London left the party on autopilot, getting into her car and driving straight to Drew’s apartment. She sat behind the wheel of her Mini and sent him a text.
I’m outside. Bad, bad day. Can I come up?
He was waiting for her in the lobby of the building when she walked through the sliding glass doors. She walked straight into his waiting embrace, both stunned and relieved at how at home she felt in his arms.
But she shouldn’t feel stunned anymore. Over these past few weeks Drew had proven to be a steady, calming presence in her world.
“How does a party for a nine-year-old put you in this kind of mood?” Drew asked.
London lifted her head and looked up at him. “I called my dad an asshole to his face. I need a drink.”
“I think you need several drinks. Let’s go.”
They walked wordlessly to the elevator. Drew held her hand in a firm, comforting grip as they rode up, but he didn’t press her for details. She appreciated that innate sense of his; it was as if he knew without her saying that she needed some time before she could speak about what happened.
He let her into the apartment and headed straight for the kitchen. London looked on as he slipped one of the wines they brought back from the Hill Country last weekend from the wine rack. He grabbed a couple of wine stems and poured two glasses of the Malbec, then directed her to follow him to the couch. They sat, and London immediately settled her back against his chest. Once again, a rush of contentment flowed through her.
Who would have thought that Drew Sullivan’s arms would become her happy place?
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked after several minutes passed.
Three weeks ago, she would have answered that by draining her wineglass, stripping her clothes off, and mounting him. She still wanted the intense orgasms he excelled at providing, but that could wait. What she craved most right now was that quiet, understanding way he had of listening without trying to fix everything.
She started with the conversation she had with Nina about the photos. Drew’s eyebrows nearly met his hairline when she shared her little sister’s flippant response to her question about what would happen if the photos had been widely shared.
“So she wanted her nudes floating all around school?”
“I honestly don’t know if she was telling the truth or just being a bratty teen,” London said as she sipped her wine. “And, although she denied it, I honestly think that stunt was more about getting my dad’s attention than anything else.” She shrugged. “In a way, I get it. Even bad attention is better than none at all.” She shoved her fingers into her curls and massaged the side of her head. “I just hate that he’s doing this to her. It’s exactly what he did to me—ignored me to the point where I obsessed over any bit of attention I could get from him. It’s like some sick game he has going.”
She took another sip of her wine, then placed her glass on the table. “I definitely got his attention today. The look on his face when I went off on him is permanently imprinted in my mind.”
“I’m jealous,” Drew said.
She looked at him over her shoulder. “Jealous? Of what?”
“Do you know what I would give to be able to call my dad an asshole to his face?”
London sent him a sad smile. “That puts things into perspective,” she said. “I guess you think I should be grateful that I at least have my dad in my life, huh?”
“Nope.” Drew shook his head. “A shitty dad is as bad as an absent one. And if you called him an asshole to his face, it’s because he deserved it.”
“I haven’t gotten to the part that really makes him the asshole of the year.” She told him about how her dad had been using her accomplishments to shame Nina. “It just pisses me off so much that in all the time I was in school he couldn’t be bothered to say, ‘Nice job, London,’ yet he uses me to make Nina feel bad about herself. I mean, who does that?”
“A narcissist,” Drew answered.
London paused. “Wow,” she said after a moment. “I’d never considered that, but he is the textbook definition of a narcissist,” London agreed. “Everything in this world revolves around him. He uses us for what we can do for him, has zero empathy, and you will never find a more self-important human being on the face of this earth. And you want to know what’s truly bizarre? People flock to him. They always have.”
“Narcissists can be charismatic. Couple that with him being a successful attorney and musician, and yeah, I get it. He’s what you thought I was in high school.”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” London said. “I’m so sorry.”
“As long as you no longer think of me that way, I consider it water under the bridge.”
He was far more forgiving than she was. She held on to a grudge like a drowning woman holding on to a life raft.
“I wish I were as wrong about Kenneth as I was about you,” London said. “It hurts to know that he will never be the father that I needed him to be—for Nina and Koko’s sake. It no longer matters to me, because I’m done with him, Drew. I’m just done.”
He tightened the arm that he’d curved around her middle. “I’m sorry he couldn’t be the father you needed too,” he said softly against her temple. Several quiet moments passed before he added, “But I think I have something that may make up for your bad day.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” London said. “Let me finish my wine first, and then we can go in the bedroom. I have pineapple-flavored condoms this time.”
“That isn’t what I was referring to, but I approve of that plan. Highly approve.” He took the glass from her and twisted her around so that she could face him. “There’s a doctor out of Seattle, Susan Hemingway. Do you know who she is?”
“Of course. She’s a rock star,” London said. “She’s a pioneer in MSE therapy—that’s multisensory environment therapy. Why?”
“Because she happens to be in Austin,” Drew said.
London’s head snapped back. “How do you know that?”
“Those details aren’t important,” he said. “What is important is that she’s taking some time out from the meetings she’s holding with one of the tech companies here so that she can meet with you at County when you return from your mandatory vacation on Monday. You’re going to give her a tour of the pediatric floor, and she’s going to consult on the new sensory room.”
London felt her mouth take on an O shape in slow motion. She covered her chest with her hand.
“Drew,” she whispered. “How did you…? What did you say to get her to agree to this?”
“I told you I would make this happen for you,” he said.
London refused to call what she was feeling love. Love did not happen this quickly. But this was, by far, the closest thing she’d ever felt to love.
She was ready to fall in love with Drew Sullivan. Not because of the things he did for her, but why he did them. He knew what this sensory room meant to her. That he would go the extra mile of securing a meeting with the authority on the subject meant everything.
London clamped his cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to his.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “And coming from me, that’s huge.”
“Don’t I know it,” Drew said with a laugh. But then he sobered, his face taking on a serious expression. “There are a lot of tough decisions that have to be made at County, but your sensory room isn’t one of them. You’ve worked hard for it and you deserve to see it come to fruition. Your patients deserve it.”
Yet, if she went with the fellowship in Chicago, she wouldn’t be there when it was all done.
A heaviness settled deep in her bones. She’d spent the past several months mulling over what to do post-residency. She’d even made up one of Samiah’s notorious pros-and-cons lists. Both were pretty equal on paper, but when she added weight to each item, the con side was winning.
And that was before she added this newest factor to the mix. If Drew managed to convince the hospital board of directors to green-light the sensory room, she could just throw the entire list in the trash. There was no way any of the pros for moving to Chicago could win out.
She brushed her thumb along his strong jawline, slight shivers running down her spine at the sensation of his stubble against her skin.
“Thank you,” London said. “I never allowed myself to consider that you would make this happen. I’m just so used to being let down and having to do things on my own.”
“I’m a man of my word, London.” He brushed her hair back from her face and cupped her cheek in his palm. “If I make a promise to you, know that I will keep it.”