Page 69 of Lovetown, USA
While I write out his prescriptions, he studies me with a curious look. “You married, Doc?”
Should have seen that coming.
I wave it off. “Not yet.”
“Well I got another daughter besides Jocelyn. She’s smart. Beautiful. Real good cook, just like her mama. I need to get her married off before she realizes she don’t need a man at all.”
He laughs, a deep, warm belly laugh that makes me break, too.
“I appreciate that, sir, but I’m seeing somebody, and it’s getting serious.”
The words slip out naturally, no hesitation. And as soon as they’re out, I realize the truth in them. I’m not just dating Lane anymore. I’m starting to think about her seriously. I’m thinking about her like she’smine.
The thought quiets me, surprising me in a good way, like I’ve stumbled onto solid ground I didn’t know I’d been searching for.
Mr. Jenkins heads out with a lighter step than when he came in, and I lean back in my chair, my pen still in hand. For a few minutes, I sit in the feeling, letting it settle in my chest.
Then the phone rings, jolting me out of it.
“Dr. Montgomery.”
“Trey.” Mayor Daphne’s voice is smooth today. Calm. Almost smug. “Good news. I pushed an emergency zoning ordinance through the city council this morning. You’re approved.”
I close my eyes as the air rushes out of me. All this fucking paperwork. Months of headaches, stall after stall, no after no—andthiswas all it took? A backdoor agreement? I’m happy, but I’m pissed.
“Thank you, Daphne. Really. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“No need,” she says lightly, but the undercurrent is sharp. “I’m just looking forward to the next column. I’m sure it will be delightful.”
I force my tone even. “Yep.”
“Good.” She hangs up without another word.
I set the phone down, staring at the stack of files on the corner of my desk containing all of the paperwork I now have to file. It’s a win. It should feel triumphant. But it doesn’t.
23
Lane
“You changed your curtains.”
Behind me, Shayla laughs as she lights a stick of incense. “You really do notice everything, don’t you?”
I sit on the couch and curl my feet under me. “I told you. Journalist brain. We think different.”
She swans over to me, looking adorable in a hot pink romper. She hands me a glass of sparkling water, which I hold up like it’s champagne. “Here’s to two whole days without a drink,” I say.
She grins and clinks her glass against mine. Hers has wine in it. “I’m so proud of you. Seriously. That’s a big deal.”
Her words warm me, but I feel the need to undercut them. “It’s not. At all. What are two days against a lifetime?”
“Progress,” she says. “Don’t ever downplay your success, no matter how small you perceive it to be.”
I nod, taking a few sips before I smile. “I hope you don’t mind…I told Trey about you.”
She shrugs. “Why would I mind?”
I laugh, because the memory of his reaction still tickles me. “He said I should invite him next time.”
