“WHAT?” was Hollis’s response as Karen and Vivienne sat down on her bed and Karen explained about the party.

  “Hollis–” Karen began, only to be cut o by her ex.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Hollis asked. “You know better than anyone how these parties get, Karen. Vivienne is still just a kid and even if she were eighteen, I still wouldn’t let her go to such parties. They are for adults,” Hollis said, as a matter of fact, before resuming the drying of her hair with the towel.

  “Mom, please. They are responsible adults. Eric’s brother works at your hospital, so the people there will be doctors and nurses you know.”

  This made Hollis frown. “What’s his brother’s name?”

  she asked Vivienne.

  Vivienne looked at Karen before turning to Hollis, “Luke.

  Luke Sterling. Please, Mom. I really want to go. It would make me happy.”

  Hollis’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as she recognized the name. Interesting, she thought.

  “All right. Get your hair and makeup done, Karen. If Vivi is going, we are, too,” she said, as Karen and Vivienne jumped to hug Hollis, making her roll her eyes.

  VIVIENNE WAS a mix of nerves and excitement as she kept checking her outfit and make up.

  “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, sweetheart. Stop worrying so much,” Hollis called out to her, looking at Vivienne through the rearview mirror.

  The farmhouse was just outside the city. The car came to a stop as Hollis parked and they made their way to the door.

  They were welcomed by a uniformed maid, who served them drinks from a bar inside the door. The house was big and

  sprawling, and no expense had been spared on the interior decor.

  Hollis couldn’t help but glance at the fascinating portraits that hung from the walls. Not to mention the antique vases, carpets, and rugs sprawled on the floor. The place was magnificent.

  They made their way to another set of double doors. As those opened, a vast sea of people came into view. Heads turned to look at the newcomers.

  “Dr. Roman! I’m so glad you could make it. Thank you for coming. I’m honored,” a male voice exclaimed. They turned to see who it was.

  “Dr. Sterling!” Hollis said, then nodded and shook his hand. “This is my ex-wife, Karen, and my daughter, Vivienne. I believe she is a friend of your brother’s.”

  “Vivienne! I am enchanted to meet you,” Luke said, smiling and kissing Vivienne’s hand theatrically. “Eric speaks very fondly of you.”

  Luke Sterling was a handsome man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in an olive green t-shirt with black jeans and black leather combat boots—giving him a subtle bad-boy look that was also sophisticated.

  His girlfriend, Emma Brown, clung to his arm. She looked so much more glamorous here, than she did in the hospital.

  Together, they made a beautiful pair.

  “Hey, Vivienne,” came a voice. Vivienne turned around.

  “Hi, Eric,” she replied, meekly.

  Eric was dressed in a navy blue sweater and slacks, his black Nike sneakers completing the look. Eric’s hair was slicked to the side, but a few stray strands rested just above his blue eyes. His eyes took in Vivienne’s outfit and his ears went red, his smile widening. “I’m glad you could make it,”

  he said. “You look beautiful.”

  Upon hearing the compliment, Vivienne grabbed the hem of her skirt and blushed even more deeply, muttering a thank-you.

  Karen let out a chuckle, which drew the teenagers’

  attention. “Hello! You must be Eric,” she said. “I’m Karen, Vivienne’s mom. And this is Hollis, Vivienne’s other mom.”

  Eric shook Karen’s hand with a smile before moving on to Hollis. Hollis gave Eric’s hand a firm squeeze, making him wince. He knew now that Hollis was the overprotective mother. “Look after my baby girl, Eric,” Hollis exhorted.

  “You stay with her the whole evening. Make sure she has whatever she needs, and then bring her back to me later.

  Promise me? And Vivi will stay fully dressed throughout. No alcohol and definitely no drugs for either of you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Dr. Roman. Of course.” Eric blushed. “I’m a good boy; I promise. I’ll take the best care of her.”

  “OK, Vivi? You want to go with him?” Hollis asked, looking at Vivienne.

  “Yes, Mom, thank you. I trust him.”

  Karen smiled wryly at Hollis as Eric, bright red, took Vivienne’s hand and led her into the party.

  “NOW, this is something you don’t see every day,” a voice from behind Hollis said. She turned around to face the owner.

