Noah knew he was brooding again. Thankfully, he was on the opposite schedule from May and Derek wasn't in the ED very much. He didn't want to hear their comments.

The way his mother tried to manipulate things with Brenna annoyed him, but he couldn't be mad at her. His guilt would eat at him if he was angry with his mother. The voice in his head kept saying what if something happened to her?

Noah was also mad at himself. His emotions were worse than a rollercoaster. One minute, he enjoyed waking up with her, and the next, he was jealous because she said Greg was good looking. He told her that  her body was his, like he was a Neanderthal. His head was screwing him over.

Three nights, he spent alone flipping through channels and going to bed early. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore. He was mad at himself for missing her, and he felt lost after only three nights apart. She had a magic spell over him.

The minute he saw her they kissed and he bit back the words he missed her. She probably knew. He was beginning to think she could read his mind.

Noah should have left after she fell asleep, but he didn't want to get dressed and walk home. He pulled her close and held her. Afterall, he was off the next day. When he woke to her alarm, she was still in his arms.

She reached over to hit snooze. "Good morning."

"I was too tired to walk home."

"I don't mind, but I don't have a lot of time. I should have set my alarm for earlier."

"I can be quick." Her laugh echoed in his chest.

After she showered, he sat on her bed and watched as she chose a dress from her closet and put it on. He jumped up to pull up her zipper.

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek.

It took all his self control to not grab her, but he got dressed too.

On the sidewalk, she kissed his cheek. "See ya."

He waved and turned toward home. He could get used to waking up and watching her dress and kissing her goodbye. Fear gripped him. He instantly thought about staying away, but it was a Thursday and she'd be away all weekend. His confusion continued from one week to the next and Brenna never commented. Did she miss him? She was always glad to see him.

His mother had been busy all summer fixing up the house and putting it up for sale. "Sweetheart, I found the perfect condo. I'm excited. It's in town so I'll be close to help with Olivia."

"That's good, Ma." The old house was full of memories — memories hurt.

"Sweetie, Bill's selling his house too."

"But. But you haven't been dating very long." His life was changing, and he felt out of control.

"He's a good man, and he makes me happy. It's okay for us to be happy."

"Do you love him like you did...?"

"Sweetheart, I will never love anyone the way I loved your father. We love people differently. I loved you and your brother equally, but differently. You two were not the same. You were always more sensitive. Dec liked everyone, but you were selective. You were loyal to those you chose. You will be that way with love."

"Ma, don't."

"Don't what? Brenna's a nice girl."

"I have to go. I love you." He hung up without hearing her reply.

Noah swapped his schedule so he worked the day before Brenna's party. His rented a tux hung at his house, but he was apprehensive. Meeting her family was a big deal, and he wasn't ready. He had gone to grab lunch, when he came back overheard Mark.

"Call Dr. Reilly!"

"What's going on?"

A nurse said, "EMTs just brought in his daughter."

His heart started pounding. "Where!" He had never yelled at a nurse before.

"Six. She's Mark's patient."

He ran to the room. "Bren..." He stopped. It wasn't Brenna. The young woman in the bed had wavy auburn hair.

Her voice was weak. "Noah?"

"Yeah." He looked at the ultrasound screen. He turned to his boss.

"I've got this Gentry. Surgery's coming."

"Call Bren, please," she groaned.

"I will. Mia, you'll be fine." He squeezed her hand and left.

He was certain he had gray hair, after he assumed it was Brenna and catastrophic. Noah could list a the complications related to appendicitis, but most were rare.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and already had a text from Brenna. On my way. Keep her safe.

He had patients of his own. Thankfully, they were all routine and not serious. Noah saw Dr. Reilly arrive, but he didn't see Brenna. By the time he went by room six, it was empty. He knew she was in surgery.

When his shift finally ended, he went up to check on Mia. He passed Derek in the hallway.

"Your girlfriend is here."

He ignored his comment. "Did you do the...?"

"Yup. Went like clockwork. She'll be sore."

He nodded. As he approached the room, he saw it was full of people. Brenna looked up at him. He waited by the door. When she walked past him, he followed.

"I heard it went well. I just passed Derek."

