“I meant it then, and I mean it now, but other people don’t know that. Potential clients aren’t going to walk into a private practice expecting to be treated for free or at discounted rates. They’re still going to go to the hospital for that.”
“Are you purposely avoiding answering the part about April?” he asked, suspicion heightening his voice.
“No, I was just answering the important questions in the context of our discussion about private practice. Are we done with that?”
“We’re just putting it on the backburner for now.” He grinned. “So April? You heard from her?”
I sighed. “Yes, actually, I have. We had lunch together yesterday.”
“You did?” He spun around to face me, fishing rod dangling from the limp fingers of his right hand. If he got a bite now, the entire rod would disappear into the water, but he didn’t even seem to notice.
“Where did you take her?”
“I ran into her at the cafeteria. We had lunch there.”
Hunter’s eyes widened before a dry chuckle slipped out of him. “You’re a motherfucking billionaire and you couldn’t think of a better place to take her than the hospital? I love their burger special—don’t get me wrong—but I don’t think it’s the ideal location for a first date when you can literally afford to fly the girl to Paris.”
“The flight to Paris is just a little longer than the forty minutes we had. Then there’s the return flight, actually getting to a restaurant there, ordering, eating. All in all, there just wasn’t time.”
“But a first date in the cafeteria?” He shook his head. “You could’ve given her so much better than that.”
“Did I mention I just ran into her and asked if I could join her? It wasn’t a date.” Not that I would’ve minded if it had been one. I simply would have done what Hunter suggested and taken her someplace nicer.
I might have run out of game but that didn’t mean I was completely clueless. I still had a brain. I just hadn’t had to exercise that part of it for a while.
He tilted his head back and laughed, his giant belly shaking. When his laughter subsided and he’d swiped his fingers below his eyes, he looked like he totally disagreed with my conclusion that I still had a brain.
“I sure hope you have something up your sleeve for when you do take her on a date,” he said as he adjusted his grip and turned back to the water. “If you’re serious about wooing this girl, the cafeteria isn’t going to hit the spot.”
“Wooing?” My eyebrows rose. “Does anyone still use that word?”
“Obviously, I do.” He grinned. “So, do you?”
“Do I what?” I frowned. “Do I use the word wooing?”
He snorted and rolled his eyes toward the clear blue sky like he was praying for patience or help from above. “No, do you have something up your sleeve for when you take her on an actual date?”
“Oh, that.” I sucked my lips into my mouth, letting my head tilt back. “No, I don’t have anything up my sleeve. I’m not even convinced I’ll ask her out on a date.”
“Why not?” His shoulders squared as his line grew taut, but then it slackened again. When he reeled the line in, his hook was empty. “Little bastards. I hate it when that happens.”
Lowering to his haunches to add more bait, he looked up at me with expectation in his eyes. “Don’t think this incident will get you out of having to answer my question. You like this woman, so why not ask her out?”
For a moment, I stared off into the distance instead of replying, watching the blue-gray water shimmer beneath the sun. Eventually, I shrugged one shoulder and gave my head a slight shake.
“I don’t know if I like her. I don’t even really know her.”
“But there’s something there,” he argued. “That much is crystal clear whenever you two are in the same room.”
“I won’t deny that I’m attracted to her,” I admitted because there was no point in even trying to deny it. “That doesn’t mean I should pursue her. We’ve both got a lot on our plates and it’s not like I can’t keep my head on straight just because I think she’s hot.”
“If having a lot on your plate was a reason for people not to date, there would be no one in a relationship anywhere on the face of the planet.”
“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” I reeled my line in slowly while I spoke. “She has a child and her ex is a dickhead. The child was injured because of the ex. Understandably, all her guards would be up at the moment.”
“So what you’re really saying is that you’re scared?” he asked, disbelief ringing in his tone.
“I’m not scared.” I scoffed, glancing over to give him a pointed look. “This might just not be the right time for either of us.”
“You keep saying that.” He stood up and prepared to cast his line again. “First about going into private practice and now about this.”
“You just agreed with me about not being ready to leave our patients. Until we can figure that out, neither of us are willing to leave the hospital. So it’s not the right time. As for April, her daughter is recovering from an injury that could greatly impact her mobility if it’s not treated. Do you really think she wants to think about dating right now?”
“I doubt she’s ever going to be ready to think about it if no one asks her out, but you might also be right. She has a kid and her ex is crazy. It might just not be worth the hassle.”
“I never said they wouldn’t be worth the hassle.” It really wasn’t the hassle holding me back. “I just don’t see the point in trying to start something if one of us is not in the right place to see it through.”
“You’d honestly take on the responsibility of a child that isn’t yours?” His brown eyes grew wide. “That’s saying something, man. I thought you just wanted to get into her pants.”
“It’s only a little about wanting to get into her pants.” I arched a brow at him. “Also, you know that by saying that, you just jinxed yourself into marrying a woman with a child one day?”
