“That’s good news, though,” she said cautiously.
I shrugged. “As long as he feels the same.”
“After all the first dates you’ve been on, I thought you’d be a whole lot more excited to have a second and third date. You’ve been on a mission.”
“All my friends are married or seriously dating. It felt like I was missing out.”
“Well,” she said, all the seriousness of someone far older and wiser, “you know you can’t compare your life to others’.”
I nodded. Our parents beat that into us growing up. As an adult, I knew it was only because we lived in a nice neighborhood but weren’t as well off as most of the people who lived there. Growing up, Peyton and I always wanted to dress like our friends, or have the things they had. We didn’t understand at the time why that wasn’t possible.
“Okay, Mom,” I teased her. “Don’t you ever get lonely?”
She shrugged, the only sign she’d ever given me that she wasn’t completely satisfied with her overbooked, overstressed life. “I don’t have time to get lonely.”
“Yeah, but don’t you ever think about having someone to come home to? About not working so many hours and sharing your life with someone?”
“I guess. I mean, I watch my patients come in with their spouses and it makes me wish I had someone who was there for me the way they are. But it’s not realistic for me.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never really dated, Vick. You know that. I’ve always been so focused on my career that dating never happened.”
“You dated in high school.”
She nodded. “I’ve dated. In high school, some in college and residency. I’ve gone out with a few guys since I started working. I’m not a virgin, but I don’t have a lot of experience with dating in general. Of course, that’s all jumping the gun since I don’t know where I’d meet a guy at all.”
“I keep telling you to come to girls’ night with me.”
“Um, I have no problem with lesbians, but I’m not one. I like men, Vicki.”
She was so serious that I had to laugh. It never occurred to me that my sister would be gay. I wouldn’t have cared, but we watched enough Channing Tatum movies to convince me she was definitely straight. The fact that she thought I was trying to set her up with another woman was hilarious to me.
“Why are you laughing?” she demanded, making me laugh even harder. “I’m serious, Vicki.”
She got up to leave, and I finally pulled myself together. “Don’t go, Pey. I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing because I think you’re gay. I was laughing because I never imagined you would be. It was funny that you thought you had to defend yourself.”
“You’re inviting me to girls’ night when I said I don’t know where I’d meet someone. What am I supposed to say?”
I chuckled again, but stopped when I saw the glare she shot me. “Listen, sorry. I didn’t mean that. My friends bring their husbands and sometimes other friends. Cute single men friends.”
“Have you dated any of them?”
I shook my head.
“Then why are you trying to set me up with them?”
I sighed. “They’re cute guys. Sawyer is one guy’s brother. He’s going to be the best man in the wedding next month. And Wyatt is Olivia’s, the one who’s getting married, boss. Sawyer is like a big brother to me, and Wyatt I don’t know well. Plus, he just started coming with Olivia, and I met Hunter before then. Even if you don’t end up with either of them, it would get you out of the house a little more.”
She nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s better than I’ve gotten before from you.”
She rolled her eyes at me then went back to watching someone’s tiny dream house come to life.
Chapter 12
Monday morning Drew and Xander both came into work for our monthly meeting. I just finished sending out updates to all the clients when Drew asked if I was ready to talk. I grabbed my coffee and my tablet and headed to the conference room.
“Hey Vicki,” Xander said with a grin. I hadn’t seen much of him lately with the work he’d been doing. I liked Xander though, and was happy to see him smiling.
“Hey Xander. How’re Mandy and Elise?”
His smile widened. “Great. We’re still talking about another kid so we’re getting in some practice.”
“Jeez! Do I have a sign on my head that says I want to know about everyone’s sex life?”
Drew laughed. “Carrie said you don’t want to hear about our office sexcapades anymore. I don’t think Xander got the memo.”
“Hey, I never said we were having sex in the office.”
“Oh, please. I heard you guys last week when Vicki was at lunch.”
Xander chuckled and nodded, pure male cockiness on his face. I just groaned. “Can we get on with the meeting so I can go throw up?”
Both men laughed, but we got started, thankfully.
“Did you send out status reports this morning?” Xander asked me.
I nodded. “Just finished the last of them before this.”
“Good. Let’s go through each project to make sure we’re on target for time and money. Drew, tell me about the studio.”
“It’s going well. About four weeks left. We took everything down to the studs last week. The guys are going to pull a few late nights this week because we have to rewire the whole place. The inspector should be in Thursday to check that. We’ll get insulation in on Friday and get that checked on Monday. Next week will be drywall.”
“All week?” Xander asked.
Drew nodded. “It’s a big place. We’re doing the upstairs at the same time so we only need one set of inspections. It’s busy.”
Upstairs? I didn’t know there was an upstairs.
“Then floors and finishing?”
