Forevermore

  “Excuse me.”

  Aleksander waved Sydney forward. “Come on in.”

  “Time for your shower, Princess.” The nurse entered the manly bedroom, trying to conceal her amused smile at Aleksander’s choice of pajamas.

  But he noticed it and smiled back at her, not caring an ounce if he was been laughed at, because he would do whatever it took to make Olivia happy.

  Today he wore the ones his daughter liked best: pink—her very favorite color—with silly SpongeBob SquarePants all up and down the pant legs and on the sleeves of the matching shirt.

  “What should I dress in today, Daddy?” Olivia asked.

  “Surprise me.” He winked at her.

  Olivia’s blue eyes danced as they sometimes did when she got extra happy. “See you downstairs.”

  “How’s our princess today?” Ava asked, when Olivia and Sydney entered her room.

  “Great,” Olivia said.

  “So who will you be today?” asked Sydney, opening Olivia’s closet where custom-made dresses for pretty much every Disney princess hung, while Ava proceeded with her morning routine of checking on Olivia.

  Each morning before her shower, Olivia picked out which princess she wanted to be. Some days, she was Rapunzel, others she was Belle; or Cinderella; or Ariel. The possibilities were endless and each time that she discovered something new that she liked, Aleksander made sure she received it via overnight shipping.

  “Jasmine.” It was funny to watch the little girl make up elaborate fantasies. Today her bed was Alladin’s magic carpet.

  Yesterday, it was Snow White’s casket.

  When Ava had seen Olivia playing a forever sleeping Snow White, she was a bit shocked, but then Olivia told her she was practicing for when her prince charming arrived and Ava smiled, overcome with relief.

  Olivia was wise beyond her years, mischievous, and full of fun and laughter. And if Dr. Follett thought it was unethical to offer to bake a pie for the little girl, Ava didn’t want to know what he would think if he knew she had surrendered her very own heart to Olivia.

  While Olivia took her shower, singing Someday My Prince Will Come at the top of her lungs, Kira made her bed.

  With nothing to do but arrange Olivia’s dolls in a pyramid at the headboard, Ava’s thoughts strayed right where they usually did…to Aleksander.

  Ava had avoided relationships for years for a reason. She didn’t like the unsureness in the pit of her stomach. She needed control. She needed to know where she stood with a man.

  With Aleksander she didn’t know anything.

  When Kira left the room, Ava walked to the window as Sydney lay the green harem pants across the bed. “Is Aleksander doing all right? I heard him laughing with Olivia when I was out in the hallway.”

  “Seemed fine. Happy, even.” Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking for a reason?”

  Gazing across the snowy scape below, she tried to summarize her impressions. “He is…moody. He’s unhappy one moment, happy the next. I just worry that this kind of emotional roller coaster might harm his health.”

  “It’s already too late, then,” Sydney said gloomily.

  Ava turned to look at the nurse. “What do you mean?”

  “Once a woman like you starts feeling sorry for a man, she’s already on the way to falling in love with him.”

  Ava’s brows arched. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Sympathy is the beginning of caring. Next comes the desire to heal the wounds cruel fate has caused.” Sydney smiled wryly. “It’s not far from there to believing that no one else can possibly love him as well as you. And by then….you’re lost.”

  It was true that she had failed to keep their relationship from becoming personal but it was not really her fault. Never in a lifetime could she have guessed the man at the bar was the father of a patient of hers. And even if she could have, how could she divine he was going to be hiring her for a two, three month stay at his house in this idyllic place?

  A man like Aleksander Maximilian, with his looks and fortune, could have any woman he wished. She didn’t doubt he wanted her, but she knew he had a lot on his mind—and in his heart—and while she doubted he intended anything so casual as a single night’s seduction—he’d devoted far too much energy and patience to discard her so quickly.

  But perhaps he was just vulnerable and when it was all over, he would move on.

  She wasn’t sure her own heart could take the beating of unrequited love.

  Aleksander had a big smile on his face as he changed his pajamas to a T-shirt and gym shorts. He headed down to the work-out room in the basement, passed the weights, and climbed on the rowing machine to warm up.

