“Yeah,” she said, finally picking up her bags. “I’d like that.” She took a few backward steps. “See you later?”
David nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”
She made it halfway to her porch before she stopped and turned around. “Hey. What do you like on your pizza? Just, you know. For next time.”
David figured he’d eat anchovies and dill pickles on a pizza if it meant sharing it with her, but he couldn’t exactly say that out loud. He settled for the truth. “Pineapple,” he said. “Lots of it. And enough Canadian bacon to fill up all the extra space the pineapple hasn’t already covered.”
Avery shook her head, her smile wide. “You’re kidding.”
David shrugged. “I know. My sisters thinks it’s disgusting too. But pineapple pizza got me through med school. I can’t help it.”
She shook her head again, clearly amused about something thought David couldn’t pinpoint what. “Have a good night, Dave.”
His heart warmed at the sound of the nickname she’d given him that first day they’d met. He climbed into his car and drove to the hospital feeling more optimistic than he’d felt in days. Lucy’s wisdom and council had never steered him wrong. But this time? He was going with his gut. He wasn’t ready to give up on Avery.
***
David glanced at his watch for what must have been the four hundredth time. Lucy shot him a look, her eyes wide and scolding, and he forced his arm under the table, where he might not feel so tempted. It wasn’t that he was having a terrible time. Haley’s company was pleasant, and he always enjoyed being with Lucy and John. He just felt restless. Impatient for the date to be over already so he could figure out a time to actually have that promised pizza with Avery. It didn’t seem fair to give Haley the impression he was interested in something more when his energy was clearly focused elsewhere.
Lucy had insisted it was too late to back out, and he ought to give Haley a chance. Maybe he’d be surprised by the chemistry they felt.
So far, he hadn’t been surprised by anything.
Haley was perfectly nice, had a lovely smile and made him feel exactly nothing.
After the meal, Haley excused herself to go to the restroom and David breathed deeply for the first time all night.
“That bad, huh?” John asked.
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Don’t encourage him, John. He ought to be giving this woman a chance.”
John shook his head. “I know the look in his eyes. He’s way too hung up on somebody else for Haley to have a fighting chance.”
Lucy looked at David then, compassion in her eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt, David. I just have this feeling things aren’t going to end well if you stay on this course.”
David shook his head. “You’re wrong, Lu. I appreciate you worrying about me, but she’s the one for me. I know it.”
Lucy sighed. “Okay. If you say so.”
The group had decided on the newest superhero movie after dinner, and they drove down to the movie theater in Mt. Pleasant for the more comfortable chairs and stadium seating. While they waited in line for popcorn, David froze. On the other side of the lobby, also in line for popcorn was Tucker. And Jessica. David quickly turned his back on the couple, spinning in such a dramatic way that he almost elbowed Haley in the head.
“Whoa,” she said, ducking out of the way. “You okay?”
“Sorry,” David said. “So sorry. I just um, sorry. Do you want butter on your popcorn?”
She eyed him, clearly confused by his behavior, but it’s not like he could explain. “No butter,” she said. “I’d rather not have the extra calories. And a diet soda.”
David made a mental note of her preferences, trying not to make yet another comparison to Avery. Avery liked butter on her popcorn. So much that she’d listed buttered popcorn as one of her favorite foods in a text thread they’d shared one night, back before he’d made things awkward.
Fresh oysters. Watermelon. Navel oranges. Buttered Popcorn. Hushpuppies. And donuts from The Donut Shop over on King Street.
His nearly photographic memory had been an asset in medical school, and always helped when it was time to analyze lab results or recall patient symptoms. When it came to Avery, it just made him see her everywhere. In everything. Reminders of her constantly pinging the places in his brain where he stored everything Avery.
A quick glance behind him showed that Tucker and Jessica were still a few people back in line. He suddenly wished it was Avery he was seeing a movie with. Then all he’d have to do was point Tucker out and she’d know everything she needed to know.
Except, maybe he still could point Tucker out. He’d just have to get Avery to the theater.
John nudged him from behind. “Hey. David. You’re up.”
David looked around, finally noticing that the concession line had moved forward without him. He closed the distance between him and the counter and ordered Haley’s popcorn and diet soda. He was too preoccupied to think about eating himself.
“Seriously?” Haley said. “I’m not going to sit beside you and eat popcorn while you have nothing.”
David had never been so irritated by another human being. Which was grossly unfair. It wasn’t Haley’s fault, though he did find her strict adherence to her calorie count more annoying than attractive.
He looked at the kid behind the concession stand. “Add another popcorn, with butter, and a Cherry Coke to that, please.”
Haley smiled. Probably happy that David was not just eating but eating more calories than she was.
Seconds after their butts hit the seats in the theater, David jumped back up, claiming he wanted to go to the bathroom before the movie started. He made it back into the lobby just as Tucker and Jessica were finishing up at the concession stand. Now all he needed to do was figure out which theater they were going to be in, ask an employee how long their movie would last, calculate the time they’d most likely be leaving the theater, and then somehow convince Avery to come to the theater at the same time.
