Stitches and Scars (41 page)

The blonde lifted her head and smirked. “Was that a question or an answer?”

“Answer.”

“And you are …?”

“Kate.”

The girl behind the counter eyed her knowingly. “You’re Kate. Dr. Montgomery’s Kate.” She wasn’t asking. It was clear that she already knew the answer, but Kate nodded anyway. “I’ve been waiting for you.” She smiled. “I’m Jess. And if it’s not too forward of me, I’d like to say, damn girl, you are lucky. They don’t make many guys like Dr. Montgomery. Trust me.”

Kate’s couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, he is pretty amazing.”

“Mmm hmm.” She nodded before hopping up from her chair. “Come on, I’ll take you to Kristen. She and Dr. Hunter have been waiting for you.”

“Thanks,” Kate said, feeling herself relax a bit more.

As they walked down the hall, Jess’s eyes dashed down to Kate’s shoes. “I like the heels. Red is a
very
good choice. Happens to be my favorite color,” she added casually.

“Thanks. It
is
a great color,” she agreed.

They walked down a few halls and through a couple sets of doors, before stopping at another counter, this one looking more like a nurse’s station than an information desk. One of the girls with dark brown hair looked up as they came into view.

“Is this her?” she asked, looking at Jess.

She smirked back. “Yep.”

Kate looked back and forth between them and realized that the dark-haired girl must be Kristen, and wondered what it was exactly that Sophie had told her, or the both of them for that matter. Jess turned and gave a quick wink before walking back the way they’d just come.

“Let’s go find Dr. Hunter. I think we found the perfect place. You’re lucky an entire wing is under construction,” Kristen said, standing beside her.

Nodding, Kate swallowed back her unease. Honestly, the only reason she was even attempting the entire thing was because she knew she wouldn’t get caught. Or at least hoped she wouldn’t. She opened her mouth to ask Kristen a question when a male nurse walked up.

The two of them bantered back and forth, each comment more sarcastic and witty than the first. When the guy finally left them alone, Kate couldn’t help but wonder if they were involved, but kept her mouth shut.

“He’s my surfer boyfriend; at least that’s what I like to call him,” Kristen said, answering her unspoken question.

“He cute.” Kate smiled.

“Cute and young—eight years younger, to be exact. He’s not really my boyfriend, but the boy can bake some brownies.” She laughed.

“Well, a guy that can bake is always a good thing.”

“Exactly. And when I say they’re good, I mean they’re gooood. He makes ‘em from scratch.” She continued to tell all the other concoctions the young nurse could make and only stopped when she noticed a woman in a white lab coat walk out of an exam room.

“Dr. Hunter!” she yelled, probably louder than necessary.

The woman with a short strawberry blond bob lifted her head and smiled as she walked over to them. “I take it that you’re Kate?” she asked.

“That’s me.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Ethan can’t stop talking about you, so you can imagine how excited I was when Sophie called me.” Her eyes danced in anticipation.

She was genuine in her excitement and Kate felt an immediate kinship to her. It was a miracle that Kate remembered her name from a few months ago, but she was thankful that she did. Almost two months ago, when she and Ethan had first started dating, Dr. Hunter had interrupted their early morning smoothie date. She’d needed a favor and asked if Ethan would cover her shift. Of course, he’d told her it wouldn’t be a problem, but that she owed him big time. Kate counted this as the payment.

“I want to thank you for doing this, Dr. Hunter. I know that you owe Ethan, but this goes above and beyond.”

“Please, call me Debbie,” she smiled, “And I don’t mind. In fact, I’m thinking that after setting this up, Ethan’s going to owe
me
.”

Kate laughed. “So,” she started. “Where are you guys—”

“Ugh,” Kristen moaned, cutting her off. “Bitch alert, twelve o’clock.”

The distinct clicking of heels echoed down the hall, and in the pit of her stomach Kate had a feeling she knew who it was. Her stomach folded in on itself, but she rolled her shoulders back. She’d had two weeks to think about this, and there was no way she was backing down. Plastering on her fakest smile, Kate spun around.

“Cindy,” Kristen sneered. “Isn’t there a plastic surgeon somewhere looking for you?”