She nodded. "I like him a lot more than when I first met him."

"He's a good doctor. How are you?" He took her hand and squeezed it before letting go.

"Better now. She got out of the party. She doesn't like them, which is strange, because she's the romantic."

He smiled. He wanted to get out of the party but not bad enough to have surgery. "How long are you staying?"

She shrugged. "Aidan and Sage just got here."

"And you worried about being unnoticed and dying."

She looked into his eyes. "Not anymore. You would find me."

He shook his head and smiled "When I heard Dr. Reilly's daughter, I thought it was you."

She nodded. "But look at me. I'm fine."

"I know. Can I wait and walk you home?"

She smiled. "I'll go say goodbye."

Did Mia tell her he went running into the room calling out her name? Brenna returned and together they left the hospital and walked side by side.

"How long was it bothering her?"

"It was sudden. She was at work. Now she's embarrassed, because it's a new job. Being taken out on a stretcher is not cool."

"She doesn't look like you at all."

Brenna smiled. "She complains about it all the time. I don't have freckles. I have straight hair. She is beautiful and doesn't realize it."

"Do you?"

"What? Think I am? No, I'm plain except for my eyes."

Noah shook his head. "There is nothing plain about you."

"Sage thinks you're handsome. She peeked out at you after I explained you'd walk me home."

When they reached her apartment, she collapsed on the sofa. Pepper climbed up and nudged her head into her. "I know, baby. You're hungry."

"I'm starving." He smirked at her.

She shook her head. "I was talking to my cat. Will you order something while I feed him and change?"

He ordered a pizza and turned on the television. He flipped through channels and stopped on the ballgame. She returned wearing shorts, and he stared at her long legs.

"Sage said we can dress at her house. She wants me to have my hair done with her. She has a room for us, if we want to stay over."

"I have to work on Sunday morning, but you can stay."

She shrugged. "We'll see." The doorbell rang. "That was quick!"

Instead of the pizza, a couple walked in. Noah sat with the cat on his lap and his shoes off. Did he look too comfortable in her apartment?

Brenna asked, "What are you two doing here?"

The man said, "We were around the corner so..."

"Noah, this is my brother Aidan and his better half, Sage."

Noah reached out and shook Aidan's hand. "So Bren tells us you two are just friends."

"Yup." He continued to run his hand up and down Pepper's sleek back.

"Bren, I thought you only attracted losers."

"Aidan!" Sage looked angry.

"I said Ashley tried to set me up with a loser."

"What about Molly?"

Brenna laughed. "I said he wasn't my type. He wasn't a loser when he cut into our sister today."

Noah snickered.

Sage stared at Brenna. "The surgeon with the shaved head! How could he not be your type!"

"Hey Princess! I'm right here."

The doorbell rang again and Brenna rushed to the door. Noah felt awkward with her brother looking at him. "I just ordered a pizza."

Brenna returned. "Guys, I'd invite you to stay, but we don't have enough."

"Bren, he must be all right, your psycho cat likes him."

"My cat isn't psycho!" Aidan reached his hand out toward Pepper and he hissed. "He's just a good judge of character."

"I have a good character!"

"Come on Aidan. We shouldn't have intruded." She looked at Noah. "Sorry, but Aidan had to be a nosy brother. We'll see you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you."

Noah moved the cat off his lap and stood up. He shook Aidan's hand and watched as the two women hugged.

"Come on, Princess. Our car awaits."

Noah looked out the window. There was a black town car waiting at the curb. He watched as the two of them climbed into the backseat.

"Is your brother rich, too?"

"No, but he has a good job on Wall Street."

"They had a car waiting."

"I know it's crazy, but that's how Sage lives. They went from the airport to the hospital. They fly up for the weekend a lot."

"Why did I agree to go to this party?"

He grabbed a piece of pizza and took a bite. It was warm, and the tangy sauce was delicious.

"Because I went to your house and let your mother fawn all over me."

"Don't remind me. She's moving in with Bill."

Brenna put her arm around him. "I know this isn't easy."

She read his mind.  

Poor Pepper, the most hated cat on Wattpad.  He doesn't like green eyes 💚

Thanks for reading and voting ⭐️