The Billionaire's Christmas Wish Read online

  But he certainly hadn’t expected her to smash it to smithereens.

  “That picture has been in the frame ever since she gave it to me. I never saw what was on the back of it.”

  He’d never looked on the other side of it?

  Don’t cry, Madison.

  “I am so sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He climbed to his feet and held out his hand. “I’ll get the rest of it tomorrow.”

  She let him help her up and looked down at the photo. “She loved you very much.”

  “Yes.” He didn’t say anything for a long minute. “She died a week after this picture was taken. Just before Christmas. It was still wrapped and under the tree.”

  An image of a devastated Theo sitting under that tree and opening those presents by himself sent a stab of pain that was as sharp as any piece of glass twisting through her. “What happened?”

  “Drunk driver. I was working. Just like I always was.” He walked around to the front of his desk, leaving her to follow him. “We’d planned to share this office once the hospital was up and running. She never got a chance to do that, though. She gave up everything to sit at home and wait for me.”

  Madison frowned. “I’m sure she didn’t think of it like that. She looks very happy in that picture.”

  He picked it up and studied it. “Does she? I can’t tell anymore. I can’t even really picture her without the use of a photograph. I keep them up for Ivy’s sake.”

  But not for his own? Did it hurt to see her face staring at him day after day? He’d changed—his face maturing into hard, craggy lines of determination. Did he wonder what she would look like five years later? Or was she forever immortalized as young and beautiful? And hopeful?

  Ivy talked about her father being sad. And Madison could see why.

  “Let me replace the frame.”

  “I’ll get one tomorrow. It’s not a problem.”

  Maybe not for him. But it was for her. Her stupidity had evidently unleashed a dam of pain he’d had walled up inside him. He’d never even seen that inscription before? What a tragic situation. And now the daughter in that picture was sick, and possibly fighting for her life. And just like with the death of his wife, Theo probably felt helpless to change anything.

  So that meant it was up to her. She had to find a reason for Ivy’s weakness so they could take measures to reverse it, or at least stop its progression. And she would. If she had to work twenty-four hours a day and scour every medical journal known to man, she was going to figure this out. All that channeled stubbornness? This was what she’d been born to do.

  And do it she would.

  She went over and put her hand on Theo’s arm and looked up into his eyes. “I’m going to find that answer for you, Theo, whether it’s tomorrow or the next day. I’m going to do it. And it’s going to be soon.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  MADISON STARED INTO the microscope and drew in a deep breath. Bacterial meningitis. It had taken all of five minutes to request the test be run and have a readout confirm her suspicions. She pushed back from the desk and headed out to the ICU department, where the child’s worried mom was waiting for her to put in an appearance. Hopefully they’d caught it early enough for the boy to make a complete recovery.

  She saw Alice in the hallway. She was in street clothes, so she obviously wasn’t on duty today. Not that she’d expect her to be.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be getting ready for the wedding?”

  “I’m on my way out now. I had a surgery to do.”

  Leave it to the dedicated surgeon to work until the very last second.

  Like Theo used to do before Hope had died?

  Ugh! She needed to stop thinking about that picture. But it had haunted her day and night. Two days later, it was still frameless. She’d been so busy working that she hadn’t had time to buy a replacement frame. And knowing the picture was still lying on his desk, like an accusation, had kept her from using that couch a second time. Would Hope have considered it a betrayal that Theo had let her in to use his private office? That he’d kissed her?

  Great. She was going to drive herself crazy at this rate.

  Alice glanced at her face, maybe seeing something there she didn’t like. “You and Theo are still planning to come this evening, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, of course. I have to go shopping for a dress in a little while but, yes.”

  “Okay, great. We’ll see you there around six, then. Talk to you later.”

  They said their goodbyes and Madison continued on her way, entering her patient’s room a few minutes later. Kyle Saunders was hooked up to a ventilator and the sight and sounds of the machines up by his head monitoring blood pressure and respiration had to be a heartbreaking sight for any parent.

  “Any news at all?” Shirley Saunders, a single mom of two young boys, got up from her chair, her bloodshot eyes the only spot of color in an otherwise pale face.

  “Yes. He has meningitis. We’re going to start an IV antibiotic and some medicines that will hopefully keep the swelling in his brain to a minimum.”

  “Will he get better?”

  She glanced at Kyle, whose still form was eerily silent. “Now that we have a definitive diagnosis, we’re hopeful. We’ll know soon after we start the antibiotics. Do we have your permission to treat him?”

  “Of course. I’ll sign anything. Just help my son.”

  Theo had said something very similar to her when she’d first arrived at the hospital. Just help my daughter.

  “We’ll do our best. We have a neurologist who is going to assess him as well and see where we stand.”

  Shirley clasped her hands in front of her. “Will he be like this forever?”

  She assumed she meant in a coma.

