged his finger at me. “Don’t you dare say or do anything with him that will make me hurt you later.”
I scowled at him. “Give me a little credit,” I snapped, before I slammed the door.
Over the last year, I’d gone over in my mind many, many times how I would react to seeing or talking to Dev again. After I’d caught him and Erin going at it on my kitchen counter, I’d never spoken to him again. I’d never sought out the reasons why he had done it. I’d just cut him out of my life as best I could. Sound familiar?
Of all the scenarios of me seeing him again, most involved me going ape-shit on his ass, including nailing him in the balls repetitively. But now, I felt nothing more than slight anger, tinged with bitterness. And the fact I wasn’t still harboring homicidal feelings towards him really pissed me off
Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, “You wanted to talk so talk.”
“I guess you heard Erin and I broke up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I was real heartbroken for you.”
“Mia—”
“I heard she cheated on you.” When Dev didn’t deny it, I snorted. “Hmm, the old adage of if they cheat with you, they’ll cheat on you, huh?”
“I guess,” he murmured.
“I would say I was surprised that she turned so quickly on you, but all the old crew knew what a cheap slut she’d always been.” I shook my head at him. “But yet, rumor through the grapevine has it you wanted to marry her—someone who was a complete one eighty from me. And so soon. I mean, Jesus, we dated for three years before you gave me a ring, but with her, you were barely together five months.”