His Alone (First Loves Duet Book 2) Read online

  His Alone

  First Loves Duet, Book 2

  Mia Madison

  His Alone

  First Loves, A Duet (Book 2 of 2)

  Copyright © 2020 by Mia Madison.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  I can do this. I might not have any job experience, but I totally nailed the interview. I’m confident. I’m independent. I can do this!

  “There she is! Hey, new blood!”

  Oh, crap. I can’t do this.

  I whipped around just in time to see a woman at least twice my age rushing down the hall, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. A younger woman trailed behind her at a slower pace, shaking her head as she laughed.

  The older woman reached me first, offering her hand as she said, “Welcome, welcome! You must be Piper. I’m Clara. We typically work in pairs here, so I wanted to at least introduce myself today. Starting tomorrow, you’re stuck with me.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said with a laugh. I turned to greet the younger woman, but she was toddling behind a little slower than I expected. That was when I realized how much her scrubs protruded around her stomach. “Oh…. Hi. Are you Emily?”

  The girl nodded. “Yep. And you’re my replacement, right?”

  “That’s me.”

  “Well, you’ll love it here. I know I have.”

  The other woman looked down at her watch and cursed, wishing me a good first day and promising to catch up with me later. She darted away and I was left alone with Emily. All I could do was give her a nervous smile as I clasped my hands together.

  “I, uh… I didn’t think I’d get to meet you. I thought your last day was last week?”

  “It was, but I convinced my boss to let me come in one more day to walk you through the routine,” she said, gesturing for me to follow her. She stopped after a few steps, putting her hands on her stomach and groaning before turning to me with a wry smile. “I thought a slower pace would be better for your first day. And believe me—it’s going to be slow.”

  As promised, Emily led me through her daily routine at a glacial pace that gave me plenty of time to absorb the information. When lunch rolled around and we sat down at a table in the break room, I used the opportunity to thank her.

  “Thank you for everything. I’m sure you can tell how nervous I am. This is my first job. Well, unless you count babysitting.”

  Emily stopped fighting with her pudding cup to stare at me with narrowed eyes as she said, “Hey, you’re talking to a pregnant woman. You can’t mention babysitting without giving me your phone number and rates. Don’t laugh! I’m totally serious.”

  “Well, if this goes south, I might have to take you up on that,” I said, only half-joking. “Any chance you’d be interested in a full-time nanny?”

  Emily gave me a sympathetic smile and said, “This wasn’t my first job, but working a cash register didn’t exactly give me the experience to prepare for this. But you have to remember that you were taught all you needed to know in school. All you have to do now is figure out how to apply that to this job at this hospital. Trust me—you’re going to get into the swing of things in a couple of weeks and forget that you were ever nervous about it.”

  “That seems unlikely, but I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  “You don’t have to, but you should. Seriously. There’s no reason to be nervous. And Clara is great to work with. She’ll watch your back.”

  I nodded and picked at my sandwich, managing to each half of it while Emily tore through everything in front of her. When she was done and pouted down at her empty plate, I offered her the other half of my PB&J, which she accepted after very little prodding.

  “Thanks. I swear, I’ve never been so hungry in my entire life. It’s nuts.”

  “I can only imagine. How soon are you due?”

  “I’ve got just under three weeks left. I wanted to work up until my due date but being on my feet all day was starting to take a toll.”

  “And how long is your maternity leave?”

  Emily snorted around a mouthful of food, taking the time to wash it down with a sip of water before she said, “Don’t worry. They won’t kick you out if I come back. I asked just to be sure.”

  I waited for her to elaborate, but she was focused on finishing the last bit of the sandwich and organizing the trash on our plates to take to the garbage can.

  “If you come back?”

  She froze and I immediately regretted asking. She seemed to be thinking something over and I got the distinct impression that she’d been thinking about it long before I brought it up. Just as I was about to backtrack to avoid any awkwardness, she spoke.

  “The length of my leave has yet to be determined. I… might not come back at all. I haven’t decided yet.”

  She seemed almost ashamed to be saying the words, glancing down at the two rings on her finger while her other hand absent-mindedly touched her stomach. In an instant, I was nine years old again, sitting in my aunt’s kitchen with a juice box as she tried to explain to my mother why she was giving up her career to focus on motherhood full-time.

  My mother hadn’t taken it well, but no one could argue that my cousins didn’t come up well. Their parents were a constant, supportive presence in their lives while I barely ever saw my own. While I was grateful for them both and everything they did for me, it would have been nice to have them around more. To have them available once in a while to attend school functions like my aunt did for her children. At least she only lived a few doors down. Most of the motherly advice I’d gotten in my teenage years came from her.