  “No.” She could say that with all certainty, because unless something unexpected happened, Kyle would either get better or he would die. She just didn’t want to say that to his worried mom, unless it looked like it would come to that. “A nurse will be here in a few minutes to start the IV medication. And I’ll be back to check on him before I leave today.” She scribbled her cellphone number on a sheet of paper and gave it to her.

  “I want you to call me if you have any questions once he begins treatment. The nurses are here to help as well. So don’t be afraid to ask.”

  “I won’t.” A hand on her wrist stopped her for a second. “I can’t thank you enough. I was warned it could be a while before they worked out what was wrong. It’s only been a few hours.”

  “It’s never as quick as we’d like it to be.”

  It certainly hadn’t been in Ivy’s case, despite the long hours she’d devoted to finding a cause. But she had a couple of new hunches she wanted to try out before she left to go shopping with Theo, whom she’d barely seen since she’d broken that frame.

  She’d gotten up early and vacated the room that morning, hoping to avoid running into him. But first she’d finished cleaning up the glass, using a small hand vacuum she’d found in the same closet as the sheets and blankets. Then she’d folded all her linens and put them back where she’d found them. And his pillow...

  She cringed, remembering how the fabric had trapped his scent from whenever he’d last used it, his musky aftershave melding with the essence of what made Theo unique. It had haunted her the entire night. Unable to resist, she’d hugged it close one last time, inhaling deeply before stuffing the thing into the closet and slamming the door shut.

  Finally, she’d used her phone to snap a picture of the frame itself, hoping to run across something similar in their shopping travels this afternoon.

  She’d been fairly successful at steering clear of Theo since then. But she couldn’t avoid him forever. They had arranged to go shopping at three. She could only hope that she’d find a dress quickly and that she survived the wedding cerem
ony.

  All she could do was take things one hour at a time and hope for the best.

  * * *

  Theo waited in his office for Maddy to finish her last case of the day. Picking up the picture, he turned it over again, just as he had for the last couple of days.

  A reminder to always come home to us.

  Which he hadn’t always done. She’d been home alone many nights before Ivy had been born.

  How had he not known that inscription was there? Because Hope had died before he’d opened the present. Otherwise she would have told him to look. He never had. Had never seen a reason to take it out of the safe place that had housed it for the last four and a half years.

  Like the place that had housed his heart? The heart that hadn’t ventured from that spot since the day Hope had died?

  He flipped the photo back to the front and dragged a stack of folders and dropped them on top of it.

  A knock sounded at the door, relieving him of his thoughts. He got up to answer it and found Maddy, cheeks pink, a calf-length black coat belted around her waist, a matching handbag over one shoulder. She had a red scarf knotted around her neck and on her head was a black knit hat.

  She was dressed for Cambridge in winter. And that fact made him smile as he stepped aside to let her in. Except her glance went immediately to his desk, probably looking for the same picture he’d been staring at. Guilt gnawed at him all over again.

  “I’m ready if you are,” she said.

  “Yes. More than ready. Just let me get my coat.”

  “Is Ivy okay?”

  “She’s fine for now. Judy has promised to look in on her in case we’re late.”

  Something about the way the words came out made him stiffen. They weren’t some normal couple going out on the town. And they never would be. But if he tried to correct himself it would only make things worse, so he let it stand and headed toward the exit.

  Within minutes they were walking along the cobblestones of Cambridge’s bustling shopping district, doing their best to dodge the scores of bicycles that whizzed by.

  “It always seems strange that there are so few cars.”

  “It’s a university city. Can you imagine trying to navigate through here by car with all the bikes and pedestrians?” He grabbed her hand and hauled her close to avoid another cyclist. She laughed, pulling the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder.

  Tiny shops dotted either sides of the streets, which were still full of shoppers trying to get their Christmas gifts. Although the Christmas lights hadn’t yet been turned on, they were everywhere, strung from one side of the street to the other, the center of each set sporting a large star. And there were Christmas trees everywhere. In the evenings, after the shops were closed, it was a beautiful sight and one that sent a reminder punch straight to his gut. Here he was out here thinking about what the town looked like at night, while Ivy was stuck in a hospital bed.

  “It’s gorgeous.” Maddy’s face was tilted up toward the peaked roofs and the varying facades along the route.

  “The town? Or the decorations?” He looped her hand through the crook of his arm, the act seeming far too natural, the pressure of her fingers curling around him sending a warmth through his chest. He was just trying to keep from losing her.

  He swallowed. Losing her?

  She glanced at him, pushing her hat more firmly onto her head before shoving her free hand into the pocket of her coat. “Both. I can appreciate the beauty of the season, even if Christmas itself leaves me cold. Pun unintended.”

  “Point taken. So where to first?”

  “I’m looking for a dress and probably shoes. I think my handbag will suffice. And you?”

  “A tie, and since I didn’t think to bring my suit to the hospital with me I probably need to buy one.”

  She paused and glanced down the street. “So where is the best place to find those?”

