Page 59 of Do It With Me

I stiffened and lifted my head from Holden’s chest. My mom stood in the doorway, the expression on her face bright and hopeful. Before I could think of how to say no this time, Holden glanced toward Dr. Feldman, who’d reappeared and was zipping up his bag.

“What do you say, Doc?” he asked. “Can she go to the beach?”

The doctor looked up and hesitated, clearly caught off guard by the question. “Well, technically, yes. I suppose if you took a doctor with you, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, considering that it’s February in New York, you’d have to go somewhere warm and she absolutely can’t fly, which means that unfortunately, while it is theoretically possible, it’s not practical.”

Holden’s mouth curved into a slow, deliberate smile. “What if someone had a private jet?”

Dr. Feldman blinked at him. “A private jet?”

“Hypothetically,” Holden said, deadpan. “Is the physical act of flying on an airplane dangerous to her health, or is it simply a commercial flight issue?”

The doctor glanced between us like he wasn’t sure if this was a joke. “Well, if someone had a private jet, and a doctor, and the will to make it happen, then sure. I suppose she could go to the beach.”

I stared at Holden, tears still clinging to my lashes. “What are you doing?”

He winked one bright blue eye at me before looking back at Dr. Feldman. “Can I hire you to come to the beach with us tomorrow?”

The doctor blinked again, but then, after a pause that seemed to last forever, he smiled. “You know what? Sure. Why not?”

My mom clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up like a child’s who’d been told they could go for a swim on a hot summer’s day. “We’re going to the beach!”

For the first time in weeks, she looked genuinely happy. I looked from her to Holden, this man who was apparently capable of rearranging the universe on a whim, and laughed through my tears. “I guess we’re going to the beach tomorrow.”

He grinned. “I guess we are. I’ll pick you up at eight?”

Deep down, I knew I should’ve said no. What he was talking about meant chartering a private freaking jet, but in that moment, I didn’t care how impossible it sounded. Just for a day, I was going to accept that something impossible was beautifully possible again.

And I was simply going to be grateful to him for offering to make it happen.