Page 23 of Dirty Doctor
Luke is seeing someone? And he didn’t tell me earlier when hekissedme or when we did those things in his bedroom?
“I just started seeing her,” Luke says quietly, his eyes not leaving mine. “We’ve only been on a few dates,” he adds.
“Oh?” I answer, trying to keep my voice even.
“She’s a doctor at Eastport,” my mom adds, almost giddy. “Pediatrics.”
I feel hot all of a sudden and everything seems dizzying. I push away from the table. “I’m sorry, I think the wine was a bad idea. I still feel off from the flu.” I bend down and give my mom a quick kiss on the cheek, giving her a reassuring smile so that she doesn’t worry. “I’m calling it a night. Have a great time in Cabo. Please text me when you get to your resort.” I give Howard a high-five, which has always been our thing. “Take good care of her,” I joke.
“Goodnight, honey,” my mom says as I twist around without looking at Luke.
I hear them resume their conversation, and Luke laughs at something my mom says. That hurts most of all. It’s as if he doesn’t even care orwantto explain himself to me.
I make it to my bedroom, slamming the door in the process, before I walk over to my bed and grab every single red pillow and decoration I can find. Picture frames, candles, you name it… I grab all of it and take it to Luke’s room, dumping it onto his bed.
I’ve never been good enough for him, never been able to get to his level. He was always one step ahead. This woman—Noelle—she’s adoctor.She makes sense for him. She’s probably beautiful and obviously successful. And what am I? His little sister who faints because she’s such a hot mess that she forgot to eat? Sure, I have a graduate degree, but that doesn’t compare to adoctor.
I walk back to my room and slam the door again for good measure, and I smile because I know I’m being petulant. Lying down in my bed, I pull my kindle off my nightstand and try to read the new book I downloaded earlier, but my eyes keep crisscrossing, and every little sound has me listening for Luke’s footsteps.
I send a quick text to Bella, but I don’t tell her what happened. When she asks if her questions led to anything, I send her a thumbs down.
She only responds with a crying emoji.
Bella: Maybe I should come over again tomorrow to stir the pot more.
I just send another thumbs down.
I will tell her, but right now, all I want to do is wallow.
I’m finally invested in my book when I hear the front door slam closed. My heart rate picks up, and I take a few steadying breaths. Footsteps sound on the stairs, and I stare at my kindle, even though the words are all jumbled again. My breath hitches when I hear Luke pause outside my door, and my whole body stills when a knock sounds.
“Come in.”
Luke opens the door, but he doesn’t come all the way in.
“Are you okay?” he asks, putting his hand in the pocket of his pants.
I nod. “Yep. Just tired.” I hope he takes the hint.
He opens and closes his mouth a few times, and I must admit, I love seeing him grovel.
“Langley—”
“You should’ve told me,” I interrupt, sitting up and tossing my kindle to the foot of the bed.
He nods. “I know. But it didn’t even cross my mind because Noelle and I aren’t exclusive. We’re nowhere near serious. We’ve been on three dates.”
I wrap my arms around myself. “Why do I feel like tonight was a mistake?” I whisper. “What if we start dating, and then we break up and our parents have to take sides, and—”
Luke’s lips twitch upward, anddamn it,I hate when he looks at me like that. “You think we’d break up?” he asks, his voice fraught with an emotion that I can’t identify.
My eyes widen. “I mean, it’s either we break up, or—” I stop talking as he saunters over.
“You think this is a normal relationship, Langley?” he asks, his voice rough. “We already know each other. We’ve lived together. We’ve met our families. Wearefamily,” he adds, and I sigh.
“Exactly. You’re my stepbrother, Luke. What the hell are we doing?”
Luke takes another step closer. “Do you like me, Langley?”
