He winked when he dropped into the driver’s seat beside me. “Thanks for letting me do that for once. You always seem to have it sorted before I can get to you.”
“You’re welcome.” I returned his wink, even though I felt a little salacious doing it, and was surprised when the move elicited a chuckle.
After he’d eased us into the light traffic around the restaurant, he met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Does that mean this was officially a date?”
“You booked out an entire restaurant for us. I’d say that qualifies as a date.”
His grin widened. “Excellent. I was hoping you’d say that. I’m supposed to wait a few days before I talk to you again now, right?”
“Traditionally.” I turned my back on the city lights beyond the window and studied the handsome profile of my date instead. With his chiseled features and lean muscles, he really made for quite the sight illuminated by the ambient light from outside. “I don’t subscribe to the traditional rules of dating, though.”
“How so?” He tilted his head but kept his eyes on the road.
“I’d like to spend some time with you. Just the two of us. Interested?” My voice was quiet in an attempt to keep the conversation private but Adi was staring absently out the window anyway. I was pretty sure she was sleeping with her eyes open.
Chris nodded in response to my question, drawing my attention back to him. “Sure. I’d love to. When?”
“If you’ve got tomorrow night open, why don’t you come over to my place? I’ll cook us dinner and we can talk.”
He frowned. “Talk? That doesn’t sound good. Am I in trouble?”
“Not yet,” I joked. “Talking doesn’t always have to mean something bad, you know?”
“It doesn’t have to but it usually does.”
“True.” I reached out and put my hand over his on the shifter. “It’s nothing bad in this case. I promise. I’d just like to spend some time with you and I haven’t cooked for anyone but my sister and Adi in ages.”
Booking out a restaurant didn’t exactly fit in my budget but I had some skills in the kitchen to show off. It wouldn’t be anywhere near as fancy, but Chris flipped his hand over to take mine, then smiled at me before turning his attention back on the road.
“That sounds great,” he said. “What time?”
“Seven?” I suggested, a flurry of butterflies suddenly appearing in my stomach. I had just successfully asked a handsome guy out on a date. Never thought I’d do that again.
When he smiled at me, one of the butterflies lodged itself in my throat while another made it all the way to my chest cavity and started causing havoc there.
“What can I bring?” he asked, that same smile still in place.
I shook my head. “Nothing. You’ve done way more than enough. It’s my turn to spoil you now.”
“Okay.” He didn’t argue but brought my hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it before he let it go. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Same.”
This time when Chris dropped us off, Adi didn’t make any comments about him kissing me. She hugged him tightly instead and looked up at him like he’d personally hung the moon. “Thank you for tonight.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He ruffled her hair. “See you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Good night.” After giving him a wave, she headed inside and called over her shoulder. “I’ll brush my teeth and put on my pajamas, Mommy.”
Chris reached for my hand again once she’d disappeared inside, giving me a firm but gentle tug toward him. I could’ve easily stood my ground, but I didn’t. I landed against his hard chest with one hand in his and the other flying to his shoulder.
It was such a romantic moment that Luna would have swooned, while I should’ve been disgusted by it. I wasn’t, though. Not in the least.
As he leaned down and searched my eyes, I pushed up on my toes and kissed him like a real girly heroine might have. The kiss was soft and sweet.
Unfortunately, he let me go seconds later. “Good night, April. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then he spun around and marched to the stairwell, shooting me a last smirk before he, too, disappeared. I stood in the doorway for another minute or so trying to get my racing heart under control and cursing it for racing at all.
Adi was already in bed when I got to her room, her nose buried in a book from her school. She looked up when she heard me coming in.
“That was an awesome night.” She grinned but her eyes didn’t quite lift the way they should have. “Do you think Chris will take us there again?”
I thought Chris would take her wherever she wanted to go whenever she wanted to go there, but I didn’t say so. The whole attachment thing lurked at the back of my mind, and I didn’t necessarily want to encourage it.
“We can always ask,” I replied. “Would you like to go there again?”
She nodded, covering her mouth as she stretched out on a yawn. “I’d love to.”
“Then we’ll ask him. Want me to read with you for a while?”
“Nah. I don’t think I’m going to read much longer. I only read while I was waiting for you. I’m too tired.” She shrugged her little shoulders, her tired gaze filled with a sad kind of curiosity as she closed her book. “Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?” My head might still have been in the clouds because of that kiss, but it came crashing back down to earth at the next words out of her mouth.
“Why isn’t Daddy more like Chris?”
She might as well have shot an arrow straight through my heart. I sucked in a breath, my head already shaking even though I had no idea how to answer her.
Eventually, I settled for the truth. “I don’t have an answer for that, baby. People are just different, I guess. I’m sorry. I wish there was something else I could tell you.”
There were so many things I could tell her, but none of them were good. Despite everything, I wouldn’t say those things to her now. She wouldn’t understand, and I was afraid she’d think I regretted having her with Craig if she knew how much I regretted ever trying to make a life with him.
