Page 20 of The Doctor's Promise
“Perhaps,” Noemi answered noncommittally. “I hate to rush off, but I do have surgeries to get to. It was good to meet you, Mr. Ballentine.”
“Drew.”
“Drew,” she replied, shaking his hand. She smiled at both him and Kit before making her escape.
Ally was waiting for her in the scrub room, having seen her earlier with Kit and Ballentine. “Do you just attract the handsome ones by magic or what?”
“You mean Tomi’s brother? You think he’s handsome?”
Ally considered. “He’s not my type—”
“—nor mine.”
“—but he is a good-looking man. Tomi’s brother?”
Noemi nodded. “Stepbrother. He’s okay, but there’s something… I don’t know. Missing.”
“Like what?”
Noemi pondered while she scrubbed in. “I don’t know,” she told Ally. “I can’t figure it out.”
Kit Vaughan smiledat his acquaintance. “So, what do you think?”
“She’s lovely, Kit, just as you said.” Drew Ballantine nodded at him.
Kit sat forward. “Look, normally I would never interfere in a friend’s life. Ever. But I just feel that Noe needs… I don’t know… guidance, absolution, something. She had her confidence shattered, and I hate seeing it. I can’t figure it out, and so that’s why I came to you. Think you can help her?”
Drew smiled at him, and picking up his coffee, sipped the hot liquid. “Oh, yes,” he said softly, “I really do think I can help her.”
11
Chapter Eleven
Noemi didn’t tell Rafael about the break-in, but she did tell him she met Drew Ballantine.
“And what did you think of him?” Rafa’s voice was even and measured, but she detected a hint of tension. She put down the saucepan of pasta she was about to strain and looked at him.
“I didn’t really form much of an opinion except that he appeared very different from Tomi.”
Rafa nodded and took the pan, draining it and dumping the pasta into a dish. They were cooking together in his city apartment, a luxurious penthouse in one of Seattle’s most exclusive buildings. The view over Elliott Bay was breathtaking, but Noemi knew he hadn’t brought her here to impress her. He just wanted her to feel at home.
Mouse, for whom Rafa had bought a new dog bed, was fast asleep in the living room as they took their supper in, balancing plates on their knees and sitting on the couch to eat and talk. “I don’t know him that well myself; I just know the situation with the family. Ballentine’s father was only married to Tomi’s mom for a few years.”
“He didn’t come to see Tomi when she was sick.”
“No.” Rafa’s expression told Noemi what he was feeling. She touched his arm.
“Hey look, he may have had a good reason. Did Tomi say anything about him?”
Rafa sighed and put his plate down on the coffee table. “Not really. I know there was some friction because her mom adores Drew, him being a God-fearing preacher and Tomi being the rebel. But Tomi never resented Drew; they were just two wildly different people.”
Noemi studied him. “But you’re not a fan?”
Rafa shrugged. “Look… I’m no angel, and I’m biased because I think that regardless of temperament, he should have been there for Tomi. But, as I say, I might be a little unfair to the man. I only met him a couple of times.”
Noemi chuckled a little. “Families, huh?”
“Preach, sister. Did you always get along with your sister?”
