Keeping You (Destined Love #3)

2. Grayson

CHAPTER 2

Grayson

I have no idea how in the world I woke up this morning married to Hannah Smith. That gorgeous, snarky woman has hated me for almost two years, and I can’t blame her. I kept my mouth shut when everything went down back then, thinking it was better for both of us. Now, I have the time it takes for both of us to fly back to Vancouver to figure out what the hell I’m going to do about being married to her.

I twist the ring on my left hand as I sit in the Las Vegas airport waiting to board my flight. After the hospital called, I was able to change my flight and snag one of the last seats on the 10 a.m. flight.

I pull out my phone and text my buddy Caleb to let him know I’ve changed my flight, and he confirms he can still pick me up.

Locking my phone, I lean my head back against the wall. I lied to Hannah back at the hotel. I don’t entirely not remember last night. It’s only bits and pieces, and it’s mainly a blur, but there’s some there. I remember how stunning she looked as she walked down the aisle to me in a white dress with little green flowers on it. A slit came up to the middle of her thigh, and the white-and-beige wedges she wore accentuated her long legs. Some guy dressed as Elvis married us. I remember her radiant smile as we stood there. I remember promising her forever, and I’m not one to break promises.

I’ve spent my entire life watching my parent’s marriage. I’ve heard them disagree and fight, but I’ve also watched them support each other through everything life has thrown at them. They’ve shown me that marriage is something you work and fight for. You don’t give up. This may not be how either of us imagined getting married—hell, I didn’t think I would ever get married—but we are, and I’m going to fight for it. Being married to Hannah Smith is a privilege I’m not going to let slip through my fingers easily.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts as my flight is called, and I grab my bag and start boarding. I make my way down the aisle of the plane as people load their bags in the overhead bins. I slide into my seat and pull out my headphones, opening my go-to playlist and setting it on smart shuffle. As I sit there watching the clouds, “This I Promise You” by NSYNC comes on, and I really listen to the lyrics. For some reason, this song is only solidifying my resolve to make this marriage work.

After the plane touches down in Vancouver and I drudge through customs, I find Caleb outside in his truck.

“Thanks for picking me up, man. I hope I didn’t interrupt your family plans,” I say, running my hand through my hair.

Caleb doesn’t say anything, and when I look over at him, his eyes are homed in on my wedding ring. Fuck.

“Looks like you had some fun in Vegas,” he says.

“You could say that.”

We continue to sit in the pickup lane as Caleb stares at me like he’s willing me to speak more. I’m not usually one to be tight-lipped, but I don’t want to tell anyone what happened until I’ve had a chance to talk to Hannah. This impacts both of us, and the last thing I want to do is involve our friends before the two of us know what’s going on.

An airport attendant finally comes up and tells Caleb he’s got to get moving, so he pulls out into traffic.

“So, did she fly home with you?” he asks.

“No, she’s still in Vegas.”

I can hear the gears turning in Caleb’s head.

“Will she be flying here?”

“Eventually.”

It’s the truth, Hannah will eventually be flying home. She has her place, her job, and her friends here. As much as I know she’s looking for an escape plan from this marriage, I doubt she’d run away. She’s too determined and strong to do that.

“Eventually, that’s all you’re going to say about when your wife is coming here? Or should I be asking when you’re going to her?”

I grip the back of my neck, giving it a couple of squeezes. “She’ll be coming here. I just don’t know when yet.”

Caleb side eyes me, and we make the remainder of the drive to my place in silence.

When he pulls up outside my building, I jump out as quickly as I can and say, “Thanks for the ride, man, I appreciate it. I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to anyone about me getting married. I’d like to figure it out before I say anything.”

He stares at me before subtly nodding. I grab my bag and make my way inside. I unlock the front door of my apartment and drop my bag on the floor, heading to the couch and grabbing my laptop and work on putting together a plan.

My alarm wakes me a few hours later. I fell asleep while working and am still on the couch. I change into my scrubs and head to the hospital. I’ve always enjoyed the quick pace that comes with working in the emergency room. I was eighteen when I decided I wanted to go into medicine, but it was during my residency rotation that I settled on emergency medicine. The fast pace and being the first one to step into action when a patient comes into the hospital needing help makes my adrenaline pump.

After stashing my bag and grabbing my stethoscope, I make my way onto the floor for patient handover. Dr. Kaper is at the nurses’ station filling out patient charts when I join her. She fills me in about the man in bay two experiencing symptoms of a heart attack and all the tests that have been ordered, the stitches that need to be done on the kid in bay three who took a hockey stick to the mouth during a game of road hockey, and the man in bay four complaining of stomach pain who is just waiting for some test results. Once she’s done, I review all the charts myself to make sure I don’t miss anything and go to join the boy who needs stitches.