David tried not to dwell on how ridiculous the entire plot sounded. Or on the lie he’d have to tell Avery in order to get her to the theater. But the opportunity was too good. She’d learn about Tucker and Jessica, and if he played it right, Tucker wouldn’t even know that David was at the theater which meant Tucker would have no reason to follow through with his career-related threats.
Of course, that meant Avery would have to not mention that the only reason she came to the theater was to meet David. Or maybe pick up David? He hadn’t quite decided what his lie was going to be. But that was a risk he was going to have to take. The first step to having a chance with Avery was getting Tucker out of the picture.
As Tucker and Jessica approached the long hallway that led back to the theaters, David ducked into the alcove right outside the women’s restroom door. A woman coming out of the bathroom shot him a look, and he grimaced. “Sorry. Just waiting for my friend.” It was a pitiful explanation. Who waited for a friend six inches from the actual bathroom door?
“Creep,” the woman muttered under her breath.
David winced at the insult but didn’t have time to dwell on it. He turned his back as Tucker and Jessica walked past, then darted out behind them, hoping against hope that they didn’t turn around. They went into the theater two doors down from his own to see a slasher movie he was almost positive Jessica would not have picked to see on her own. Once they were inside the theater, he backtracked to the lobby, asking the first employee he saw what time the slasher movie started and ended, then compared those times to the ending time of his own movie. There was about a twenty-minute difference—Tucker’s movie ending first—which meant David had to figure out a way to get Avery to walk into the theater at the same time Tucker’s movie was letting out. And she had to do it without seeing David, or at least without Tucker seeing David.
David pressed his forehead into his hand. There were too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong.
“David?
”
David looked up to see Lucy approaching him.
“What are you doing out here? The previews are almost over.”
“I, um, I got distracted.”
Lucy looked around. “By what?”
David looked over his shoulder before answering. He felt cagey and uncomfortable, like he was already seconds away from getting caught even though he technically hadn’t done anything worth catching. “Tucker and Jessica are here,” he whispered to Lucy.
Lucy furrowed her brow. “What? Where?”
“In the next theater.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever you’re thinking, David, stop. Don’t do it.”
“If I can just get Avery here, she’ll see for herself what Tucker is doing. She’ll see what I can’t tell her.”
“It’s a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Because a million different things could go wrong.”
David huffed, but he couldn’t disagree with her. His list hadn’t gotten quite to a million, but he’d already thought of at least a dozen ways how proceeding with his plan could backfire in his face. But if it all went right? That potential outcome was worth the risk. “If I love Avery, I have to try and make things right for her.”
Lucy froze and her face softened. “You love her? Are you serious?”
David sighed. “I don’t know. I think so. I know I’ve never felt this way before.”
“What if Avery already knows about Tucker’s fiancée and she doesn’t care? What if she likes the lack of commitment, the no-pressure nature of that kind of relationship?”
“Avery’s not like that,” David shot back, fire in his voice.
“Are you sure? Has she told you?”
David thought back through all the things Avery had told him about Tucker. He’d always thought she sounded like it was a relationship—a real one. But she’d never really talked about the true nature of their relationship. Probably because David had always been so confrontational whenever Tucker came up.
“She’s a grown woman. And you’re meddling like you’re still in high school.”
David’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t meddling. He was helping out a friend who needed to learn the truth about someone she needed to be rid of. The sooner the better. “I’ll be in in a minute, okay?”
Lucy shook her head. “What am I supposed to tell Haley?”
“Don’t tell her anything. I’ll be right there.” David pulled out his phone and scrolled through his texts until he found the last message from Avery. When he looked back up, he saw Lucy disappear back into the theater. Glancing at the time, he did a quick calculation of the exact time Tucker’s movie would be out, then tapped out a text to Avery.
Hey. I’m at the movie theater in Mt. Pleasant and I need a ride home. Any chance you can come and get me? Movie will be out at 10:40. He hit send, then held his breath.
She replied almost instantly. That’s soooo late. How did you even get to the movie theater if you don’t have a ride home?
I’ll explain later, David texted back. Please? Just come. He hoped the added gravity to his message would inspire her to make the trip without asking anymore questions, and that when she realized the real reason he’d asked her to come, she’d forgive the lie.
Chapter 15
Avery pulled into the movie theater parking lot just after ten thirty. She’d almost told David no, but something about that text he’d sent—she could tell he needed a friend and was happy he’d called her. She’d been thinking about him more and more ever since her conversation with Melba and had all but decided she’d call things off with Tucker to more fully explore the possibility of dating David.
She pulled out her phone and sent David a text. I’m here. Parked toward the back.
She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes but opened them right back up when her phone dinged with a text.
Actually, can you come inside? There’s someone I want you to meet.
Avery stared at the text. Someone he wanted her to meet? At the movie theater? What on earth? Why was he being so vague? She looked down at the yoga pants and oversized sweatshirt she wore and sighed. I mean, she still looked decently cute. She’d made a tiny bit of an effort because she was coming to see David, and suddenly that had more significance than it did the week before. But she was still dressed way down.
It will only take a second, David texted again.
“Fine, fine,” Avery mumbled to herself before climbing out of the car. On her way inside, she hesitated when she noticed a black sedan with an Illinois tag that looked a whole lot like David’s car. If he had his car, why would he need her to give him a ride?
