Page 38 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

Carrie grinned. “Can’t imagine where they get that from.”

I smirked, nudging her with my foot. “Don’t start.”

She leaned back against the cushions, stretching her arms over her head. “So, are you feeling like a real mom yet?”

“More like an underpaid dairy cow.”

Carrie snorted. “Well, I’d offer you a raise, but you’re technically on leave.”

My heart clenched at that. “How’s everything at the restaurant?”

Carrie’s face lit up. “Chaotic as always. We had a vendor screw up a fish order yesterday, so I had to talk Jean off a ledge. He was two seconds away from going fullFrench rageand storming into their warehouse with a cleaver.”

I sighed wistfully. Jean’s rants were legendary—a mix of French curse words, broken turns of phrase in English, a sprinkling of German, and a dash of Japanese. The man had been around the world with the Peace Corps, decided it was too nice, and went to culinary school, where he was disappointed by the laidback nature of other chefs. When he came to Suivante, he demanded rigid order in the kitchen.

I missed Jean and his rants and the way he’d throw a knife into the wall when he was annoyed. It always freaked out the new hires. Good times.

I whined, “No chance I can do the job with those two greedy girls strapped one to a boob, right?”

“Youwillbe back,” she reminded me, nudging me gently. “It just takes time.”

“I know,” I said, but my chest ached at the uncertainty in my own voice. “It just feels…different now.”

Carrie studied me for a moment before asking, “Still thinking about Chicago?”

I hesitated, rubbing my fingers along the hem of my sleeve. “It’s on hold. After everything that happened…I don’t know. Nearly dying tends to make you rethink your choices.”

“It really was that close, wasn’t it?”

“If I hadn’t gotten to the hospital when I did…”If Dom hadn’t been my surgeon… “I’m not sure if I’d be around for my girls. Or if they would have made it…”

She patted my leg. “Don’t even think about it. Everyone is here and healthy. That’s what you need to focus on now. Not the what-ifs of it all, you hear me?”

I nodded and tried to let her words reassure me, but the thought had crept into the back of my mind and taken up residence. The nurses had thought I was asleep at one point and talked about how lucky I was. That if I’d lost another pint of blood before getting there, we wouldn’t have made it.

I let out a slow breath, nodding. The idea of leaving the city still felt like the right move, but something inside me had shifted. The urgency to run away from home had faded. “I’m not sure if Chicago will ever happen after everything.”

“Have a little faith in yourself, Ella. If you want it, you’ll make it happen. I know you. There’s nothing you can’t make happen.” Before Carrie could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. “Expecting someone?”

I shook my head and stood, moving carefully as I made my way to the door. These days, I always had to walk gingerly, or I might tear a stitch.

When I opened the door, though, there was no one there—just a massive gift basket on my welcome mat taking up part of the hallway, wrapped in pink cellophane and tied with an elegant gold bow. The thing was as tall as me.

Carrie let out a low whistle. “Damn. They really are that huge.”

I knelt and ran my fingers over the attached envelope.Who the hell would have done this?I flashed a curious smile at her. “Is this from you?”

“I’m generous, but I’m not that generous. That’s the Platinum Lollipop Welcome Basket Extraordinaire. My sister-in-law got the Platinum Lollipop Welcome BasketRemarkablefrom her husband and complained she didn’t get this one, even though the Remarkable basket was named right. It was stuff likethis one, but about half the size. Nothing’s ever good enough for Margo.” She rolled her eyes, then refocused them on the monster in front of us. “How the hell do we get this through the door?”

“I think we drag it.” With that, she dragged and I got out and shoved the thing into my apartment. It was more awkward than heavy, thankfully.

Once I closed the door, she asked, “Who would have sent it?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll check the card.” I ripped the envelope with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas. Whoever did this, I owed them a big thank you. There was champagne in there. The good stuff. The card was thick and stiff, clearly a pricy one. It had a silver baby rattle on the front.

When I flicked it open, everything stopped.

Dom.

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