I pull the curtain aside and step into the little room. The mom is sitting in the chair on her phone while the boy lies in the bed playing a game on his.

“Okay, Tucker, I’m Dr. Maxwell. Why don’t you let me have a look at that cut,” I say, pulling over a rolling stool to sit in front of him.

The cut isn’t that big, but it does need a couple of stitches. I leave the room and grab the necessary supplies and rolling tray to set up. The kid is a trooper as I inject the numbing agent and get to work on the stitches. It only takes three to get him closed up.

“Okay, so you want to keep those as dry as possible, and then in five days you can go see your family doctor and have them removed. Try and avoid playing with them. A nurse will be in shortly to bring you your discharge papers.”

“Thank you, Dr. Maxwell,” the mom says, and I nod before stepping out and completing some information on the patient’s chart.

Samantha, one of the nurses, leans on the counter in front of me. I feel her eyes on me as I type my final notes. Looking up, my eyes are met with her breasts as she’s pulled her scrub top down and is using her arms to press her breasts together. A few years ago, that would have gotten my attention and I might have asked if she wanted to meet me in an on-call room, or maybe an unused office, during her break, but now all it does is have me shaking my head.

Leaning back in my chair, I look up and meet Samantha’s wanton gaze with a flat one of my own.

“Is there something you need, Samantha?”

Grasping my hands in front of me, I watch as her eyes track the movement and widen slightly. I look down quickly and realize I’m still wearing my wedding ring. When I look back at her, her eyes are stuck there, a look of deep concentration on her face. I clear my throat, hoping to pull her out of her trance.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asks.

“Is there something you need?”

Her eyes dart around the room before they finally come back to me. “I was just going to ask you how your trip to Vegas went. I’m sure Hannah wasn’t any fun. I wish I could have gone instead. I know the two of us would have had a great time.” She bats her eyelashes, and it bugs me. She obviously saw my wedding ring, but also why does she think she can shit-talk Hannah to me?

Pushing up from my chair, I say, “My trip was fine. Hannah and I were there for work, we attended the convention. We didn’t go to party or have fun. Now, if you don’t mind, please go check on the results for the tests from bays two and four and page me when you get them.”

I turn and leave the nurses’ station and head towards the cafeteria. I need caffeine if I’m going to make it through tonight. Once I return with my coffee, the night moves pretty steadily. By the end of my shift, I’m dead on my feet. I do the patient handover to Dr. Friedman before grabbing my bag and heading home.

When I walk in the front door, the first thing I do after ditching my bag is pull out my phone and hunt for Hannah’s number from the group chat. I’ve never actually saved her number, because there hasn’t been a need. Until now. After saving her number, I text her.

Grayson

Hey, I just got home from night shift. When’s your flight home?

She reads my message but doesn’t respond.

Grayson

Can we meet and talk about this? Please just let me know when you’re free and if I’m not working, I’ll make it work.

Spitfire

I just landed. We can meet tomorrow morning.

Grayson

Is someone picking you up from the airport?

Spitfire

I’ll manage.

Grayson

Hannah, do you have a ride from the airport?

Spitfire

Liv is coming. I’m fine.

Liv has a one-month-old at home, so I don’t believe she’d ask her to pick her up. Knowing I’m not going to get any more out of Hannah, I decide to call Liv. After confirming my suspicions, I make my way to the airport as quickly as possible and see Hannah walking towards the SkyTrain.

I throw the car into park and hop out, calling her name. Her head whips around, and her eyes widen as she takes me in when I jog up to her.

“What are you doing here?” she asks

“I’m picking my wife up at the airport.” I smirk.

Her eyes harden as she stares at me. “Don’t call me that. We’re getting this thing annulled as soon as possible.”

Her response doesn’t surprise me. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“We should talk,” I say as I reach for her bag. “I’ve got this. Come on.” I grab her suitcase, surprised to notice she’s still wearing her rings. Reluctantly, she follows me. I open the passenger door for her, and she climbs in. As I go to reach for the seat belt, she grabs it from me.

“I can do it myself,” she says and glares at me.

I put my hands up in surrender then grab her bag and put it in the back before rounding to the driver’s side. Hannah has her entire body turned to face the door as she looks out the window. The air is tight with tension. We really need to have a conversation, but I want to avoid having it in this small and public space. I take the exit towards my place, and Hannah looks at me confused.

“Where are you going? This isn’t the exit for my place.”

“I know, it’s the one for mine. We need to talk, and I figured you wouldn’t want to have this conversation in public.”

Her eyes narrow as she stares at me before she finally nods and returns to staring out the passenger window. Well, this is going to be fun.