Page 27 of Made For Me

“I wasn’t sure,” I say as he walks to me.

“My shoes are also in there,” he says, walking past me and into the bedroom. I close my eyes and try to avoid feeling like an idiot. At this point, I need him to get out of my space so I can think clearly. He walks back from the room and holds out his hand for his jacket. “May I?” he asks and I just laugh at myself.

“Sorry, I was thinking of something.” I try to make an excuse. His fingers graze mine as he grabs the jacket from me. He slips his jacket on and I see the white shirt pull across his chest. “Thank you for coming over and checking on me.” I look down for a second, trying to gather my words so I don’t sound like an idiot. I look up and it feels like he’s closer than he was when I looked down. I look up into his blue eyes. “I really appreciate it.”

He puts his hand up and I think he’s going to touch me, but instead he holds his neck. “Will you call me,” he says softly, “if you need me?”

“Yes,” I reply, and I can swear he feels as if he’s closer than he was before. My heart speeds up and my mouth suddenly becomes dry when I see him moving his head toward me. All I can hear is the echo in my ears.

I can almost feel his lips on mine and I try not to move. “Liar,” he says softly right before he steps away from me and walks to the door. “I’ll call you later.”

Only when I hear the door shut behind him do I finally say, “What the fuck was that?” I put my hands on my hips. Kissing him would be a huge mistake, huge. It’s almost as if you don’t know what you’re missing, right? So it’s better to not know at all. “You should be glad he didn’t kiss you,” I tell myself as I walk back into my bedroom and grab my shoes. “But why are you so pissed that he didn’t?” I ask myself when I grab my purse and head out the door, locking it behind me.

I make my way to court and the whole day it bothers me that he didn’t kiss me. Even when I walk in the hospital four hours later to check on Penelope, I’m still thinking about it. Like, he was in my space. I play the scene over and over again as I walk down the corridor, and then I see the man who has been all over my thoughts all day long.

He stands there wearing blue chinos and a button-down shirt, as he leans into the counter at the nurses’ station. He has a smile on his face as he talks to the nurse. He must feel me staring at him because he looks up and his smile gets even bigger when he sees me.

I’m about to ask him if he’s following me when I see a man step out of Penelope’s room. He looks right at me. “Julia Williams.” He uses my first name and I wonder if I’ve met him before. I’m about to say something when he holds up his hand and I see white papers in his hands. “You’ve been served.”

CHAPTER16

Chase

“So how have you been?” I look at Marie who sits behind the nurses’ desk. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

She laughs and she can already smell my bullshit; the minute I finished practice I got in my car and drove straight here. Even when I got in the elevator and pressed the fourth-floor button, I was telling myself I was just doing a follow-up on one of my patients. “Since when do you visit this floor?” She shakes her head as she writes in a chart. I think about lying to her, but I don’t.

“Okay, fine, you got me.” I lean against the desk and smile at her. “I was just checking on a patient I had the other day.” Marie lifts her head and looks at me. “Penelope.” She gives me a sad smile as she reaches for her file.

“She’s doing a bit better,” she informs me and I can feel eyes on me. I turn my head and see her. Julia, the woman who has been on my mind since I walked out of her apartment. When I almost crossed that fucking line and kissed her. She rushed from her room so fast with my jacket in her hand and the only thing I could see was her lips. The only thing I could think about was bending down and kissing her. The only thing I knew I shouldn’t do was kiss her. The minute the door closed behind me, I practically ran out of there as if the building was on fire and I had to save myself. Only when I was in my car did I take a second and get my breathing under control. My hands gripped the steering wheel and all I could do was close my eyes, which made it fifty times worse since all I could see was her. When did she start taking my breath away? When did kissing her feel like the best idea I’ve ever had? When did it hurt to walk away from her and not kiss her? When did seeing her make everything better? When did it all change?

She gets closer to me and I look over at a man who looks like he’s been waiting. Everything seems as if it happens in slow motion. He gets close to her and I hear his voice calling her name, I look at him and then to her to see if she knows him, but her face is filled with confusion. “Julia Williams.” He holds up his hand with papers in it. “You’ve been served.”

“What?” she asks in confusion as he places the papers in her hand. He nods at her and walks away from her toward the elevator.

Her whole demeanor changes when her eyes quickly go from her hands as she turns to look at the man, who just walked away from her as he gets in the elevator. I take three steps to her. “What’s the matter?” I ask her as I get close enough to her.

“I have no idea,” she says as she opens the papers that are folded in thirds. Her eyes roam the top of the paper and I see the color slowly drain away from her face. Her hands start to shake as she blinks quickly. She turns around, looking back at the elevator and then toward Penelope’s room where someone has closed the door.

“Julia,” I call her name, my body is so tense it feels as if my skin is crawling off me. “Talk to me.” It’s more of a plea than anything else.

Her eyes fly to mine as I see the tears form. “I’m being sued.” She puts her hands to her stomach with the papers in them. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

I take one step toward her, wrapping my arm around her waist to hold her up in case she falls. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” It’s the only thing I can think of doing.

She walks with me, her head down the whole time. “Let’s get you in the fresh air.” I talk to her calmly, explaining to her where we are going. I get in the elevator with her as she leans against the back wall. “We need to get you some water,” I say and she just stares at me and I swear it’s like she’s not even here. I can’t even imagine how she is feeling, I also know I would take whatever she is feeling for her not to go through it. My head goes around and around as if it's going through a tornado as I think of what to do.

The elevator pings and I slip my hand into her empty hand, the other one still gripping the papers in her fist. “I’m parked right outside,” I say and she just follows me.

Taking my keys from my pocket, I unlock the door and open it for her. I sit her in the passenger seat and squat down beside her. “Hey,” I say, wanting her to look at me, but when she does, everything in me stands still. The emptiness is a look I’ve never seen on her, it’s a look I never want to see again. “It’s going to be okay,” I assure her and all she can do is swallow. I close the door of the car and pull out my phone.

I press the button and he answers after one ring. “Hey,” I greet as soon as I hear his voice.

“You miss me already,” he teases, and just hearing his voice makes me feel better. Even though the two of us have butted heads most of my life, there is no one else I would turn to for help. I know without a doubt, that no matter what, he would be in my corner, ready to fight my battle with me and for me.

“Dad.” I say his name and he must sense something is off with me. I look around the parking lot, trying to think of what to say. I think about the need to protect Julia and I know whatever is in those papers, she is going to need someone in her corner. I also know it’s not my place to say what is going on. “I need you” are the only words that come out.

I can hear him cover the speaker on the phone as he yells something. “Where are you?”

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