Page 45 of Doctor Enemy

It hurts. But I’m not going to make a fuss over the phone, so I just wave and let her disconnect us.

In the wake of the call, the studio apartment feels too quiet. I’ve got this writhing sort of burn in my chest, and my head is throbbing. I’m physically, mentally, and emotionally miserable.

“That was useless,” I grumble, tossing the phone onto the coffee table. “Thanks, Olivia.”

It’s probably wrong of me to take my frustrations out on my friend but… It’s not like she’s here to bear the brunt of them.

I’ve already showered, and I don’t feel physically up to doing anything. I know that a nap is, in the long run, just going to make me feel worse but I stretch out on the couch and turn the Food Network on anyway.

At least if I fall asleep to the sound of Alton Brown mocking his competitors, I’m not going to have to think about anything else that’s going on.

Chapter fifteen

Kurt

ShouldItexther?

I’ve been trying to figure that out for the last twenty minutes, phone in my hand, Lori’s number up on the screen.

It’s not a position that I’ve ever been in. For one, women don’t normally turn me down. For another, I don’t normally want to see them after we sleep together.

Lori’s just… Different.

She’s been different from the start. Her fiery temper drew me in. Her good looks caught my eye. And her passion for what she does has kept me smitten. This morning, I really thought that I had managed to convince her to give me a chance. There’s something a little gutting about the fact that she didn’t.

I’m not about to give up, though. Iknowthat Lori is the right woman for me. I just have to figure out how to convinceherof that.

A hand on the back of my shoulder makes me jump. “Easy there,” says Nate, sliding into the stool beside me. “What’s got you looking so bent out of shape?”

Nate’s changed out of his scrubs already, and into a pair of jeans and a well-fitted polo shirt. He’s got a faded tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve on one side, a portion of a geometric realistic heart. I hit the button on the side of my phone that plunges the screen into darkness and shove it into my pocket.

With a roll of my eyes, I tell him, “I was just wondering when you were going to show up. Pretty sure that you couldn’t have taken longer if you were actively trying. Let me guess. You were with Emma.”

Nate frowns. “Someone’s prickly.”

“That’s not a no,” I tell him, waving over the bartender. My drink is refilled, and Nate’s usual is put down in front of him. “In fact, I’m going to take that as a really loud yes.”

“I wasn’twithher. She showed up at the hospital,” says Nate.

Without missing a beat, I tell him, “You know, those are grounds for a restraining order. The fact that she comes to your work—you’re divorced for a reason, Nate. You should be more firm about it.”

“She came to talk to me about Tabitha,” he begins but doesn’t elaborate on why this talk had to be had so late.

It looks like Emma relies on the nanny more and more in order to free up time in her pursuit of Nate. If he did that too, he’d get out more, meeting new people, breaking this vicious cycle once and for all.

“I’ll start taking advice from you, once you’ve been in a relationship that lasts more than twenty-four hours,” Nate continues.

That’s normally not even a jab. Today, in the wake of Lori turning me down, it actually burns a hell of a lot.

“Fine. Then take Jackson’s opinion into account. He’s married with kids, and he thinks that you should get a restraining order on her too.”

Nate takes a long swig of his beer. “Why do we always talk aboutmewhen we come out here? Let’s talk about you for once. Where were you all week? You ditched us on Costas’ birthday.”

I wince. “How pissed is he?”

“He’s not.” Nate waves a hand. “We’re not pissed. It’s just not like you to turn down going to the bar.”

“I had a patient that I was staying with,” I explain. “You know how it goes.”

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