I was surprised he remembered his name. “He came by my apartment about a month ago, told me he left his wife and moved to New York.”
His good mood immediately fell, and he gave a subtle shake of his head.
“Yeah.”
“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
I released a laugh at his sarcasm because it really was so stupid.
“That’s what every woman wants, for their cheating boyfriend to leave his wife for her. What’s a stronger symbol of love than infidelity and then abandonment?” He grabbed his beer and took a drink, his eyes shifting back to the door in search of his sister.
“I know, right? I told him to leave me alone and never bother me again. I hope he takes that request seriously.”
“If he doesn’t, let me know. I can rip out his empty heart and transplant it into someone who deserves it.”
“Have you…have you ever done a transplant?”
He turned back to me, his eyes turning a little smug. “Here and there.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“They aren’t that common. And it’s a different situation. Those patients are on a wait list, and when a donor comes into the hospital, it happens without much notice. Doctors are usually on call for something like that. It’s like when a woman is having a baby, her doctor is on call, but if he’s unable to deliver the baby, one of the alternates he selects will attend to it.”
“Will you be on call for that?”
He shrugged. “If a patient comes in and we determine they need a heart transplant, I can put them on the waiting list, and they can request I do the surgery in the event that happens. But we’re talking about so much uncertainty here that it will probably never happen.”
“Is that operation a lot trickier than what you usually do?”
“Most definitely.” He grabbed a fry from the basket and took a few bites until it was gone. “When it comes to operations, it’s all about the heart. If the heart is happy, if it’s comfortable. To take a heart from another person and place it in a new body… They can be perfectly compatible, but the heart may still be unhappy. Sometimes, it happens. That’s where the scientific predictability of medicine fails us.”
“Has that ever happened to you?”
He nodded then turned back to the fries. He didn’t elaborate on it like he did with the other stuff, so I assumed he didn’t want to talk about it. The sounds of surrounding conversations filled the silence between us, and he continued to eat as he glanced at the door from time to time. “Have you been seeing anyone?”
The question came as a surprise, so I stared at him for a few seconds. “No.”
“Having another man is a good way to keep Vince away.”
“I’m pretty burned out on dating right now. Besides, I’ve been busy with work, so…” All the good guys were taken or emotionally unavailable, so I was convinced I would just end up alone. Maybe I could adopt some kids.
He continued to eat the fries and drink his beer, and when he turned to look out the window, he stilled, a couple fries in his fingertips. His eyes shifted, and he watched someone move.
I followed his gaze and saw Daisy walk by, holding hands with her boyfriend, a really good-looking guy, and he abruptly stopped and turned to face her, his arms circling her waist and squeezing her tight as he pulled her in for a kiss and groped her ass.
Dex quickly turned away and dropped the fries straight onto the table. “Officially lost my appetite…”
I kept watching them, looking at a couple that seemed to be in love, or at least deeply attracted to each other. A moment later, they entered through the door, Daisy going first while her man trailed behind her, a guy with a shadow on his jawline, broad shoulders, and the kind of masculine looks that attracted attention from every woman in the bar.
Seriously, where did women find these guys? Was there some mythical teleport to another hot-guy universe that I didn’t know about?
Daisy sat across from me, so the guy sat across from Dex.
I knew Dex well enough now to know when he was uncomfortable, even when he did his best to seem casual and relaxed. He released the breath he was holding and plastered a tense smile on his face. “Hey, nice to see you again.” He extended his hand over the table.
The guy took it, far more relaxed than Dex was. “You too, man.” He had pretty eyes that contained a natural arrogance, and his arm immediately wrapped over the back of Daisy’s chair, his finger lightly touching the far side of her back.
“Hi, I’m Sicily.” I extended my hand.
He took it. “Mason. Have you ever been to Sicily?”
“Um, not technically,” I said. “My parents claim it’s where I was conceived—on their honeymoon.”
Mason gave a dramatic nod with a smile. “Niiiice.”
Dex would probably make a joke about that, but he seemed too uncomfortable to say anything.
“Girl, how are you?” Daisy asked. “That outfit looks great on you.”
“Thanks.” I’d liked Daisy the moment I met her, because she was super pretty and brilliant, but she was also so down-to-earth that she was a serious anomaly. “Things have been good. Just busy.”
“I can imagine,” she said. “Dex is a full-time job.”
“Yes, but it’s a job I really like, so…” I grabbed my beer and took a drink, trying not to make it obvious that I was pretty enamored of my boss. He was a special person with a heart a million times bigger than anyone else in the world.
The waitress came over to take their drink orders.
Mason turned to her. “Babe, what do you want?”
“Something good,” she said. “It’s been a looooong day.”
“I know what that means.” Mason turned to the waitress. “Two scotches—on the rocks.”
The waitress walked away, and Daisy immediately shoved her hand into the basket of fries. “Good. I’m starving.” She squirted the ketchup onto her plate and continued to dunk the fries deep into the red pile before placing them in her mouth.
