Page 46 of Healed Hearts

I pull back in alarm. “No, don’t do that!”

He laughs. “I have to. You’re my best friend. We take care of each other, them’s the rules. Besides, if he can’t handle me grilling him, he’s definitely not going to be able to handle Beck.”

I giggle, some of the tension easing from my body. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. Okay, let’s go.”

Ro left after breakfast with a hug and a stern warning in my ear that I’m not allowed to disappear without letting him know.The “grilling” was actually pretty mild, all things considered. I thought for sure he was going to really let loose, but he’s right. That’ll definitely be Beck. Speaking of Beck. “Hey, I have a friend, Beck. He’s Ro’s fiancé, and he works in the ER. Would you be okay with me sharing the details of Wren’s case with him? I mean, he’s not a doctor.” I laugh, and Julian looks at me in confusion, so I explain. “So Beck is a physician assistant, and I pick on him because people are always asking about what PA stands for. And then they’re appalled when they find out he’s not a real doctor. Anyway, he’s really good at stuff like this. Looking at the clues and figuring out what’s going on.”

Julian grins, letting out a little chuckle as he shakes his head. “Yeah, at this point, I’ll take any help we can get. I get the feeling the doctor on her case wants to make me feel guilty instead of actually helping her.”

“Ugh, I can’t stand him. He’s my least favorite doctor in rotation. It was pure bad luck you got him. After the way he talked to you after Wren’s transfusion, I seriously considered telling you to ask for a new doctor, but I felt like that would be crossing a line.”

“It wouldn’t have been. Not in our personal relationship or for the medical side of things. I figure you know better than me at any rate.”

A knock at the door interrupts our conversation, and Julian rolls his eyes. “Who now? Jesus.” He stands and heads to the door. I don’t hear anything at first, but then a woman’s voice carries through the house. I wonder if I could sneak back into his room, andwhyhave I not changed my clothes yet?

The chance to run is taken from me when Julian walks into the kitchen with an older man and woman trailing behind him. “Holden, this is Ruby and Henry, Maya’s parents.”

I’m meeting what are basically his in-laws—his daughter’s grandparents—in an oversized t-shirt. Love this for me.

“Hello, I’m Holden. It’s nice to meet you both,” I say, trying to slip into confident work-Holden.

Ruby smiles at me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too. We’ve heard so much about you.” I shoot my gaze to Julian, and his cheeks are bright red.

“Good things, I hope?” I ask, working hard to cover up my nerves.

“Yes, definitely good things,” Julian says before either of them can respond to me.

“All the good things,” Ruby says with a smile. “Now, where’s my granddaughter? She’s due for a sleepover with Mamaw and Poppy.”

“She’s in her room, playing. I’ll go get her things together for you,” Julian says.

“No. You stay put with your company. We’ll go get her ready,” Henry says.

Julian nods. “She’s been feeling pretty good since they did the blood transfusion, but don’t hesitate to call me if she starts feeling bad again. Like I said, we still don’t know what’s going on.”

“Okay, we definitely will,” Ruby says as she and Henry take off toward Wren’s room.

“So they’re just going to steal Wren?” I ask, trying not to pout.

Julian catches my expression and laughs. “Yeah, they do that from time to time. How do you think I met your gorgeous self?”

“Do you want the real answer to that?” I ask.

He gives me a strange look. “Maybe?”

“Well,” I say, giggling a bit. “I thought possibly you were cheating on your wife.”

He stares at me blankly for a second, and then he laughs. “Nope. Not me. I’m a one-person man. You know what this means, though?”

“No. Should I? Did I miss something?”

“It means I can take you on a date, if you’d be so inclined.”

“A… date?” No one’s ever taken me on a date before, although to be fair, I’ve never actually met anyone I wanted to go on one with, anyway.

He nods at me. “Yeah, I’d really like to. If you want to.”

“Can I go home and change first?” I ask, dropping my gaze once again to Julian’s shirt. You know, you’d think that I would have changed already. But the truth is, I like it. I like wearing his clothes. Even though they look stupid on me. Ro and Beck are lucky that they’re basically the same size. Although… I glance at Julian, my eyes tracing his muscles, his height, and yeah… maybe I’m not jealous of Ro and Beck after all.

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