was happy she’d given me this pleasant surprise. “But my job is to make your life easier, so I made sure that carried over into this holiday season.”
I started to feel like a goddamn king, having a servant who did my bidding without my even having to ask. “Well…thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Now I just need to get you something.”
She made a loud scoff. “I got myself a box of chocolates, so you’re covered.”
I wanted to get her something else anyway, as a thank-you for everything she’d done for me, but I was drawing a blank at the moment. All I really knew about her was that she dressed nice, had a big heart, and liked chocolate, apparently. “It’s a small world, huh? That your parents live so close to my family cabin.”
“It’s a really small world,” she said. “I had a hole in my heart that could have killed me, and now I work for a heart surgeon. And come to find out, my family lives just a few miles from yours. It’s funny.”
Yeah, funny.
“I know your dad invited me because your parents are, like, the nicest people in the world, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to have me over or anything. You see me twenty-four seven, so I’m sure you could use a break.” She flipped her hair and released a laugh.
“I don’t mind at all. Bring your parents too, if you want.”
She gave me an incredulous look.
“Like I said, the more, the merrier.”
7
Sicily
I would never say it to Dex, but it was really nice to have some time off.
I was hustling all the time, taking care of emails and other things when I was at home in the evenings. Even when I wasn’t physically in the office or at the hospital or the research center, I was still working.
Didn’t have much of a life because of it.
But the pay was unbelievable and I loved my boss, so I would never complain.
My parents had a small place on a little land in the countryside. They used to have an apartment in the city where I grew up, but when my grandmother passed away, they moved in to her old house because it was a lot more affordable. My dad was a manager at the grocery store, and my mom stayed home.
After my surgery drained their savings, they never really recovered.
I always felt guilty about that, but after a couple more paychecks, I was going to send them on a nice trip to the Bahamas or some place tropical.
My parents never, ever went on vacation, and they deserved it.
I stayed in the guest bedroom, and we watched Christmas movies and did our holiday traditions, like decorating the tree, making homemade pies, and just catching up. I hadn’t seen them much since I started my new job.
My mom scooped the filling into the pie plate lined with uncooked dough. “So, it didn’t work out with that man you were so excited about?”
I knew this was unavoidable, so I just pushed through it. “No, Ma. I already told you that.”
“But I thought you guys might work it out…” She smoothed out the pumpkin pie mixture in the pan.
I worked on the blueberry one. “No. He’s history.”
“Hmm…what a shame.”
No, it was a shame we were together in the first place. “I’ve moved on, so it’s fine.”
“You’re seeing someone?” Her head popped up so fast, her eyes wide with joy. “Why didn’t you bring him? Baby, what’s he like?”
“Whoa, Ma. Calm down.” I continued to work on the pie. “I’m not seeing anybody. I just mean I’m over the guy.”
Mom pressed her lips tightly together, so disappointed that she couldn’t even try to hide it.
“This is the twenty-first century. Women don’t need to settle down at eighteen anymore.”
“I understand that, baby. I just want to know you have a good man to take care of you because your father and I won’t always—”
“Knock it off.” I hated it when my parents turned morbid, like they were on death’s doorstep when they were fine. They acted like they were older than they really were, I swear. “I can take care of myself perfectly fine.”
“Not the same, baby.” She shook her head. “Not the same. Have you even dated or anything?”
There was nobody on my radar—at all. “Honestly, I’ve been really busy at work.”
“Well, that jerk of a doctor needs to give you some time off.”
“Ma, he’s not a jerk. He’s a really great guy, actually.” And the only person that I was remotely