MAX WOKE TO THE SOUND of humming filtering up from the kitchen below. He rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of workout pants then headed downstairs. He was shrugging into a T-shirt when he found Maddy slicing a baguette at the kitchen sink. She was showered and dressed and her eyes glowed with suppressed excitement when she greeted him.
“Guess what? Nadine called—finally—and she’s recovering from surgery herself.”
“That’s too bad. Is she all right?”
“A bunion, nothing major,” Maddy said. “Guess who her doctor is?”
“Let me see…Someone good? Who she can get you an appointment with?”
She threw the dish towel at him.
“Not just someone. Dr. Kooperman. The best of the best.” Maddy pressed her hands together. “I mean, Dr. Rambeau was great, but Dr. Kooperman! I’m pinching myself. Nadine has a follow-up appointment with him today, but she’s going to ask him if he will see me instead. Isn’t that amazingly generous of her?”
He’d heard of Kooperman. Most dancers had. He was long established, an early pioneer in dance medicine.
“Fantastic. Great news,” he said.
Even though it meant Maddy was one step closer to leaving.
“I know. I can’t believe it. Nadine called about an hour ago, and I’ve been jumping out of my skin ever since, dying to tell you. If I had to wait for an appointment the normal way, it would be months and months before he could see me.”
She was so energized it made him realize how subdued she’d been ever since she’d arrived. For a moment he was afraid for her. If she didn’t get the news she wanted from these specialists…
“I made you breakfast,” she said, sliding toasted slices of baguette toward him.
“What time is your appointment?” he asked as he sat.
“I’m not sure. Nadine needs to check that it’s okay with the doctor before she hands over her appointment time.”
She sat opposite him as he spread jam on his toast. Her right leg jittered up and down nervously, her foot tapping on the floor so fast it was practically vibrating.
“This could be it, Max. He’ll probably want to run some tests, but if he gives me good news, I can ring Andrew and force him to reinstate me.”
“You won’t need to force him, Maddy. You’re their star attraction.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “There’s always someone waiting in the wings. You know that. But they’ll have to honor my contract if I get the all clear.”
She’d practically packed her bags and boarded the plane already. He concentrated on his toast, making sure he spread the jam right to the edges. She’d only been back in his life for a few short days but she’d leave a huge hole when she left.
He gritted his teeth. He’d played the missing Maddy game before. He wasn’t looking forward to round two. He had a feeling it was going to be even more brutal the second time around. He’d slept with her, after all. He knew exactly what he was missing.
Aware that Yvette was due to arrive at any moment, he finished eating then crossed to his work area to set up his equipment and turn on the extra heater. Maddy began to clean the kitchen, once again humming beneath her breath.
“I was thinking that maybe I could call Charlotte today to thank her for dinner,” she said after a while.
He glanced up from his sketch pad.
“Probably not a great idea,” he said.
“Oh.”
She straightened the salt and pepper shakers on the table.
“Maybe I could buy Eloise a gift, then?”
“To be honest, I think it’s probably best to just let Charlotte find her equilibrium.”
“She really doesn’t like me, does she?”
He considered lying, but they’d both been there last night.
“She doesn’t know you. What happened last night was about me not telling her something she felt she had a right to know and Charlotte being stressed. You happened to be standing nearby when the shit hit the fan.”
“Hmmm.”
The sound of frantic knocking at the front door had his head snapping around.
“Max!”
It was his sister’s voice, strident with emotion, and he reached the door in two strides.
“M-Max!” Charlotte stuttered the moment she saw him, her face crumpling. “Marcel has hurt himself at school. They said he fell down some stairs and hit his head and they rushed him straight to hospital.”
She was trembling. Max put an arm around her.
“It’s all right. Take a deep breath,” he said.
He waited until she’d done so before talking again.
“Which hospital?”
“Hôtel Dieu,” she said. “I’m going over now, but I can’t take Eloise. She’ll get too upset, and I need to be there for Marcel.”
“I’ll take her,” he said instantly, guessing that was what she wanted.
Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you. I wish Richard was here. I need him. If something happens to Marcel—”
“Nothing will happen to him. Have you called Richard? Is he coming home?” He knew his brother-in-law was at yet another work conference somewhere in Europe.
“Yes. He was due home tonight anyway, but he’s trying to catch an earlier flight.”
“Good.”
Charlotte was on the verge of tears again. Her car keys were jingling in her hands she was shaking so much.
“After last night…It’s too much. I can’t keep doing this all on my own,” she said in a near whisper.
She sounded exhausted and near the end of her tether. He eyed her with concern, not liking the idea of her driving to the hospital in this condition.
He took her keys and went out to collect Eloise from the car, Charlotte hard on his heels.
“I brought some toys for her, and her favorite DVD,” Charlotte explained.
Eloise was playing with a brightly colored prism, oblivious to the drama around her. Thank heaven for small mercies, he thought as he pulled her into his arms while Charlotte grabbed the bag of toys.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be. I brought her pajamas, in case I have to stay in the hospital overnight.” Charlotte’s voice cracked and she started crying in earnest.
Max slid his free arm around her and hustled her back into the apartment.
“I’m going to call you a taxi,” he said. “You can’t drive like this.”
“No! I can’t wait for a taxi to come. I have to go now. Marcel needs me,” Charlotte said, rising hysteria in her voice.
He hesitated, unsure what to do. He hated the idea of her facing whatever waited at the hospital alone, but someone had to look after Eloise.
“Can I help?”
He swung around to see Maddy standing there, determination writ large on her face. They’d been speaking French, but she clearly understood that something was very wrong.
“I can’t be in two places at once,” he said, articulating his greatest dilemma.
“No,”