"Not that long," he says with a smile. "Shouldn't we take her to bed?"
"Yeah we should."
"I'll do it."
"There she is," someone exclaims, walking with heavy steps toward us. Nurse Mary. "I knew she'd come to see you. Give her to me, I'll take her upstairs."
Nurse Mary has been working here for as long as I can remember. She changes her haircut at least once a month, and the hair color every six months. The shockingly short, red do, styled in messy spikes with far too much hair gel, is her most endearing experiment yet.
"I'm sorry I didn't pass by to see the girls," I whisper, placing Maya in her arms with great care.
"Please, Serena. I know you're here for your friend. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
"That's very kind of you," I murmur as she takes off with Maya.
I turn to Parker, who sits in the chair next to me. "Did James send you?" It's so like James not to trust that I'd be all right by myself.
"No, I came by myself," Parker answers with fake affronting. "I know he's in a meeting so I figured you might need my company."
"Why aren't you in the meeting?"
"It's just James who went."
"I thought you'd be in London by now anyway."
"So did I," he says with a smile, "but there's still a lot to do here; I'll probably stay for another month or so."
"Excellent," I say. "Dani needs an ally against James."
He grins proudly. I like Parker. And for some unfathomable reason, he likes me too.
"I'm glad you and James sorted things out."
"So am I."
"You're good for him," he says and in the split second our gazes cross, I realize there's much more to Lara's story than he told me. I also realize he won't tell me more.
It's James's story to tell.
"I don't know about that," I say jokingly, "but he's good for me."
Good is an understatement, really. The best, the perfect one. The only one who can catch my nightmares, pull me out of them, and make them vanish forever. Or at least for as long as I am in his arms. Funny how only a few days ago I was trying to convince myself he was the worst person for me. But that was when he was just a dream I was allowed to immerse myself in from time to time. A dream other women shared.
Now that he's only mine and I am his, now that the dream belongs only to us, there's no reason not to admit he's perfect for me.
Except for that one not-so-little bug I can't get rid of—I'm by far not perfect for him.
"I just don't get what he sees in me," I voice my fear aloud for the first time.
Parker looks at me kindly, with blue eyes that resemble James's too much. "You're different from the girls he usually dates."
"I know that I'm not one of you," I say, remembering Natalie's comment. "I don't go on expensive trips in Malaysia or—"
"No," he interrupts, "you work your ass off—pardon my expression—and in your free time do things like this." He raises his hand in the direction nurse Mary left with Maya.
"Oh stop acting like you're impressed or something. You attend charity balls for God's sake."
"Yeah," he says warily, "organized by women who have too much time and money on their hands. Don't get me wrong, I respect my mother and Aunt Beatrix, but charity is what they do. It's required of them. It's what Natalie and Angela and all others will do after they get married."