Prologue
Meredith looked in the mirror one last time, and exhaled loudly. Then she grabbed her bag from the desk and plodded down the stairs into the living room. “Morning, Mom”, she said to her mother, who was sitting on the couch and reading the newspaper. Her mother greeted her back and then glanced at the clock, before saying “He’s late. “ Meredith huffed as she plopped down on the couch beside her mother. “Mom, you know that he’s the most meticulous man on Earth. He must be stuck in the traffic or something.”
As if on cue, a car honked outside and Meredith leapt to her feet, grabbing her bag and flinging it on her shoulder. “Bye, Mom. See you later.” And with that, she rushed out of the house, leaving Ellis in her wake. Ellis shook her head a little, hoping that Meredith knew what she was getting into.
Meredith almost ran across the yard, barely able to catch her breath when her green eyes clashed with the pair of mesmerizing blue ones. He was leaning against the car casually, his arms folded across his chest, which caused the material of his indigo shirt to stretch tightly across his chest and arms, accentuating the definition of his chiselled chest and robust biceps. Her heart fluttered in her chest as he threw her a dazzling smile, almost making her swoon right then and there. She smiled back at him as she approached the car. “You are late”, she said as he leaned in to place a soft kiss on her cheek that sent a delicious tingle down her spine.
“Sorry. Mom was trying to surfeit me to death today. You know how she can be.”
Meredith chuckled, knowing completely well how much Carolyn loved her only son. “Well, at least you have someone to surfeit you to death. My mother doesn’t even care.”
“Believe me when I say that you are very fortunate in that respect”, he said light-heartedly. Then his voice softened as he added, “You know, you underestimate Dr. Grey’s love for you. She does care about you Meredith, even though she does not show her affection overtly by trying to feed you to death.”
Meredith nodded, then moved to the passenger side of the car. “Come on now. We’re ten minutes late. Mom was already pissed off at you for being late. You don’t want to bear her wrath by delaying further.” She seated herself in the passenger seat as he got behind the wheel.
“Ready?”he asked.
This made Meredith roll her eyes at her best friend of fifteen years. He could be so daft sometimes. But his tomfoolery was damn adorable too.
“Of course I am, Derek. If I wasn’t ready, then why would I be sitting in the car next to you, telling you to get going so that we won’t be late?”
“Any more late, you mean. And don’t give me that look, I was just asking. It was a rhetorical question,Mer. You weren’t supposed to answer.”
Meredith giggled as Derek started the car and the engine roared to life. As Derek turned the car away from her house, Meredith looked at him once, her love for him augmenting a little before turning away to look out the window. Yes, Derek Shepherd was her best friend and she was in love with him.
