Page 24 of Forgot to Tell You Something

Crap, here we go. “Yes, I guess it is.”

Her lower lip trembles, her gaze focused on the far wall. “Please tell me you’re not a doctor.”

And there it is. I catch Dan’s eye over Tally’s head, his expression sympathetic. He knows I’m screwed. We both do. Maybe, just maybe, if I play it off with a wink and smile, we can move past this topic of conversation. At least for the present. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone hope I’mnota doctor. I thought doctors were quite the catch.”

The smile slides from Tally’s face. “Are you?”

I chuckle, determined to get to the bottom of her rule. I run my fingers along her jaw, trailing them down her neck, willing the tension down. “What if I am? What if I’m a doctor at your hospital? What then?”

But Tally is more than happy to hold on to every ounce of tension in her body. She stays my hand, her eyes hardening. “It would suck.”

“You were serious about that rule?”

“I don’t date doctors. Or co-workers.”

Christ, I hope my poker face doesn’t fail me now. “Never?” I press, unwilling to let the topic drop. “I would think a doctor would be a natural fit for a nurse.”

“Maybe some nurses, but not me. I dated a doctor—once—and he burned me. Burned is an understatement. Torched is more accurate a term. He got me fired, out of spite, from a job I worked my ass off for…among other things.” Tally focuses those big eyes on me, but her gaze is unflinching. She’s not kidding. “I only have three rules, Owen, and I’m more willing to overlook the other two than this one. So, if you’re a doctor, you might as well tell me now. Why prolong the torture?”

I have two choices, and I can’t believe the one I’m about to make.

I stare into those deep pools and lie. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Darlin.”

“You’re not a doctor?”

I shake my head, ignoring Dan’s incredulous stare. I get it, man; I get it.

“How do you have so much medical knowledge?” Tally is like a bloodhound, sensing my falsehood.

“Same way that you have so much musical knowledge. It’s a topic that interests me.”

“You probably think I’m crazy, huh? I know it might not make sense to you, but my rules keep me safe.”

At that moment, I see it flash in her eyes. Fear. Not toward me, but the memory of what that son-of-a-bitch did to her. It was far beyond the loss of a job. One thing is certain, I never want to see that look cross her face again. But it gives me hope, too. I just have to prove I’m not the monster who hurt her.

I reach over, grasping her fingertips. “You don’t have to explain wanting to be safe.”

She giggles, taking a sip of her drink. “Don’t you wish you’d never asked that question now? My rules likely would never have come up, and we wouldn’t have wound up down this rabbit hole.”

You have no idea, Darlin.“I want to know everything about you. Besides, I asked.”

“I want to know everything about you, too.”

That’s the problem. She can’t, at least not right now.

Tally steps closer and palms my cheek, before pressing her lips to mine. I want to resist her—Ishouldresist her—especially since she wants nothing to do with doctors, but it’s a lost cause. The moment her tongue teases my mouth, it’s all over. I pull her against me, tangling my hands in her hair and taking control of the kiss.

I hate that I lied to Tally, and I’m sure Dan wants to kick my ass straight to the street corner. But he has to understand. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

If Tally was like every other woman, she would have squealed with excitement at the idea of dating a doctor. Spilling the beans would have earned me a blowjob, not a blow-off. But Tally is unlike any other woman I’ve ever met—in every way.

I’ve waited my entire life for this woman. Thirty-eight years for her to cross my path. Now, she’s here, and I refuse to release her just because she doesn’t date doctors.

Instead, I withhold the full truth because I know that truth will make her run away. I want to know this woman. I need to know this woman.

I only pray that she’s as crazy about me as I am about her by the time she learns about my profession.

It’s a chance I’m willing to take.

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