Page 5 of Burned By the Broken Doctor

“Who’s this last member of the illustrious team?”

“The wedding planner herself,” Damon replies, his grin widening. “My sister.”

I frown, intrigued. “Your sister, huh? I can remember you saying much about her, but I thought she’d be living in town.”

Damon laughs, shaking his head. “Emma’s just like you, man. She left five years ago. Finds it hard to come back to Harmony Creek even though she’s got people who love her to pieces here.”

I scoff. “Maybe she’s smart enough to know that’s a lie.”

Damon laughs. “Okay, maybe you both are not as alike as I thought. She’s a romantic in her heart, body and soul…you?—”

“Definitely not.”

“Definitely not.” Damon agrees with a nod. “But I still see some similarities.”

I listen as Damon starts to ramble on about his sister—how great and beautiful she is, how perfect she is, and how the whole town loves her. I grin into my cup. Everyone has a family bias, but Damon’s never been one to exaggerate. If he says she’s impressive, she probably is.

“Emma’s June’s best friend by the way,” Damon continues.

I shake my head, warning him again. “You’re really setting yourself up for trouble. If things don’t work out with June, it’s going to strain things with your sister.”

Damon just smirks, waving off my concerns. “Don’t worry about it. Things are going to be fine. They’re cool.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” I nod, but the nagging doubt remains.

“They were inseparable until June had to leave town. She’s a genius at wedding planning. She did a couple of high-profile ones in New York, too.”

A thrill suddenly runs through me. “She’s in New York?”

“Yeah,” Damon nods. “If you were the type that goes to weddings, I’d say it’s possible your paths crossed somewhere. But you’re not…” Damon grins and slides under the car, then stops and pulls himself back out again. “I have a picture of her on my phone.” He pulls out his phone, scrolls to her picture, and tosses it at me.

I catch the phone midair. The moment I see her face, my stomach drops. I know the woman beaming back at me. I know that cascading auburn hair and green eyes all too well. It’s been about a year and a half, but my photographic memory, which usually helps me avoid the awkwardness of running into past flings, now tells me I’m in deep shit.

I blink repeatedly, trying to process what I’m seeing. Damon’s sister was in my bed eighteen months ago.

“Looks familiar?” Damon's question shows he noticed my reaction.

I quickly shake my head, forcing a casual smile. “Nope, never seen her before.”

Damon goes on about how genius his sister is at planning weddings, but I’m barely listening. I nod and mumble agreement to everything he says, my mind racing. How am I supposed to handle this?

Suddenly, Damon’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Emma’s on her way here. She’ll want to meet you.”

“When’s she arriving?”

“Today.”

My first instinct is to come up with an excuse and bolt, but I realize there’s no escaping this. Harmony Creek is a small town, and with her planning Damon’s wedding, our paths will inevitably cross. Better to face this head-on in a controlled environment.

I sigh, resigning myself to the situation. “Alright, I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

That’s one of the worst lies I’ve ever told Damon, and if he was closer, I bet he’d read that lie quickly.

Damon grins and rolls back under the car. “You’re going to love her, man. She’s amazing.”

No way in hell there’s any love between me and the woman I threw out of my house in that manner. I run a hand across my face, my mind still spinning.

This is going to be interesting.

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