  “Probably one of these shops. If you’re up for walking a bit, we can just window shop until something grabs your attention. It won’t take more than about half an hour to see all of it.”

  “Ha! I’m not the biggest shopper in the world, but I suspect it’ll take me a little longer than that.”

  He had to smile at the way her eyes took everything in. The half-timbered buildings, their creamy white masonry filling in the areas between dark wooden beams. The durable streets that had held up for generations and which now gleamed in the sunlight. The old-world charm of life and a way of living that had been honed over the centuries.

  Things that Theo took for granted but were probably new to someone used to a different way of life. Trying to see it through her eyes, a sense of pride enveloped him. He loved this city, he always had, which was why he’d chosen to stay here and build a thriving hospital. It was also a university city, teeming with young people who brought a life and intensity that wasn’t found everywhere.

  “Can I go in here?”

  Theo glanced at the shop next to them and frowned. “I don’t think you’ll find a dress in there. Just some odds and ends.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll just be a minute.”

  She didn’t wait for an answer, just disappeared inside. He wasn’t sure whether he should go in after her or just wait for her to re-emerge. He had no idea what she could possibly want here. It was kind of an artsy shop with handcrafted home items. Maybe she wanted a gift for a friend. Within ten minutes she came out with a small package.

  “Did you find what you wanted?”

  “I did. Thanks for waiting.” She didn’t enlighten him as to what she’d purchased. Or for whom. She didn’t have family, according to what she’d told him. But surely she had friends back in the States.

  They walked a bit further and Theo spied a shop that had semi-formal wear for both men and women. “This looks like a likely place.”

  “Great.”

  They went in, shedding their winter coats and hanging them on hooks just inside the door. “It looks like dresses are down here, but I don’t see any menswear.”

  “It’s upstairs. How much time do you need?”

  “Not long.”

  When he gave her a skeptical look, she smiled. “That looks like a challenge to me. I bet I can find something in less than a half-hour. How about if the last person back has to...?” Her lips puckered in a way that caught his attention and held it. The pucker turned into teeth catching one corner of her bottom lip and holding it for a second or two.

  Hell, he could think of a great punishment for being last, but it probably wasn’t one that would go over very well with her. Or with him, for that matter.

  “The last person back has to...to choose the gift for the bride and groom,” she finally said.

  “Gift?” Something inside sagged in disappointment. Okay, had he really expected her to come up with something personal? No. But a part of him had been making up possible scenarios, as unlikely as it was that any of those would ever come to pass.

  “Do you not buy wedding gifts here?” Her face tilted to look at him, and it might have been his imagination, but he thought he caught the slightest hint of laughter in her tone. Had she somehow read his thoughts and found them hilarious?

  No, there was no way she could know. “Are you sure you didn’t already buy a wedding gift back at that last shop?”

  The laughter faded in an instant. “I’m positive.”

  So whatever she’d bought couldn’t be mistaken for a gift for a bride and groom.

  He shook off his thoughts. “Okay. Let’s see who finishes first.”

  “You’re on.”

  They took off in opposite directions, Theo going for the stairs. And although he didn’t think they were really racing, he’d never been much of a shopper. He was pretty content with going in and finding what he needed and getting back out. But he also wasn’t thrilled about having to choose a gi
ft for Marco and Alice, since he had no idea what they might like or need. So he took his time looking through the racks of suits before finding a black one that he liked.

  Then he remembered he’d said he would try to match his tie to Maddy’s dress, which now sounded like an idiotic idea. It wasn’t like she was his prom date or anything. But Marco had made a point of telling him what the wedding colors were, so it stood to reason that photographs would be taken. They would at least want everyone coordinated a little bit. A black suit, though, he couldn’t go wrong there. He found his size and tried it on and deemed it suitable. Then he got dress shoes, a white shirt, and a few other items, paying for them and waiting while they were loaded into a shopping bag.

  Then he headed downstairs where he spied Maddy, looking through the racks of dresses.

  “Did you already find a suit?”

  “I did. Are you having any luck?”

  She looked up, brows raised as if in surprise. “I’ve been done for fifteen minutes.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” She reached down to lift a matching bag and laughed. Probably at the shell-shocked expression on his face. “I tend to be a bit competitive,” she said.

  “I guess so. I still need to get a tie. What color dress?”

  “Green. If we go up and look at them, I can help pick one out.”

  Ten minutes later, she’d chosen a tie in a deep spruce color with a subtle patterning that only showed up when the light hit it a certain way. “Marco said she was using ivy in her bouquet, so that’s what I went with.”

  “Christmas colors, since she’s also using red roses.”

  “That’s what I thought as well.” She smiled. “So what are you going to get them as a present?”

  “Cash?”

  “What?” There was enough outrage in her voice that it was his turn to laugh.

  “I’m kidding. But, seriously, I have no idea.”

  “Hmm. Marco said they’re flying off to Italy right after they get married, so maybe something to do with their trip?”