Chapter 69 Chapter 0069
•CASSANDRA•
"Thank you," I nodded at the nurse before turning to Mason. I cleared my throat as I leaned toward him. "Mr. Thorne, what are you doing here?"
"Can we talk and catch up during tea?" He asked, smiling. "The admin told me you will be going to the cafeteria for tea any time now."
My head spun and I wished there was a way to avoid him. I didn't know how long I would go on pretending that I didn't know him.
"Yes, of course," I answered. "I was going there now after this patient. Please give me a few more minutes and I will be with you shortly."
"Yeah, sure." He smiled. "I will wait for you at the cafeteria."
I nodded at him as he walked to the door and left.
I hesitated to finish checking the patient and when two nurses joined to help, I realized I was done and had to face Mason.
When I walked down the corridor to the cafeteria, I saw him talking on the phone and looking upset.
I should have turned around then and walked away, but I walked toward him until he noticed me approaching from his peripheral vision.
He immediately got off the phone and turned to me. He smiled when he stopped in front of me.
"Everything okay?" I asked, nodding toward the phone in his hand.
He exhaled and slipped it into his pocket. "Just business," he replied. "Nothing that can't wait."
I didn't push further. I gestured toward the cafeteria entrance and we walked in together.
I picked a table near the window, away from the busier section, and sat across from him.
A staff member came and took our orders. Mason asked for black coffee and I asked for tea with scones.
I kept my hands around the warm cup when it arrived and tried not to calm Lyra from panicking.
"So, why are you here?" I asked, my hand tightening around the cup.
"My daughter was admitted and was discharged yesterday," he answered, sipping his coffee.
"Oh," I breathed and cleared my throat. "I thought you only had a son."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."
"My goodness. How is she?"
"Better," he answered. "She was in the ICU for a few days. Breathing complications. But she woke up and she is stable now."
"I am so happy to hear that," I answered. "So, are you here to bond with her since you recently found each other?"
"I am," he smiled as he sipped his coffee again. "I had been a boy dad for so long that I don't even know where to begin with a girl. She's so amazing," he answered, looking at me. "Maybe I am nervous."
"Don't worry, it will be easier than you think."
"I hope so," he sighed. "I feel guilty that I didn't know about her until yesterday. Her mother and I had a complicated history and she kept Alena from me."
"I hope she has a better explanation for that," I answered, trying not to sound choked from the lump in my throat.
"Alena's mom had some bumps," he replied, sighing. "Some big bumps, but she had no right to keep my daughter from me."
'I knew he wouldn't take the blame,' Lyra whispered in my mind. 'We should tell him who we are and see how he would answer that.'
I almost rolled my eyes at Lyra’s comment before pushing her voice back.
"I think the fact that you came here the moment you found out says a great deal," I said. "Some fathers never show up at all. You did. That matters more than the time you missed."
He looked at me for a moment. "You're right. I still have some time to make it up to her."
"Yes, you do," I answered. "Children remember who showed up. And the fact that you were there for her when she needed her father means a lot to her."
"I hope she feels that way," he answered. "I can't afford losing her again."
"Give her time," I replied. "She won't hold grudges about your absence for too long."
We stayed in the cafeteria longer than I had intended after that. The conversation moved away from Alena and into other silly topics about his trip to California.
I laughed at how he found it hard to move around Beverly Hills.
He laughed easily too, more than I remembered him doing, and I found myself wondering why I never saw that side of him when we were married.
I didn't let myself think about that for too long.
When the cafeteria began to empty around us and I realized nearly forty minutes had passed, I reached for my coat.
"I should get back," I said.
"Of course." He stood up as well.
We walked toward the cafeteria exit together and paused near the corridor where our directions split.
Mason turned to me, and his expression changed from playful to serious. "Dr. Frost," he began.
"Yes?"
"I want to thank you," he answered. "For what you did for me. I don't know if I ever thanked you enough. I wouldn't be standing here right now if it weren't for you. And I wouldn't have known I had a daughter at all if I hadn't survived that night."
My throat tightened. "You don't need to thank me. It was my job."
"Maybe," he replied. "But it meant more than that and we both know it."
I didn't answer that.
He tilted his head, and something in his expression shifted again.
"I would like to take you to dinner," he added. "If you are willing. As a proper thank you, and perhaps as a reason to have a conversation that doesn't happen in a hospital cafeteria."
I stared at him.
Of all the things I had prepared myself for walking into this cafeteria, Mason Thorne asking me on a date had not been among them.
"Think about it," he added, with a smile. "There's no pressure, Dr. Frost."
Then he turned and walked back down the corridor toward the exit door.
I stood exactly where he had left me and sighed.
I was in serious trouble.