Page 86 of Gideon's Gratitude

“He is. I am. We both will be.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Which reminds me…I need to be tested.”

She tapped her keyboard. “Last results were three months ago, and they were negative. Have you been with anyone since?”

“No. And I just want to be safe, you know?” I met her gaze. “My wife wasn’t good at being faithful.”

Another few taps of the keyboard and the printer whirred to life. The doctor snagged the paper. “You know where the lab is. I’ll email you the results. I also want to see you again in a few weeks.”

“That’s hardly necessary.”

“How about you let me decide what’s necessary? I want to be certain you’re following my orders.”

I met her gaze. “I plan to. Honestly.”

Her gaze was unwavering.

“Okay, I’ll make an appointment.”

“On your way out. Don’t leave it up to Jean-Michel.”

Well, crap. That’s exactly what I’d planned to do.

The doctor rose, so I did as well. I gave a curt nod and headed for the door. I placed my hand on the handle, but before turning it, glanced over my shoulder. “A panic attack?”

“I read over all the results myself. Honestly, you’re a pretty healthy guy. Except for those eating habits. For a guy who prides himself on his appearance, take more care with what you eat. Fresh fruit and vegetables might be expensive, but something tells me you can afford them.” She raised her eyebrow. “Three weeks. If you have any more issues, of course come back sooner.”

Fair enough.

I exited her inner sanctum and headed over to the reception desk. Less than five minutes later, I was back in my SUV and headed home. My mind spun with all the things I needed to do. My phone had buzzed many times, but I’d flatly ignored it. Jean-Michel was my top priority. Then I neededto—

Cars lined Point Grey Road. All clustered around my house. I could pull into my driveway but would be sharing it with several other vehicles.Everyone is here. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.

The temptation to keep right on driving was strong. Overwhelming, even.

You can’t.

If I didn’t face them now, it’d only prolong the complete debacle and make them more anxious. I hadn’t meant to keep them at such a distance over the past few days. Well, okay, maybe I had. Maybe I’d needed a break.

A panic attack.

Okay, so checking out of the hospital AMA hadn’t been my brightest idea. Logic had played no part in that decision. I wanted to get away. And I had. Spectacularly. And now I was going to pay for running away.

I debated whether sneaking in through the garage was even possible, but suspected the kitchen was likely full as well. So I sucked it up and went through the front door.

The chatter ceased. I removed my coat and hung it in the closet. I toed off my shoes. Finally I stepped into the living room.

And faced the firing squad.

It’s as bad as you expected.

No…wait… Chelsea’s here. Yeah, that makes it even worse.

“Aren’t you on house arrest?”

She sat resplendently in my favorite chair. She yanked up her jean leg, showing a bare ankle. “Judge took pity on me yesterday. Well, actually, the prosecution decided they couldn’t make the charges stick, and so withdrew them. My ankle jewelry was off less than an hour later. My lawyer wanted to go out for champagne, but I told her I neededto track down my wayward older brother. Who’d been in the hospital two days earlier but had disappeared.”

“And how did you know I was in the hospital?”

Mother raised her hand. “When you left, they called to make sure you did follow-up care.”

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