“Or I’m sure I can find you an intern who needs to practice his Botox injections,” Debbie offered kindly.

“Ladies, that’s so nice of you. But I think I’ll stick with what I have. After all, those of us with natural beauty shouldn’t rub it in your faces any more than necessary; that’s just rude.”

A silent standoff was taking place between the three girls, and Kate couldn’t resist jumping in.

“Cindy, it’s so good to see you again,” she smiled, keeping her voice as sweet as possible. “I was hoping I’d get a chance to see you today.”

Cindy narrowed her eyes slightly, but kept the fake grin on her face. “Oh really? That’s so sweet. It really is a pleasant surprise to see you here. And you know it saves me the trouble of calling Sabrina and asking how she’s doing. I’m sure you’ve talked to her recently.”

“I can’t say that I have. She likes to give Ethan and me our space, but we’ll see each other before they leave town.”

“That’s right, they’re leaving soon. I’ll have to call her and see if she’s up for a little tennis match. I’m sure she’d like the opportunity to see me before she leaves. Maybe even give me a small token of her appreciation.”

The fake smile on Kate’s face turned genuine as she listened to Cindy speak. “Token?” she asked, playing dumb.

“Yes, you know, the pendant.”

“Oh, you mean this?” She brought her hands up to the collar of her coat and pulled it open, exposing the yellow sapphire pendant that hung around her neck. Cindy’s eyes went wide. “You see, Cindy,” she said walking toward her, feeling her confidence grow with each step. “You may be able to play tennis with Sabrina, but that doesn’t make you a Montgomery.”

“And you know what does?” she snapped.

“Of course I do, because you see … someday soon
I’m
going to be one.” Kate reached out and patted her cheek gently. Cindy’s jaw clenched tight, but she didn’t say a word. Instead she spun around and stormed down the hallway, clunking loudly in her pair of last season’s Jimmy Choo’s.

Feeling a new sense of relief, Kate turned around to face Debbie and Kristen, who both wore smiles.

“Ohh, I love you,” Debbie said, shaking her head with a laugh.

“That was perfect.” Kristen nodded.

“Let’s just say, I’ve had plenty of time to think about what I’ve wanted to say to her.” She took a deep breath and felt a new sense of relief. “So, ladies, what’s the plan?”

Both girls smiled at each other before turning back to her.

“Ethan should be back from lunch soon, so let’s hurry. We’ll fill you in as we walk,” Debbie said, stepping to Kate’s side. With a quick nod, the three set off for the abandoned section of the hospital.

***

Downstairs, Ethan sat at the lunch table, absentmindedly folding and unfolding a napkin. His thoughts were on Kate and how much he missed her. Being on call and working double shifts translated into zero down time. He spoke with her on the phone whenever he had the chance, but it wasn’t the same. Lately he’d come to realize just how important the sound of her voice or the touch of her hand was to him. It had an almost calming effect, and he was growing antsy waiting. Somewhere between thinking about kissing Kate and lying next to her, his pager went off, waking him from his daydream. Disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to catch some sleep after eating, he stood up and slowly headed for the elevator.

“Hey Dreamy,” Kristen called out as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

“Did you page me?” he asked while rubbing his hands over his scruffy face.

“Yeah, Dr. Hunter asked me to. She wants your opinion on a patient.”

“Okay, sure.” He nodded, still halfway in a haze. He turned around and was just about to walk away when Kristen called out.

“Oh, she’s in second floor radiology.”

“Wait, what?” he asked in confusion.

“Don’t ask me. You doctors are always doing your own thing. But she did say something about the temp wing being too crowded. So, I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders and quickly walked away from Ethan, mumbling under her breath.

Ethan stood still and watched her retreating form. He simply didn’t have the energy to think, let alone argue, about why he was being sent to the section of the hospital that was under construction. So he stepped back into the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor.

He walked through the halls on the second floor until he came to the roped off section. There were sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling to keep the dust caused by construction from spreading too far. Pushing back the sheet, he stepped into the dark hallway that was lit with only the emergency escape lights and the large window at the end.

“Dr. Hunter?” he called out.