  “Ava Rodriguez,” Hollis replied, and nodded—her way of greeting people.

  Ava looked dazzling in skin-tight black jeans and a tight emerald-green silk top, her big breasts always threatening to escape.

  Does this woman always buy clothes at least one size too small? Hollis thought to herself, but she couldn’t take her eyes o Ava. Her body is like nothing I’ve ever seen.

  “I thought you were too busy to attend,” Ava said, as she cocked her head to the side, her wild dark hair even more windblown than usual.

  “Well, it turns out I wasn’t too busy, after all,” Hollis retorted, her eyes roaming Ava’s body with desire before meeting Ava’s deep, black ones.

  Ava smirked as she saw Hollis check her out. So—the great, important doctor wasn’t immune to her charms after all.“Your eyes match my top, Dr. Roman. Is that what you were thinking?” Ava said seductively. Hollis narrowed her eyes before Karen jumped into the middle of the silent staring contest between Ava and Hollis.

  “Oh, hello! I’m Karen, Hollis’s ex-wife and Vivienne’s other mother,” she said to Ava.

  Ava smiled widely at her and shook Karen’s hand. “I’m Ava. I’m a paramedic.”

  Karen immediately pulled her in for a hug. “Ava! I have heard all about you from Vivi. I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for my daughter. She is besotted with you.”

  “Ah, it was the least I could do. She is such a great kid.

  Being a teenage girl is tough at times.”

  Hollis stood there, watching the exchange between Ava and Karen. But because her eyes had a mind of their own, they were all over Ava’s body. Hollis was shocked at her sudden intense desire for the mouthy paramedic—her breasts spilling out of her green top and her ass in those tight jeans. Not to mention her dangerous black eyes and full lips.

  Hell, Roman. Pull yourself together. She’s got to be more than ten years younger than you.

  “Ava! Where have you been! I—” Lisa stopped what she was about to say and looked at Hollis and Karen.

  “Oh! Dr. Roman. It’s a surprise to see you here! Glad you could spare some time to attend the party,” Lisa said, looking at Hollis with a huge smile before greeting Karen.

  “Likewise. It’s a nice party. Thank you for the invitation,”

  Hollis replied, with a small twitch of her lips.

  Ava and Lisa moved o together, laughing, to get another drink.

  Hollis quietly followed Karen on her social mission.

  Hollis’s eyes kept straying across the party to Ava, however, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

  Ava was suddenly very aware how much the infamous Dr.

  Hollis Roman, with her intense forest-green gaze, desired her.

  15

  “Send the cut section away for biopsy and get me the reports quickly,” Katherine ordered a resident, as she went to change her operating gown.

  “Dr. Ross, what chemo regimen do you recommend for this patient?” Dr. Grace, another senior resident, asked Katherine, who was returning to her o ce.

  “The biopsy results aren’t back yet. I have ordered immunohistochemistry too. Its results can tell us the best drugs to use,” Katherine replied, her mind running fast to analyze the case.

  “But Doctor, it is looking bad, said Dr. Grace. “The patient is getting worse and the biopsy and test could take forever.

  We need to act. His heart is failing and there is fluid around both the pericardial and pleural space. At this rate, he may not even survive,” Dr. Grace worriedly informed Katherine.

  “It could be from the stress of the surgery,” said Katherine. “Although it was just a biopsy, and this sort of reaction is rare. Make sure he stabilizes, then reassess the history. I think we missed something,” Katherine ordered, then left.

  “Dr. Ross, the patient is stable for now, but the reports aren’t back yet and we still don’t know what caused the

  massive heart attack. We are running out of time and he may not survive another heart attack. Should we call Dr. Hollis for a medicine consult?” Dr. Grace asked, her expression worried.

  “Just because I am a surgeon doesn’t mean I don’t also understand medicine and diagnostics, Dr. Grace,” Katherine snapped at the woman, not liking how Hollis was worshipped around the hospital. “We will solve the case on our own,” she replied with resolve. “Did you get anything from the history?” Katherine asked Dr. Grace, after taking a calming breath.

