Page 2 of Dr. Baby Daddy

The phone nearly falls out of my hand as I fill the coffee machine with my other. “Yeah. I should be, but there’s someone moving into my building. Thought I would be able to sleep through it, but then they started making enough noise for a zoo.”

“Just what you love, a lot of noise.” Victor chuckles and I hear a microwave chime. “I’m on break for the next hour now that we’ve gotten all the burn patients under control. I swear, these teenagers and their parties in the middle of a field are never going to learn.”

“That’s what happened?”

My mouth waters as the aroma of coffee wafts through my apartment. Though it’s going to do nothing to help me sleep, it won’t deter me either. I know that as soon as the call ends and I’m done with my cup of coffee, I’m going to pass out.

“Yeah.” Victor says the word like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. “Some kids were out having a party in the middle of a field just outside the city. Likely some rich kid’s idea to experience how the rest of New York lives. Either that, or they saw it in a movie and their damn nanny wasn’t watching them close enough.”

I snort and pour a massive cup of black coffee. “Tell me how you really feel about the New York City elite, Vic.”

“I’m serious. Who even drives out of the city to go find a field? We used to party in abandoned buildings. Or in whoever had the penthouse that weekend because their parents were out of town.”

The coffee is scalding as it goes down, but it eases some of the ache in my head. “The elite growing up to become a doctor and then saying bitchy things about the new elite. How ironic.”

Victor laughs as his pager starts shrieking. “Looks like one of my residents is trying to kill someone else. Go to sleep when you get off the phone, Oliver. You’re no use to the emergency department if you’re running on fumes.”

I roll my eyes and finish the cup of coffee. “Me and my exhaustion have a good thing going. I’ll be as tired as I want, and there’s not a thing you can do about it.”

“I’d almost believe that if you didn’t save lives for a living.” Victor’s pager goes off again. “Speak later.”

The call ends as I stare down at the chipped mug. Yet another thing that I need to replace if I ever get the time.

Today is not that day, though.

I need to get some sleep so I can head back to the hospital tonight. Turning over my emergency room to Victor for even a night has me itching to go back.

He’s right, however much I don’t want to admit it. I save lives for a living. I need my sleep.

Which is why I dump the mug into the sink before turning off the light and shuffling back to bed.

For a few minutes, I shut my eyes and make myself comfortable. The heaviness of sleep takes over my body, making my limbs feel heavy as I sink deeper into the mattress.

I’m nearly asleep when crisp piano notes permeate the thin walls that separate the apartments.

Looks like I’m not getting any sleep today.

CHAPTER 2

IZZY

The movers place the piano bench in front of the glossy white baby grand before heading out the door. I lock it behind them, barely able to contain my excitement as I spin around and look at my apartment.

It isn’t much. The walls are a sad beige, and all my belongings are in boxes, but it feels like home already. The entire living room is open, giving me plenty of room to have my piano and a couch.

In my last apartment, my roommates thought that a couch was more important, and my poor baby had to sit in storage while I used a keyboard to practice.

Not anymore.

I finally did it. I finally found an apartment cheap enough to live alone and get out of Pittsburgh to pursue my dreams.

It took several years, but once I hit my twenty-seventh birthday a couple months ago, I decided that it was time to get it together and put myself out there more.

And sure enough, it paid off.

I now have an apartment in New York City and a job on Broadway to call my own.

The apartment may be in a cheaper neighborhood, and it may be a little run-down, but it’s the first step in chasing after a dream I’ve had since I was a little girl.

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