Page 23 of Attached At Heart
I sighed and gave him a bullshit excuse. “Work’s been a bit much lately, that’s all. Entering into a field that you’ve been training to do for the past ten years shouldn’t be so fucking stressful, but it is.”
Noah seemed stumped by my words. “I know the job is new, but haven’t you been a cardiologist for, like, years now?”
“No, man.” I laughed at his expression. “The three years at Mayo were my fellowship in cardiology. It wasn’t the same.” I gave him a tight smile. “There was a different kind of weight on my shoulders.” Noah raised a brow, but before he could say anything, I added, “That’s why I’m here. Gotta work off some steam.”
I turned away from him and focused on a hanging bag, intending to give it a good punch.
And then Noah’s words stopped me.
“You sure it’s not because Delaney Delacroix is in Boston?”
“How the fuck?—”
I whirled around to find Noah giving me a shit-eating grin.
Fucking hell.
“Gemma turned back to ask you something yesterday and saw you having quite the, uh, conversation with another doctor, and I knew immediately who it was. You, smile at work? Not a chance. Not unless it was?—”
“Fuck off, Noah.”
Noah’s eyes practically fucking glowed with glee as he ignored me. “I told you I saw her, remember? The day Delilah was born. She passed by our hospital room. You and Nat told me I was imagining things. But I showed Gemma a picture of her last night, and she confirmed it. So don’t bother lying, Blake.”
Shit, I’d forgotten about that. Noahhadtexted something in the blur of all his other anxious messages about Delilah’s birth. I’d just blown it off since he’d clearly been on the verge of a new-dad mental breakdown.
“Well, I figured she would have told me if she moved out here,” I said, feeling defeated at the reminder that she hadn’t. “Guess I was wrong.”
“Damn,” Noah said with a wince as if he felt my pain. “Still engaged, then, too?”
“Actually, no,” I said tentatively, fighting to hide my reaction to that and the roller coaster of emotions his words evoked. Immediate irritation that Delaney had been engaged, followed by instant relief as I remembered it had been fake, and then, of course, annoyance that I hadn’tknownit was fake.
And then there was the little reminder of who she was engaged to now.
Me.
That sparked a whole different set of emotions.
“Oh?” Noah’s lips spread in a sly smirk. “So, that means…”
I hadn’t precisely thought I’d be broaching this topic with Noah when I’d texted him to meet up; otherwise, I probablywould have thought my next words through a little more. But as it were, I simply spit out the truth.
“So, that means she’s currently sleeping in my bed.”
Noah’s jaw dropped before he recovered and let out a celebratory whoop that drew the attention of the few other people in the gym. It wasn’t a big space, just big enough for a few rings and a slew of bags for practice. I liked it because it was low-key, designed for people who loved the sport but weren’t overly competitive. So no one really seemed to give a shit about the hollers my brother just let out.
“I can’t believe you actually got yourself together and made a move,” Noah laughed. “I’ve never been prouder to be your brother.” Then his grin instantly fell as another realization hit him. “Wait—I take that back. Why the hell are youhere, then?”
I focused my attention on my gloves, adjusting the straps with my teeth as I tried to figure out what to say. I fucking hated lying to Noah. However, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. Shewasin my bed, just not the one I slept in last night. And Ididmake a move, just not in the way he thought. And Noah’s next assumption wasn’t necessarily untrue, either.
“Come on, man. Don’t fucking run away from your feelings now, not again.” Noah grabbed my hands, undoing the straps on my gloves and shucking them off. I’d be annoyed if I didn’t know how well-intentioned he was. “It’s not too late. Just go grab some coffee, maybe some of her favorite flowers, and?—”
“Noah,” I sighed, bending to pick up my gloves again.
His brows pulled together as he watched me. “I mean, if you don’t know her favorite flowers, anything will?—”
“Tulips. She loves tulips.”
“Good. Okay.” Noah nodded with satisfaction. “Maybe you can still make it back before she wakes up. Is she an early riser?”