  “Nothing significant. The guy is a CEO and has had regular checkups. No foreign travels, no history of cancer in the family, not even heart disease. The wife said that he spent a month in Chicago recently, but nothing outside the U.S.,” Dr. Grace reported.

  “Okay, we need to act. Start him on chemo and do a PET

  scan for Mets,” Katherine ordered.

  “DR. ROSS, the patient is worse now. He had a tamponade.

  We had to do an emergency pericardiocentesis to drain out all the fluid. Also, the PET scan is clean, so we were wrong about cancer,” Dr. Grace said, looking through the patient’s reports. The day had passed, but the mystery remained unsolved.

  “What looks like cancer, but isn’t?” Katherine mused, before jumping out of her chair, “It’s tuberculosis!” she answered her own question, her eyes lighting up.

  “But Dr. Ross, we did test TB. It was negative, and besides

  —he is a millionaire. How could he have gotten it?” Dr.

  Grace asked, ba ed.

  “He could not have gotten it here, but what if he’s been lying? The test could be a false negative,” Katherine said, persistent.

  “Even if it is TB, a ecting the heart is rare. We have no proof. How do you think he got it?” Dr. Grace argued.

  “The one-month retreat you mentioned was not in Chicago. I don’t know where he went, but it was definitely somewhere outside the country. And no matter how rare a thing is, it becomes reality once it is happening in front of your eyes,” Katherine explained, talking about her theory as Grace listened intently, occasionally nodding her head.

  “As for proof, the patient will tell us himself,” she continued, as the two moved through the ward and arrived at the patient’s bedside.

  “I know you are lying, Mr. Mason. You were never in Chicago.” Katherine said directly, her grey eyes firm, her voice dripping with authority as the man squirmed.

  “What.. what are you talking about, Doctor? Why would I lie about that?” Mr. Mason replied, his expression now angry.

  “Look, I don’t have time for this. If you don’t tell the truth, you could die,” Katherine said. “I don’t care what you were doing. Just tell me where you were.” Katherine was fierce as her eyes bored into the patient’s.

  “We have a theory that you have tuberculosis, and that you got it from foreign travel, since it’s virtually eradicated from the area where you currently live,” Grace said with a nod, urging the patient to tell the truth.

  “Okay I . . . I will tell you, but you cannot tell my wife, please. I was feeling miserable here—just couldn’t take it anymore. So I went to India, to a famous ashram my friend went to. I just wanted to be at peace. I love my wife, but she can be a little unbearable at times. Please don’t tell her; it will break her,” Mason pleaded, his eyes getting glassy.

  “Relax. We don’t have to tell your wife. She won’t find out

  —I will see to that,” Katherine promised, relieved.

  “Grace, start the anti-TB regimen and do not document it,” she ordered before leaving.

  “HEY, honey. How did the session go with Dr. Blackwell?”

  Hollis asked Vivienne as she entered the living room.

  “It was okay, Mom. He gave me some pictures and asked me about the first word that came to my mind.” Vivienne gave her the details. “Isn’t this bag Karen’s? When did she come back?” Vivienne asked, recognizing the bag.

  “She just got back while you were at the therapist’s,”

  Hollis informed Vivienne.

  “Hi, sweetie! Sorry that I had some paperwork to finish, but nothing to worry about now. I have taken time o work and I’m going to stay here for a while.” Karen’s voice grew louder and clearer as she moved into the room . Vivienne nodded. The three were quiet for a while, with Karen settling next to Hollis on the couch.

  “Mom . . .” Vivienne said, after a minute of silence. The two women directed their attention toward her. “Can I come with you to work tomorrow, and visit Ava?” Vivienne asked Hollis, her eyes hopeful. Karen looked surprised as she stared back and forth between Hollis’s stern gaze and Vivienne’s hopeful one.

  “Didn’t you have some assignments to do?” Hollis replied, her voice hard.

  “I’ll finish them all tonight if I can come and see Ava tomorrow!” Vivienne said, jubilant. She wasn’t giving up. “I want to see Ava, Mom. She asked me to show her the sketches I made. She said she’s my friend,” Vivienne continued, looking down at the floor.

  “She isn’t your age, honey. Maybe she just said that to be polite. She has a lot of work to do. A paramedic is a very busy person,” Hollis persisted, trying to end the conversation.

