Page 26 of Undeniably Enemies

“Hey, man,” I greet Owen, surprised to find him here. “What brings you to my ER?”

Owen gives me a smile and a hug. “I finished early for once in my life. Rory and I came here to pick up Katy for dinner, and I thought I’d pop down and see how Wren is getting on with her rotation. Do you know where she is?” Katy and Owen are best friends and godparents to each other’s children. For how close Owen and I are, he and Katy are essentially twins separated at birth.

“Where’s Estlin tonight?”

His smile turns dopey, and his eyes glitter at the mention of my sister. “Working. She has a big commission she wants to finish.”

My sister, like my mother, is an extremely talented painter. My mother is world-famous, and Estlin is working her way to that title quickly.

“Now that you know where yours is, where’s mine?”

“Last I saw her, she was following one of my residents around.” I check my watch. “She should be finishing up for the day, though.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder and walks me over to the side. “How’s it going for her? Truth?”

“Owen, you’re not her dad or her boyfriend. She’s an adult, and from what I hear from the residents and her intern, she’s doing fine.”

His eyes narrow slightly. “But you don’t know?”

I smirk. “I don’t have time for medical students. That’s what interns are for. It’s the standard medical hierarchy, and I know you know that.”

He sighs. “It wouldn’t kill you to be civil with her. Perhaps give her a little extra attention and time.”

Actually, it might.

“We’re civil.” Enough. If by civil, he means we ignore each other, which we have since yesterday morning when she cornered me in the kitchen and drank from my cup. I’m not counting running into her last night at the bowl place. “And I will not play favorites. Not even for my best friend’s little sister.”

He holds up a hand. “Fine. I’ll stop interfering in an overprotective big brother way. Do you want to join us for dinner?”

I lean against the wall and kick my foot up so it’s pressing into it. “Can’t. I have packing I need to finish up. I move next week.”

His face brightens. “You never told me you found a place.”

My brow furrows. “I didn’t?”

He shakes his head. “No, but we’ve both been busy.”

“Weird. Yes, I found a place on Commonwealth in Back Bay. I closed on it a couple of weeks ago, and I’m having it fixed up a bit before I move in.”

Owen laughs and smacks my shoulder. “You know Wren lives there.”

That pulls me up short. “I didn’t know that.”

His expression momentarily darkens. “Yep. She bought a place a little more than two years ago.”

I never kept track of Wren. I never asked Owen or Estlinabout her, and if either mentioned her, I intentionally tuned them out and didn’t listen. I made it so she didn’t exist to me because whenever I did, she had a life force inside of me I struggled to control. Thinking about her more than I should never got me anywhere other than miserable.

My gut sinks, but then I remind myself that Commonwealth is a big street, and the likelihood of us living in the same building is slim to none. Not to mention Wren is a billionaire and is likely living in a top-of-the-line penthouse, whereas I am not either of those things.

“Owen?” Wren’s voice carries down the hall, snapping me out of my thoughts. She comes bursting down the hall and throws her arms right around her brother’s neck. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

He hugs her back and then releases her. “I’m picking up Katy for dinner. Rory wanted to see her and baby Willow. Do you want to join us?”

She checks her watch. “What time are you going?” She’s wearing wide-leg jeans and a cropped one-shoulder sweater that shows off a flash of her stomach when she moves. Her long, blonde hair that had been up all day is now flowing down her back in soft waves, and she has a decent amount of makeup on. At least compared to what she had on before. Not that I’m noticing or anything.

She also smells good. She’s wearing that perfume that I hate I like.

I swallow thickly and force myself to look away.

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