Page 23 of The Beat of her Heart

Addie nodded. She wanted to argue that she wasn’t starting anything with Giselle, but that didn’t feel completely honest.

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too,” her mom said before the call ended.

7

GISELLE

Giselle sat at her desk in the early morning light, the case file spread open in front of her. The room had the kind of stillness she preferred when preparing for surgery.

She reviewed the details, tracing her finger across the page. The patient, a five-year-old girl with a rare and complicated heart defect, needed immediate intervention. The surgery was risky, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t handled before.

She flipped through the pages, making mental notes on the procedure. The diagrams and scan images of the girl’s heartand the written recommendations from thecardiologists didn’t faze her. It was just another case to solve, another life to save.

But even as she focused on the case, her mind drifted. Not far—just down the hall to Addie Wolfe.

Addie had been on her mind more than she wanted to admit. It wasn’t just her skill in the OR, though that was undeniable. It was the way Addie looked at her, the way her eyes always seemed to linger a second longer than necessary.

Giselle liked it.

She loved Addie’s curiosity and her frequent, almost furtive glances. It made her feel noticed, but not in the way her reputation meant. This was different. She was used to people looking at her with awe or respect—never this. Never more focused on her as a person than a surgeon.

She leaned back in her chair, letting out her breath. This wasn’t something she should be thinking about. There was no room for it, not here, not now. She didn’t have time for distractions, especially ones that came with feelings she wasn’t prepared to deal with.

Giselle shook her head, trying to refocuson the case before her. She couldn’t let this turn into something more. It was nothing, just admiration for a colleague. That was it. Addie was good at her job, and maybe she was a bit softer than Giselle preferred, but that didn’t mean anything.

She forced herself to look back down at the file. The heart defect needed her full attention, and she wouldn’t let her thoughts wander again. But it was harder than she expected.

Her phone buzzed on the desk, pulling her attention away from the file. It was a message from the OR team, letting her know the patient had been prepped for surgery. She stared at her phone, then back at the files. Just a second more and she’d be ready to join them in the prep room.

There was a knock on the door. Giselle frowned and looked up. “Who’s there?”

“Dr. Wolfe.”

Giselle swallowed. “Err…come in.”

Giselle looked up from the file when Addie walked into the room. She gave her a brief nod and then turned her attention back to the case notes. The last thing she needed was to get distracted. But as Addie settlednext to her, flipping through her copy of the patient’s file, Giselle loved how effortlessly Addie moved through her work.

They both stood side by side, going through the detailed notes on the girl’s heart defect. Giselle focused on the specifics—the abnormal placement of the arteries, the poor blood flow—but part of her attention kept drifting to Addie.

Giselle wanted to watch her, to see more of how Addie interacted with the world. And then, just for a brief moment, she wanted to kiss her.

The thought came out of nowhere, and Giselle’s pulse quickened. She forced herself to focus on the file again, pushing the thought away. This wasn’t the time for distractions.

“Looks like the surgery’s going to take a few hours,” Addie said as she traced a diagram with her finger. “We’ll need to be careful around the aorta. One wrong move and it could get tricky.”

Giselle nodded, trying to keep her mind on the task at hand. “We’ll go slow. Precision is key here.”

Addie glanced at her, and for a second,Giselle felt that strange pull again. She swallowed and turned back to the file, mentally bracing herself. She couldn’t afford to let her mind wander.

Once they’d reviewed everything, they both stepped out to get ready for the surgery. As they walked toward the OR, Giselle noticed the family waiting near the entrance, anxious and fidgeting. It was always the same—parents with wide, frightened eyes clinging to hope and waiting for answers.

Before Giselle could say anything, Addie walked over to them. Giselle watched as she made eye contact with the mother. Addie’s calm demeanor seemed to have an immediate effect. The parents stopped fidgeting, their shoulders relaxing slightly as Addie spoke to them in soft, measured tones.

“The surgery is delicate, but we’ve got a solid plan,” Addie said. “Dr. Carlisle and I will be doing everything we can to ensure a successful outcome.”

The mother nodded, her eyes welling up. “Thank you. She’s…she’s our whole world.”

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