Melba tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. “I think you’re maybe putting that boy up on a pedestal where he doesn’t belong. He’s just a man, Avery. And one that broke your heart pretty solid if I remember correctly.”
“I know he did, but . . . he’s being really sweet this time around. It’s different.” Avery pushed thoughts of the night before out of her mind. One bad night didn’t disqualify all the other times Tucker had been sweet.
Melba cleared her throat but didn’t say anything else about Tucker. It made Avery nervous. With Melba, silence usually meant she had thoughts she’d decided were too mean to actually share out loud.
“Always choose kindness,” Melba had told Avery once, when she was a little girl. They’d been sitting on Melba’s back porch, Avery and her grandma, drinking Cheerwine from the old green fridge and talking about middle school. Avery was weeks away from starting the seventh grade and was convinced middle school girls were the meanest on earth.
“Child, you just be nice to everybody,” her grandma had said.
Melba had nodded her agreement. “You won’t be able to change how other people treat you,” Melba had said. “But if you are always kind, you can at least guarantee that when you go to sleep at night, you won’t feel regret.” As far as Avery could tell, Melba had always lived by the mantra, though often enough that meant sitting through conversations in silence if she didn’t trust herself not to say anything mean if she let herself say anything at all.
“Tell me about David,” Melba said, giving Avery a pointed look. “What’s going on with him?”
“Nothing,” Avery answered, a little too quickly. She’d been hoping for a subject change, but this one felt like jumping from one hot skillet into another.
Melba shot her a look and Avery rolled her eyes. “We got into a little disagreement the other night. But it’s fine. I apologized. He apologized. We’re friends.”
“What was the argument over?”
Avery hated to tell her. It wasn’t exactly going to help her convince Melba that Tucker wasn’t a week’s worth of bad news. She stalled by eating a few more bites of her dinner. When she reached for another slice of cornbread, Melba moved the pan away and shook her head. “Nope. Talk first. You’ll get more when you’ve said your piece.”
Avery huffed. “Why are you being so hard on me?”
“It took me three hours to make that supper sitting in front of you. I even walked down to Barley’s and bought the shrimp fresh. They were swimming at the bottom of the ocean six hours ago and now they’re in your bowl, thanks to me. I think I’ve earned the right to make a few demands, don’t you?”
Avery pursed her lips. If she didn’t love Melba so much, she might be annoyed. “David thinks I shouldn’t be dating Tucker. He says he doesn’t trust him.”
Melba smiled. “Does he, now?”
“But it’s not justified in David’s case. He doesn’t even know Tucker. He’s only saying it because . . .” Avery hesitated. It suddenly felt a little too cocky to say that the reason David didn’t like Tucker was because he wanted to be dating her himself.
“Because he wants to date you?” Melba finished the sentence for her. “Are you sure that’s his only motivation?”
Avery shrugged. “He’s not exactly subtle. The guy literally has zero game. He just puts his feelings out there. Unfiltered.”
“Sounds kind of refreshing,” Melba said. “You never have to wonder how he feels.”
“Maybe,” Avery said. “But it’s also totally disarming. I have no idea how I’m supposed to react when he just straight up tells me that he’s jealous of Tucker. Or tells me that he knows what he wants and that it’s me.”
“He said that?” Melba said. “That’s bold.”
“Not exactly,” Avery said. “But he definitely implied it.”
“So?” Melba scraped out the last bite of her dinner then slid the cornbread in Avery’s direction. “Go on,” she said. “You’ve earned it.”
“So . . . what?” Avery lifted a pie-shaped piece out of the skillet.
“How do you feel about him?”
“I’m dating Tucker, Melba. It doesn’t matter how I feel about David.”
“Fine. Hypothetically, then. If Tucker weren’t in the picture, would you give the doctor a chance?”
Avery chewed her cornbread in silence. She would give David a chance, as weird as it felt to admit as much to herself. He was so far outside of the kinds of guys she typically dated. But he’d grown on her.
“I think the doctor is pretty cute,” Melba said, before Avery had a chance to answer. “I bet those baby blue eyes charm the pants off of his patients when he’s working.”
“Melba!” Avery said, laughing at her friend. “Shame on you.”
“I wasn’t being literal,” Melba said with a grin. “But you’ve got to admit. Those are some fine eyes.”
“How do you even know that? Have you met him yet?”
Melba looked affronted. “Of course I’ve met him. I ran into him on the beach. I invited him over for a Cheerwine and we sat on the back porch for over an hour talking. He made a couple of really good suggestions about how I can help the arthritis in my fingers.”
“That was nice of him,” Avery said.
“It sure was.”
Avery stood up and gathered their dishes, walking them to the kitchen sink. “Shall I summarize the messages of the evening?” she said. She gave the dishes a quick rinse, then turned around, leaning against the counter. “Tucker is bad for me and shouldn’t be trusted. David is good for me and has killer blue eyes. Does that about cover it?”
Melba scrunched up her face like she was contemplating the mysteries of the universe instead of sticking her nose into the middle of Avery’s dating life. “David has good lips, too, don’t you think?” she said. “Really full and kissable.”