Adi was the best thing that had ever happened to me regardless of the relationship she had been born of. Maybe one day when she was older and she asked the right questions, I could be completely honest with her.
For now? There really was nothing more to say.
Chapter 21
CHRIS
When I walked into the therapy center on Monday, I stopped when I realized there was someone in there already. A man stood near the door to the office with his back turned to me. It almost looked like he was trying to peek into it through the window overlooking the floor.
What he hoped to find in there, I had no idea. Patient files were stored away every afternoon and there was nothing of interest or value in there otherwise.
I also had no clue how he’d gotten in, considering that Hunter didn’t seem to be around and usually patients stayed in the waiting room until one of us called them in. I cleared my throat to announce my arrival and let the door bang shut behind me.
“Excuse me. Can I help you?”
The man spun around, and his dark eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on me. I recognized the leather cut at the same moment I saw his face.
“I’ve heard you’re treating my daughter here,” Craig, April’s ex, said. “I came to check you out. Make sure this is a safe place for her.”
His tone held a hint of malice that was impossible to miss, but I wasn’t worried about it. I’d been itching to punch this guy for weeks now. Maybe he’d give me a second chance to do it.
I strode up to him, leaving only a few feet of space between our chests. “I am treating her. You’re welcome to check out the facility, but I can assure you that the place is safe.”
He snorted and cracked his knuckles in his fist. “Of course you’d say that. What I need is an unbiased referral from a real doctor saying you’re not some hack who’s only hurting her.”
&nb
sp; “Some hack who’s only hurting her?” My brows lifted. “I believe there’s only one of those in this room right now, and it’s not me. Why did you really come here, Craig?”
“I’ve already told you I came to check out the place my daughter will be treated in. I’m entitled to that, aren’t I?”
“She won’t be treated here. She already is receiving treatment here and she has been for more than a month. Why come here now?”
He took a step forward, presumably in another attempt to intimidate me. If only he knew how bored I was by his routine, he wouldn’t have bothered. I’d known guys like him all my life, and I could take care of myself.
Puffing up his chest and banging on it wouldn’t scare me. The gleam in his eye was familiar, too. He meant to strike the fear of God into me.
Sorry, buddy. That ain’t happening.
“I came because I heard you’ve been hanging around with my wife and my kid. Looked into it and found out you’re also the doctor treating her.”
“So?” I exhaled through my nostrils, silently praying that none of our actual patients walked in right then.
I could handle Craig, but this was supposed to be a place of comfort, healing, and positivity. We did our very best to keep all the shit that had happened to most of our patients in other areas of this hospital out of the room.
If they came in to find a crazy macho biker threatening me, we’d have some work to do to get the levels of calm back to where they should be.
Craig stabbed a meaty finger into my chest. “So? So I don’t want you talking to my wife, you pretentious fuck.”
“Ex-wife,” I corrected, and his face turned the color of a ripe eggplant. “You’re no longer married to her and your daughter has been in therapy with me for weeks, as I’ve said before. If you have any questions about her treatment, please direct them to my office and my assistant will be sure to update you in due course.”
“Bullshit. I want answers from you right now, and while you’re at it, stop talking to my wife.” His finger dug into my pec.
I removed it by swatting it away like it was nothing more than an annoying mosquito. “I’ll do whatever I see fit. I can’t provide comprehensive updates about patients during my appointment hours. Email my office and we’ll have the feedback sent to you just as soon as we get around to it.”
Which wouldn’t be soon, but the hospital had a policy surrounding updates where the care of minor children was concerned. I wasn’t allowed to turn the parents down outright unless very specific sets of circumstances were present. And none of them were present in this instance.
As much of an asshole and as shitty a father as Craig was, he had every right to request information from the physician treating his daughter. Even if he was only there to lay down the law regarding my interactions with April.
He sneered at me. “I’m not waiting around for a report while you fuck my wife. You will stay away from her.”
I didn’t bother pointing out their marriage status to him again. The guy was acting like a Jack Russell who’d pissed on a toy. “April will do as she pleases, as will I.”
Heavy footsteps entering the room had both of us turning toward the door. Hunter stood just inside, frowning and seemingly sizing the other man up.
Recognition flashed in his eyes a second later, and he dropped his duffel bag on the floor. “Is there a problem in here?”
“I see it’s time for me to go.” Craig took a step back from me but glared as he pointed at my chest. “It would be a shame if you lost your license for dating inside the office. Let’s not go down that road.”
He held my gaze for another beat, triumph in his eyes and the way his brows jumped. When he’d finally marched out the door muttering something about how he could’ve fucked up the giant if he’d wanted to, Hunter and I exchanged a look.
“What was that all about?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I think it was just meant to be a warning.”
“About April?” As he came back up after he grabbed his duffel bag off the floor, he faced me and scratched his head. “I thought they’ve been divorced for years.”
