you and want to put my arms around you right now.”
Katherine swallowed a lump in her throat at the sound of his voice. “I wish that could happen, mon amour , but you are with me all the time. I never remove the bracelet you gave me— jamais —and it helps me feel you are here.”
There was an electric silence for a moment before Katherine continued. “There’s good news about Molly. The doctors say the swelling in her brain has lessened dramatically. They may begin to waken her in a day or so. Hopefully . . .”
She could hear Philippe blow out a sigh of relief.
“Oh . . . and Nick is here!”
“Incroyable!” Philippe exclaimed. “He is unbelievable. He called me yesterday. Tim e-mailed when I got back from Paris to see what had happened with the whole situation with Dimitri and Idelle. I told him about Molly’s accident and he told Nick.”
There was a pause before he continued. “And now Nick’s there! He didn’t mention he was going to Toronto.”
“That’s something, isn’t it? He was just in New York, though, so . . . not so far . . .” She told him what the doctor had said to Nick about Molly and that they all agreed she could not be in a better place.
“Nick’s reading to Molly right now. The staff think the sounds of our voices help her subconscious.”
“Should I look into flights?” Katherine sensed a new urgency in his words as he continued. “I have meetings with Didier and his crew tomorrow; you will be very excited when I tell you how plans on our villa restoration are progressing! I should be able to come to Toronto in two or three days. D’accord? ”
Kat was shocked at her hesitation. “Maybe not yet. There’s nothing to do but sit here in the hospital. Stay and take care of things there for now.”
Philippe’s voice became softer and deeper. “These few days without you have been longer than I might have imagined. You’ve become such a part of me.”
Katherine pressed the phone to her ear as the warmth of those words spread through her. The tone of Philippe’s voice, the way he expressed his feelings, and that very sexy French accent always thrilled her.
“I feel the same. It’s just not the right time to come,” she replied, her voice heavy with indecision.
There was an uneasy silence before she continued. “Hold on and I’ll put Nick on the phone. I miss you. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She took the phone in to Nick and he left the room for several minutes. When he came back, he handed Kat her phone and said, “Philippe is one hell of a decent bloke.”
“No question,” she replied, feeling upset with herself over her less than satisfying conversation with him.
The nurses told them it was a good time to leave for the evening.
Katherine described to Nick how the staff would turn Molly and prepare her for the night. One of the nurses smiled when Kat motioned to the narrow glass vase on the table next to Molly’s bed. “We’re still trying to see if we can solve the red-rose mystery.”
Katherine gave her a thumbs-up as she reached for her coat and scarf. Nick helped Kat on with her coat. “Meaning?”
She explained, “Each morning since Molly’s been here, a fresh rose is placed in that vase and we have no idea how. No one is allowed in at night.”
A nurse interjected, “We monitor everything and the only people coming in here at night, apart from medical staff, are the clergy. Rabbis, ministers, priests, imams, pastors—we get them all. They come to pray and offer comfort and are in and out at unusual hours. God doesn’t have to worry about visiting hours.”
The hospital was a few minutes around the corner from the office where Katherine had spent the last fifteen years of her professional life. She knew exactly where they should go for dinner. The family-run Casa Mia was a welcoming trattoria and the food was guaranteed to please.
Nick put his arm around Kat’s shoulder, with an exaggerated shiver, and pulled her close as they
Katherine swallowed a lump in her throat at the sound of his voice. “I wish that could happen, mon amour , but you are with me all the time. I never remove the bracelet you gave me— jamais —and it helps me feel you are here.”
There was an electric silence for a moment before Katherine continued. “There’s good news about Molly. The doctors say the swelling in her brain has lessened dramatically. They may begin to waken her in a day or so. Hopefully . . .”
She could hear Philippe blow out a sigh of relief.
“Oh . . . and Nick is here!”
“Incroyable!” Philippe exclaimed. “He is unbelievable. He called me yesterday. Tim e-mailed when I got back from Paris to see what had happened with the whole situation with Dimitri and Idelle. I told him about Molly’s accident and he told Nick.”
There was a pause before he continued. “And now Nick’s there! He didn’t mention he was going to Toronto.”
“That’s something, isn’t it? He was just in New York, though, so . . . not so far . . .” She told him what the doctor had said to Nick about Molly and that they all agreed she could not be in a better place.
“Nick’s reading to Molly right now. The staff think the sounds of our voices help her subconscious.”
“Should I look into flights?” Katherine sensed a new urgency in his words as he continued. “I have meetings with Didier and his crew tomorrow; you will be very excited when I tell you how plans on our villa restoration are progressing! I should be able to come to Toronto in two or three days. D’accord? ”
Kat was shocked at her hesitation. “Maybe not yet. There’s nothing to do but sit here in the hospital. Stay and take care of things there for now.”
Philippe’s voice became softer and deeper. “These few days without you have been longer than I might have imagined. You’ve become such a part of me.”
Katherine pressed the phone to her ear as the warmth of those words spread through her. The tone of Philippe’s voice, the way he expressed his feelings, and that very sexy French accent always thrilled her.
“I feel the same. It’s just not the right time to come,” she replied, her voice heavy with indecision.
There was an uneasy silence before she continued. “Hold on and I’ll put Nick on the phone. I miss you. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She took the phone in to Nick and he left the room for several minutes. When he came back, he handed Kat her phone and said, “Philippe is one hell of a decent bloke.”
“No question,” she replied, feeling upset with herself over her less than satisfying conversation with him.
The nurses told them it was a good time to leave for the evening.
Katherine described to Nick how the staff would turn Molly and prepare her for the night. One of the nurses smiled when Kat motioned to the narrow glass vase on the table next to Molly’s bed. “We’re still trying to see if we can solve the red-rose mystery.”
Katherine gave her a thumbs-up as she reached for her coat and scarf. Nick helped Kat on with her coat. “Meaning?”
She explained, “Each morning since Molly’s been here, a fresh rose is placed in that vase and we have no idea how. No one is allowed in at night.”
A nurse interjected, “We monitor everything and the only people coming in here at night, apart from medical staff, are the clergy. Rabbis, ministers, priests, imams, pastors—we get them all. They come to pray and offer comfort and are in and out at unusual hours. God doesn’t have to worry about visiting hours.”
The hospital was a few minutes around the corner from the office where Katherine had spent the last fifteen years of her professional life. She knew exactly where they should go for dinner. The family-run Casa Mia was a welcoming trattoria and the food was guaranteed to please.
Nick put his arm around Kat’s shoulder, with an exaggerated shiver, and pulled her close as they
Similar Books