  “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to focus on parenting for a while,” I said carefully, hoping that I wouldn’t offend her. “What does your husband think?”

  “He’s happy if I’m happy. He’ll support me no matter what I choose—there’s no question about that. I’m just… not entirely sure what I want.”

  “You’re lucky. To have someone that supports you completely,” I said wistfully. “I hope to find a man like that someday.”

  “Bad breakup?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “But you are single?”

  “For twenty-one years now,” I admitted with a little reluctance. “Just waiting for the right person, you know?”

  “Believe me—I know exactly where you’re coming from.”

  She gave me a knowing smile before she started to rise from the table. I snatched the plates before she had a chance, carrying them to the trash can and returning to find her shaking her head at me. We’d known each other for less than a day, but she somehow already felt like an old friend.

  “I’m not an invalid, you know.”

  “I know that. Just trying to be helpful.”

  She grunted in response. We still had a few minutes left of lunch, so I sat patiently at the table and watched while she stood to stretch her back and roll her nec
k and shoulders.

  “Do I make pregnancy look like a super fun time?” she asked when she noticed me watching. “Because if you think so—you should probably have your eyes examined.”

  I started to laugh, but the sound died off when another presence entered the break room. A man I hadn’t met yet—a doctor, judging by the outfit—looked directly in Emily’s direction and made a beeline straight for her.

  I froze. He was gorgeous, the kind of attractive that was usually reserved for the glossy pages of magazines or the television screen, and I instantly felt my body react to him in a way that it never had before. It was insane how fast my heart and body decided they wanted him.

  But the way he focused on Emily…

  In a moment of sheer terror, I wondered if this man was her husband. He gave her a fond hug when he reached her, but there didn’t seem to be any passion in the embrace.

  Not that I really knew what passion looked like.

  “Clara said you were in today. How are you feeling?”

  “Like a whale, thanks for asking.”

  “Well, you look lovely,” he said, chuckling when she rolled her eyes.

  “If you say so. Have you met my replacement yet?” She gestured to me when he shook his head. “Piper Davis, this is Dr. James Reynolds. James, Piper, yada, yada. You both know the drill.”

  When I met his eyes for the first time, my breath caught in my throat and my heart raced. Love at first sight, maybe? I’d always written off the idea, but I couldn’t deny that something was happening to me. Maybe there was some truth to the theory after all.

  At least I didn’t seem to be alone. James appeared to be glued to the spot, frozen in stunned silence just as I was. I could practically feel Emily looking back and forth between us, but I couldn’t look away from his lovely green eyes long enough to check. I was hypnotized.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he said as he offered me a hand. When they touched, I felt a shiver race up my spine. “Piper, was it? That’s an interesting name.”

  “Thanks… I think. I mean, I guess it’s a pretty decent name. I, uh… I’ve gotten along with it pretty well for a while now. No complaints.”

  Holy crap. Kill me now. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut? I noticed Emily moving to hide behind James, her mouth covered with her hand to stop herself from laughing. I couldn’t even be mad about it. Thirty seconds in and I was already making a fool out of myself.

  James just smiled though, ignoring my nervous chatter as his eyes crinkled at the corners.

  “It was intended as a compliment. I like it.”

  “Oh. That’s good. I mean—thank you.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I liked his name as well—along with literally every other part of him I could see—but I managed to clench my jaw tight enough to stop the words from spilling out. I didn’t want to make myself look like even more of a basket case than I already had.

  His pager beeped and he glanced down with a curse before he started to back toward the door, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I got to run, but I guess we’ll be seeing each other around from now on.”

  “Oh, definitely. Because we both work here. So, I’ll be around, and you’ll be around. And… Yeah.”

  What is wrong with me?

  “Right,” he replied with a laugh. “Well, I’m sure I’ll see you soon. And Emily? Call me if you need anything.”

  “Will do.”

  He cast me a final smoldering glance before heading out the door, yelling over his shoulder, “Have a good day, ladies!”

  Silence descended once again. I was too embarrassed to even look over at Emily, though I could feel her watching me. My cheeks continued to burn as I struggled to work up the nerve to turn to her. When I finally did, I immediately regretted it.

  “Well, that was awkward. Seriously—just… wow,” Emily said with a wide, amused grin. “I am so glad I was here to see that.”

  “Thank you for making my mortification complete,” I muttered bitterly, though it was directed more at myself than it was at her. “I don’t know what happened. I just couldn’t stop my stupid mouth from moving.”

