Page 100 of A Million Times, Yes
She didn’t greet her son first.
She came straight to me.
“Maya”—she reached for my hands and clasped them—“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
“Me too,” I replied. “It’s so, so amazing to finally meet you.”
She released my fingers and hugged me. This wasn’t like the embraces I got from my mother; this was the type of touch I got from Bettie. “I never got to properly thank you any of the times that I saw you in passing at the rehab center.” She pulled back to look at me, keeping her hands on my arms. “Admittedly, during those times, I didn’t know you were Mom’s nurse. I assumed she had many, like the way a hospital is run, the ever-evolving turnover each day. That is, until I found out Mom had fallen in love with your care and had several strings pulled to make sure you were always assigned to her.”
I’d briefly seen Melinda in the hallway a few times and hadn’t known she was Bettie’s daughter or Jordan’s mom, either, so I understood her lack of knowing. But to hear Bettie had pulled strings after she’d transferred to the rehab center to request me as her nurse, that shocked me. Although she was in the wing I normally worked, I didn’t know she had spoken to management and the assignment had been arranged.
“The care you’ve given to my mom”—emotion popped through Melinda’s voice as she continued—“I’ll never be able to truly thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“No thanks needed. It’s been an honor. Truly,” I told her.
She glanced over at Jordan. “You can’t imagine the way my son talks about you. You’ve become quite the topic of conversation in ourhome.” She was back to holding my hands, and she shook them. “What a pleasure it is to finally welcome you to our family, Maya.” She looked at my mom. “I’m assuming you’re Ms. Nolan, Maya’s mom? How lovely it is to get to meet you too. I’m Melinda, Jordan’s mom.”
“Please call me Debbie.” My mom extended her hand, and Melinda shook it with both of hers. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Melinda.”
“You must be so proud of Maya and everything she’s accomplished,” Melinda said after Jordan kissed her on the cheek. “I can’t speak highly enough of what she’s done for my mom. Our family is so thankful for her.”
“She’s been the star of our family since the moment she was born,” my mom said.
The churning in my stomach hadn’t died down. If anything, it seemed to be moving even faster, and my heart was pounding so hard, I could feel it in my throat.
“I understand you’ll be leading our property-management team,” Melinda said to my mom. “An endeavor we’ve been so thrilled to start, and even more elated that you’ll be joining us.”
“I’m thankful for the opportunity,” my mom said.
Jordan’s father finished his conversation and joined us, and a new wave of emotion passed through me. I wasn’t sure why, but when I’d been saying the Worthington name in vain for all those years, Peter was who I cursed. He was who I directed all my anger toward. I never envisioned his wife or his family. It was only him I blamed.
But I didn’t feel that anger when he said, “Maya,” without needing any introduction, and gave me a fatherly hug. Or when he added, “I’m sure my wife has already welcomed you to the family, but I would like to too.” He held my hands between both of his, palms that felt like a catcher’s mitt, and he smiled at me. “I’ve never seen my son happier.” He winked at Jordan.
While Jordan’s hands rested on my shoulders, I whispered, “Thank you,” to Peter, searching for my voice and a way to respond to everything he’d just said.
“I can say the same about my daughter,” my mom countered.
Peter then introduced himself to my mom while Jordan whispered, “Breathe, it’s going great,” in my ear, one of his hands now gently touching my waist.
I turned toward him, meeting a smile I wasn’t expecting, and one I didn’t realize I needed. “It did go kinda great, didn’t it.” I barely had the words out when a small set of arms wrapped around me and hugged me from behind. There was only one person it could be. I put my hands on top of his. “Ben! Hi!”
“Mayaaa!”
I guided him around, positioning him between Jordan and me, giving him a quick hug before Jordan picked him up.
“How’s my boy?”
“I’m the best.” Ben giggled.
The two of them together, with Ben in Jordan’s arms, was the cutest sight I’d ever seen. And as he continued to hold Ben, I couldn’t stop my brain from wondering how a baby would look against Jordan’s broad chest or in his muscular arms, or the amazing father he would be.
“Where’s your dad?” Jordan asked Ben.
Ben pointed toward the podium, where Gavin was standing not far from it, speaking to several men. “He needs to talk to you about workstuuuff. Dad said that and told me to stay with Maya.”
Jordan put Ben down. “I’m going to go speak to Gavin for a minute,” he said softly to me. “Will you be all right here without me?”
“Of course.” I rubbed the outside of his arm while my other hand rested on top of Ben’s head. “Thank you for asking me.”
