Page 15 of Dirty Doctor
Bella smirks. “Oh, yes. We went to grad school together.”
“Bella is a very talented photographer,” I explain, and Luke gets up to get us more wine.
“But yes, Langley is annoyingly talented,” she says, smiling up at Luke as he refills our glasses.
He doesn’t answer her. Instead, his eyes find mine, and something dark and heady swirls behind his irises, making my pulse quicken and my stomach dip.
“I think we’re going to need more wine,” is all he says, his eyes working their way down my body.
I nearly self-combust, polishing off the rest of my wine in one go to make the nervous flutters in my stomach disappear.
CHAPTERELEVEN
LUKE
By the timeI serve dinner, we’re all well and drunk. It’s my own fault, and I’m already offering to get a cab for Bella so that she can head to her boyfriend’s house afterwards. But it was me who overheard them talking—me who hid behind the foyer wall to listen to Langley tell Bellashe doesn’t think of me like that.
Why do I care, anyway? Sure, she was my stepsister, so there was something between us already. I assumed it was because we grew up together, and I knew so much about her. But when she said that, it felt like someone punched me in the gut. I wanted her to tell Bella that she had thought of me like that a few times. That perhaps I wasn’t crazy, because I would be kidding myself if I didn’t admit I haddefinitelythought of her like that in the past.
And now, in the present.
Langley and Bella are whispering excitedly when I bring the bowl of rice over to accompany the coconut curry stew. Bella’s mouth drops open.
“Youmadethis?” she asks, grabbing the ladle and pouring herself a serving. I have to hold back my laugh. I like her. She’s audacious and daring—ostentatious in the best way. Entertaining, for sure. My eyes flick to Langley, and she’s watching me with furrowed brows.
God, I wish she’d stop trying to figure me out.
“Want some?” I ask her, and she takes the ladle from Bella.
“This looks…” She trails off, clearing her throat. “Really good.”
I smile. “Thank you. I have to work tomorrow, so there should be plenty of leftovers for you.”
Her eyes find mine, and again, there’s that look.
I ignore the way I almost knock my glass over, or the way I can hardly taste the curry because I’ve consumed too much wine. I’m treading dangerous waters here, especially since Bella is set to leave in twenty minutes. Leaving Langley and I alone with another bottle of wine to finish by ourselves is definitely not wise.
“Okay, so it still baffles me that two very attractive people never… you know…” Bella says, implying something I am most definitely not ready to talk about. Ever. “You guys never…?” She trails off, but I know what she’s insinuating.
“Bella!” Langley hisses. She gives me an apologetic look. “No, and I think it’s time we switch you to water.”
Bella gives me a lecherous grin. “Look how cute she is. Didn’t you ever think about it?”
Langley’s cheeks redden, and she groans, staring down at her food. Why is she embarrassed? Bella is right. There was a time—around the time she was a senior in high school—things started to get a bit tense when I came home for the holidays. She was always wearing these tight little shirts that showed her stomach, and it would drive me mad—and into the bathroom to rub one out on an occasion or two.
Did she feel the same way, too? Or is she just embarrassed that I’m going to brush her off and validate the fact that she thinks I hate her? Because that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I did,” I say, drinking the last of our second bottle. The wine has definitely emboldened me, and I realize as her face snaps up to mine that I’ve made a grave mistake admitting that. She looks betrayed—and her face is horrified.Why did I say that?There’s no coming back from that admission. Not ever.
So, fuck it.
“Christmas of my senior year in college,” I continue. Bella grins and settles into her chair, looking like she just won the lottery.
“Luke,” Langley breathes. My eyes find hers, and I wait for her to tell me to stop. But her eyes are twinkling, and I can tell she wants to hear what I’m about to say.
“Nothing illicit happened,” I say slowly, my hand gripping the stem of the wine glass as I stare at my wine. The tension between us could break the glass. “But I thought about it.”
Langley lets out a tiny gasp, and when I look back at her, she’s bright red.
