She was fucking gorgeous.
Every other girl I had been with didn’t hold a candle to her.
Her long, reddish-brown hair was pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head with tiny wisps framing her angelic face. Her lips were perfectly shaped, begging for me to kiss them, and her eyes were an intoxicating shade of blue. I could stare into them for hours and never get bored. “Even the salsa? That was a last minute impulse buy.”
She grabbed the jar of salsa. “This is a bit out there, but I’m sure it will go good with the pretzels.”
“That was my thought process.”
She looked over at the pizza on the island. “Uh, why don’t you open that, and I’ll get all of this put away.”
“Don’t put away the toppings. We’ll need those for after dinner.”
She nodded. “Will do.”
I flipped open the box and looked back at Delaney, who was holding out two paper plates.
“Did you bring anything to drink or did you get distracted by buying the whole store?”
“Shit.” I grabbed the plates and set them next to the pizza. “I left them in the car. I’ll be right back.”
I jogged back to the car and grabbed the bottle from the backseat.
Delaney had everything put away and was sitting down at the island when I walked back in.
“Wine?” she asked.
“No. Well, yes, but it’s sparkling non-alcoholic cider.” I peeled off the foil wrapper and twisted off the cap. “Glasses?” I asked.
She nodded toward the cabinet behind me. “Top shelf. Mom keeps them up there.”
I reached up in the cabinet. “Mom?” This was the perfect opportunity to find out more about Delaney.
“Uh, yeah. I still live with my mom. With med school and having a job, it’s easier right now to just stay at home.”
“Makes sense.” I pulled down two glasses and set them next to the pizza. “I lived with my sister and her husband while I went through trade school. That’s where Frankie and I met Remy.”
“Those are your friends?” If I acted like I knew who he was talking about, he would figure out just who I was.
“Yeah. Frankie, the girl you met at the party when I passed out, we met in high school. Remy was from up north and was in the same program for engine building in college. We all became pretty close quickly.” I poured the sparkling cider into each of our glasses then sat down in the other stool under the island.
“So you have a sister?” she asked.
I grabbed a slice of pizza and set it on her plate. “Yeah. Leelee. She basically saved me from being a hoodlum.”
She quirked her eyebrow. “Instead, you’re a player on a drag racing team.”
“Did I tell you what I did for a living when we met?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. You mentioned it in passing.”
That could have been. I did know telling chicks I worked on a race car totally worked in my favor. “What about you? You got a brother or sister?”
She nodded. “Yup. Three brothers.”
I whistled low. “Damn. I don’t think I could have two more siblings than Leelee.”
She shrugged. “It was definitely interesting growing up.”
“They all doctors like you?” I grabbed a slice of pizza for myself and folded it in half.
“I’m not a doctor yet,” she corrected. “I have about four years before that happens. And yes, one is a doctor. The other two are lifers in the Army.”
“So, in other words, your brothers aren’t anyone to mess with?” I chuckled. If two of them were lifers in the Army, then I knew they were badasses.
“As long as you don’t mess with me, then you don’t have anything to worry about. That’s what they always told my friends growing up.”
“And also a warning to me right now.” I cleared my throat. “Although, they might not be too fond of me for getting you pregnant.”
She shrugged and took a bite of pizza. “They all live on the west coast. I wouldn’t worry about them too much. My mom is the one you should worry about.”
My mouth went dry, and I looked around the kitchen. “Uh, didn’t you say this was your mom’s house?” Hell, I didn’t need to be sitting in her mom’s kitchen, eating pizza, waiting for her to come home to kick my ass.
She laughed and nodded. “It is, but she’s gone for three weeks for work. And she doesn’t know about the baby yet. I’ve only told you and a close friend.”
“Really?” I was surprised she hadn’t told more. “Everyone at work knows. Not because I told them, but because Frankie opened her mouth.”
She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.” Everyone would find out eventually.
“So have you always wanted to be a doctor?” I was determined to find out more about Delaney. The little I knew about her, I liked already.
“Yeah. Well, at first, I wanted to be a vet, but then my dad was sick and I saw how well the doctors took care of him.”
“Sick?”
She nodded and reached for a napkin. “Yeah. He had lung cancer. He passed away six years ago.”
“I’m sorry, ba...” I cleared my throat. “Delaney. I’m sorry, Delaney.”
She shook her head. “You need to come up with a new endearment, Jay. Babe doesn’t do it for me.”
“I’ve noticed,” I mumbled.
“So anyway, my dad was sick and the two doctors who took care of him were amazing. They were knowledgeable, kind, and sympathetic.”
“So you decided you wanted to be like them.”
“Well, yeah, though I seem to be a bit straightforward sometimes. I’ve always believed it was best to just rip the band-aid off instead of slowly and gently taking it off. I act the same way when talking to patients. Mave gave me such hell about it when I was on rotation with her.”
“Mave is?” She hadn’t said her mother’s name, and I thought maybe she was talking about her.
“One of the doctors at Southern State. She’s the other one who knows about the baby.” She took two massive bites of her pizza and sighed. “This is the best pizza ever.”