Drew nodded. “Yep. There’s going to be a lot of light in there. We have a few floating walls to build also. He wants to section things off to keep traffic flowing through the space. We shouldn’t have any trouble meeting the deadline if nothing changes.”
“Excellent,” Xander said, making his own notes.
Drew asked Xander about one of his projects next. They went back and forth for the next hour, updating each other on progress and plans for the next few weeks. When I first started working with them, I didn’t understand why they did that. I thought they didn’t trust each other to get the work done. Carrie explained that they both want to be able to jump in when the other has something come up. When Mandy had Elise, Carrie said Drew was scrambling a bit to catch up on Xander’s projects. They started much more detailed monthly meetings after that.
“Is there anything you need from us?” Xander asked me when they were done.
I shook my head. “I’m good. I’ve been recording all the expenses and progress. The only project that is pushing the budget is the Malick project.”
“They’ve asked for some extras that have pushed the limit,” Xander defended.
I flipped to another screen on my tablet, the one with the Malick budget. “Do you have a new budget? Something to account for the added costs?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. I’ll work on that today and get it to you by the end of the day. I have to go over there before lunch so I’ll do that now and double check with them. I’ll make sure you have the finalized budget today though.”
I nodded. “That’ll work. You can tell them the numbers I sent this morning were based on the original budget.”
“That will give them the push to move the budget. There’s still a lot of work to do on that house.”
“Where are we with the crews?” Drew asked.
“I’ve got three at Malick, two at Queen, and three at Jameson.”
Drew made notes then said, “I have five with me at the studio, three at Moore, and just one left at Johnson.”
“Do we need to hire more people?” I asked, knowing neither of them wanted to, but the crew was getting thin.
Xand
er and Drew exchanged a look. “We’ve talked about it,” Drew said. “We’re still undecided. Right now, things are busy. In the winter, it drops off. We don’t want to lay guys off every winter.”
“Maybe we should see how things go this winter. If it goes well and you’re busy all the time, then hire another one or two people by spring. If not, keep things as they are. Your clients aren’t complaining. The only thing it does is makes the work go a little slower.”
“Slower isn’t always worse,” Xander said.
“I agree.”
“Slow means we catch more stuff and save from issues down the road.”
I nodded. “As long as you aren’t turning away business.”
They both shook their heads. “Not yet.”
“Good.”
We ended the meeting after a few more minutes of talk, and I went back to my desk. I answered emails and phone calls I missed during the meeting, then dove back into my regular work. By lunch, payroll was finished for the week before. I grabbed a quick bite, then spent my afternoon going over all the accounts and making sure the bills were paid. When my phone buzzed late afternoon, I grinned when I saw Hunter’s name.
Can’t stop thinking about you.
Same here.
Please don’t say I have to wait until the weekend to see you again.
I smiled. I didn’t want to wait that long either.
I’m free tonight. I might be able to be talked into a date.
Ugh. I can’t. My buddy, the guy I’m living with right now, needs my help tonight. Tomorrow?
Can’t. Girls’ night out. Wednesday?
It’s a date.
I smiled. Another date with Hunter. Our fourth. Our third date was just as hot as our second, and I knew we were both ready for more. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to sleep with Hunter on our fourth date.
And I couldn’t wait.
I didn’t hear much from Hunter until Wednesday afternoon. He texted me that he was looking forward to our date and would pick me up at six. I was searching for jewelry when I heard the door open and close.
“Hello?” I called out. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me,” Peyton yelled back. “Who did you think would be here?”
I shook my head at myself. “Sorry. Wasn’t expecting you home so early.”
She walked into my room and sat on my bed. “I was thinking about what you said the other day. About working less and getting out more. I didn’t have anything at work that had to be done, so I figured I’d come home. Maybe go with you to your girls’ night.”
I looked at her in the mirror as I fixed my earring. She looked nervous, like she was ready to run back out the door. I was excited that she wanted to go to girls’ night, but she missed it.
“Girls’ night was last night,” I said.
“Oh. I didn’t realize. Where are you going tonight?”
“I have a date with Hunter.”
“Again?”
I nodded. “I can cancel though. If you want to go out?”
She was shaking her head before I finished speaking. “No. Of course not. Go have fun. I’ll work up to girls’ night with your friends. Maybe next week.”
She looked like something was bothering her. “What happened?”
She shook her head.
“Are you okay?”
She shrugged. “I had to tell a patient today that there wasn’t anything else to try. We can keep doing IVF, but she’s tried eight times and it hasn’t worked yet.”
“I’m sorry,” I said honestly, my mind immediately going to Addi. She looked fine the night before, but I wondered if she was the patient Peyton had to talk to.
“Thanks. I knew going into this that I wouldn’t be able to help all of them, but it’s hard. This patient has had surgeries and complications. She’s been pregnant a few times, but she always loses one when one implants, and it pulls the other one out.”