  “But Mom!” Vivienne stopped midway as if thinking of a counterargument. “I . . . I like her. Ava meant it. I know she did. It will be nice to see her again. And I will just wait until she gets a b- b- break or something,” Vivienne stuttered.

  “Why don’t you go see Eric after school?” Hollis suggested. “You two can do your assignments together. You are partners in English, aren’t you?” Vivienne blushed at the mention of Eric, but didn’t give up on her request to see Ava.

  “I see him every day, Mom! He is literally in my school.

  And . . . and I’ll go see him on the weekend for the project, but I really would like to see Ava. She helped me. She really did! She saved me. Not literally—I know the cuts weren’t deep enough for . . . you know . . .” Vivienne looked awkwardly at her still-bandaged left wrist. “But, in some ways, honestly, Ava gave me hope,” she protested. Karen looked sympathetically between Vivienne and Hollis.

  “Look, darling, I don’t want to argue, but you cannot go see Ava now. Besides, being in a hospital can stress your mind. And that’s final.” Hollis was stern, although she didn’t want to be. Vivienne went to her room, as she often did as a sign of protest.

  “Hollis, come on. Ava makes our daughter happy, and she may well have saved her life,” Karen said, rolling her eyes and making Hollis look at her by nudging her with an elbow.

  “I’m serious, Karen. I just don’t want Vivienne around her.” But Hollis knew deep down that this wasn’t about Vivienne. This had to do with her own issues about how overcome the animalistic lust she’d felt for Ava at that party.

  Hollis absolutely couldn’t allow that to happen at the hospital. She had to remain professional.

  “Hollis, we both know how rarely Vivienne talks to anyone, let alone liking them. If Vivienne wants to see Ava, then why not let her?” Karen still didn’t understand why Hollis was making a big deal out of it. “And from what I’ve heard so far, Ava seems like a good person. If anything, she might help Vivienne come out of her shell. You know that Vivienne isn’t responding as well as she should to the therapy,” Karen finished, her tone concerned.

  “Because . . .” Hollis sighed, running a hand through her hair before continuing, “When I watch Vivienne—my Vivienne—bond with Ava, I feel like it’s my fault that I don’t have a bond like that with her. I feel terrible, like I am not good enough to be a mother. I know Vivienne isn’t doing as well as she should be in therapy, but I just feel so angry with myself when I see that there’s someone Vivienne is more comfortable with than her own mother,” Hollis ended, fists clenching at her sides.

  “Oh, so you are jealous of Ava!” Karen snorted. Hollis’s eyes darkened. “Oh, my god! You like her, don’t you? You like like Ava? The same feisty paramedic who solved that case with you? You did tell me about her. My, my. She challenged you and that’s exactly what’s gotten you so on-edge with her. I know damn well that you love women who call you on your bullshit, Hollis. Women who aren’t intimidated by you and your reputation. And, she is hella attractive,” Karen smirked, knowing her words were true.

  “I am serious, Karen!” Hollis’s voice rang through the room.

  Karen rolled her eyes, used to Hollis’s anger. “No, really!

  You behave like a stubborn teenager when you start liking someone. I guess Vivienne got it from you,” Karen commented, then sighed.

  “Look, Hollis,” she began, “Vivienne is finally comfortable with someone. Just because you can’t quite

  decide if you hate her or want to fuck her, that doesn’t mean you should forbid Vivienne from seeing her. That’s not how this works. Just give it a chance. You’ve seen Vivi’s face light up when she talks about Ava. I’m sure the friendship will be better for you and Vivienne. I need my baby to be happy. We need her happy, because if she’s happy, we’re happy,” Karen told Hollis, looking straight into her eyes, her hand firmly gripping Hollis’s own.

  “I do not have a crush on that annoying paramedic. And I am not . . . okay, maybe I am a little jealous of her. I just want Vivienne to be happy and to look at me the way she looks at Ava,” Hollis confessed.

  “Look! Here you are, behaving like a spoiled child, and you know it. You know damn well that I’m here to call you out on your bullshit. Pay attention to how many times you said ‘I’ in this conversation.”