“I don’t have time for that.” He smirked. “Super busy guy here, you know? I have some business books to read. No girls for me. Not for getting into their pants or any other reason.”
“Sure, I believe you,” I joked. “When you meet the woman, let me know. It’s going to be fun saying I told you so.”
Hunter’s eyes went back to the sky, but he didn’t argue. He simply took a breath before focusing his attention on the water and going back to the subject of private practice.
Throughout the day, we talked about what we might need and spitballed ideas about how we’d be able to keep helping our patients. Although our discussion never ventured to April and Adi again, they were still on my mind.
I’d been looking forward to fishing on my day off all week, but right then, I was more looking forward to the next day, my session with Adi, and having lunch with April again. What did that say about my earlier objections to asking her out?
Chapter 12
APRIL
My blood boiled as I sat in therapy with Adi and watched her having trouble grasping things in her hand. Chris and Hunter were sweet and supportive of her but it was obvious she was getting frustrated regardless.
It was all because Craig wanted her to ride on the back of his fucking deathtrap and now he couldn’t even be bothered to send a damn text to check up on her. I was so pissed off at him that I had brief fantasies of dismembering him slice by slice.
I wanted to wring his neck or magically replace every spoon of sugar he would ever shovel into his coffee with salt instead. So many revenge strategies whirled through my mind that I started to wonder if I’d missed my true calling.
Perhaps I should’ve become a scriptwriter for a suspenseful television show or a politician instead of a receptionist. It seemed my vindictive streak was far wider than I’d ever thought.
Seeing my daughter in pain brought out a bad side of me that made me want to really hurt Craig in return. Then again, short of severing his favorite
appendage—which I’d already vowed not to do—there wasn’t much that would actually hurt him.
No amount of name-calling, arguing, or fighting with him would make him feel a damn thing more than he already did about any of this—which was nothing. I was pretty much limited to plotting revenge, which might’ve been satisfying but it was also useless.
“I can’t do it,” Adi cried, dropping the toy meant to assist in motor function on the floor. Her face was flushed and droplets of sweat had popped up on her brow. “It’s too hard.”
Chris put a hand on her shoulder and bent his knees to be on her eye level. “I know it’s hard, but you’re doing so well. How about we take a break for a few minutes? There’s nothing wrong with needing a rest.”
Her eyes dropped to her shoes, but she nodded. Hunter bumped into her side, intent on cheering her up. “Have I showed you our hall of fame? Chris and I ask our patients to write down funny things that happen to them or that we do in their sessions. We have a whole wall filled with cards.”
“Can I, Mommy?” She glanced at me, and the despair in her eyes nearly killed me.
“Of course.” I waved them off, got up from the stool I’d been sitting on, and headed in the opposite direction.
I needed a minute to regain control of my emotions and I didn’t want Adi to see me while I did. I heard their footsteps echoing down a corridor on the side of the training room but it took me a second to realize I wasn’t alone.
Spinning around, I schooled my expression to a more neutral one from the glower my features had set in automatically. Chris stood behind me, a concerned frown pulling his brows together and worry in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You seemed pretty out of it toward the end there.”
I let my chin drop and hid behind the curtain formed by my hair for a moment, drawing in a deep breath before I looked up and pasted a smile on my lips. “I’m fine.”
He lifted his eyebrows, a slight smile on his lips as he shook his head. “No, you’re not. What’s going on?”
“Okay, I’m not fine.” I screwed my eyes shut and just let go. Chris had proven we could trust him and he was really trying to help. Keeping things bottled up didn’t seem necessary with him, especially considering that he’d come after me to ask if I was okay.
“I’m just so pissed off whenever I see her struggling. I should’ve been there when Craig was trying to force her onto that motorcycle. I let this happen to her when I told him he could spend some time with her. I knew he was bad news. I knew he didn’t have a flying fuck to give about another person, even when that person is his daughter, and I still agreed when he said he wanted to see her.”
Chris slid his hands into the pockets of his scrubs and tilted his head. “Wait, you feel guilty about what happened?”
“Yes.” I threw my hands out to my sides. “How could I not? I’m the one who told him he could spend time with her. I’m the one who should’ve been there to protect her from that asshole, and I didn’t do it. He might’ve been the one to pressure her to get onto the motorcycle but it’s still my fault.”
Without hesitating, he closed the distance between us in two long strides, coming to a stop so close to me that I could smell the spicy clean scent of his aftershave. It was a really nice smell but not even that could distract me right then.
“Adi’s injury was not your fault,” he said firmly, his eyes locked on mine and his jaw set. “There’s no way you could’ve known what was going to happen when you agreed to let him see her. Even if you could, do you really think he would’ve just accepted it if you had said no? He’s her father, April. He might not be a good one, but it wasn’t wrong of you to say yes to him seeing Adi for a few hours.”