Her head poked out from one of the exam rooms. “Hey! You got my message,” she said, smiling.

He nodded. “Why are you over here? I thought that everything had been moved temporarily.”

“Oh, it has been. I just had a special patient. She requested some privacy, and I couldn’t say no to her.”

His face pulled together in confusion, and Debbie started to laugh. “Perhaps you could come take a look. I’d really like your opinion.” She stepped aside and motioned with her hand for Ethan to enter.

“Sure.” He shrugged, taking a step forward. As soon as he walked into the room, he paused. Standing at the far end of the room in a long cream coat and red heels was Kate.

His heart thumped, and he felt himself smile. “Kate, what are you doing here? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled. “I called in a favor.” She shrugged casually, looking at Dr. Hunter.

Ethan looked back over his shoulder and noticed Dr. Hunter grinning mischievously. “I’ll see you guys later.” She giggled before walking out the door.

The door shut with a click, and Ethan looked back at Kate. She was stunning and his hands twitched with the desire to touch her. He started to take a step, but she motioned for him to stop and brought her hands to the front of her jacket. Ever so slowly, she began to unbutton it, never taking her eyes off of him. She slid her fingers down the hem of her coat and pulled the sides back. He didn’t want to take his eyes off of her face, but he couldn’t resist; he had to look down at what she was wearing.

Dropping his eyes, he looked at her and felt his breath catch. He took in every last detail of the black dress—the way it dipped in at her waist and hugged the curve of her hips. His eyes continued their descent all the way down her legs, ending on her red shoes.

“I figured Sunday was too long to wait, and if I remember correctly, you once told me that you liked a girl in a short skirt and a long jacket,” she breathed.

The sound of her voice calmed him instantly. Reaching back, he turned the lock on the door, the bolt sliding into place with finality. Desperate to be close to her, he crossed the room in three long strides and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her body to his and brushed his lips against hers, immediately feeling at home.

Chapter 29

Full Circle

S
ophie, you have got to be kidding me!” Kate yelled over the dressing room door.

“Just come out and let me see it,” Sophie pleaded.

“No freakin’ way am I coming out there.”

“Katherine Elizabeth Thomas. This is
my
wedding, and the bride always gets what she wants.”

There was a defiant tone to her voice which made it clear that she meant business. The way Kate saw it, she had two options. She could either (A) refuse and put her jeans back on or (B) realize that if she didn’t do as Sophie asked, she would be forcefully removed from the dressing room and shoved
back
into the dress she was currently wearing.

“Fine, but if you and Elle laugh, I’m leaving.”

“She’s not here, she getting a taller pair of heels from the sales lady. I promise not to laugh. Now, come out before I knock down the door and make you.”

Kate huffed in defeat and opened the door in one quick motion. Stepping out into the room, she heard her friend giggle quietly.

“Okay, so maybe orange isn’t your best color,” she said, her giggle turning to a full-blown belly laugh.

Glaring with narrowed eyes, Kate faced her friend. “I said no laughing. And seriously, what did you think it would look like?” She stepped up onto the platform in front of the three-sided mirror and flinched at her reflection. It looked like she was wearing a life jacket disguised as a dress. The bright orange color clashed with the pale tone of her skin, giving it a light bluish hue.
Great. Just what I wanted—skin the color of skim milk,
she thought with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah.” Sophie walked up behind her. “Orange is definitely not your color. Why don’t you go try on the wine-colored one?”

“Whatever you want,” Kate teased. “After all, it’s
your
day.”

“You bet it is, and don’t think I’m not putting you in four-inch heels either. Speaking of which, where is Elle with the shoes?” She spun around quickly and scurried out of the room before Kate said another word.

Laughing quietly to herself, she walked back into the large dressing room and peeled off the offensive orange dress. Ever since Sophie had gotten engaged six months ago, she seemed to have been running on an even higher level of energy, if that were at all possible. Apparently planning a wedding in eight months was close to impossible to accomplish. But she’d insisted on a late fall wedding since the color palette was ideal, and waiting for the following fall was not even an option. She had waited long enough for Logan to propose, and once he had, she was determined to be Mrs. Logan McLean before the new year.

