Page 109 of The Exception

Was it possible that she had somehow gotten even more beautiful? When they’d run into each other that day at the hospital, he’d done everything he could not to look at her because he knew it would weaken his resolve just like it had since the day they met. Now, he couldn’t look away and everything he’d been distracting himself from by focusing on work and graduating, demanded his full attention.

Sonya’s face was contorted in fury as she pinned his dad with a look that would’ve killed a normal man on the spot. However, Jack Travis was nowhere near emotionally intelligent enough to see it that way.

“Nurse Pope. Who do you think you’re speaking to that way?”

Sonya stood her ground. “I’m speaking to you! You can’t even find it in yourself to be civil to your own son on his graduation day? Why did you even come?”

Jack scoffed. “You should stay out of things you don’t understand.”

“I understand more than you think,” she said, pushing to her full height. “Trav served his country with honor, then chose to work his ass off to become a paramedic so that he could continue helping people. Do you even remember what it feels like to practice medicine with the only goal being to help people or are you too invested in the prestige?”

Jack’s face turned a ruby red. “You’re walking a line, Nurse Pope,” he warned.

“Good. I should’ve walked it in Abi’s office that day but I was too caught up in my head about rules and my own mistakes to see that Trav was right to go see that patient. Without that visit, the patient would not have continued his treatment plan. Your son saved that patient’s life and you should be proud of him. He’s going to be a good paramedic but more importantly, he’s a good man… thebestman… and he deserves better from you.”

Trav blinked, barely believing what he was seeing. No one besides Marielle had ever stood up to his dad for him. He rarely did it himself. But here was this woman who he was convinced didn’t feel as strongly for him as he did for her, going toe to toe with Jack Travis. For him.

“That’s it. You should know that I will inform Nurse Chen about this ridiculous outburst first thing Monday.” Jack was practically snarling but the laugh that burst out of Sonya was as close to hysterical as Trav had ever heard it.

She shrugged. “Go for it.”

The glee his father had over possibly ruining Sonya’s career showed in his smirk. “You laugh now, but when your career stalls out, I hope you look back at this moment and understand why.”

That was enough. Trav pushed between Sonya and his father. There was no way he would let Jack Travis do anything to make life difficult for her. Here she was raising the bar on having his back like the overachiever she was. She was with him and he needed to show her that he’d have her back too.

Trav was taller than his dad by a few inches, and he maximized the difference by standing as straight as he could. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Benjamin—”

Trav cocked his head in a dare to his dad to keep talking. “You’re not going to say a word about this,Jack. How would it look if you were reported for threatening the career of a nurse with an impeccable record just because she hurt your feelings? That wouldn’t be good for your pristine reputation, would it?”

His father stared at him in fuming silence and Trav could see him mulling over whether he was worth the fight. Finally, Jack turned on his heel and stormed away. He was a good ten feet away before he remembered his wife. “Shelly, we’re leaving now.”

Shelly smiled nervously before stumbling across the grass in her heels to catch up. She called over her shoulder, “Congratulations, Benjamin.”

“Thanks, Shelly.”

Trav turned to face Sonya and the air felt weighted by the things they needed to say. Her being there, it had to meansomething. There was no way she’d come out there with all of her friends just to watch him walk across a stage.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what are you doing here, Sonya.”

The corners of her lips curved up into a crooked smile. “It’s your graduation day. This is the only place I wanted to be.”

Trav’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest. It was the only place he wanted her to be too but after what went down between them, it was the last place he’d expected to see her.

He couldn’t get his hopes up. Not yet.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he offered.

Silence fell between them again and he thought that might be all he was going to get, but Sonya’s body language told a different story. She always rolled one of her braids between her fingers when she was nervous but with them pulled up, she was using the strap of her tiny purse instead. She had more to say and that could only be a good thing, right?

“I didn’t think you’d be happy to see me after my friends acted like idiots.”

He chuckled. “I kinda liked having a cheering section.”

She laughed too but then her smile dimmed. “I was also terrified that you wouldn’t want me here after what happened with Abi and after.”

“We both said a lot that day, Sonya. It wasn’t exactly our finest moment.”

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