“I’ll have to think of skillful ways to reference aviation in conversation. Because of you, I read a book on the basics. Thrust, lift, drag. I was instantly enamored. I love physics.”

“What’s not to love about physics?”

“Nothing,” she said earnestly.

His soap smelled so wonderful that she’d like to stockpile candles in that fragrance. All of a sudden, she could hear her pulse in her ears—

The click of high heels intruded. Jenna broke the bubble that had enclosed Leah and Sebastian by commenting on her preference for coffee beans from Tanzania.

The three of them made their way to the administrative offices. This time, they were shown into a boardroom. Leah’s group arranged themselves on one side of the table. Donna McKelvey and the director of medical records sat on the opposite side.

After a brief conversation, the director produced an army green file folder containing Baby Girl Brookside’s original records. At Jenna’s request, he’d also made photocopies of the file and scanned images of it onto a flash drive—both of which Leah could take home with her.

“On behalf of the hospital,” Donna said to Leah, “I’d like to apologize once again for what happened to you. I sincerely wish you the best.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like in order to look through the original paperwork.”

The hospital employees and Jenna excused themselves, leaving Leah alone with Sebastian in a room that smelled of new carpeting. The only sound: air whirring through vents.

“And you?” Leah asked Sebastian. “Do you have other commitments? If so, I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.”

His eyes flashed a gray as lustrous as moonstones. “I’m sticking around. I only have one commitment this afternoon. And it’s to you.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Leah pulled the original file toward her. Chest tightening with expectation, she opened it.

The papers within had turned beige and brittle with age. A smattering of mold splayed across the top right edge. She positioned the first two sheets side by side.

Her biological mother’s name: Trina Brookside.

Eagerly, she read the remaining information. As far as Leah could tell, things had gone well with Trina’s labor, but after the baby had been delivered . . . She narrowed her eyes, trying to understand. “I’m following the doctor’s notes right up until the baby was born.”

“The staff in the delivery room knew that Trina was diabetic, and they were prepared for the complications that can cause,” Sebastian explained. “As soon as the baby was delivered, they noted that she had cyanosis, which means she was bluish in color. She was taken to the nursery and given oxygen. Her condition improved quickly, and the pediatrician on staff concluded that she was healthy. Essentially, she just needed a little time to get acclimated to life outside the womb.”