Page 66 of Meant to Be
“With me, it’s an affair. It will never lead to more.”
In that moment, she felt more pity for him than anger.
“I’m sorry, Syd.”
Before she could reply, her phone trilled. She moved around him, happy for the distraction. “Doctor Preston.”
“Doctor Preston? It’s Alicia. I think my baby’s coming.”
Immediately, Sydney’s mind changed gears. “Are you having contractions?”
“Yes.”Alicia’s voice, so young and scared, wobbled.“They’re about five minutes apart. That’s when you said to call.”
Sydney kept her voice calm, hoping it would reassure Alicia. “Good. Is JD there? Do you have a ride to the hospital?”
“Yes. We’re on our way.”
“I’ll meet you there. Take deep breaths, Alicia. You’re going to be fine.” Sydney hung up and turned to Mitch. “I need to go to the hospital. I have a patient ready to have her baby.” The word “baby” hung between them. Had they married, they might have had a child, maybe even several by now.
“I’ll take you.”
“I’ll probably be there for awhile.”
“I’ll take you and wait.” The passionate lover in Mitch was gone. Now he was a protector, out to do his job.
Sydney disappearedaround the corner while Mitch blew out a breath and headed to the waiting room. What had he been thinking to touch her like that? He hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem. The need to touch and taste her, to feel her around him gnawed at his insides. Like a hunger, he feared it wouldn’t go away unless he fed it. That didn’t make it right. In fact, Mitch held on to the belief it was wrong.
I haven’t been living like a nun.Her words drifted through his mind, and he hated them as much this time as when she’d first said them. He knew she had probably been with other men. It had been ten years, after all. But the thought of someone else touching her, sliding in and out of her… Mitch swore.
Sydney deserved more than a fling. A part of him wished he could give her more, but he knew love like they’d had before wasn’t sustainable. It had been real, but it was created in a safe bubble, where the ugliness of the world hadn’t been able to taint it.
Still, to be able to touch her one more time.
“Mitch.”
Mitch looked to the voice interrupting his inner diatribe.
“Hank.” Mitch stood, extending his hand to the man rushing toward him. Hank was several years older than Mitch, but they’d become friends when Mitch was in high school and dating Hank’s youngest sister. Even when that relationship ended, the two men retained a friendly acquaintance.
“Alicia is here. Have you seen her?”
Up until that moment, Mitch hadn’t put together that Sydney’s patient, Alicia, was Hank’s daughter. Mitch remembered the spunky little kid he’d seen with Hank on a few occasions during his dates with Hank’s sister. “I haven’t seen her, but I know she’s with the doctor.”
“Is JD with her?” Hank said the name JD as if it burned his tongue.
“I think he brought her.”
Hank dropped into a chair. “I’m not even forty, and I’m about to be a grandfather. Do I look old enough to be a grandfather to you, Mitch?”
Mitch sat next to him. “At least Alicia waited until she was nineteen to have a baby. You and Karen were what?”
“Seventeen.”
It was strange to think about. Like Mitch, Hank had fallen in love young. He and Karen had an unplanned pregnancy and, after only a couple years of marriage, Karen had bailed on Hank and Alicia. Now, Hank was only a few years older than Mitch, and he had a grown daughter and a grandchild on the way. It was another example of the messiness of life. Messiness Mitch wanted to avoid.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Hank stood, looking up the hall.
“She’s in good hands with Doctor Preston.”