She stopped right inside the theater door, looking for David’s blond hair. A bunch of people were funneling out of the hallway that led to the theaters, so she trained her focus there. It didn’t take long for her to find a familiar face, but it wasn’t David’s.
Tucker was walking toward her, his arm around a petite brunette who wore a frightened expression on her face, whether real or imagined Avery couldn’t tell. Tucker hadn’t seen her yet, but he would, any second. A second is all it took for a flood of understanding to fill Avery’s brain. All the semi-weird behavior from Tucker she’d been dismissing and excusing suddenly made a new sort of cruel and ridiculous sense.
He always wanted to stay in. Always came to her house and never brought her to his. He didn’t take her to the yacht club, or to any of the old restaurants or bars they’d frequented back when they were dating.
Because they weren’t dating. She wasn’t anything but a side piece for Tucker. The woman on his arm? She was the real girlfriend.
As they moved closer, Avery noticed the giant engagement ring on the woman’s finger.
Fiancée, then.
Avery wanted to crawl under the bench that sat behind her against the wall. How could she have been so stupid? Anger and embarrassment flared to life inside her. She wouldn’t hide. Hiding meant Tucker would escape unscathed. And there wasn’t anything fair about that.
Avery took one step to the left, right into the path Tucker was taking to exit the theater. When their eyes met, he startled. “Avery,” he said, eyes wide.
The woman looked at him closely, her eyebrows drawn down in question, but didn’t say anything.
“Tucker,” Avery said. “Funny running into you here since you’re supposed to be traveling.”
Tucker looked from Avery, to the woman beside him, then back to Avery. “I got back early,” he said cautiously. “Avery, I’d like you to meet Jessica, my fiancée.” He shot Avery a look, a clear plea for mercy, but she was done with his entitled behavior.
Avery took two steps forward, stopping right in front of Tucker, but then turned and looked at Jessica instead. “Ask your husband-to-be where he was last weekend. Ask him, and don’t give up until he tells you the truth.” She looked back at Tucker then and called him a name that fifteen years ago would have made Melba threaten to wash her mouth out with soap. But in this instance, she was pretty sure even Melba would let it slide.
Jessica turned on Tucker and pushed his arm off of her shoulders. “Who is this woman?” she hissed. “What is going on here?”
Avery backed away, not wanting or needing to be a part of whatever drama Tucker had ahead of him. Adrenaline raced through her veins and she suddenly felt sick. She lowered herself onto the bench she’d only just contemplated hiding under and pushed her face into her hands. She was pretty sure their little confrontation had earned an audience—she could still feel eyes on her—but she couldn’t bear the thought of making eye contact with anyone. She wanted to disappear. To hide in her bedroom for two weeks, to shower over and over again until the feel of Tucker’s skin against hers had been scrubbed out of her pores and forgotten.
What were the odds that she would run into Tucker at a movie theater she never even went to on the one night she happened to show up? And then the final piece of the puzzle clicked into plac
e in her brain. Odds were pretty high, actually. Because it hadn’t been a coincidence at all.
Avery stared at the floor long enough for Tucker and Jessica to make their escape. She kept sitting, unwilling to look up, to let anyone see her burning face or tear-filled eyes.
A man sat down next to Avery on the bench. She didn’t have to see him to know that it was David.
“You knew,” she said, her voice quiet, her tone even.
David sighed. “Yes.”
Avery swallowed. “How?”
“I can’t really tell you that.”
Avery scoffed. “You can’t? Or you won’t?”
“I made an oath, Avery. I can’t.”
She turned her face to the side, finally making eye contact. His posture mirrored hers, his elbows propped up on his knees, his body leaning forward. “So you saw him at the hospital then?” Another lightbulb lit up in her brain. “He went to the ER when he hurt his arm. And you were his doctor.”
David didn’t say anything, but the steadiness of his gaze told her she was right. “And Jessica was with him?”
Finally, David nodded. Apparently patient confidentiality didn’t extend to girlfriends. Wait. Fiancées.
“So that’s why you called me here?” Avery said. “Because you knew they’d be here? How much spying did that take? Did you follow them here or something? Just waiting for a public place where you could reel me in and out them?”
“I swear tonight was a total coincidence. I was already here and just happened to see them.”
“Still. You lied to me. That’s your car in the parking lot. You don’t actually need a ride. Why didn’t you just tell me about her, David? Why go through all this trouble?”
David squirmed, running a hand across his scalp and mussing his always-perfect hair. “Tucker is a King, Avery. He plays golf with the entire hospital’s board of directors. Gerald Stevenson, the doctor who hired me, came to see him while he was in the ER, checking to make sure I was taking good care of him. Tucker basically threatened to have me fired if I told you anything.”
“And you believed that he could actually do that? Over something as insignificant as this? All you had to say was ‘Avery, I can’t tell you how I know, but Tucker’s engaged and you shouldn’t trust him’ and I would have believed you without asking anymore questions. You could have trusted me.”
D is for Doctor (ABCs of Love Sweet Romance Book 4) Page 13