Page 14 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
What a dumbass I was.
I stepped back as Tommy cleared his throat.
“It’s not about the shirt. Not exactly. My uncle Blue met his husband at a family wedding weekend in kind of a similar situation.” Tommy waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry about all of this. About, well, all of… everything.”
Everything? Meeting me? Talking with me? Kissing me?
I told myself it didn’t matter.
I hardened my heart and my gaze. “I’m sure. Especiallysince you almost got caught.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Maybe next time you cheat on that beautiful lady out there, you should clue in the guy you’re kissing so he can help you keep it on the down-low.”
Tommy’s face flushed beet red. “That’s not… I didn’t… There won’tbea next time. I?—”
“There sure as fuck won’t be with me,” I gritted out. “But if you want, I can give you Matthew’s number. Took me ages to figure out he’d been hooking up with my deputy behind my back, and I’m sure he’d be happy to meet up with you and give you some pointers.”
His eyes flashed to mine. No twinkle in the hazel now, I thought with vicious satisfaction. Just anger and confusion and hurt.
Well, join the fucking club.
“I don’t cheat,” Tommy said in a low, tense voice. “I’ve never cheated. But you kissed me, and?—”
“Oh,Ikissedyou?” I shot back, incredulous. “So it was all me, then? I just imagined your tongue in my mouth, kissing me back?”
His hands clenched into fists. “That’s not what I?—”
“Tell me this,” I cut in. “Have you told your bride about what happened?”
“No. But I will,” he added quickly. “I told you in my note?—”
I shook my head. I’d heard everything I needed to hear.
I’d come on this vacation looking for a no-strings hookup, but somewhere along the way, I’d bought into Daisy Sunshine’s bullshit about kismet and The One.
And it turned out she was right: the worst part was, I never saw it coming.
“Take care, Tommy. Congratulations, I guess.” I turned to move past him, to leave him to his nosy family and awkward explanation about why a stranger was wearing his shirt, when he stopped me with a hand to my chest.
“Wait. Please, Foster.”
The warmth of his palm through the cotton went straight to my dick. I looked down at his hand before meeting his eyes.
His expression nearly brought me to my knees. Regret. Confusion. Exhaustion. I wanted to think there was even a little bit of hope there, but I knew that was ridiculous wishful thinking.
One thing I knew for sure was that whatever Tommy Marian’s future held, it had nothing to do with mine.
I reached for the hand on my chest and removed it. “Good luck to your bride, Dr. Marian. She’s gonna need it.”
4
TOMMY
When Foster walkedout of the conference room, I wanted to both vomit and sob. The feeling reminded me of one of those long shifts in the ER where absolutely everything went wrong, where lives seemed to slip away at every turn, no matter what I did.
The ghost of Foster’s hand on my wrist burned like a brand as I made my way back to the lobby. My family and friends were still standing around chatting, happily unaware that my world had just been tossed into a blender and set to Max Crush.
“There you are,” Kari said, a divot of concern between her eyebrows. “I was about to send a search party after you, but Tilly said you ran into a friend. Was it anyone I know?”
“No,” I said, trying to force a smile. “A guy I met on the plane yesterday. He, uh, lost his luggage, so I helped him out. Listen… can we go somewhere and talk?”
