Page 6 of Faking It with the Off-Limits Doctor

Alex

After I give Dara the details of the house and we arrange a time for her to come over, I leave the restaurant and climb into my Mercedes. The SLR McLaren looks strange sitting on the road of this small town. It suddenly makes me realize that maybe, when this deal goes down, I might want to put something a little less ostentatious on the driveway of my family home.

Folding my large frame inside, I start the car and take in the surprised glances of those walking nearby as they hear the growl of her 5.4-liter V8 engine.

Yep. Definitely need something a little more modest.

But as I pull away from the curb, it’s not my car that holds my attention. I’m still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Mark’s sister, Dara Gilbert, is back in Riverdale. She escaped this place once. What could possibly have brought her back?

Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss it, and given that it’s none of my business, I didn’t push it. I just can’t understand what happened.

She was working in Opulento, one of the best restaurants in the city, under the guidance of Michelin-star chef Dino Cabrini, one of the best chefs in the world. It’s not an opportunity afforded to many, and given where she’s come from, I’m reeling that she’s given such a chance away.

But again, it’s none of my business. Apart from a dinner party that Mark threw several years back, I’ve only spoken to her two or three times when we’ve coincidentally met. But even then, she gave me the impression that she was loving her work.

That being said, I can’t believe my luck. I hadn’t really thought about such details as meal preparation. My attention has been too focused on getting Spire Healthcare on board. Maybe it’s divine providence that Dara is back in town.

For you, maybe. Not for her.

That’s true. She was definitely defensive, and thus, I can only conclude that things ended badly. Not to mention, it’s a huge step down. From a world-renowned restaurant to a greasy spoon? Hardly a career move she’s made by choice. The poor woman.

A very beautiful, poor woman.

We’re not even going there. I’m done with relationships, no matter how stunning she is. Besides, Mark made his views very clear several years ago after I made mention of meeting her on the sidewalk.

I’d called him one afternoon when I had a gap between clients. We usually meet up once a month for dinner, when he’s not halfway around the world helping his parents in their humanitarian endeavors, that is. But we also call each other too.

We’d already discussed work, and talked about what was going on in each other’s lives, when I had dropped into the conversation that I had bumped into Dara a few days before.

“Stay away from my sister,” Mark had said light-heartedly.

“Hey, I didn’t seek her out, man. I was just on my way to the office, and she was walking toward me. What did you want me to do? Ignore her?”

“Don’t mess with me, Alex. You know exactly what I’m saying. After the mess you managed to get yourself out of, you have some pretty heavy baggage. Dara doesn’t need that kind of emotional weight in her life.”

“Thanks a lot,” I countered, feeling his words were a little harsh.

“I say it honestly because I know you can take it.”

“Well, your words are wasted on me, and you know it,” I said. “I have no intention of getting into any sort of relationships, never mind with your sister.”

“That’s Okay. As long as we’re clear.”

“Crystal,” I replied a little snappily.

He made a joke after that, and my animosity waned. I can’t say I wasn’t a little ticked off at his tone, but afterwards, when I had calmed down, I could see where he was coming from. Kind of.

Mark is super protective over Dara. He always has been. He’s my age, thirty-three, and a few years older than her. From what he’s told me, he spent many of his teen years protecting her from the guys at school. I think he thinks she can’t handle herself, but I’ll be honest, from what I’ve seen, Mark doesn’t give his sister enough credit.

As I pull the car into the driveway of my huge new house, I wonder if I ought to have mentioned the idea of hiring Dara as my chef to Mark before I asked her. Then I shake my head.

We’re all adults, right? Dara can make her own darned mind up. Anyway, I’m hiring her for a job, not asking her to marry me.

I put the key into the lock and stride into the house. It still needs a lot of work, which is why I have contractors coming later today and the days following. It’s an old house with old furnishings and an old kitchen. All that is going. A family house might be what I need, but I don’t want it to look like a set from Days of Our Lives.

A family house with no family. Well, not anymore. I did have one once.

Cindy and I met when we were teenagers, so you could say we were childhood sweethearts. The town we grew up in was a bit more populated than Riverdale, but when I went to medical school, she came with me to the city, and we married a year later.

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