The melody in our hearts (13 page)

“Sorry,” she sniffed and blew her nose. “I’m simply worn out because of all these crazy shifts. I’ve been on night shift twice in three days, and I barely had time to get some sleep. I think I’m starting to understand how you feel.”

He chuckled, but he knew she felt much worse than he did.

“Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?”

“You could come home,” she said, her voice cracking on the word
home
.

“I wish I could, Val. I really wish I could be there with you right now to wipe away those tears.”

She sighed, knowing she was being selfish again. She was tired and cranky, there was nothing Ryan could do to help, and she shouldn’t make him feel bad for not being able to be there.

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it all out on you. It’s not your fault.”

He lay down on his hotel bed, feeling awful for being so far away from her and wishing with all his heart that he could really do something to cheer her up.

“But anyway, I’ll only have to hold on two more days, and then it should be back to normal. At least that’s what they said.”

“Will you get a day off, then? Or will it just be a normal shift again?”

“I’ll be off on Thursday, and I’ll be on the night shift on Friday, so I guess I can’t complain. I’ll be able to sleep the whole day through and get up just in time to go to work.” She chuckled, feeling a little better: Simply talking to Ryan was as good as a session with a shrink. He knew when to listen, and he knew when to say something that would cheer her up; nobody understood her and knew her better than he did, and she knew she would always be grateful to her grandfather for taking her to the club on that rainy July afternoon and helping them meet.

While Valerie was talking, Ryan suddenly came up with an idea, and he immediately checked his schedule. He would be in Miami on Thursday, and it sounded perfect.

He heard her yawning, although she tried to hide it, and he knew she needed to get some sleep now, while he needed to make a few phone calls before his manager came to knock on his door.

“Listen, try to hold on until I’m back in Boston next week. I promise I’ll take you to a nice spa, where you can get pampered for a whole afternoon. All on me. How does that sound?”

“Inviting,” she said, brushing her hand across her eyes. “I’ll be definitely looking forward to that.”

“It’s a promise, then. Now you’d better go to sleep. I don’t want to keep you up. You try to be strong a few more days and I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.” She yawned, feeling weariness wash over her as the last bit of adrenaline wore off. “Have a good day, Ryan. And thank you for the spa.”

“You deserve it, Val. More than anyone else. Sweet dreams, then.”

“Oh, Ryan?” she asked, when he was just about to hang up.

“Yes?”

“I love you, buddy,” she whispered, just before letting out another yawn.

“I love you, too, Val,” he said, smiling at the thought of the great surprise he was planning for her.

~
Twenty
~

When the FedEx guy got to the nurses’ desk looking for Valerie, she wondered who would possibly send her something there. She was sure it wasn’t something from her sister, as she had barely remembered to send her a present for her twenty-first birthday, and her parents usually sent everything to her home address. She didn’t have much time to think about it though, as the delivery guy was in a hurry and almost threw the envelope at her once she had signed the delivery note.

She looked at the sender’s address and noticed it was the Four Seasons Hotel in Dallas. Why would they send something to her? It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t remember ever spending a night in a Four Seasons Hotel (as if she could afford it!), and she didn’t even remember sending coupons or anything to take part in a contest, so it couldn’t be a prize either. It was weird.

She turned back toward the desk, still holding the unopened envelope in her hands, and she noticed that Diane, the nurse on duty, and Karen, who happened to be on her same shift that day, were staring at her with a quizzical look, probably dying to know what was inside and, most of all, who it was from.

“It’s from the Four Seasons Hotel in Dallas,” she said, sounding surprised. “I have no idea how they got my address.”

“Then why don’t you open it, you silly? Don’t you wanna know what’s inside?” Karen asked, more excited than Valerie was.

“I bet
you
do,” Valerie said, winking at Karen and making Diane laugh, while Karen simply shrugged.

But Karen was right, after all: Once she opened it, the mystery would be solved, and she was sure it was probably a misunderstanding. Perhaps there was another Valerie Fogarty living in Boston, and they had simply picked the wrong one.

She removed the strip off the FedEx envelope and found a smaller envelope inside, with the hotel logo. Again, she thought it didn’t make any sense.

But when she finally opened the envelope and took out the card that was inside, the familiar handwriting made her smile, and she felt happier than she had in days.

He always knew how to make her smile, no matter how far away he was. The morning before, she had broken down while they were on the phone, and now he had sent her a nice card to cheer her up. It was typical of Ryan, and this was a further confirmation that success hadn’t changed him in the least.

“Who’s it from?” Karen asked, unable to hold her tongue any longer.

“Ryan,” she said simply, with a silly smile on her face, and she didn’t notice the look that Karen and Diane exchanged when she said it.

Karen had always found it weird that Valerie and Ryan were only good friends, but she used to hope it was true when she had a crush on Ryan, back when she had just met him, because she was hoping she could date him.

But after she had gotten over her crush (not that it could ever be possible to get over those sexy eyes and that wonderful voice), she had really started to wonder whether Valerie and Ryan really believed they were only best buddies, or whether they were too blind to see there was something more behind all that. She had never really believed in friendship between a man and a woman, but Valerie insisted that it was possible, that Ryan was like a big brother to her and that she could never see him as anything but her best friend. So in the end, Karen had given in and thought that perhaps Valerie was right: It was rare, but maybe friendship between a man and a woman was possible.

But looking at her face now, the way it had brightened up as soon as she had seen who the card was from, made Karen doubt that Valerie still considered Ryan her big brother.