“They have, but he mentioned something about having heard we were spending time together. It doesn’t seem like he was too happy about knowing she might be seeing someone else.”
“What’d you tell him?” He slung the bag over his shoulder and jerked his head toward the office. “I’m going to put my stuff down, so speak up.”
“There’s not much to say. I told him I’d do whatever I wanted and so would April. I’d have said the same thing even if it wasn’t me she’d been on a date with.”
“Sounds like you.” He paused in the doorway and pitched his bag onto the couch from there. “You didn’t tell him it was you, though, did you?”
“No, but I would’ve if you hadn’t come in.” I shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of her and we’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Doesn’t make a difference to a guy like that.” He scratched the back of his head. “I heard him saying something about his wife. I’m assuming he hasn’t gotten remarried.”
“Nope. He was talking about April.”
Worry crept into his eyes as he crossed the room back to me. “You think he’s delusional? Thinks they’re still married?”
“It’s not that.” I released a heavy breath. “I think he got used to feeling like he was still in control of her somehow. She wasn’t dating, she was taking care of Adi all by herself, and he could come and go as he pleased.”
He whistled under his breath. “You really think that’s it?”
“I do.” The corners of my mouth pressed in. “Guys like that always seem to have an issue with control. They’re losers who fuck up everything they even look at, but they get off on feeling like they’re masters of their tiny little universes.”
“Look who paid attention during his psych classes,” he joked as he started up the tablet to check our schedule. “What was that he was saying about losing your license for dating in the office?”
“He doesn’t have any idea what he’s talking about. Don’t worry about it.”
He laughed. “Oh, I’m not. I know there are no rules about dating in this place. Hell, half the people who work here are hooking up, dating, or married.”
“I don’t think he knows that.”
“Well, as long as you know there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.
I glanced up toward the ceiling. “Yeah, I know. Thanks. Who’s up first this morning?”
“Lisa. She’s had her second round of surgery. There’s a note from the orthopedic surgeon saying we need to pay special attention to her lower back.”
“Got it. What’s next?”
Hunter took me through the rest of our day while we got the equipment ready for our first patient. She was a cheerful, middle-aged woman who worked hard, laughed a lot, and was a pleasure to have around. And exactly the kind of patient we’d lose if we went into private practice too soon.
I blew out a breath. The more Hunter and I talked about it, which was every damn day by now, the more I wanted it. All I had to do was figure out how I could make a deal with the hospital so I could keep helping our patients and theirs.
In the meantime, the situation with Craig hovered in the back of my mind. I couldn’t get over the feeling that he was planning something. I just didn’t know what.
Whatever it was though, it couldn’t be anything good. I needed to speak to April and warn her that he’d stopped by.
If he showed up at their next session, which he very well might, things could go south fast. Especially if he started spewing the same kind of shit he had this morning.
We had three more patients after Lisa before we had time for a short break. As soon as we were done with our last session, I headed to the office and called her.
“Hey, you,” she said. “You calling to cancel on me for dinner tonight?”
“I wouldn’t do that.” I grinned despite the uneasiness
in my gut. “I’m still looking forward to it.”
“Did you call me just to tell me that?”
“No.” I ran a hand through my hair, gripping the nape of my neck. “I’m calling about Craig actually. He came by to pay me a visit this morning.”
There was a long pause on her end of the line. “What did he want?”
“He tried to threaten me. Did you say anything to him about us?”
“I haven’t spoken to him since the hospital.” Her voice was considerably cooler than it had been when she’d answered. “I don’t plan on speaking to him anytime soon either. What did he say?”
I gave her the highlights, then sighed. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Something doesn’t feel right with him.”
“Nothing has ever felt right with him.” She laughed but the sound was bitter. “Don’t worry about him, all right? He’s all hot air. He has no idea what he’s talking about. All he’s doing is reaching.”
“Yeah, I know.” But it wasn’t me I was worried about. “I can handle him, April. I just wanted to make sure I kept you in the loop.”
“I’ll see you tonight, Chris. Thanks for calling, but everything will be fine, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Say hi to Adi for me, okay?”
“Okay. Bye.”
After she hung up, I stood there with my phone in my hand for another minute. Something was wrong with Craig, but only time would tell what it was.
Well, time and making sure I’m there when the shit hits the fan.
Hunter had been right. This relationship could become a hell of a lot more complicated than I’d bargained for. But I was strangely okay with that.
Chapter 22
APRIL
Keeping my cool while I was on the phone with Chris was a hell of a lot more difficult than I’d made it sound. I was fuming by the time we hung up.
Craig still hadn’t called or texted to find out how Adi was doing, yet he somehow thought it was okay to show up at the hospital to threaten Chris? He forced our child onto the back of a motorcycle, injured her, and hadn’t bothered to see her or even inquire about her health after. Now this?
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