Page 20 of The Surgeon's Secret

Catherine's heart skipped a beat. She was standing on the edge of something she couldn't come back from. But in that moment, the pull toward Lexi was stronger than anything else.

"I'll be there," Catherine whispered, and hung up the phone.

When Catherine emerged from the bathroom, she found James sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine absently. The familiar, mundane sight of him hit her like a punch to the gut.

"You need something?" he asked without looking up.

Catherine shook her head. "No, just...a long day."

James made a vague sound and turned a page.

"I think I'm going to take a walk," Catherine said softly. "Clear my head."

James didn't even look up this time. "Sure. Whatever."

Catherine turned toward the door, her heart pounding. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done—walking out that door knowing she was choosing Lexi, choosing herself, over the life she'd built with James.

She'd made her choice. If she was honest with herself, she'd made it a while ago.

And now, there was no going back.

Catherine couldn’t quite remember how she got from her house to Lexi’s apartment. Everything had blurred together—the drive, the stoplights flashing by, the weight in her chest growing heavier with every passing minute. But now, as she stood outside the door with the night air cool on her skin, she was fully aware of the choice she was making.

She reached for the doorbell, her finger trembling slightly as she pressed it. The sound of the chime echoed through thehallway, and anticipation pulsed deep in her gut. It was as if the moment she’d been avoiding for weeks, months, maybe even years, had arrived at last.

The door swung open and Lexi stood in the doorway, framed by the soft, warm glow from inside the apartment. Her dark eyes met Catherine’s, the unspoken intensity between them growing with each passing second. Lexi was dressed simply in a loose shirt and jeans, but there was a heat to her presence that immediately pulled Catherine closer, even as she stood still, rooted in place by the weight of her own hesitation.

“You came,” Lexi said softly, her voice like a promise.

Catherine didn’t trust herself to speak. She just nodded, her breath catching as Lexi stepped aside, allowing her to enter. The apartment smelled like fresh coffee and candles—familiar and intimate and completely new. It felt like stepping into another world, one that was separate from the life she had with James, far away from the demands and expectations that had defined her for so long.

Once the door clicked shut behind her, Catherine’s chest tightened with a mixture of excitement and guilt. This wasn’t just a night. This wasn’t just a stolen moment. This was the choice that would decide everything.

Lexi’s apartment felt small and cozy, with low lighting and a quiet hum of music playing in the background. There was a calmness to it, a kind of peace that Catherine hadn’t felt in her own home in years. She felt a strange sense of belonging here, though it was laced with the knowledge that this could all be a fleeting delusion.

“Do you want something to drink?” Lexi asked, her voice soft, almost tender. “Wine? Coffee? I can make you something to eat.”

Catherine shook her head, her throat dry. “No. Just…I need to be here. With you.”

The vulnerability in her voice startled her. It was the first time she’d allowed herself to speak the truth that had been buried under layers of guilt and denial. She needed this. She neededher.

Lexi took a step closer, and Catherine’s breath hitched. The space between them closed with a slow inevitability, and before Catherine could process the shift, Lexi’s hand was on her cheek, warm and gentle, her fingers grazing the skin as she tipped Catherine’s face up toward hers.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Lexi whispered, and then her lips were on Catherine’s, slow and tentative at first, as if testing the waters, but with an intensity that made Catherine’s pulse race.

The kiss deepened quickly, the urgency between them building as their bodies instinctively drew together. Catherine’s hands found Lexi’s waist, her fingers curling into the fabric of Lexi’s shirt as she pulled her closer. She felt the heat of Lexi’s body against hers, and the pull was so magnetic, so overwhelming, that Catherine could do nothing but give in to it.

Everything else faded—the guilt, the weight of her marriage, her doubts. All that remained was the feeling of Lexi’s lips against hers, the pressure of their bodies, the rush of desire that flooded Catherine’s veins.

For a moment, there was no past. There was just the way Lexi kissed her, as if she’d been waiting for this moment for years.

Catherine’s hands moved to the back of Lexi’s neck, pulling her closer still, as if she could merge with her, become part of the very air they were breathing. Lexi responded in kind, her hands moving down Catherine’s sides, tracing the curves of her body with a reverence that left Catherine breathless.

There was no room for shame or guilt here. It was swallowed up by the way Lexi touched her, the way their bodies seemed to recognize each other, responding with an urgency that both terrified and thrilled Catherine. She wasn’t sure how long theystood there, lips pressed together, lost in the kiss. Time seemed to stretch and bend, pulling them into a space where everything else ceased to matter.

When they finally broke apart, it was only to catch their breath. Lexi’s forehead rested against Catherine’s, her eyes dark with desire, her lips swollen from their kiss.

“I don’t want to stop,” Lexi whispered, her voice raw, the words vibrating between them like a promise.

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