It was quiet for a while, as if both Dex and Daisy were a little uncomfortable by the situation.
The waitress came with the drinks and walked away.
Daisy immediately took a big drink then licked her lips.
Mason eyed her with slight amusement.
I decided to do the talking to help out Dex. “How did you guys meet?”
Mason moved his arm back to her chair while his other hand held on to the scotch. “She kicked my ass in a poker match. Has the best poker face I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re the one who’s perpetually unpredictable.” She shook her glass as she gave him a side glance.
“Wait, you play poker?” I blurted.
“Damn right,” Daisy said proudly. “It’s how I make most of my money.”
“Like professionally?” I blurted again.
Mason nodded. “She joined the match, and I took one look at her and knew I was in deep trouble. Very distracting, to say the least.” His hand went to her back, slightly moving to rub her gently, wearing half a smirk. “I focused all my attention on her and forgot about the other guys at the table. That’s probably why I lost.”
“Psh, you lost because I’m better than you,” Daisy said, moving her hand toward him to grip his thigh under the table, being playful rather than competitive.
He smiled with his eyes as she leaned in close. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“I’ve never played poker before,” I volunteered. “Now I can learn from the best if I ever need it.”
“You got it, girl.” Daisy turned back to me and raised her glass to clink it against mine.
Dex cleared his throat as he looked at Mason, like he was trying to think of something to say to the guy, and for someone who was good at conversation, he seemed to have forgotten the basics. “So, how long have you been doing that?”
Mason took a drink as he considered the question. “About ten years now. Really turned professional ab
out five years ago. I have a place here in the city and another in Atlantic City where I play.”
“Why not just live there?” Dex blurted.
Mason shrugged. “Born and raised in Manhattan. It’s my home.”
Dex nodded like he understood.
“Daisy tells me you’re a heart surgeon.” Mason set down his glass and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s pretty badass, man.”
“Cutting people open is badass?” Dex countered.
“Saving lives,” Mason said, not losing his confidence even though it was very obvious that Dex didn’t care for him. “At least I think so…”
Daisy stared at Dex and gave him an unmistakable glare.
That got Dex in check. “Yeah, thanks. It’s a very fulfilling profession.”
“Daisy tells me you’re the smartest one in the family,” Mason said. “Stanford, Harvard, Johns Hopkins…that’s really cool.”
Dex flicked his eyes back to his sister, like he was touched by what she said. “I wouldn’t say I’m the smartest one…”
“Come on, you so are,” Daisy said. “You skipped more grades than Derek and me, and when you took all those tests, you were classified as a genius when you were just four years old. So shut your mouth.” She took another drink.
That didn’t surprise me at all, because I saw Dex in action and saw how unbelievably smart he was, but more importantly, how well he could connect with people. “When I imagine a brilliant person, I always picture someone who’s kinda awkward, you know? Introverted, bookish, doesn’t like to be around people… You aren’t like that at all.”
“Our dad is,” Daisy said with a laugh. “Put him in a room full of strangers, and it’s like he’s never seen humans before. Derek is kinda like that too.”
“He seemed fine to me,” I said.
“Because he was with us,” Dex said. “And he’s gotten a lot better since he met Emerson and Lizzie.”
“We aren’t like that because our mom is awesome.” Daisy ran her fingers through her long hair, her lips candy-cane red, her feminine features hypnotic, even to me, a straight woman. “Thankfully.”
“Yeah,” Dex said. “Thankfully.”
“I’ve never met people so smart,” Mason said. “I mean, I consider myself to be pretty with it, but I’m nothing like the two of you. I’ve got street smarts, I know how to read people, but I failed biology in high school.”
“You couldn’t pass high school biology?” Dex asked incredulously.
Daisy looked stunned by the assholish thing Dex just said.
I couldn’t believe it either because Dex was not the type of person to judge anyone for anything. “I sucked at it too. I think I barely passed with a C.”
Mason never responded to Dex’s rude question. He drank from his glass and looked around the bar, like his confidence was unaffected.
Daisy lost it. “Wow, so that’s how it’s going to be?”
Dex dropped his gaze and stared at his beer. “Daisy—”
“You need to pull your misogynistic, sexist head out of your bitch ass.” She slammed down her drink. “You can go out with Derek and watch him pick up tail and the other way around, talk about the supermodels Derek has bedded on yachts and shit. But I bring a guy I like, and you can’t even try to be somewhat tolerable company?”
I felt bad that Dex was put on the spot like that, but honestly, he deserved it.
Dex stared at her. “Look, I’m sorry—”
“Apologize to him—not me.” Daisy pointed at Mason. “He was the one you just called an idiot.”
“Babe.” Mason placed his hand on her arm. “You know I like it when you get pissed, but let’s just chill for a sec, okay? No apology necessary. Let’s just forget about it—”
“It’s different, alright?” Dex ignored him and looked at his sister. “When Derek was fucking around, he was just fucking around. And when I’m fucking around, I’m just fucking around. But it’s different with you—”
“And what if I’m just fucking around?” Daisy snapped. “That’s unacceptable because I’m a woman?”
