Page 61 of You Girl (The Lucky Girls 3)

“I can’t say,” the doctor says and he sounds apologetic. “She’s on the list and she’s a priority, but the rest is out of our control.”

After checking a few more things with my dad about her routines and medications, the doctor leaves and it’s just the two of us again. We can see her as soon as she’s stabilized a bit more.

“I’ll take care of the paperwork,” I say to Dad. The money will come out of my account anyway. Whatever she needs—we can’t lose her.

When I get into the car, I feel sick to my stomach. I think about Natalie and the husband she lost. I didn’t know how he died—we would talk about that eventually. Or maybe we wouldn’t. But for my mom to pull through, to survive this and have another lease at life, someone else had to die.

It is horrible to think about. I want my mom to live. I don’t want to lose her. But when I look at Natalie and the horror her loss had left behind, the whole idea of finding a donor is heartbreaking.

I turn the ignition and pull out the emergency bay where my car was still thankfully parked and hadn’t been towed. When I drive home, I try not to think or feel anything at all.

Chapter 20

Natalie

When I arrive in the office on Wednesday morning, the office is abuzz with excitement.

“What’s going on?” I ask Jenny when she comes from the kitchen with a full cup of coffee.

“Didn’t you know? Rachel Watts is arriving today.”

“What?”

“Michelle told us in the staff meeting on Monday. Don’t you remember?”

“Right,” I say because obviously, I don’t remember. I was in such a state over Mason I barely heard a thing. “When is she arriving?”

“Michelle should be here with her at any moment,” Jenny says excitedly and hurries to her office.

When I get to my desk to put down my things, I see Michelle has left a note telling me to be ready for when they arrive at ten so we can fall right into a meeting. It’s nice of her to leave a note for me. I don’t know if she has any idea what headspace I was in, but she’s always had my back.

The bustle outside my office door a moment later lets me know they’ve arrived. I walk to my door and wait there, watching as Michelle and the long-awaited Rachel Watts walk in.

Everyone throngs around them, and Michelle laughs.

“You’d think I brought the First Lady with me or something. Everyone calm down; you’ll get to interrogate Rachel soon enough. First, I think she needs a cup of coffee.”

The women all fuss to get Rachel what she needs.

While they all run around to impress her, I study her. Her light brown hair is messy, half-pulled through the ponytail holder in a quick bun. She wears designer glasses on her head and a turtle-neck sleeveless knit top with a skirt and boots. She looks like she stepped from the cover of a magazine.

And she looks like she will fit in perfectly around here.

“Ah, Natalie,” Michelle says when she spots me hanging back and beckons me closer. “This is Rachel.” She turns to Rachel. “Natalie is the one I told you about.”

“Told her about?” I ask.

Rachel smiles at me with bright blue eyes.

“Sure. Michelle tells me you’re the resident artist.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” I say and blush. “I’m not—”

“Of course you won’t say it because you’re too humble,” Michelle cuts me off. “But we’re convinced she’ll add thatje ne sais quoiwe’re looking for in the line.”

Rachel smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. I can’t wait to see what we come up with.”

Tina appears with a cup of coffee. Jenny has croissants. Everyone wants a piece of Rachel.

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