This was the first time Delaney had sort of let loose and seemed totally relaxed.
Note to self: good food helped Delaney relax.
“I gotta agree with you one that, ba—Del?”
“Ba-Del?” she laughed. “Drop the Ba and just call me Del if you have to have a nickname for me, Jay.”
I could work with that. “Del it is, then.”
“Now it’s my turn to ask questions about you.” She shoved the last bite of pizza into her mouth. “First, I had to finish that.”
“Gotta love a woman who isn’t afraid to eat.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed another piece of pizza. “It’s the baby-making me eat like ten hungry linemen. Though, I will say, I did love pizza before.”
“So everything has been good with the pregnancy?” I know she had said it was her turn to ask questions, but whenever I saw an opportunity to find out more about her, I was going to take it.
“Better now. I had crazy morning sickness the first four weeks. Now, I’m just hungry all of the time.” She took a quick bite of her pizza. “But we’re talking about you right now.” She took a sip of her cider and laughed.
“What? You don’t like sparkling cider?”
She brushed her hand across her nose. “It's actually pretty good. The bubbles just tickled my nose.”
“That’s how you know it’s a good year.” I winked and took a sip of my glass. The shit was totally bubbly and sweet as hell. I would have loved to have had a beer with my pizza, but I didn’t want to be an ass and drink when she couldn’t.
“I’m more of a glass of milk with my pizza girl than a glass of wine.” She pushed back her stool and walked to the fridge. “You want a beer or something?”
Well, hot damn. “Uh, if you’ve got one.” I didn’t want milk, though. That did not sound like a good combination with pizza. “You really gonna drink milk? Is that one o
f those weird pregnancy cravings?”
She laughed and shook her head. “No. I’ve drank milk with pizza forever. You should try it.” She grabbed a gallon of milk from the fridge and set it down on front of me. “It cuts through the acidity of the sauce.”
“I’ll take your word on it, Del.”
She smiled wide. “Definitely like that better than babe, and you’re going to try the milk.” She turned to the cabinet and grabbed two glasses. “You don’t get a beer until you try the milk.”
“I’ve had milk before,” I chuckled.
She filled one glass to the brim, and the other, she splashed two fingers worth in it. “Take a bite then take a drink.” She stared expectantly at me.
“You’re really not going to give this up, are you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. This is science right here.”
“Science,” I mumbled. “I barely passed that class in high school. I’m going to have to take your word on this being good.” I took a huge bite of pizza, chewed a bit, then drank the milk.
“So?” she asked excitedly.
Who knew drinking milk would excite Delaney? “Not bad. A little weird, but okay.”
She pointed her finger at me. “Told ya.” She lifted the gallon to fill my glass again.
“Uh, no.” I put my hand over the top of the glass. “You promised me a beer if I tried the milk and pizza. Pay up, Del.”
“But you said it was good,” she insisted.
“Nah, I said it was okay.”
She rolled her eyes and twisted the cap back on the milk. “Milk is way better than beer with pizza.”
“You drink the milk, Del, and I’ll stick to beer.”
She set the milk back in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer. “Fine, you win,” she huffed. She set the beer in front of me and sat back down. “Now back to you.”
“Hit me with your questions.” It was only fair since I planned on finding out everything possible about Delaney.
She took another large bite of pizza. “Hmm,” she pondered. “I know about college and your friends. What about your sister? Any other family besides her?”
“She’s my only blood family I claim. She’s married to Kurt and owns a speed shop back home.”
“And where is home?” she asked.
“Up by Chicago. Born and raised there. Mostly raised by Leelee, though. My parents got into drugs and took off when I was twelve.”
“Say what?” she gasped. “Your parents just left you?”
I nodded and peeled a pepperoni off the pizza. “Sure did. Though it was probably the best thing they could have done. Leelee ended up marrying Kurt so she could keep me and the rest is history from there.”
“Hold up. Your sister married her husband so she could get custody of you?”
“Sure did. Worked out in the end, though. They fell in love, and I had a good place to live finally.”
“Well, dang,” she laughed. “I was not expecting you to say that.”
“You never really know someone's story unless you ask them.” I looked at the beer and cringed. “You, by chance, wouldn’t have a bottle opener, would you?”
“Third drawer on the left.”
I grabbed the bottle opener form the drawer and leaned against the counter. “What other secrets are you looking to uncover?”
“Not secrets. Just looking to find more out about you.”
I popped open the top on the beer and tossed the cap on the counter. “So you know my parents took off, my sister is a saint, and I went to college with Frankie and Remy.”
“Did you and Frankie ever date?”
It was a justifiable question. “I tried once, but only ‘cause I didn’t know her.”
“You’re gonna have to explain that answer a little bit more.”
I sat back down and took a swig off my beer. “She was good-looking and knew how to turn a wrench. My teenage brain didn’t realize with all of that she had one hell of a chip on her shoulder from being brushed aside for being a girl.” That was an understatement when it came to Frankie, but there it was in a nutshell.
“Please tell me she put you in your place.”