  Even during the last year, when he hadn’t done anything but work, stay with Olivia, eat, and fall into bed, Aleksander always got in his hour or two of exercise. It was his drug, his medicine.

  His mind settled as the sweat flowed and the problems seemed to solve themselves, but for Olivia’s disease. However depressed and bad he felt when he walked in, he always felt better walking out.

  Not that he anticipated feeling bad today; Olivia was doing fine, better than in months, and it felt like they were a normal family doing normal things, and the diversions had been refreshing after a year of grueling treatments and hospital stays. He was looking forward to decorating the Christmas tree with his daughter and to Thanksgiving dinner with his family—even knowing his mother would be there.

  And he was planning on getting Ava for an afternoon-tea conversation—and perhaps something more—in a few hours.

  He smiled at the thought, rowed a little harder, then worked his way through his usual weight-lifting program.

  He was on the bike, doing a little aerobic conditioning to finish things off, when the door opened to show Meredith and Graham Maximilian, Aleksander’s parents, along with Lydia, his mother-in-law, who had an apologetic smile on her face. He knew they would come to see Olivia eventually, but he didn’t need this right now, for them to show up unannounced.

  “Surprise, darling,” said Meredith.

  Great. He had to suppress the impatient and unhappy sigh. Just great!

  He stopped pedaling and forced a happy, surprised look on his face. “Mother, Father, and Lydia. What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting you. Not yet.” He got off the bike and grabbed a towel from a nearby shelf and dabbed at his face.

  “If we had told you, it wouldn’t have been a surprise,” Meredith replied.

  “Forgive me for not being able to give you a hug, since I wasn’t expecting you, I’m not properly attired, or fresh.”

  His movements tight and clipped, he showed them to the patio outside the living room and told them to relax while he took a shower, then walked upstairs to take in some deep, cleansing breaths.

  Matthias greeted him at the top of the stairs. “Sir, do you have any preferences for the weekend menu?”

  He wasn’t in the mood to think about what type of meal would satisfy everyone. “Matthias, I trust you and Kira will have everything well taken care of.”

  “Of course, sir.” He gave a slight bow before he started to move into the kitchen but Aleksander stopped him.

  “I’m going to take a shower. Tell doctor Ava that Olivia is needed downstairs to see her grandparents.”

  Chapter 22

  11:40 a.m.

  * * *

  Aleksander showered and dressed, and when he returned to the patio, Olivia still hadn’t made her appearance. His mother looked rather put out by the wait, sitting primly in a wingback chair, watching the staircase like a hawk for the appearance of her granddaughter.

  “Is she well?” Meredith asked him, sipping on a mimosa Matthias had brought her.

  He nodded. “Quite well. But she is also a young lady and you know how they love to keep their audience waiting.”

  Meredith tsked, but his father, patting his wife’s arm, said, “Runs in the family, my dear.”

  “Look, here she is now,” Lydia said. r />
  Aleksander looked up to see Ava climbing down the stairs, carrying Olivia in her arms. She looked stunning, different from her usual practical and stern self. She was using a purple wool dress, with long fitted sleeves and bodice, with a wide skirt which swirled around her legs, and pumps on her feet. Although the dress could not be classified as sexy, Aleksander was thoroughly seduced.

  “Who is that bringing Olivia down the stairs?” Meredith muttered, her brows furrowed tightly.

  Aleksander pulled his eyes away from the woman that was driving him crazy and said, “That’s Ava, Dr. Ava Larsen. I told you about her—”

  “No, you didn’t. Why wasn’t she already out here to greet us when we arrived, like everyone else?”

  “She’s a doctor, Mother,” Aleksander sighed. “I imagine she was doing doctorly things, which is what I pay her for.”

  That didn’t seem like a good enough excuse to Meredith. She eyed Ava up and down, as if she were an imposter that had somehow infiltrated their family home. Rolling his eyes to the sky and praying for patience, he stood up as Ava came down to the landing.