“If he hadn’t accepted no for an answer, I should’ve fought him. I shouldn’t have just agreed. Sure, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t be anything good. I know better than to trust him. Now she’s hurt and it’s all because, once again, I was an idiot when it comes to Craig.”
“You were not an idiot.” He reached out and placed his hand gently on the small of my back before leading me into his office. Once the door was closed, he guided me to the chair behind his desk and motioned for me to take a seat.
I didn’t know where he was going with this, but he hadn’t steered me wrong yet. My ass hit the chair and Chris dropped down to his haunches, letting his hands dangle between his knees as he looked up at me.
“I don’t have any children,” he said, and I frowned. He held up a finger when he noticed, his eyes shining with earnestness as they held on to mine. “Just wait. I promise you I have a point. I don’t have any children, so I know people don’t believe me when I say that I understand how difficult it is to watch your child struggle. I might not know how it feels to watch my child going through something so difficult, but I know how tough it is to see a loved one go through stuff you can’t fix for them.”
His voice was softer than usual, as was his gaze. “It might not look like it, but Adi is doing really well. She’s progressing much faster because she’s a child. Adults would’ve taken two weeks to achieve what she has in two sessions. You told me that I had a dedicated patient in her, right?”
I nodded but didn’t speak. There was a lump forming in my throat that I didn’t want him to know about. Having my voice coming out thick would definitely clue him in.
Chris’s eyes stayed steadfast on mine. “Well, I can see how dedicated she’s been. It shows in every exercise we do. It’s in all the little things you wouldn’t even notice, unless that’s what you’re looking for, and it’s exactly what I’m looking for. Her injury won’t be permanent. She will regain the full use of her hand. I swear it.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat, but I doubted Chris would’ve missed the crack in my voice in just those two words. “Are you this nice to everybody? Because that seems like that would be exhausting.”
“I’m not.” He laughed, and the sound was as rich and smooth as I remembered.
The man was an enigma. He looked like a cover model but had the heart of a saint. He carried himself with an air of confidence but didn’t come across as cocky, and yet, from what I’d heard about his altercation with Craig, he had that definitive protective alpha-male streak I usually didn’t have time for.
The juxtaposition between the flashes of alpha I’d seen from him myself or heard about and the gentle, supportive, easygoing guy with the great laugh was interesting to say the least. It drew me in because I’d often heard people talking about how different someone was, but I’d never actually met a person I really thought was that different.
Chris, however, definitely seemed to be.
“Hey,” he said, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Can I take you to dinner tonight? I know we had lunch planned, but I’m sure you’d rather spend the time with Adi after the session.”
Surprise rendered me incapable of doing much more than blinking in surprise. “You want to take me to dinner? Why? Is this just another thing you do to be nice when you feel sorry for your patients?”
I knew the guy had a lot of money, but taking every patient he felt sorry for out to dinner seemed to be a waste. Especially when they weren’t even paying him to begin with.
“No.” He laughed again, nudging my knee with his shoulder before standing up. “I’ve actually never taken a patient or their parent out.”
“So it’s just me then?” My heart skipped a beat, but I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
Chris shrugged, then nodded. “Yep. Just you. So what do you say?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” As I said the words, a wave of regret rolled over me.
Disappointment hit me right in the gut, but Chris didn’t seem too fazed. “Why not?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just have a lot of baggage. And we work together. I’m trying to save you.” It sucked that I had to say no to him, but it simply wouldn’t have been fair to s
ay yes.
“I appreciate it, but you don’t need to save me,” he said without skipping a beat. “I’ll pick you up at seven. If you don’t have someone to watch Adi, I’ll take you both out.”
Before I could come up with a way to turn him down again, he glanced down at his watch and smiled. “Would you look at that? It’s time for us to get back to it.”
He held out a hand to help me up, turned, and strode out of his office without another word about dinner. The office door remained open behind him, and when I heard him joking with Hunter and Adi outside, I sank back into his chair and smiled at his confidence as I covered my face with my hands.
My palms were clammy, and my heart was racing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought I was actually excited.
Chapter 13
CHRIS
“I was wondering whether you were going to text me for my address,” April said when she opened their front door.
My breath was knocked right out of my lungs when I got a good look at her. With the soft light from inside lighting her up from behind, her hair formed a fiery halo around her head. She hadn’t dressed up much, but she definitely looked good.
The black shirt she had on clung to her curves a bit more than anything else I’d seen her in, and its neckline was low enough to dip between her breasts. A handful of thin golden chains hung around her delicate neck, each with a different length. The longest one had a heart-shaped pendant that hung about halfway between her collarbone and breastbone.
Dark skinny jeans and a pair of low-slung heels completed her outfit. Her eyes had dark liner around them and maybe a touch of mascara, but other than that, her face seemed bare.
The dirty part of my mind conjured up images of running my tongue along the exposed parts of her skin between the chains before heading all the way down. Another part of me was struck fucking dumb by how much I preferred this look to the skimpy designer dresses girls usually wore when I picked them up.
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