“That’s not what I said.” Dex was drawing attention from the other tables, but his gaze was focused on his sister like no one else was there. “I admit I feel differently toward you than I do with Derek, but it’s because you’re younger than me, not because you’re a woman. I know what it’s like to have my life ruined by the wrong person, to have my heart broken into so many fucking pieces that it can’t be fixed, and I would rather die than watch you go through it, alright?”
Daisy didn’t scream at him anymore, but she still looked angry. She gave a sigh and dropped her voice. “I’m a big girl, Dex. It’s impossible to go through life without getting hurt, but I’m strong enough to recover from that unavoidable trauma that everyone experiences and carry on. You’re the one who needs to let go of the past, who needs to be strong and carry on, not spend your time worrying about me.”
Dex breathed hard as he stared at her, like he had nothing left in his arsenal.
She stared back.
Dex eventually shook his head. “Alright…I’ll try.”
6
Dex
We left the bar and stepped onto the sidewalk, the air frigid and cold, patches of snow in random places on the sidewalk and in the gutters.
Daisy turned to Sicily. “You know what, I gotta pee. Come pee with me.” She hooked her arm through Sicily’s and dragged her back into the bar, pulling a conniving stunt to get me alone with her beau.
Mason stood with his hands in his pockets, the breath from his nostrils escaping as mist, and then he crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles stretching the fabric of his shirt. He was a pretty man, and he knew he was a pretty man.
I guess that was why I didn’t like him. Because pretty men never committed, and if they actually liked a woman, they would just string her along until they were ready to bounce to the next hot piece of ass.
I would know—I’d done it.
Catherine was the only woman I’d ever committed to…because she was the one.
I knew she was the one the moment I saw her.
But whether my impression of Mason was dead on or completely wrong didn’t matter. I was being a dick, and I needed to stop being a dick. “Look…I’m sorry about before. It’s just—”
“Don’t worry about it, man. I get it.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a sister. But my sister isn’t anything like Daisy, so I wouldn’t worry about her so much. Daisy’s a smart girl, and I didn’t realize how much I liked that sort of thing until I met her.”
She wasn’t as tough as she pretended to be sometimes. She had a big, beating heart, and she wasn’t afraid to show love to the people she cared about. She claimed it was casual with this guy, but I knew he meant something to her if she brought him around. I didn’t like that because I could already tell he wasn’t right for her. He was right for a fling that lasted a couple weeks but not anything serious. But I kept my mouth shut and let it go because nothing I said would change anything. “Yeah…she’s a lot.”
He chuckled like he understood exactly what I meant by that. “Sicily seems like a cool girl. You two seem happy.”
“Oh…she and I aren’t together. She’s my assistant at the office.”
He nodded slowly, but he seemed surprised. “She’s your assistant?”
“Yeah.”
A slight smile moved on to his lips.
“What?”
“I just…don’t understand why you would hire someone like that if you can’t be with her.”
“Hire someone like what?” I asked.
Now he looked at me like I was crazy. “You know, I’m just gonna shut my mouth now.”
“Hire someone like what?” I repeated.
He shrugged. “You know, beautiful, smart, laid-back, go-with-the-flow… Girls like that don’t come up often. Come on, I’m telling you something you already know. You two seem really close. I don’
t know how you keep your work professional when you spend so much time with her.”
“I mean, I find her attractive and everything…” Okay, I found her drop-dead gorgeous, and every time she wore those tight dresses and heels, I was a bit entranced. “But we’re friends. We’re colleagues.”
“Alright.” He dropped the topic and slid his hands back into his pockets.
“I’m not looking for anything serious anyway.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that earlier.” When I’d confessed that my heart was still broken. He looked toward the street as we continued to wait for the girls to finish in the bathroom inside the bar.
I didn’t know what else to say to him, so I just stood there, thinking about Sicily, the woman I was completely compatible with. Ever since I started working again, she’d become one of the closest people in my life. I hadn’t really noticed it until now, when I took her out to meet my sister and her…dude. Whatever the fuck he was.
The girls came out, joining us in the freezing cold. Daisy slid her arm through Mason’s and came close to him, her breath coming out like smoke with the night sky as a backdrop. “My ass is frozen solid. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“I’ll warm it up for you.” His arm circled her waist, and he pulled her close.
She looked totally smitten by the comment.
I liked that he was himself around me, but I also didn’t like it at the same time.
Sicily was bundled up in her coat, her arms crossed over her chest as she shivered. “It’s not just my ass that’s frozen.” Her teeth even started to chatter.
I stripped off my jacket.
When she saw what I was doing, she shook her head. “Dex, really, I don’t need—”
I bundled it around her, even though it was a couple sizes too big, but she immediately stopped shaking. “I run hot anyway.” I turned back to my sister to say goodbye. “Well, I’ll see you later, then.”
The Doctor Who Has No Closure (Soulless Book 10) Page 6