Page 6 of Cocky M.D.
He pointed at some red flowers and said, “You didn’t let me talk earlier. So now I’ll ask. Trust me.”
Well, I liked his confidence. He was totally a chip off the old block. I took out my debit card to pay for the flowers and added three chocolate lollipops, one for each of us. My boy gave me a thumbs-up, and we headed to my BMW X1, which was a product of my responsible-dad-and-doctor side meeting my amateur-hiker side.
Bradley sat in his seat and held the flowers like we were on a mission.
Part of me hoped she didn’t toss us out on our ears because I’d found her address from the patient forms.
However, as we headed closer, I realized the neighborhood was more run-down behind his school. I’d grown up with a trust fund, so I’d never had to struggle and would pass that on to Bradley one day.
We parked in an apartment building’s parking lot that needed repairs to fix some major holes. I checked the locks on my door and ignored the tightness in my chest, and we headed up the stairs to apartment 2D. My son didn’t seem to notice the stairs shifting from our weight, but we stood in front of her door, and I knocked for us both.
Inside, I heard humming then the clicking of locks. I stood taller and wondered how she would look relaxed and at home. I’d also glimpsed how she lived without giving her any notice at all. I stilled as she opened the door, and I met her brown eyes. She was a goddess, and I pressed my hand on my heart and said, “Miss Steel.”
Bradley pushed the flowers and one of the lollipops at her. She laughed as she took them and said, “Bradley. Johnny.”
At least I didn’t hear the sound of a man behind the door, though I listened for it to know if she was truly free as I said, “My son insisted he come and talk to you.”
Some of her neighbors started screaming at each other. She ignored it and waved as she said, “Well, come on in.”
Bradley went first, but then I stepped in. Her apartment was smaller than my college dorm had been, though it was tidy. Teachers were respected in communities. I asked, “Why do you live here?”
She shrugged and said, “It’s close to school, and my car has seen better days.”
Her previous job must have underpaid. I massaged the back of my head, thinking that a girl like Olivia deserved better, and said, “The job comes with—”
“Dad, this is my turn now,” Bradley interrupted and stared at me like I’d violated a privilege.
I nodded, as he was right. We were there because of him, and I said, “Right. Sorry.”
His lips curled higher like he’d won something big, then he asked Olivia, “Do you like the flowers, Miss Steel?”
She nodded and put them on her small counter in the kitchen. “I love roses. Let me get a vase.”
She then reached into her cabinets and found a glass vase and added water as Bradley asked her, “Like they had in Norden, where your sister is a princess?”
He’d mentioned his teacher had taken time off to go to the royal wedding, but if she had money, her apartment made no sense, unless she was the black sheep or something like that.
“Princess?”
“My sister married a prince. She was a blogger here in Pittsburgh before she met Prince Ryder. I don’t see her much now.”
I pressed my lips together so that I wouldn’t ask more questions about her.
She said to Bradley, “In Norden, they have more tulips, but these are my personal favorite. So thank you.”
Bradley dug into his back pocket and said with all the confidence in the world, “And I made this for you.”
Olivia put the flowers into the vase then knelt beside him. She opened the card and exaggeratedly put her hands against her heart as she said, “Bradley, you’re a good kid.”
She would be a good mom. The thought hit me fast.
Bradley answered, “No, I’m not. Just you and Dad say that. My nanny said I was going to hell.”
My chest tightened. The memory of Ms. Sullivan had faded. I was glad she’d quit.
Olivia handled it well by saying, “That’s not true. The boy who can write lovely cards like this is going to be amazing.”
He took her hands in his and said, “I need you, Miss Steel. If you don’t take the job, my father will hire another person who hates me.”
