Best Foot Forward (The Best Girls 3)

“Yes. But I didn’t see you either.” A nagging doubt invaded her mind. “Are you sure he was on duty Tuesday morning?”

“We were both there, but I don’t think he ever got your flowers and card. At least I never saw them, and he didn’t tell me about them.”

Grace had a sinking feeling. If he’d never received her card, he didn’t even know she’d apologized. He’d had almost three more days thinking she was dating someone else. To her distress, she felt tears stinging her eyes. How could she possibly have any tears left after crying every day for almost a week? A sob escaped her lips—so much for controlling her emotions.

“Please Grace, don’t cry. I’ll figure it out. Maybe it’s lying around in the ER office somewhere. Which nurse did you say took your stuff?”

“She said her name was Leanne. She was tall and pretty with long blond hair.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. Or you could just call him on the cell phone,” he suggested.

Grace’s heart pounded and her eyes were suddenly dry. “Okay. I’ll call him. I’ll call him as soon as we hang up.”

“Good. You can do this, Grace. I’m pulling for you. I’ll hang up now and let you call him.”

The phone trembled in her fingers as she punched Brad’s speed dial for the first time since Friday night. She hadn’t even thought about what she would say to him when he answered. She would just throw herself on his mercy.

She heard his voice in her ear, “You have reached Dr. Brad Gates. I am currently unavailable. If this is an emergency, please call—”

Grace disconnected. What could she possibly say in a message? She had to talk to him directly.

*****

Brad allowed an expletive to slip between his lips as he stared at the small green symbol on his cell phone. Grace had called. Finally. After almost a week of waiting, she’d called him and hadn’t even left a message. At this point, could she possibly say anything he would want to hear? Would she tell him she’d already broken up with her new guy? Would she say the other boyfriend had never existed and admit she’d lied? Or maybe she was still with her mystery man, but she’d finally felt some compassion for Brad over her method of breaking up. No, he couldn’t imagine any words that would ease the ache in his heart. He’d really thought he was in love with Grace, but she wasn’t the girl he thought she was.

His phone vibrated before he could put it away. He froze—Grace was calling again. Should he answer? Maybe she was truly sorry for her crazy actions. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe they could try again—a fresh start.

“Dr. Gates!” called a nurse. “They need you. Car accident—two just arrived. One is critical.”

He sighed as he turned off his phone. “I’m coming.”

*****

Grace hung up when Brad’s cell went to voice mail again. Immediately, her phone rang and she answered, pressing her hand to her stomach, “Hello?”

“Hi Grace. It’s Emily.”

She blinked against sudden tears. “Hi Emily.”

“Are you okay? You sound upset.”

“No, I’m fine. I was... I was watching a sad show on TV.”

“Oh really? What are you watching?”

Scrambling once again to cover a lie, Grace answered with the first thing that came to mind. “Big Bang Theory.”

“Big Bang Theory? And it was sad?”

“Well... Yes I always feel sorry for Sheldon because no one understands him.”

“Okay... I would never have thought of that. You certainly are sensitive. Uhmm, are you coming over on Friday night.”

Grace hesitated. “Emily, I have to tell you something.”

“Listen Grace, we know about the breakup. Brad told Spencer about it. But Brad’s not coming Friday night, and we still want you to come.”

“What did Brad tell Spencer?” Grace hoped Emily couldn’t detect the slight tremor in her voice.