Stepping into the wine-colored dress, she had it up around her waist when her cell phone rang. She hurried over to her purse, tripping over her jeans and nearly ripping the dress in the process.

“Hello?” she said breathlessly, not even pausing to check the caller ID.

“Hey, how’s the—wait, are you okay? You sound out of breath?”

“I’m fine; I just tripped. You know, the casualties of running in a tight, fitted dress.”

“I take that you didn’t hurt your—wait, tight?” Ethan’s voice dropped slightly to a gritty undertone.

“Yes. It’s deep red and
very
snug. Clings to all my curves just the way you like it,” Kate said, lowering her voice and playing right along with him.

“Am I going to get a chance to see you in it before the wedding?”

“I’m not sure. Sophie has the final say. This may not even be the dress she wants.”

“Do me a favor. If she vetoes it, buy it anyway. It sounds amazing, and I want to see you in it.”

Kate smiled and felt her heart flutter. His words still had a way of affecting her, and she knew it was something she’d never get used to. And for that, she was thankful.

“When do you think you’ll be done with Sophie and her torture?” he asked, breaking Kate away from her thoughts.

“Not sure; it all depends. Once she gets around shoes, time ceases to exist, and all else is put on hold.”

“Make sure she’s not too long. I have plans for us tonight,” he reminded her.

“Plans which you’re still not going to tell me about, are you?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p.’

“Fine, I’ll remind her that I have to be done by six o’clock.”

“Sounds great. I’ll see you at home.”

Kate said her goodbye and hung up, smiling ear to ear. Every time Ethan referred to his apartment as ‘their home,’ she grinned. One would think that after four months, she’d be accustomed to it, but she wasn’t. With a content sigh, Kate sat on the chair in the corner of the dressing room and stared back at her reflection, letting her mind drift back to the day
his
apartment became
theirs
.

***

It was the beginning of summer, and she and Ethan had spent the entire day together outside, enjoying the warmer weather. He’d insisted that she show him the path she used to run along the river. The same path where she’d had her fall months before, which resulted in a trip to the hospital and ultimately his exam table.

“I couldn’t believe you were there, you know, at the hospital. I’d been thinking about you all day and was hoping that by some miracle I’d see you again. I planned on going to Rain every weekend, on the off chance that you’d be there,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, well, I was completely mortified and ecstatic that you were the doctor treating me. I was so nervous, I remember almost panicking at the thought of even taking my shirt off.”

“It’s a good thing I’m a professional.”

“A professional that almost kissed me,” she reminded him, looking up at his face.

He turned his head away from her and looked out over the water. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said innocently.

“Ha-ha,” she deadpanned. “You know as well as I do that we almost kissed.” She hit him playfully, but Ethan continued to ignore her statement. “Can’t say I’m not happy we didn’t kiss. First kisses are always awful and uncomfortable,” she said casually. “The last thing I needed was for it happen while I was cut and bleeding in a hospital surrounded by the smell of antiseptic.”

“Hang on.” He placed both his hands on Kate’s shoulders and turned her to face him. “Our first kiss was anything but awful and uncomfortable. If I remember correctly, it was pretty damn hot, and you enjoyed it quite a bit.”

Kate’s carefully composed face gave way and she smiled up at him. “Yeah, I have to agree with you there. It was pretty hot.”

“Hot enough that you want to re-enact it sometime?” He smirked.

She nodded and started playing with the buttons of his shirt. “I think I’d like to re-enact it somewhere a little more
private
.”

“Sounds good to me; let’s go home.” He took her hand in his and started walking in the direction of his car.

The drive to his apartment didn’t take much time, but Kate couldn’t stop twisting her fingers and fiddling with the fabric of her shirt.

“Someone’s a little fidgety.” Ethan laughed.

“I can’t help it. I just … you know … I’m anxious,” she said, shrugging.

Ethan responded with a mumble.

“What did you say?” Kate turned to face him.

He swallowed thickly and leaned forward, turning up the volume on the radio. “Oh, nothing.”

Kate watched him for another minute and noticed there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. She couldn’t quite place it, but she was sure something was off. Continuing to watch him, she noticed his back become straighter and his body tense even more the closer they got to his apartment. “Ethan, are you all right? You seem tense about something,” she asked, feeling slightly nervous as they got out of the car.

