Page 19 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

Shelley gave him a puzzled look.“Jeez, I was only joking.”

He blew out a sigh.“Sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”she asked.

“Nothing.Never mind me.Let’s watch the rest of the movie.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, but he shrugged.

It’d be quicker and easier to get back to the movie than to explain that he got kind of irritable whenever he was reminded of his ex.

While Shelley watched the end of last night’s movie, Trip mostly stared at the screen, unseeing.

He wished the subject of Katrina hadn’t come up.As he took a sip of his wine, he reminded himself that all he needed to do was let it go.He glanced over at Shelley when she laughed.He’d be crazy to sit here stewing about his ex whileshewas here.

She must have sensed him looking because she turned to him with a grin and held up her glass.“Thanks for letting me see the end.That was really good.”

He glanced at the screen.He’d been so occupied with his thoughts that he hadn’t realized the movie was over.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said with a smile.He jerked his chin toward her almost-empty glass.“Looks like you enjoyed that as well.Want another?”

She nodded happily.“Please.”

He picked up the remote that was sitting on the sofa between them and handed it to her.“Why don’t you see what else you’d like to watch while I pour?”

This time, she took the remote without comment and started scrolling through the long list of romantic comedies he had saved.

He refilled their glasses and slid hers toward her.

“Thanks.”She picked up the glass and held it up to him.“I’m sorry I pissed you off earlier.”

He squeezed his eyes shut.“Don’t be.You didn’t.”

She raised her eyebrows, obviously not believing him.

“I should be the one apologizing.I get irritated when I think about Katrina.”

Shelley leaned her head to the side and studied him curiously.

“What?”he asked when he couldn’t take the scrutiny any longer.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

He sighed.“Go ahead.I think I’d rather you ask than keep studying me like that.I’m starting to feel like a bug under a microscope.”

She laughed.“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.I’m just curious…”

“Go ahead.You can ask me anything.I’m not promising that I’ll answer,” he added with a smirk, “but you can ask.”

“Okay, now that you’ve said that, I feel safe to ask… Are you still hung up on her?”

He almost choked on the sip of wine he’d just taken.

Shelley grabbed a napkin from the table and handed it to him while he set his glass down and finished sputtering.

“Hell no,” he said when he could finally speak again.“Why would you ask that?”

She shrugged.“Just curious.You admitted that you get irritated, and I wondered why.Why does it still matter?When the subject of my ex comes up, I don’t really feel anything anymore.”

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