  Ava set Olivia on her favorite reclining chair and wrapped the fur blanket over her waifish frame. She looked up to view the three guests, smiling and making eye contact with all of them. The silver-haired man, she immediately recognized as Aleksander’s father, from his height, sparkling olive-green eyes and smile. Aleksander was just a younger, broader-framed version of him.

  Aleksander strode in their direction, smiling at her and Olivia.

  “You look beautiful.”

  Such simple words—and directed at both of them—but the way he said them, his eyes so compelling, gave her shivers.

  She glanced down at herself, back up, and looked across the patio to where his guests were sitting. “Not too simple for your guests?”

  That gorgeous grin again. Gazing at his chiseled, masculine face changing expressions was a decadent pleasure.

  “Just perfect.”

  Listening to the low timbre of his voice was just as blissful. She knew she shouldn’t enjoy these things so much, and yet she couldn’t help it.

  When Ava broke their gaze and turned to the other guests, she realized that though one woman was smiling warmly at Olivia, the other was eyeing her up and down. It was so disconcerting, she had to wonder if her dress was dirty.

  “Ava,” Aleksander said. “I’d like to introduce you to my parents, Meredith and Graham, and Rachel’s mother, Lydia.”

  The others greeted her warmly, but Meredith, the woman who had been glaring, gave her an icy, “Hello.”

  Meredith Maximilian was a beautiful woman in her early sixties. Her golden-brown hair fell in shiny waves past her shoulders, the color mimicked by the hazel-gold of her almond shaped eyes, and her clothes screamed money, as did the diamonds shining on her ring finger, right wrist, and earlobes.

  She will prove to be quite a competition for the Christmas tree.

  His mother-in-law, Lydia, was also a beautiful woman, dressed in a much sensible and practical way, and looked very much like the pictures of Rachel she’d seen, leaned forward and said, “So you are our little girl’s doctor, yes?”

  Ava nodded as Olivia burst in, “She’s the best doctor ever!”

  Lydia smiled at Olivia. “Well, kudos are in order, because you are looking well, young lady!”

  “I think the mountain air is more responsible for her state of health than I am,” she said humbly, then let out an unexpected yawn. Embarrassed, she covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry.”

  Aleksander’s father laughed. “Doctors don’t have regular hours, I’m sure.”

  “Oddly enough, I wasn’t on duty with Olivia last night, but I couldn’t sleep.” Ava blushed the moment the words left her mouth, her gaze darting to Aleksander’s lips. Quickly, she averted her eyes and babbled, “I had some studies to catch up on.”

  “You weren’t on-call with my granddaughter last night?” Meredith shot in, looking confused and slightly disgusted. “Then what were you doing?”

  It sounded like an accusation. Ava straightened. “Well, the nurse, Sydney, and I, take turns—“

  “You left my granddaughter in the hands of a nurse for an entire night? Seems to me that if you’re here, you should be checking on her, at least—“

  “Meredith,” Graham said gently.

  But she ignored her husband and continued on, “She should! I don’t feel comfortable leaving Olivia in the hands of a nurse for that period of time, and neither should you, Aleksander,” she said, despite Graham trying to interject again. Meredith would have none of it, barreling right over his protests. “And you, young lady, should check on my granddaughter during the night.”

  Ava didn’t deign to reply. It’s abundantly clear who wears the pants in that marriage.

  Uncomfortable, Aleksander looked away, as well.

  Ava went through the motions, making pleasantries with Aleksander’s father, a lovely man, the opposite of his wife, who reeked of wealth and entitlement, as if she were used to this sort of treatment and lifestyle—which she was.

  Aleksander took a seat across from his parents, and Ava took one a little further away between Olivia and his mother-in-law, and they all engaged in various conversations.

  Lydia asked Ava about her life, and she found herself discussing her hometown wistfully.

  “Lian is just a twenty-minute tram ride from Trondheim’s city center,” Ava said, showing another photo on her iPhone to Olivia and Lydia. “In the summer, with people reading in the sun, children splashing around in the water, and hamburgers sizzling on grills, it’s heaven. I think you’d love it.”

