“Fine, then,” Noah mocked as he set the platter of meat on the patio table. “Next time you two know-it-alls can make me dinner while I sit by the pool.”
Callie shrugged. “Fine with me, but I’m not a good cook, so you’re just punishing yourself.”
Max laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m an excellent cook. That’s how I was raised. My parents own a large chain of restaurants on the East Coast.”
“And how are you still single?” she joked, taking a seat.
Max threw her a smile. “I’m having too much fun.”
Noah served the steaks and brought out some potato salad and drinks. Callie was thankful for this break in her new daily life of worrying and wondering about her future. Not only was this a great distraction, the uplifting words from Max really made her feel as if something in the future could open up for her. It might not be for a while, not until after Noah performed surgery or whatever he had in mind, but at least there was that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and it was calling her name.
* * *
The following week brought Callie even more happiness. The stitches were out and her first microdermabrasion treatment was over. Callie hoped to God she was on the road to recovery.
She’d stayed at the office because Noah had a few patients to see and Marie had needed to leave early to get her granddaughter to a doctor’s appointment. So here she sat in the receptionist’s chair like she had so many times before. Only, all those other times she hadn’t been so self-conscious.
Marie had simply hugged her and with tear-filled eyes declared how happy she was that Callie was back and looking beautiful. Callie knew the woman was just being kind and Callie didn’t correct her about being “back.”
Noah was finishing up with the final patient and Callie couldn’t wait to get back home, or to Noah’s home, where she felt safe, all tucked away from Hollywood’s critical eye.
When the phone rang, Callie swiveled around in her cushy chair and picked up the receiver.
“Dr. Foster’s office.”
“Hello, my name is Mary Harper and my son, Blake, has an appointment next week. I was just calling to see if there were any cancellations before then.”
Callie pulled up the screen with the appointments and scanned through. She knew Noah’s schedule was pretty tight considering he’d taken off so much and had cut back on his workdays to be home with her, but she looked, anyway.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harper, but I don’t see any. Is there any way I can take your name and number and we can call you if something opens earlier?”
The lady on the other end sighed. “That would be wonderful. Blake is so anxious to see the doctor. He’s afraid to go back to school until his face and arm are better.”
Callie knew this must be the ten-year-old boy Noah spoke of a couple weeks ago. The little boy who’d been burned. Noah was doing this appointment as a favor to a client. She knew he didn’t usually take on children or burn victims, though not because he wasn’t capable. Noah was one of the top surgeons in the country, but he tended to specialize in breast augmentations, face-lifts and other enhancement procedures on women.
Callie glanced at the screen again, feeling even guiltier for keeping Noah from helping this boy who had such high hopes. Callie understood those hopes.
“Mrs. Harper,” Callie said, “could you bring Blake in tomorrow at five?”
“But I thought—”
“I think one more patient at the end of the day won’t overwork Dr. Foster too much, and since this is the consultation, it won’t be a long appointment.”
Mrs. Harper burst into tears and instan
tly Callie teared up. “You don’t know what this means to us,” the woman said. “Truly. You don’t know how thankful I am you can fit him in sooner. I just want my son to have a little hope. We’ll be there.”
Once Callie hung up, she added the last appointment. If she had to come to the office herself and stay by Noah’s side then she would. There was no way she could sit in Noah’s lavish home being babysat by the doctor when he was needed here so much more. There was a boy afraid to go to school, afraid to see his friends, all because he was imperfect.
The irony was not lost on her and she prayed the young boy would find the courage to go back to school, even if his scars couldn’t be healed.
When the last patient came out, Callie was all ready to take her chart and file it. Thankfully, the woman didn’t have a co-pay, so she breezed right on out the door. When the busty blonde had checked in, Callie had had her head down looking at another chart, so she’d bypassed the whole awkward situation of seeing beauty staring her in the face.
God, she didn’t know how long she could continue to work here. There was no way she could dodge all the beauty that came in and out the door.
Once the client was gone, Callie locked the front door and set the alarm for the front of the building. After turning off the lights for the waiting room and shutting down the computer, she went to Noah’s office.
“You ready to go?” he asked her as he shut down his own computer.