I laughed and nodded. “She sure as hell did. Almost kicked me in the nuts, but I was able to duck out of the way before her foot made contact.”
“I think I might like Frankie,” she laughed.
“Most people do. Just don’t get on that woman’s wrong side. She’s constantly giving me shit at work.”
“About what?” Delaney asked.
I took another drink of beer. “Just that she thinks she’s the only one working around there.”
“But is that true?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Some of the time?”
Delaney laughed. “That is a yes to all of the time, then.”
It wasn’t true, but I didn’t want to look like a dick trying to prove my point. Frankie was a hard worker and so was I, just in different ways. “Next question, Del.”
“I don’t know what else to ask.” She tapped her finger on her shin. “Do you talk to your sister often?”
“She calls to pester me every couple of days. Her husband has two brothers that are into car building and drag racing so they’ve been out to a couple of the races this year. I probably won’t see them for a bit.”
She nodded and finished her pizza. “How disgusted would you be if I ate another piece of pizza?”
“Not at all. I would think you’re doing a good job at keeping the baby fed.” I grabbed another slice of pizza and laid it on her plate. “Eat up, Del.” There wasn’t a chance in hell that I would ever tell a woman she was eating too much. That wasn’t any of my business at all.
“I think the baby had no problem helping me eat up.” She finished her third slice of pizza then sat back in her chair with her hand on her belly.
“Full?” I asked. While she had chowed down on her pizza, I managed to shove two more pieces down so she didn’t feel like she was eating more than me. I wasn’t sure why I cared about that, but I didn’t want her to feel bad about eating in front of me.
“For now. It’s amazing how much I’ve been eating lately. I’m sure my doctor is going to tell me to start eating carrots and lettuce if I don’t want to gain five hundred pounds.”
I flipped the lid shut on the pizza and knew this was another moment I needed to be careful of what I said. “I’m sure it’ll be a good appointment.”
Delaney sipped on her milk. “I think that is the most politically correct response I have ever heard.”
I grabbed my beer and tipped it toward her. “Just trying to not get my balls kicked in.”
“Is that something you worry about often?”
“Only when I open my mouth.”
She burst out laughing. “At least you admit it.”
“I’m not as poised and smart like you, Del. My mouth has gotten me into trouble but it also happens to get me out of trouble sometimes.”
She scoffed. “I’m far from poised.”
That was a lie. “I could tell how together and smart you were when you were kneeling over me the other night.”
She flitted her had. “I’m good under pressure. That’s all that was.”
“I suppose that’s good for someone who wants to be a doctor?”
She finished her milk and nodded. “Comes in handy.”
“So what else were you planning on doing tonight?”
She raised her arms over her head and stretched. “I honestly was just going to veg out in front of the TV. I don’t have clinicals or have to work the next two days. Doing nothing is high up on my to-do list.”
“You got off Tuesday and Wednesday?” I thought I was one of the only ones who had weird days off from work. Roc had told us we could have Tuesday off and more than likely when we showed up to work on Wednesday, we would be out before noon.
“Yeah. Weekends are busiest at the restaurant and the doctor I’m shadowing took two personal days. His time off is my time off too.�
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“Hold up.” I held up my hand shook my head. “You have two jobs?” Why the hell was she working two jobs when she was pregnant?
“Uh, I guess. Though I don’t get paid for my clinicals. I do those for experience.”
I blinked slowly. “You’re working your ass off and you’re not getting paid?” What in the hell was this shit? I wasn’t going to work for anyone without getting paid.
“That’s how clinicals work, Jay. Southern State is a teaching hospital that services the public so med students get experience and do hands-on procedure. I thought everyone knows that.”
“Uh, I barely made it through college working on cars, Del. I know absolutely nothing about being a med student.”
She stood up and grabbed the pizza box. “I go to school forever, work in the hospital for hands-on experience, and then, after about ten years, I can practice medicine on my own.”
“And how long away is that now?”
“Four more years,” she sang. She stuck the pizza in the fridge and turned back to look at me. “I’m watching cheesy movies on TV the rest of the night. You’re welcome to stay if you want or you can go.”
“Why would I want to go?” The only plans I had tonight were to worm my way into Delaney’s house. I was here, and I didn’t want to leave. At least, not yet.
“Didn’t know if you had other plans or something.” She reached over the sink and turned on the light above. She moved to flipped the kitchen light off and folded her arms over her chest as she stared at me.
“Why would I come over here if I had plans to do something else?” I could see the wheels in her mind spinning. Delaney had already formed an opinion of me, and I could tell it wasn’t a good one.
“I don’t know, Jay. I just don’t want you to think you need to be here.”
“So you don’t plan on holding me captive by cuffing me to the bed and playing doctor with me?”
Her jaw dropped, and her pretty eyes bugged out. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Sure? You could change your mind right now and say that is what you want.” I held my arms out in front of me. “I won’t put up a fight.”
“Are you serious right now?” she whispered.
I was on the borderline of pushing Delaney too far. “Yes, but you can pretend I didn’t say it.”
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