Page 101 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
“Call me Jo. I’m so happy to meet you, Tommy.” She gave him a quick hug before pulling back and beaming at him. “And I’m happy you’re not pockmarked in real life.”
Tommy smiled. “You aren’t the only one. It’s nice to meet you, too, Jo. Thank you for…” He swallowed, and I noticed his ears turned a little pink at the tops. “Well, thank you for this guy. He’s one of the best people I know.”
More tears as Mom glanced over at me with pride. “Same. I couldn’t have asked for a better son and friend. Or business partner!”
“Alright, alright,” I said quickly. “Can we skip this part, please? Where’s Anna?”
I glanced around in hope of finding my sister, but instead, I found the shit-eating grin of Way’s husband, Silas.
“Well, well, well. It’s finally time for the tables to turn,” he began. “And who’s this tasty morsel?”
“Touch him and die,” I warned in a low voice without losing my friendly grin.
Silas barked out a laugh and introduced himself to Tommy. “I hope you know your boyfriend is the world’s biggest flirt. He takes great pride in causing trouble between other couples. Don’t be surprised if people dish it all back out tonight. Welcome to Majestic.”
I felt the heat of Tommy’s eyes on me. “A flirt, you say? Thatdoesn’t sound like Foster. He’s so quiet and meek, like a baby bird afraid to leave his own nest.”
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Exactly. See? You get me.”
Tommy sucked in a breath. I turned to see what he was reacting to when I noticed him staring at my sister from across the room. “Holy fuck, who is that?” he breathed. “She’s fucking gorgeous. Can you introduce me?”
I stood in shock, reeling from his pronouncement before hearing the sound of men’s laughter and realized he was in on some kind of joke.
They’d somehow set me up.
“You don’t even know these guys!” I accused, catching the teasing light in his eyes. “How the fuck did you know that was Anna?”
Way clapped me on the shoulder and grinned. “You were so busy staring at the good doctor here, you didn’t see Silas gesture to Anna and mouth her name.”
Way, Silas, and all of their friends,myfriends, laughed and teased me as they swarmed around to meet Tommy properly. I could tell they were all genuinely happy for me, with Way the happiest of all, other than my mom, of course.
Finally, Anna walked up. “You must be Tommy. I’ve heard a lot about you from Foster’s office wall.”
That was all it took for everyone to start laughing again. I pulled her into my arms and gave her a hug. “Happy birthday, asshole.”
Tommy poked me in the back. “See! I knew it. I knew youcalled your family names, too. And you got mad at Hazel for doing it to me.”
I turned and winked at him. “I’m the only one who can call you names. No one else.”
He slid his hand into mine and threaded our fingers together. I noticed a faint tremble in his hand and suddenly realized this was the first time he’d held a man’s hand in public. First time he’d been claimed by another man to anyone.
I met his eye and mouthed, “Okay?”
He smiled and nodded before leaning into my shoulder and pressing his face into my neck for a quick kiss below my ear. “I didn’t know it could be like this,” he whispered. “Very okay.”
I pressed a kiss into his hair and straightened back up, catching my mom looking on wistfully. Anna began peppering Tommy with questions about what it was like to live in New York since she’d always wanted to go and see a show on Broadway.
My friend Tully came over with his young daughter on his hip. She immediately gasped with excitement and babbled, “Fossa!” as she lurched at me with arms spread wide. I had to let go of Tommy to catch her, and when I gave her a big raspberry kiss on the cheek, I caught my guy flashing moony eyes at me.
Suddenly, I remembered our conversation in Hawaii. About how he wanted kids and a family. I met his eyes and grinned. “This is Lellie. She’s two and a half. And these are her dads, Tully and Dev. Guys, this is Tommy.”
Tommy greeted Lellie first, instantly winning over her two proud parents. Within moments, she’d jumped ship forTommy’s more interesting antics, and Tully and Dev were pulling Tommy away to get him a drink from the collection of beer and wine in a nearby cooler.
Way surprised me with a huge hug, the tight, back-slapping kind that he was famous for. “So fucking happy for you,” he said, emotion in his voice. “Nobody deserves a good guy more than you.”
When he pulled away, I gathered my courage. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you this back at the office, but, uh…” I sucked in a breath. “I’m moving up to Legacy and joining SERA full-time.”
Way’s face fell. In addition to being my cousin and best friend, Waylon Fletcher was also the mayor of Majestic. While my news might be acceptable on a personal level, since I wouldn’t be all that far away and he’d married into enough money to travel it in style, professionally, I was dealing him a significant blow.