Avery tossed a dish towel at Melba’s head. “You’re terrible, Melba. Terrible.”
On her way home from Melba’s, Avery walked past David’s house. His car was in the driveway, but based on their texts that morning, he was probably just waking up. For a minute, she thought about racing back to Melba’s and fixing a to-go plate of shrimp and grits to drop off for him. She knew he liked it—he’d ordered it when they’d gotten lunch when he’d come to visit the aquarium—and Melba’s was way better than what he’d eaten there. But then Avery’s phone dinged with an incoming text and she stopped thinking about David.
I’m sorry about last night, the text from Tucker read. When can I see you again?
Avery cut between her yard and David’s and headed straight for the beach. Maybe the wind and the sound of the waves would settle her nerves, help her sort out the muddle of emotions swirling through her chest. She sank onto the sand, knees pulled up and looked out at the water. The beach was nearly deserted, only a few people here and there walking through the foamy surf where the water met the sand.
So much about her relationship with Tucker felt right. But there was something niggling in the back of Avery’s mind, something that told her it wasn’t all right. She still had doubts. Hesitations. And if she were being totally honest with herself, David was a big part of that. Because she liked him. And though she’d never admit as much to Melba, she had noticed both his killer eyes, and his full, kissable lips. She wouldn’t have noticed those things if there wasn’t some potential for an actual relationship, would she?
She pulled up Tucker’s text and read it again. I think we need to talk, she typed. Can you come over?
I wish I could, he immediately responded. I’m out of town until next weekend. Can I see you on Sunday?
Avery frowned. Sunday was more than a week away. Why hadn’t he mentioned that he was traveling? Is that why he’d left so early that morning?
Sunday is good, Avery texted. Maybe an extra week would be good for her in the end. She’d have plenty of time to mull over her feelings and decide how she wanted her conversation with Tucker to go.
Chapter 14<
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Monday morning, David was happy to discover he and Lucy were working the same shift. It wasn’t as if there was a whole lot of time to stand around and talk during a typical day, but he still preferred working with Lucy over anyone else. Lucy didn’t take herself too seriously, but she didn’t let her humor interfere with her abilities as a physician. The way she was fun, without being silly was good for David. Whenever he started to feel anxious or stressed, Lucy always had a way to pull him out of his own head and get him to relax.
If only Lucy could get him to stop stressing about his dating life.
He rounded the corner just past the nurse’s station and nearly ran into Lucy. “Hey,” she said, looking up from her phone. “Where have you been?”
“Showering,” David said.
Her eyes went wide. “Oh no. You were in triage for the vomit explosion?”
David frowned. “It wasn’t just vomit.”
“Food poisoning, right? An isolated incident?”
“So far.”
Lucy held up an open bag of iced animal cookies. “You deserve a cookie. Want one?”
David reached into the bag, suddenly wondering how long it had been since he’d eaten. He glanced at his watch. It was almost six and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. He grabbed a few more cookies.
“So,” Lucy said, in between bites. “I talked to Haley about going out sometime. She’s totally willing.”
David groaned. “Wait, you already did?”
Lucy shot him a look. “Of course I did. Why are you annoyed that I did exactly what you told me to do?”
“I’m not annoyed, I’m just . . . worn out.”
“Worn out from what? Work? That’s exactly why you need to go on a date.” Lucy shook the bag, loosening the cookies that had fused together at the bottom. “Seriously. I’ve never tasted anything this delicious.”
She held the bag open to David and he helped himself to another handful. “It’s amazing how quickly hunger can lower your standards,” he said. After a few more cookies, he steered the conversation back to dating. “I did go on a date if you must know,” he said. “Last week. Avery set me up with a friend from work.”
“Wait. You asked Avery to set you up with someone? Isn’t that a little . . . masochistic?”
“No. Why would it be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re in love with Avery and dating her friend guarantees that you’ll always be around her?”
David froze, his hand suspended over the cookie bag. His brain kept tripping on Lucy’s use of the word love. It felt right. Terrifying, but right. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“How did it go?”
“Terrible,” David said. “No, not terrible. It was fine. But I didn’t get the sense that she was all that impressed with me.”
“And?” Lucy shook out the last cookies, dividing them equally between them. She folded up the now empty bag and tucked it under her arm.
“What do you mean, and?” David said. “Isn’t that enough of a reason for us not to have a second date?”
“What did you think of her?”
David shrugged. “She was . . . fine. Just not—”
“If you say Avery, I’m going to punch you in the face.” A nurse came around the corner, stopping when she saw Lucy and David standing together. “Exam Two, doctor,” she said to Lucy.
Lucy moved to follow the nurse, David falling into step beside her. “That isn’t what I was going to say.”
Lucy shot him a look over her shoulder.
“Fine,” David said with a sigh. “She wasn’t Avery. But I don’t know how to stop my brain from making the comparison. It feels like an involuntary reaction.”
Lucy paused outside Exam Two and turned to face him, her hands on her hips. “Then do something about it. Say something to her.”
David slouched against the wall. “I can’t.” He forced a breath out through his nose. “When I got home Saturday morning, Tucker was at Avery’s house. Avery told me nothing happened, that it wasn’t what it looked like, but Tucker made it seem like things definitely happened.”
