Page 78 of Undeniably Enemies

“Sucks that you’re already in love with her then.”

I glare, and it’s not a kind glare either. Uncle or not.

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Just calling it like I see it.”

The doors swoosh open, and Rina waltzes out into the predawn morning. She sees Brecken, and her face lights up, and I’m reminded how much she looks like Wren. Or how much Wren looks like Rina when Rina was Wren’s age. And I look like Breck—I look a lot like my dad, but I also look like him too.

Rina leans in and kisses him, and I feel awkward standing here witnessing it. Breck clears his throat and points to me, and Rina laughs. “Oh. Sorry, Jack. I didn’t see you.”

I wave that off. “It’s fine.”

“He’s in love with Wren.”

“The fuck?!” I bark incredulously at him. “What happened to you keeping your mouth shut and not spilling my secrets?”

He laughs and points at me. “Ah, but I just got you to admit you’re in love with her, didn’t I?”

“No… I mean, I’m not…” I trail off, struck by that. Did I just admit that? Is that what’s going on? I sigh and feel it rattle in my bones. Fuck me sideways, he did, didn’t he?

The truth is, I am starting to fall for her.

I can lie to myself, and I can lie to them, but he’s right. I am.

“Shit,” I hiss, scrubbing my hands up and down my face. “I can’t be in love with her. She’s all wrong for me.”

A smile lights up Rina’s face, and she and Breck, hand in hand, stride over to me. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Wren, but consider this. Sometimes all wrong leads to the right happily ever after.” She throws Brecken a side-eye, and he winks at her. They walk past me and head out into the morning. “Later, Jack.”

“Bye,” I mumble under my breath, still more than a little off from this revelation.

This is going to be a problem.

After a shower,a quick change into scrubs, and a drag of my fingers through my hair, I deem myself ready for the day. Rina and Brecken can say whatever they like because it’s easy for them to do so. They don’t have to deal with the reality of it, and with that, I’ve decided to pretend this morning is yet another thing that didn’t happen.

Childish? Maybe. But do I care? Not so much.

By a quarter to seven, everyone is here. The night nurses are giving their reports, anxious to get out of here and leave their patients to the day shift. Med students and interns are going through charts and doing early exams—much to the patients’chagrin—to be able to present during rounds. Me? I’m sipping my second cup of crap coffee and anxious like a thief waiting to get busted.

Wren is already here. I know that. Her name murmurs through the halls, and as I decide to get the fuck over it and head toward the nurse’s station, I catch a glimpse of her chatting with Dr. Marshall. He leans in, places his hand on her lower back, and whispers something by her ear that makes her laugh, and my fists ball up accordingly.

“Hey, Marshall, your wife is on the phone for you,” I bark as I pass them.

He jumps back, all wide-eyed and terrified as he rips his phone from his hip to check it. “She is? I don’t see a missed call.”

Dick.

“Oh, maybe that was someone else’s wife.”

He goes from nervous to annoyed in a nanosecond. “That was uncalled for. You’re a real asshole.”

“Never said I wasn’t. Just ask my student. Speaking of, keep your fucking hands to yourself and stop flirting with her.”

He glares. “Watch yourself there, Kincaid. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“I’m not the one with the band on my hand and a reputation for trying to bend it.” I make a point of glaring at the fat yellow gold wedged on his left hand and continue on. Wren doesn’t say anything, and I don’t even so much as glance at her, but I’m sure she’s angry with me over that. All the better. He should know I’m on to him, and he needs to stay the fuck away from her.

I do too, so those are words we should both live by.

Wren seems to feel the same way because I don’t see her at all the rest of the day. She and Daffy are on fast-tracks because I’m feeling magnanimous like that, and it gives me the freedom to work on harder patients. The rest of day one of Wren detoxgoes smoothly, and I run home, shower again, and watch Monday Night Football with the sound up so I can’t hear anything that’s happening outside of my apartment.

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