“Oh. Oh! You’re...I...” Mary Alice blinked, suddenly a little breathless, as if she’d been sucker punched. “Congratulations.” What else was there to say?
“Thanks. It was...a surprise.”
For you and me both.
“I’m sure.” Despite the fact that her head was reeling and she felt like throwing up, Mary Alice lifted her gaze to Judd and forced a smile. “I’m happy for you. Best to you both. I’ve got donations to pick up.” She started to move past them.
“Mary Alice.” Judd’s voice had her stopping to look back. “I’m glad about Chad.”
“So am I.” Then she hurried around the corner and out of sight.
She didn’t stop at the nurse’s station. Instead, she made for the nearest stairwell, needing to get away from people until she could get herself under control. The door slammed shut behind her with a definitive clang that echoed through the space. And for long minutes, she just stood on the landing, sucking in air and trying not to cry.
Damn it. Damn it, she’d thought she was past this. She’d thought she was more evolved than this. But seeing them like that, looking so damned happy to have what she’d always wanted...it was such a slap in the face. She’d been so, so stupid for refusing to see what was right in front of them both and cutting him loose a long time ago. By the power of her will alone, she’d tried to wish him into being what she wanted him to be—a perfect, devoted, home and family guy. And there was irrefutable proof that he absolutely was that guy. But he was someone else’s Mr. Home and Family.
She needed to find hers now. And maybe she had. Things with Chad, while new, were so very good. She hoped to God she wasn’t blinded by wishful thinking this time.
With a steadying breath, she headed down the stairs. She would let go of the anger and the hurt. Right now, she needed to find Chad. Needed to remind herself that he wasn’t some dream she’d woken up from. And she just wanted a hug.
The ER was only partly full when Mary Alice walked in. She scanned the patients, trying to judge how busy they really were and whether she could interrupt for five minutes without causing problems. Even as she started toward the desk, the swinging doors to the back opened and Chad came out.
Her bruised heart lifted at the sight of him. His own face brightened with a blazing smile. But he wasn’t looking at her. A gorgeous, leggy brunette raced across the room and launched herself at him on a laugh. Chad caught her close, swinging her around in a circle before setting her back on her Jimmy-Choo-clad feet with a smacking kiss. On the mouth. And even if Mary Alice had been wrong about that, the brunette reached up and ran her fingers through his hair in a gesture that spoke of unquestionable intimacy as she beamed up at him.
Mary Alice stumbled back a step. She didn’t know who this woman was, and it wasn’t in her to cross over and confront them to find out. Not now. In the end, it didn’t matter. Because Mary Alice was done. She’d learned her lesson with Judd. She wasn’t about to stay in a relationship with a guy who had any kind of intimate attachment to another woman. That was a deal breaker.
Fool me once, she thought, and headed for the exit.
Chad was still riding high on Sonya’s surprise visit and her good news. He’d hoped for a chance to introduce her to Mary Alice. She was supposed to be stopping by to pick up the donations for Fountain of Hope this afternoon, but he hadn’t seen her, and Sonya had to get on down to Jackson for her meeting. But she’d promised to come back through tomorrow and spend a night on her way back to Birmi
ngham. Maybe he could arrange a dinner so Sonya could get a chance to meet the woman he was so crazy about.
During a brief lull late in the afternoon, he headed up to the second-floor nurse’s station to find out if anybody had seen Mary Alice. Maybe she’d come through while he was tied up with that dislocated shoulder. Rosemary Newsome, the charge nurse, was reviewing charts at the desk.
“Hey, has Mary Alice been by to pick up the donations yet?”
“Oh, somebody else came by to get them about an hour ago.”
“Huh. I thought Mary Alice was coming.” Strange that she hadn’t texted him to mention she wouldn’t be by. “Maybe she got hung up.” Chad tapped the counter with his palm and started to turn.
“No, she was here earlier,” Corinne said. “I saw her going down the hall. She looked upset.”
“Any idea why?”
Corinne shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Maybe she ran into her ex. He was up here earlier, round about that same time, I think,” Rosemary added. “They had their first ultrasound.”
Married six weeks after breakup and now with a baby on the way? Ouch. No wonder she’s upset.
“Thanks.”
Chad found a quiet corner and tried to call her. Straight to voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Missed you at the hospital this afternoon. I wanted to see if everything was all right. Corinne said you seemed upset when she saw you. Call me back.”
He sent a text to check on her, too, but by the end of his shift, he still hadn’t gotten an answer. More than a little concerned, he wrapped up his files as quickly as possible and drove straight to her house.
She took long enough to answer the door, he considered circling around to the back to see if it was unlocked. But she did answer eventually, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy, her cheeks still wet with tears. Chad stepped inside, reaching for her. “Honey, what happened?”
Mary Alice flinched back from his touch. “Don’t.”