“I’m fine—no, I’m more than fine. I’m great.” He reassured her.

His words did little to comfort her, and her mind began to backtrack over the conversation they’d just had. She wondered if perhaps she’d said something that would have upset him but came up with nothing.

Just as she was about to tell him that she knew something was wrong, he spoke up. “Well, here we are
. Home
sweet
home.
” His voice wavered.

“Ethan, seriously what is going on? And don’t tell me it’s nothing because I can tell that you’re acting strange.”

“Kate, I’m fine. I just … look let’s just go inside, okay?” He gave her a reassuring smile and turned the knob, pushing the door open. As soon as they walked inside, he turned left and headed into the kitchen.

She followed behind him in silence, keeping her panicked thoughts to herself and slammed into him when he stopped suddenly. “Omph,” she mumbled, her face pressed between the shoulder blades of his back. “Sorry.” She took a step back as Ethan turned around to face her.

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s my fault for stopping so abruptly. I just got a little ahead of myself.” He spoke so quickly that she could barely make out what he was saying. “I’m just a little nervous about how you’ll react to the whole thing, and I don’t know. Maybe I—”

“Stop! Now
I’m
freaking out a little. What are you talking about?”

“This.” Ethan stepped to the side and turned around motioning to the kitchen before them.

It took Kate a minute to register what he was talking about but then she saw it. Her towels, her blender, her KitchenAid mixer, her platters displayed behind the glass cabinet doors, her cookbooks filling the bookshelf in the corner, her lotion next to the sink. All of it was hers, and all of it was there in Ethan’s house.

She walked across the room and opened the first cabinet she came to. There, sitting on the first shelf, stacked neatly, were her dishes and cups. It didn’t take her long to put two and two together, and once she did, her vision started to get cloudy. Tears stung her eyes and slipped down her cheek, leaving a trail of silver.

Stepping up behind her, Ethan wrapped his arms around her waist. “Like I said, I was a little nervous about how you’d react.”

Kate was speechless, stunned, excited, nervous, and happy—utterly and completely happy. She was amazed at the emotions that seeing one stack of dishes brought on, but she couldn’t help it. Quickly spinning around while still wrapped in Ethan’s embrace, she flung her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close as she could get.

“Does this mean what I think it means?” she asked, looking into his smoky blue eyes.

“What do you
think
it means?”

“I think it means that you finally have a music room and that I get to wake up next to you every morning in
our
apartment.” Without saying a word, he nodded. Excitement bubbled up inside Kate’s chest, and she reached up on her toes, pressing her lips to his. “When can we move the rest of my stuff?”

“It’s already done,” he said with a smirk.

Kate pulled back and looked at him in disbelief. “What? All of it?”

“Why do you think I needed you out of the place all day? I swear, I owe the gang big time for helping. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

“I’d say we both owe them. How about having them over for dinner?” She was bouncing on the tips of her toes feeling a little like Sophie and not caring in the least.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll go call them.”

“Uh, uh, uh. Not so fast, mister. You can call them
later
.” She grabbed his shirt before he could walk away from her.

“What?”

“I want another kiss in
our
apartment.” Apparently Ethan had no problems complying with her request and walked toward her swiftly, scooping her up in his arms.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening making every room in the house theirs, and when it was finally time for them to go to sleep that night, Kate lay in bed staring back at her reflection in the window. She was enveloped in Ethan’s arms and could see his hair in disarray sticking up behind her. She listened to his soft, deep breathing, and a feeling of comfort rushed over her. It was at that moment that she knew she was home.

***

“Elle McLean! I mean it, I’m not kidding. It’s my wedding day, and I’m going to have you in those shoes if I want to.”

“Calm down, Soph, you know I’m just teasing you. Besides, since when do I question your fashion sense?”

The voices of Kate’s friends fighting brought her out of her memories, and she quickly finished zippering the back of the dress before stepping out of the changing room. “Hey, no fighting,” she called out as they came around the corner. As soon as they saw their friend, they both froze. “What?” Kate asked touching her face self consciously.