Page 1 of The Billionaire's Second Chance
Chapter One
Licia
A deep baritone behind me cut through the hospital's usual hum. "Hello, nurse. Good afternoon. I am here to see Dr. Shepherd."
I turned with a rehearsed smile, expecting just another patient. But the voice was hauntingly familiar. My blood ran cold. My heart pounded painfully in my chest.
I stood transfixed at the spot, barely able to move a limb. A mixture of confusion and shock replaced my cheerful visage.This was certainly a dream of some sort.
It couldn’t be. Not here. Not now.
Standing before me was Kevin Brown, the love of my life who vanished twelve years ago. His shock mirrored mine, confirming my worst fears.
I was overcome with emotions and a myriad of questions that before now, I thought I had buried away. But, I wasn’t going to give in to any of them—certainly not now. Why was he with a walking cane though and what brought him to the hospital?
I would have cared a few years back, but it was none of my business right now. Thank God, it wasn’t an emergency. I just needed to do my job.
"Licia?" He called softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
I gripped the chart in my hands tighter, fighting to keep my composure. "Dr. Shepherd's office is down the hallway, the third door on the right," I said, my voice strained.
Kevin took a step closer, leaning on a walking cane. "Licia, I—"
I cut him off, my tone ice-cold. "I have patients to attend to. Please excuse me." I turned on my heel and walked away, my hands trembling.
I could feel his gaze burning through me, as I dropped the chart at the nurses' station, resisting the urge to turn back. I just needed to pretend long enough for him to leave. I could pull that off at least.
Melony was one of the few nurses in the hospital that came close to being my friend. She had insight about anything and everything happening in the hospital and didn’t waste a second in jumping at any juicy Intel.
My ever-curious colleague, Melony approached me as I reached the nurses' station. "Who was that? He's still staring at you," stretching her head in Kevin’s direction.
"Just a patient here to see Dr. Shepherd," I replied, not meeting her gaze,
to indulge her further.
I could tell she wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? He’s still staring at you, though.” She giggled, “and oh my Gosh, he’s so good looking.” She chirped exuberantly.
I wasn’t in the mood for Melony’s incessant twitter, so I had to rebuff her. Now wasn’t the time! “Melony, he’s a patient for crying out loud. Get back to work or should I share some of my patients with you? Looks like you’ve got a lot of spare time for jamboree.”
She shook her head furiously, “no, no. Please don’t. I have a lot on my plate already.”
I laughed besides myself. “I thought as much.”
After a while, Melony seemed to finally remember his face after scrutinizing him for who knows how long. “Wait, Licia. Is that who I think it is?” She nudged me.
Her eyes widened. "That's Kevin Brown, the retired billionaire football player from Half Moon Bay!"
Of course, I knew who he was.How could I forget the boy who shattered my heart?
"Let's get back to work," I said, ending the conversation. I couldn't afford any more distractions. Not today.
I had made plans with Joey, my best friend, to go grocery shopping after work, but I just didn’t feel like it anymore. I couldn't wait to just climb into my bed and maybe cry myself to sleep one last time.
After a grueling day, I headed to the locker room, emotionally drained, grateful that this was my last shift for the week. So, why didn't Kevin wait one more day before coming here?
As luck would have it, Kevin emerged from Dr. Shepherd's office just as I passed by. Our eyes locked. His plea was evident, but I refused to acknowledge it.
I prayed the ground would just open up and let me in to avoid this awkward moment, but it didn’t happen. We were still standing like gentry.