  Olivia clapped her hands. “I would! I love to splash.”

  “Nonsense,” Meredith interjected. “You’d catch such a chill. All of Norway is a block of ice.”

  “Sure the water is icy cold,” Ava nodded, conceding, and then turned to Olivia, “But that never stopped me. You get used to it. It’s refreshing.”

  Olivia grinned, looking as if she was ready to hop on a plane and go there right now.

  “We shouldn’t be discussing such things. Not with…” Meredith frowned, looked at Olivia, and her lip trembled.

  Everyone knew exactly how to finish her sentence. Not with Olivia on the verge of death.

  What is wrong with giving Olivia dreams? Filling her with hopes? Ava felt a fire grow inside her, as she decided she did not like Meredith much. Plenty of cancers had been cured by miracles. There was even talk that a positive attitude did more to help a patient heal than some modern medicine.

  “What did you like best about your home?” Olivia asked, causing Meredith to huff in exasperation.

  Leaning back in his chair, his arms folded behind his head, Aleksander chatted with his father, while paying attention to what Ava told Olivia about her childhood in Norway, the legends of the Norse gods and the Valkyries. He imagined Ava as a child, in little blonde braids, splashing through ice-cold water and shrieking in delight.

  “Have you ever gone to…to…”—Olivia paused, thinking—“Ava’s city, Daddy?”

  “Trondheim, skatten min,” Ava supplied.

  “Jesus, child,” Meredith interrupted, “there is nothing to do there. It’s small and provincial. I was bored to tears—”

  “Meredith wasn’t very lucky,” Graham interrupted her, trying to stop the flow of bad opinions about Norway that he knew were coming.

  Meredith huffed, yet again.

  “When we first arrived in Trondheim, it was cold. Like, really cold.” Graham hugged himself and faked a shudder, drawing a giggle from Olivia. “It was in the end of July and only 50 degrees out and your grandmother was expecting your uncle and sunny days.”

  “I got a crying, hungry baby and rainy days. And in winter—Jesus Christ!—there is absolutely no sunlight!” she insisted. “I almost cut my wrists.”

  “Did you really, Grandma? Almost cut your wrists?”

  Lydia coughed to disguise a laugh t
hat threatened to escape. “Not literally, Olivia.”

  “Let’s just say I could never live in such a place. Isn’t that why you left?” she asked, looking at Ava.”Because there were no opportunities for a doctor like yourself?”

  Ava awkwardly replied, “Well, no. I think it’s a beautiful city, actually.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice, small city with a bit of Medieval history, but it doesn’t warrant a visit.”

  “I’m sure Olivia would love it,” Lydia said, not fully intending to contradict Meredith, but having done so nonetheless because she couldn’t stand her co-mother-in-law beating down at the nice doctor.

  Meredith pursed her lips and looked at Ava under lowered eyelids. “So what is it that you do here exactly?”

  Back on solid ground that was easily defendable, Ava smiled and said, “I take care of Olivia.”

  “And just how do you take care of a—” Meredith stopped herself just as she was about to use the word dying but Olivia was sitting two feet from her. “A sick child, such as Olivia?”

  Be nice. Ava reigned in her frustration. “I keep an eye on her neutrophils, her electrolytes, her bilirubin blood level, and I keep an eye out for signs of post-radioembolization syndrome, and various other things which I’m sure would just bore you.”

  “But it appears you have time for idleness?” Meredith pursed her lips. “Surely my son is not paying you to sit around, making conversation with his family members, is he?”

  “Mother,” Aleksander hissed under his breath.

  Meredith smiled at him innocently. “I’m just saying. I’m sure there are things she must have to do now, such as getting Olivia’s medicine or cleaning her room.”

  It took a moment for Ava to understand what the horrible woman was implying. And when she did, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

  It was not that she thought herself above Kira or Sydney, but she prided herself on the fact that she had dedicating her whole life to fighting for a cure, and biting her tongue while the pompous woman diminished all her efforts was just not in her.