“What are they going to do?”
She sighed. “I told them to think about it. She got her period today and lost her latest attempt. She’ll come back in a few weeks. I told them to talk through what they want to do.”
“What would you do if you were in her shoes?”
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to advise. I’m her doctor, not her-”
“I didn’t ask what you told her, or would tell her,” I interrupted. “I asked what you would do. If you were her. If you had a husband who was there for you and you tried IVF eight times and failed. What would you do?”
“I’d adopt. I know it’s hard to give up the dream of carrying your child, of giving birth, but there are so many children out there who need good homes. I’d take my money and go adopt siblings.”
“Really?” I asked, shocked. I never imagined my sister with kids, but I could definitely see her with a house full of kids and a smile.
She nodded, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she stared off. I wondered if she saw the same thing I did.
“I’d like to feel like I was doing something for kids who didn’t ask to be abandoned. I spend so much of my time helping people who want kids bring them into the world, but the reality is, there are a ton of kids that grow up without parents just because they were born to the wrong people.”
“That’s really sweet. I-”
The doorbell rang, interrupting me.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“Is that Hunter?”
I nodded.
“I’ll get the door. You finish getting ready.”
She left my room, pulling the door closed behind herself. I heard their voices as I touched up my make-up. I was about to leave my room when I remembered I was wearing white cotton panties. They were economical, but definitely not sexy. I tore apart my underwear drawer and wished I’d bought sexy panties at some point in my life. I found a pair of lavender satin ones and slid them on under my dress. My black lace bra would work, especially with the tiny lavender bow in the center. It was almost like I planned it.
Almost.
I grabbed my white sandals and tugged them on as I left my room. Peyton and Hunter were talking when I walked into the living room. I took a moment to admire how sexy he was in his black button-down and khaki shorts. He unbuttoned his shirt just far enough to see a few dark curls in the collar. He wore black sandals and I couldn’t help but admire how even his feet were long and lean.
Just like his cock.
Yeah, I really wanted him. I didn’t sleep with many men. If we slept together he would bring my grand total to nine. Not even enough to need to use my toes to count. I was okay with that, but it meant any man I chose to sleep with was always a big deal.
With Hunter, it just felt like a given. I wanted him more than any other guy I’d been with. But like I told Peyton, I hoped the feeling was mutual.
He finally looked up and saw me. His eyes lit up and scanned my body. He cleared his throat, something I’d learned meant he was nervous. That made two of us.
“Hey,” he said, moving toward me. When he reached my side, he leaned down to kiss my cheek.
I smiled at his consideration for my sister, silently thanking him for trying not to make her uncomfortable.
“I was trying to talk Peyton into coming out with us tonight. I told her it would be nice to get to know her.”
I nodded, meeting my sister’s eyes. “I told her the same thing.”
“You guys are still getting to know each other,” she said. “I don’t need to get in the way of that.”
“You won’t be in the way,” I protested.
“You won’t,” Hunter agreed.
Peyton shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’m worn out from today. I’ll just heat up something and watch some TV.”
“Pey…”
She gave me a look that I knew meant she was okay, but really needed to be alone. I nodded and let her have it. Hunter told her it was nice to meet her and we left.
“Is she okay?” he asked when we were outside.
&nb
sp; I nodded. “Yeah. She had to tell a patient she didn’t think she’d ever get pregnant. It’s always hard for her when what works for everyone else doesn’t work.”
“She’s a fertility doctor, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I thought I told you that.”
He nodded. “You did, just making sure I remembered right. That’s pretty awesome, but I can see where it would be hard to do that.”
We got in his SUV and headed toward town.
“She’s always wanted to help people. When we were in school, she stuck up for everyone. She had friends in all the cliques, and she was constantly defending people who got picked on. And she’s crazy smart. Did well in every class she ever took. Kicked ass in medical school, too.”
“I can see that. She has a very determined look about her.”
I nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. When Peyton was talking to someone, she was always in charge of the conversation. She stood with her feet planted wide, her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were focused and she never let the conversation run away from the topic. With me, she was different, but with everyone else, she was laser-focused. It was how she went through life.
“Have you talked to her about getting pregnant?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want her to get involved. She works with couples who are married and they’re using the husband’s sperm, or a donor that they chose, but usually the husband. I sort of feel like I haven’t tested all my options out yet.”
Hunter nodded. I wanted to know what he was thinking but didn’t ask.
“Are you okay with dinner out tonight? My buddy’s home so we can’t go there, and they’re working at the studio tonight.”
“They are?” I asked, surprised they were working so late.
He nodded. “Yeah. Drew said something about an inspector coming tomorrow so they wanted to get everything done tonight.”
“Ah, yeah, the electrical needs to be done by the morning. Dinner out is fine. I’m good with anything.”
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