A Secret Birthright(27)
She had to stop fantasizing about him. He was the one man she should never want, the one man who was off-limits.
But what if he is the one man you can want?
She crushed the insidious voice as she accepted a steaming plate piled with mouth-watering grilled salmon and vegetables, careful not to touch him again. Touching him had infused a dangerous narcotic into her bloodstream. She should be careful not to end up addicted. Or was she already?
Was this how it happened? Inadvertent exposure, moments of surrender to temptation and suddenly you were irrevocably lost.…
“Eat, Gwen, and I’ll reward you. I’ll discuss Ryan’s postoperative period and rehabilitation.”
This brought her back to earth with a thud.
“Yes, please.”
His eyes ignited. She shied away from their heat and her interpretation of it. It had to be her feverish mind superimposing her preposterous cravings on his glances and actions.
She cleared her throat. “Wh-what do you expect?”
“How about a deal?” he countered. “One mouthful a sentence.”
“Oh, all right.” She loaded a fork, forced it into her mouth.
He tutted. “A bigger mouthful won’t get you a longer sentence, and I won’t talk any faster if you choke.”
She swallowed the lump and almost did just that.
“For God’s sake, just tell me!” she spluttered.
“I expect a full recovery.” At her evident frustration with his brevity, his eyebrows rose. “You expected more for that forkful? I already had Akram tell you everything. You just want me to repeat myself to see if I’ll slip up.”
Heat surged to her head. “I realize I’m being obsessive…”
“And I’m totally ribbing you, as you say in the States.” His eyes laughed at her, coaxing her to ease up. “But as a scientist, too, I realize you won’t be satisfied until you have all the details. So let’s start with my findings during surgery.”
Her heart jumped. He understood. That she needed to know what he’d seen with his own eyes, fixed with his own hands. That only specifics would make it all real.
“The defect was long and the tethering was more than I’d hoped. The meninges were also prolapsed. But I corrected it all with a procedure I have been developing. It takes double the time of any other procedure—yes, that’s why I took longer than projected—but it ensures no scarring and no future retethering. The nerve roots were minimally damaged, but with Ryan’s fast growth, and the sites of the tethering, progressive damage would have occurred within the next months. So your persistence couldn’t have been more warranted, and the timing of the surgery couldn’t have proved more critical. Now, with physiotherapy and a four-month course of your drug, Ryan should regain his legs’ full power and sensation, and I don’t expect there to be any problems with toilet training.”
Tears welled up again as the certainty she’d needed seeped into her bones. “I—I can’t find words to thank you.”
He grimaced. “Then don’t go in search of any.” He tapped her plate with his fork. “Now eat. You need to be stocked up on as many calories as you can to be there for Ryan in the coming time.”
She ended up finishing a three-course meal.
But taking a leaf from his repertoire, she specified a reward in return. Letting her see Ryan as soon as she was done.
He’d finally succumbed, telling her she drove a hard bargain.
She’d been standing for what felt like hours behind the glass partition in pediatric ICU, gowned for the sterile zone, watching Ryan sleeping in a cot that looked like a space pod, her tears streaming. Ones of pure relief.
Even though it drove a hot lance through her heart to see Ryan’s little body hooked to leads and invaded by drips and tubes, she knew one thing beyond a doubt: he was all right.
Fareed had been sharing the poignant vigil in silence.
He finally inhaled. “And Ryan invalidates my worries again. He looks as if he’s sleeping in complete contentment.”
“H-he probably is,” she whispered. “He must feel how much care he’s receiving, must have felt how much you’ve done for him. He might be relieved for the first time in his life now you’ve corrected h-his problem.”
“Everything’s possible, especially with a child as sensitive as Ryan.” He turned her to him, wiped a tear that was trembling on her chin. “Now go say welcome back to your baby.”