Page 43 of Faking It with the Off-Limits Doctor

My brother gazes at me for a long moment, and then he nods. “Okay.”

We don’t stay for too much longer after that. Clearly, Mark needs rest, but before we leave, I promise I’ll pick him up some groceries and bring them over tomorrow.

Later, when Alex drops me off, he turns to me and says, “So, you can’t stand me, huh?” He’s smirking, but I feel the heat rush to my cheeks.

“Mark should have kept his mouth shut,” I say. “Besides, ‘can’t stand’ is a bit strong.”

“Hmm,” Alex replies, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.

Evidently, I’m not going to get away without explaining myself, so I say, “I will admit, I have misjudged you.”

“That wouldn’t be like you at all, Dara,” he says dryly.

I roll my eyes. “The first time we met at Mark’s dinner party, you barely said two words to me. I know you were going through a messy divorce. But then every time I met you after that, you just seemed…” I struggle to find a word that won’t totally offend him. “Distant.”

“You mean I didn’t gush all over you,” he comes back, still with the smirk, like he’s mocking me.

“Now I know that you’re just a really private person,” I say, completely ignoring his remark. “And yes. I will hold my hands up and say I was wrong.”

For a long moment, he doesn’t reply, which makes this situation even more awkward.

“Will you say something?” I press.

His smile is warm, and then he takes me by complete surprise by leaning over and kissing me tenderly on the cheek.

“Thank you for what you’re doing. I know going to see Mark was difficult, but you did a great job, and I am extremely grateful.”

“You’re welcome,” I say a little breathlessly.

My face is flushing again, but not from embarrassment. That kiss has got my heart thumping and my body tingling, and I don’t know what to do with that.

“I should go,” I say quickly, pulling the door open before he has a chance to move. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Before he can reply, I’ve closed the door and am hurrying down the path to my house. It’s only when I’m stepping through the door that I hear the roaring engine pulling away.

17

Alex

Once I’m home, I head straight for the fridge. The evening had gone as best as I could have expected, but now I need a drink. I pour the last glass of wine out of the bottle and head out to the back porch, where my faithful rocking chair awaits. Lowering myself into it, I let out a long sigh.

I’m even beginning to sound like an old man.

As I gaze out across the fields and the glowing orange light across the sky, the only remaining evidence of the sun, I think of what happened tonight. Not the conversation at Mark’s house, but what happened when I dropped Dara off.

I teased her a little about Mark’s comment, mainly because the night had been so darned serious—I wanted to inject a little lightness into it. It had been amusing, watching her struggle to explain herself.

But I don’t think she’s been wrong or has misjudged me. Before she walked into my life, I was a different person. She said “distant” when I knew she meant something else. What she wanted to say was grumpy, sullen, cantankerous. And she would have been right on all counts.

While a large part of me does feel fulfilled in my life, I’ve been holding on to pains of my past. Wounds that have festered and, due to my own fault, have not fully healed.

Bizarrely, it’s only since Dara’s arrival that I seem to have let much of it go. I find myself waking up with a smile, looking forward to the day, wanting to see her.

And it’s that last point that’s most important. This deal started off as one thing, but it’s slowly morphed into something even I couldn’t have foreseen. Maybe that kiss tonight was too much, but I couldn’t help myself. I’m feeling things that I haven’t let myself feel for a long time. And I don’t think I’m imagining it when I say I think Dara is experiencing the same.

But how do I approach this? What if I’m wrong? What if I’m seeing things I want to see rather than what’s truly there?

If I say something to her and it’s not what I think, I’m going to make things really awkward between us. But I’m ninety percent sure I’m right. So, what do I do?

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