Page 71 of Wild

Erin Dooley

Yeah, all good. I'm out having second breakfast with Nell. Have fun.

Mia sends back a smiling face and a heart on fire.

"Am I witnessing a love scene?" Nell asks calmly.

Erin's heart does a little flip and she feels her face go warm all at once.

"I never imagined I'd feel this way about someone," she admits, and raises her hand because she needs another donut.

"That's how it goes — it shows up out of nowhere, or sometimes it's been there from the start and we're the ones who refuse to see it."

Nell's words make the doctor go quiet, and she sits there looking at the donut they've just set in front of her. The firstmemory lodged in her mind is Mia's blue eyes watching her from the gurney. That image has followed her ever since, and she comes to the conclusion that it was the first sign — that Mia had already started something in her that same night, and that she spent the weeks after denying herself something she wanted too. She doesn't know if she did it because she kept telling herself Mia only wanted one thing from her, or because she was so used to being invisible to everyone that she couldn't imagine the singer having any real interest in her.

"What are you thinking about?" Nell asks.

Erin shrugs; she doesn't want to admit that she feels insecure, that she wants this and is terrified all at once because she doesn't know what comes next.

"I don't know if I fit into Mia's world," she finally says. "When the tour ends I'll go back to New York, and she says she'll be there for a while resting, but after that she'll start moving again and…"

"Erin," Nell raises a hand, "it's not about you adapting to her life or her adapting to yours — that doesn't work. If you want to be together, what you have to do is figure out how to build a new life between the two of you. One that feels right for both of you — that's all. Sometimes it's hard, and other times it's easier than it seems, but what matters is that you both want to do it. That's already half the work."

"Have you ever thought about becoming a life coach or something?" Erin teases.

"Don't give me ideas or I'll start charging you for my wisdom."

Erin's laugh is deep and sudden — the kind that leaves you completely relaxed.

"I'd happily pay," she says, raising her hand to ask for the check, "but for now I'll just pay for breakfast."

"Good girl," Nell murmurs.

Chapter 26

Mia and Noah got back to the hotel later than the singer had planned. Her friend had insisted on eating at a restaurant that looked pretty sketchy but reminded him of the old days, when they barely had a few dollars in their pockets and had no choice but to pick places based on their budget. Mia couldn't say no, and they'd enjoyed the meal over laughter and memories of their time with Danny.

She'd stopped by Erin's room when they got back, but nobody answered the door, and someone from housekeeping told her the doctor was in the gym. Mia had almost headed down, but she was wiped out from all the walking and decided to go to her suite instead, take a shower, and lie down for a while. She'd closed her eyes and drifted into a half-sleep she couldn't quite fall all the way into, and she finally snapped awake when she heard the door to Erin's room click shut.

Now she's sitting at the foot of her bed. It's three in the afternoon and the tour bus won't roll out until six, so after washing her face, drinking some water, and reading a couple of emails from Jude, she decides to leave her room and walk down to Erin's.

She knocks a couple of times and waits, fidgeting with her foot on the hallway carpet. Nobody answers and the doubts start creeping in, so she turns toward the bodyguard standing in the hall.

"Is Erin in there?"

"Yeah, she came in about twenty minutes ago," the man answers.

Mia turns back and knocks again, then takes a step back when it hits her that the doctor might be resting and she's interrupting. Just as she's turning to leave, the door swings open and Erin peers out with only her head.

"Hey," Mia says, flushing for no reason she can name. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Erin reaches out, takes her hand, and pulls her inside.

"I was in the shower," she explains as she closes the door.

Mia wouldn't have needed the explanation, because the reason Erin only cracked the door was that she isn't fully dressed. She's in her underwear, gone damp from throwing it on in a rush, without enough time to dry off properly. Her hair is clipped up and a few loose strands cling to her neck.

They go very still. The doctor with goosebumps rising on her skin and her pulse hammering under the weight of Mia's gaze, which won't leave her body.