Lucy pressed her hands against her head, frustration, or maybe just exasperation, evident on her face. “All the more reason for you to move on then. She’s clearly not into you.” She turned to leave, then looked back at David. “Wait, you talked to Tucker?”
“He came over to ask me questions about his wrist.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Do you realize how convoluted that is?”
Lucy disappeared into Exam Two, leaving David alone to process her response. Whatever did or didn’t happen between Avery and Tucker on Saturday night, the amount of time they were spending together was a pretty solid indication that Avery felt something for Tucker. But David would almost put money on Avery feeling something for him as well. Surely he wasn’t so desperate and clueless that he was making up the spark he felt whenever they were together.
David half-listened as the resident in Exam Two reported the patient’s symptoms to Lucy, finishing with her preliminary diagnosis. Without eyes on the patient, David couldn’t be certain, but based on what he could hear of the resident’s report, he agreed with the diagnosis and was impressed with her competence.
Lucy must have agreed as well. She ordered one additional test then left the patient in the care of the resident and returned to David’s side. As soon as she saw him still slouched against the wall, she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, David. You have to get over this. You look like a kid whose puppy died.”
Lucy moved back down the hallway, David still on her heels. “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I realize I don’t have a lot of experience, but I think Avery is into me.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “That’s confident of you. What makes you so sure?”
“I just feel like there’s something there. When we look at each other, there’s this . . . pull. I feel something.”
Lucy turned to face him, placing a hand on either shoulder. “David,” she said, her tone gentle. “You know I love you. And that means speaking the hard truths even if it stings a little.”
David braced himself, already knowing he wouldn’t like what Lucy had to say.
“If Avery felt the same pull that you do, she wouldn’t be spending the night with another man.”
David shook his head. “She said nothing happened. And this situation is different. Tucker isn’t who she thinks he is.”
“Maybe he isn’t. But do you really think learning as much is going to suddenly make Avery have feelings for you?”
“But maybe—”
“Stop,” Lucy said. “I know I encouraged you in the beginning, but it’s time to move on. We’re going out this weekend, okay? You, Haley, me and John. Nothing big. Just something casual. Dinner and a movie, maybe.”
David hated the frankness of her words, and still wanted to argue the point. But he swallowed his retorts. What did he actually know anyway? “Fine,” he eventually said. “This weekend.”
Lucy nodded. “Be sure to say something to Haley about it.” She finally released his shoulders. “Tell her you’re excited to go and ask her if she has a preference for dinner. Make sure she’s not vegan or something. I was hoping we could go to Lewis’s for barbecue.”
David rubbed his temples, wishing he could muster up actual enthusiasm over the prospect of another date. “I’ll ask her.”
“Now go find a patient or something,” Lucy said, as she moved down the hall. “Your brain clearly needs the distraction.”
Two days passed before David saw Avery again. He was at his mailbox when she strolled up, grocery bags in hand. The second he saw her coming up the road, his stupid heart started racing like he was in middle school, watching his crush approach from across the room. Mentally, he’d agreed with Lucy. It did make sense to move on. But that didn’t mean he could get his heart to comply. Not with Avery living right next door.
“Hey,” Avery said, lowering her shopping bags to the ground. “Anything inte
resting?”
David looked at the stack of mail in his hand, all advertisements and credit card applications. “Does anything interesting come in the mail anymore?”
“My great aunt Virginia sends me twenty-five dollars on my birthday every year,” Avery said. She lifted her hand up to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun.
“I guess that counts,” David said. Silence settled between them and Avery reached down to pick up her groceries. “How are you?” he asked, not wanting her to leave. “How’s life?”
A shadow of something flitted across her face before she smiled. “Good,” she said. “Everything’s good.” David had the same feeling in his gut that he always got when a patient wasn’t telling him the whole truth about whatever medical incident/accident/stupid behavior had landed them in the ER. He’d gotten pretty good at weaseling his way to the truth, but he sensed Avery might not appreciate the same treatment. She wasn’t obligated to tell him anything, after all. Not like his patients were.
“That’s good,” David said. “I’m glad.”
“And for you?” Avery said. “You’re good, too?”
“Yeah, yeah. Busy. But good.” The small talk was killing him, but he’d endure it if it meant keeping her in front of him for five more minutes.
“Are you headed into work?” Avery looked pointedly at his scrubs.
David looked down, following her gaze. “Oh. Yeah. I work at seven.”
“The night shift, huh? It’s seems like it’s been a lot of those lately.”
David tried not to dwell on the fact that she’d noticed. “I’m on nights another week then I’ll shift back to days.”
“That’s too bad. I was thinking about getting a pizza and was going to ask you to join me.”
David’s heart fell to his stomach and he glanced at his watch. It was already twenty past six. Too late for him to squeeze dinner in before he left. But just the fact that she’d invited him would keep him feeling buzzed all night. “Another time then,” he said, hoping she sensed from his tone how much he would love for that to happen.
D is for Doctor (ABCs of Love Sweet Romance Book 4) Page 12