“And what does it say?”

Valerie looked up, squinting at Karen, who was grinning.

“It’s none of your business!” she said, sticking her tongue out at her and making Karen laugh. But she suddenly realized she hadn’t read it yet, excited as she was that Ryan had sent her a card to cheer her up. When she finally did, the envelope dropped on the floor, while she had to read the card twice to be sure she hadn’t misunderstood something.

“Hey, Doc! A little bird told me you’ve been working hard recently and are in desperate need of a break. I know I promised you a spa in Boston, but would a spa in Miami do? Be sure to get to Logan International on time; the ticket is non-refundable! And make sure you bring a bikini: I hear it’s gonna be ninety-five degrees on Thursday, and it would be a pity not to spend some time on the beach. See you tomorrow, Val. Love, Ryan.”

Karen picked up the envelope Valerie had dropped and, although she didn’t mean to look, she noticed something similar to a plane ticket, and she couldn’t help letting out a shriek.

“Oh my God! Did he send you plane tickets?” Valerie winced as if she had been totally lost in thoughts and looked at Karen, who was handing the envelope back to her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry, but the ticket stuck out of the envelope and...where are you going?”

Valerie looked up, and Karen noticed her eyes were damp, but she knew they were tears of happiness. That Ryan was the most adorable guy, and she wished Valerie would understand what she was missing by leaving him to other women: If Karen didn’t know Prince Charming was a fairy-tale creature, she would say Ryan was him.

But she shouldn’t complain after all. Kevin was very sweet, too, when he didn’t act like a weird artist, and she was happy enough to be dating him. Although she was sure he would never come up with such a romantic surprise. Or would he?

“Miami,” Valerie whispered, almost shocked. “Tomorrow.”

Karen screamed and hugged Valerie, as if she had just told her it was actually she who would be going to Miami. Man, that Ryan knew how to make a woman happy!

“No way!” Diane said, speaking for the first time, clearly not wanting to be intrusive.

Valerie nodded, feeling her hands get sweaty.

“I told him about the double shifts and that I’d be off on Thursday, but I would have never thought...I mean, Miami! Can you believe it? I’ve never been to Miami....Well, I’ve never been anywhere outside this hospital, to be honest!”

They all laughed, and Valerie suddenly felt light-headed, as if she had just drunk a bottle of wine, but she knew it was only because she was happy. Not only because she was going to Miami, but most of all because she was going to see Ryan. She couldn’t wait to get her shift over with and go home and pack. She didn’t care that she would be on a night shift again, and she would barely have the time to throw a couple of things in a duffel bag before heading to the airport. All she cared about now was that in less than twelve hours she would be with Ryan again.

In Miami.

Life was beautiful.

~
Twenty-one
~

His manager hadn’t been too excited when Ryan had told him about Valerie coming over, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Ryan had been working hard and had never complained about anything, not even once. It was time he deserved a little time off, and Ryan’s manager was happy he had been smart enough to invite his friend over when he knew he didn’t have any interviews or appearances. It might be good for Ryan to chill out for a few hours before the show: his manager had noticed that Ryan had looked tired in the past few days, and maybe a little time on the beach, away from reporters and fans, would help him feel better.

When Valerie walked out of the arrivals area, she felt the same kind of excitement she had felt the day she had arrived in Boston for the first time, but she kept repeating to herself that she shouldn’t start running toward Ryan because he was a celebrity now, and she surely didn’t want to attract people’s attention toward them.

But when she saw him, hiding behind a pair of sunglasses, she felt her heart jump up her throat, and she had to stop and take a long, deep breath to calm down before she could walk normally toward him.

When she was close to him, he smiled his crooked smile and opened his arms, wrapping them around her a second later, and she felt as if all the weariness she had felt in the past few days had suddenly disappeared. Yes, Ryan was her oxygen, she was sure now.

“Did you have a good flight?” he asked her, once they were in the car.

He had always told her he never had to drive a car himself, that he always had a private car with a driver wherever he went, but it was weird to actually go around in a car with smoked-glass windows and leather seats.

She nodded. “I was so excited, I could barely remain seated. And, by the way, traveling in first class is awesome, man!”

He laughed, amused by the way she was finally starting to pick up American words and an accent. She had always made fun of him because his Irish accent had almost completely disappeared, and she had always insisted that she would never lose her accent, but every now and then she would use some slang or the American accent without realizing, and it always made him laugh. The way she had said “awesome” when other times she would have used “grand” was particularly funny, or perhaps he was just happy that she was there and that he had been able to bring that cute smile back to her face.

“You’re gonna like the hotel, then,” he said with a grin. “I managed to get a suite, since I told my manager I’d have a special guest coming over from Boston. I hope you don’t mind sharing it with me.”

He winked, while she was staring at him wide-eyed.

“A suite? Are you kidding me? This is gonna be the greatest holiday ever!”

She flung her arms around his neck, totally careless of what the driver might think, and she realized she should be more careful now. They weren’t teenagers anymore: People who didn’t know them well enough might misunderstand their relationship, and the last thing she wanted was for people to start questioning him about her and digging into her life to find out more details.

She leaned back against the leather seat and closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her mind racing in excitement, but her body telling her she needed to take a break, and she was definitely looking forward to the hotel spa. No matter what Ryan’s plans were, the first thing she would do would be go to the spa and have a long, relaxing massage to give her the strength she needed.