  “I know. I saw the whole thing, remember?” She paused and gave me a weird look like she was considering something before she finally added, “He’s single, you know. Wide open.”

  “Why are you telling me that?”

  “Oh, please. Ignoring the awkward conversation, you looked at him the same way I used to look at my husband before we finally got together. You can’t fool me.”

  “Do you think he noticed?”

  “Him? Come on, Piper. He’s a man. Despite what they may think, they aren’t exactly great at figuring out women—especially ones they just met. Of course he didn’t notice.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure I just made the world’s worst first impression, so I’m going to cut my losses now.”

  “I don’t know… I could see it happening. Don’t give up hope just yet.”

  “Oh yeah? And what makes you say that?”

  Emily smiled. “Because he was giving you the exact same look that you were giving him, and you didn’t even notice.”

  Chapter 2

  Despite Emily’s assurance, my first few weeks of work didn’t give me any reason to believe that James had any interest in me. I saw him a few times in the halls—paying extra attention to check for this supposed look he gave me—but I got nothing more from him than a polite smile. He hadn’t even tried to speak to me, though word around the hospital gave me the impression that he was incredibly busy.

  I decided to focus on getting into the swing of things. Emily had been right about that part. After two weeks of working with Clara, I felt much more secure about the position and my ability to do the job.

  Still… it was the thought of running into James that put me in a good mood every morning, only to end up disappointed when the days ended with no interaction. In bed at night, I wondered if I took up even a fraction of the space in his thoughts that he did in mine.

  I didn’t even know the man, but I couldn’t deny that I was completely obsessed with him. When my first month of work wrapped up and I still couldn’t shake my thoughts of him despite not having spoken again, I decided it had gotten out of hand. I needed to stop my pointless pining.

  Maybe I would have been able to if James hadn’t come barging into the break room the following Monday just as I was about to bite into my sandwich.

  “Hey. I was looking for you.”

  “Oh… Why?”

  He raised the paper bag he was holding and asked, “Can I join you for lunch?”

  Nothing on earth would have made me turn him down.

  “Of course!” I replied, closing my eyes at how shrill my tone came out.

  Smooth.

  James smiled as he sat down and I knew I was done for. There’d be no letting go of my crush or obsession or whatever this thing I felt for him was. RIP to the potential dating life I could have had until I met James. I couldn’t imagine ever being so enamored with another man. Before him, I couldn’t have imagined feeling like this at all.

  It was clear that he didn’t have much time to eat. I watched with rapt attention as he devoured a chicken sandwich while I nibbled at my own, knowing I still had at least twenty minutes left on my break. He pulled another sandwich from the bag and tore through it just as fast as the first, finishing off his meal with a few large gulps from his water bottle before leaning back with a satisfied sigh.

  “Did you even taste it?”

  “Sort of. What I did taste of it was delicious.”

  “Do you always eat that fast?”

  “I tend to eat fast when I’m on the clock, but that was a little faster than normal. I wanted to have a few minutes to talk to you. How are you liking it here so far?”

  With a great deal of effort, I forced myself to stick to short sentences. The last thing I wanted was to start babbling again and really make him think that I was some kind of c
razy person.

  “It’s nice. No complaints.”

  “That’s good to hear. Sorry I haven’t had the chance to catch up with you yet. Things have been crazy lately.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. I understand.”

  “Did anyone tell you about the company holiday party next weekend?”

  “Are you kidding? Clara hasn’t stopped talking about it. She’s been telling me all sorts of stories about the last few. Sounds like they get pretty wild.”

  James nodded, green eyes sparkling as he laughed. “They can, but everyone tends to split off into different groups after the official part is over. The wild factor depends on which group you end up with. Are you going?”

  “I don’t know… I’m not much of a partier,” I admitted, though it felt like the understatement of the year. “Even if I did go, I’m the type that would probably leave after the official stuff was over. I’m pretty boring.”

  “I highly doubt you’re boring,” James said seriously, his eyes staring directly into mine. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with not being a partier. I haven’t stayed past the official parts for a few years now—I’ve even considered skipping them altogether. I’d rather be at home.”

  “Me too. I’m an introvert to the core.”

  “Something we have in common.”

  I found it hard to believe a man like James was an introvert. When I told him that, he just laughed and shook his head.

  “The way I act professionally isn’t an accurate reflection of how I act personally. In reality, I’m not a fan of going out or meeting new people or any of that. I feel like I talk to people enough at work all day. By the time I’m done, I just want to relax and not worry about putting on a show for someone I barely know. That make sense?”