Page 17 of Lost and Found

The light blue building with white trim, and large front windows comes into sight. The white iron tables with blue and white striped umbrellas line the outside of the building. They are all packed and the smells filling the air around the building makes my stomach growl with hunger. Reid steps forward and opens the door for me.

We make our way to the line. As we’re waiting, I scan the room. It’s just as packed inside as the outside is. I smile as I watch the families enjoying their Saturday lunch. We’re next in line when someone speaks up. “Oh my god, Reid. What the hell are you doing here? I thought you had to work.” The voice is clearly irritated and I meet Reid’s eyes.

He sighs heavily and looks up at the ceiling before turning around. “I’m on lunch from work, Ella.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “What else is new? You’re always at work.”

“Can we not do this here?” Reid asks, quietly.

I notice that the woman is on crutches, but still wearing a stiletto on her free foot. Her dress is form-fitting and way too short in my opinion.

“Well, where would you like to do this?” Ella asks. The sneer on her normally beautiful face makes me turn around and tune her out. Clearly, she’s drama. “Oh look this one thinks she’s too good for me. Listen, honey, he’s my man, so don’t go getting any ideas in your head.”

“That’s enough, Ella!” Reid’s tone is commanding and angry. I freeze because I’ve never heard him sound like this before. “You and me…outside now!” He turns around handing me a credit card. “Pay with that.” Then he disappears outside with Ella wobbling along.

My heart sinks. It is silly, really. I mean, he’s my doctor and that’s all he ever has been. I’ve formed some kind of crush on him because he made me feel comfortable and safe when everything else made me feel lost and scared, but I have no claim to him. The thing is though, I never thought to ask him if he had a girlfriend or fiancé. I assumed he wasn’t married because he didn’t wear a wedding band. I had assumed he was single because when you ask him about his life, his reply is always work-related. Clearly, I assumed wrong.

I pay for the food and start to gather the bags when Reid reappears. He takes the sacks from arms and grabs the drink carries. “All set?” he asks. I just nod and follow him silently out of the bistro.

Chapter Fifteen

Reid

Inwardly, I’m kicking myself in the ass as I head outside with Ella in tow. Seriously, what the hell was I thinking when we started dating? Elena was right; she’s not at all girlfriend material, but then again, was I really looking for a girlfriend? I mean, most of the time I wasn’t. I never really gave too much consideration to relationships. It was more about feeling lonely and finding someone to feel that void for a bit. I had never felt drawn or intrigued by someone before-- at least not until Paige. Ella had just been another one in the line of many. We both had careers that we cared way too much about. There was no room for anything serious to become of a relationship for either of us, because then my medical career and her fashion career would be moved to the back on our list of priorities, and neither of us would let that happen.

We had just had this discussion two days earlier when she showed up at my house unannounced and unexpected.

I just got home from a long day, but it had at least been a successful one. The surgery I completed was no easy task, but I did manage to remove all of the patient’s tumor. So, I took that as a victory. I’ve just stepped out of the shower as the doorbell rings through the house. ‘Damn it, Jonas,’ I think, as I grab the towel, wrapping it around my waist and making my way to the front door.

However, when I open it , I’m shocked to see Ella standing on the doorstep. She’s struggling to stay balanced on the crutches with the sky-high heel she has on. I want to advise her not to be wearing heels while on crutches. Crutches are dangerous enough without adding a pair of heels, which are considered to be dangerous by a lot of the medical profession by themselves. I sigh. “What are you doing here, Ella?”

She tries to toss her hair over her shoulder, but nearly falls backward and off my porch. I reach out and grab her. “Always coming to a ladies rescue, aren’t you, Reid?”

She looks up at me through her lashes and I know what she’s trying to do, but I’m just not in the mood for her drama right now or maybe we’ve just run our course of using one another to fill that empty void. “Ella, just stop. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” she pouts. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

I shake my head. “I’d rather not. I don’t believe we have anything to say to one another at this point.”

“Well, I’ve got plenty to say,” she yells at me. “You just abandon me in my time of need.”

“I didn’t abandon you, Ella. You made it clear that I picked my career over you and that you were done with that. Well, guess what? I’ll always pick my career over you because I love what I do. I love saving people. Those people need me, but you don’t.”

“But I do,” she says quietly, but even I can tell that is just an act.

“No, you don’t. You need attention. You need to be reminded that you’re the prettiest in the room, so you can feel good about yourself, and that’s not who I am. I don’t have the time or energy to give you the amount of attention you need or want. I have people that actually rely on me. Those people come first,” I tell her.

Her mouth falls open and she stands there looking shocked. “So, you don’t love me?”

I sigh and shake my head. “You already know that answer. You knew going into this that neither of us were looking for love. You weren’t either and that hasn’t changed. You’re just in a situation right now that you can’t go out and do what you want. You can’t find someone else, so you’re coming back to me, but it’s not what you really want. We both know that neither of us can love anything the way we love our careers.”

Ella sighs. She looks defeated, but she knows I’m right. “Fine.”

I don’t see her car which means she either got a ride from a friend or an Uber. “Come in. Let me get dressed and I’ll give you a ride home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she says.

“I want to. Please, come in.”

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