Read Online Once Found: The Pocket Watch Chronicles by Ceci Giltenan - Free Book Online Page B

experience had been very relaxing.
    She rested until someone entered the room. Opening her eyes, she expected to see Gabe, but it was a man she didn’t know. He wasn’t dressed in scrubs. She was immediately wary.
    He smiled. “Hello, Elizabeth.”
    “Hello,” she said tentatively. “Who are you?”
    He smiled warmly. “My name is David Sinclair, and I’m a friend. A very good friend.”
    She shook her head slowly, wishing Gabe were here. “I don’t remember you.”
    “That’s okay. I didn’t think you would.”
    “Where do I know you from? I don’t live here. I live in a place called Cincinnati, and it’s far away.”
    He nodded. “That’s right. I live in Cincinnati too, and until a couple of days ago, I was your boyfriend.”
    At that moment, Gabe walked in carrying a cup in each hand. Elsie gave a sigh of relief.
    “Excuse me, who are you?” asked Gabe.
    “I’m David Sinclair.” David offered Gabe his hand.
    Gabe set down one of the cups and returned the handshake. “Dr. Gabe Soldani. Here, Elizabeth, I brought you the mocha I promised.”
    Elsie took the cup, but didn’t taste it. On seeing David, Gabe became tense and that made Elsie tense too.
    Gabe turned back to the new arrival. “If you were Elizabeth’s boyfriend until a couple of days ago, what are you doing here?”
    “Her parents called me. They told me what happened. They didn’t know Elizabeth and I had broken up on Saturday morning.”
    “Then why didn’t you fill them in?”
    “Dr. Soldani, shall we sit down and I’ll tell you what I know?”
    Gabe nodded, motioning for David to sit in the recliner as he sat in the other small chair. “So, I’ll ask again, if you and Elizabeth are no longer a couple, why did you fly here from Cincinnati this morning?”
    Fly? There it was again. She had to remember to ask about that.
    “I care about Elizabeth, but in the short time we dated I learned a few things that I didn’t think would ever change. Elizabeth drives herself harder than anyone I know. After a while, I came to believe it was out of some need to please her parents. She aced the hardest courses in prep school, and was always first in her class. But these were simply her parents’ expectations. I know you went to medical school with her, so you know she graduated as valedictorian. What you probably don’t know is that it was her third time. She was valedictorian in both high school and college. Her parents didn’t even attend those ceremonies.”
    Elizabeth didn’t understand all of what that meant, but it didn’t sound good.
    Gabe put two fingers to his brow, as if he were in pain.
    David continued. “Elizabeth, I believed your constant push to excel was to gain your parents’ attention, which they didn’t seem overly anxious to give. I told you that you would never be happy as long as you relied on their approval for fulfilment, and it broke my heart watching you continue to try. You were probably even dating me because it was expected. Your mother set us up.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It means I know your mother, and she suggested that I take you out on a date.”
    “But that still doesn’t explain why they called you and why you dropped everything to get here,” observed Gabe.
    “They called me for several reasons. First, they said she remembered you and she believes she loves you. I guess they thought she might remember me. I was fairly certain she wouldn’t because I don’t believe she loved me. Still, they figured if she remembered me, I could talk her into going to Baltimore.”
    “I’m not going to Baltimore,” Elsie said emphatically.
    To her surprise, David grinned. “Good girl. Although your parents don’t know this yet, the reason I came was to support that decision.”
    Gabe gaped at him. “Are you serious?”
    “Absolutely. Elizabeth, I don’t think we were meant to be together, but that doesn’t change the fact that I care very deeply for you. It’s rather ironic that it took