Dr. Attending (Midtown Memorial #4)

35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Weston

“ Y ou ready, princess?” I ask, squeezing her thigh as we park my car in her brother’s driveway.

Caroline gives me a confident smile. “Ready.”

We’ve been living in our own little bubble for the past two weeks, spending each evening and weekends together like we’re our own family unit. It’s been incredible to watch Caroline become more confident with Carter—to watch the two of them grow together. Even though certain situations, like tantrums, definitely make her uneasy, she refuses to let me step in to help. She’s determined to make this work, which is something I love about her . . . one of the many things I love about her.

I pause before opening the door, glancing back at her. “You’re sure you want to tell them tonight?”

Considering Cassidy, Morgan, and Walker are aware of our relationship at this point, it probably makes sense to clue the rest of the group in. But I’ve been letting Caroline take the lead on this. Her relationship with her brother is complicated, and while his friendship is important to me, I don’t want to overstep.

Which is why I wasn’t even planning on coming tonight, despite Cassidy’s invitation this morning. But the second I declined, Caroline shut me down and insisted that I’ve always been part of their family—that I would always be a part of their family. And that I deserved to be there just as much as anyone else.

Caroline rolls her midnight-blue eyes as she unbuckles her seatbelt. “I’m not even going to answer that.”

I bite back a laugh. “Alrighty then.”

The biting wind of the early November air cuts through my thin joggers and long-sleeve compression shirt as I step out of the car. When I walked out of the closet this afternoon wearing khakis and a crewneck sweater, I received a stern glare from Caroline. Apparently, there’s a rule that fancy clothes aren’t allowed at family dinner, and all food must be good for the soul—her words, not mine.

So while I definitely feel more comfortable physically than I did before, I still can’t shake the pit of uneasiness in my stomach.

It was different when I didn’t know if Caroline would give me a chance—there was no need to feel guilty about keeping it from Parker when I was simply pining after his sister. But now that things are serious for both of us, I’m just not sure how he will take the news.I’d love to think he’ll be excited because we’ve always felt more like brothers than friends or coworkers. But I also know him better than anyone, and I know that he hates change.

“And are you ready?“ Caroline coos as she pulls Carter out of his seatbelt and bounces him in her arms. “We’re going to have so much fun at Aunt Cassie and Uncle Parkie’s house. Aren’t we?”

Carter grins at her but says, “No.”

I arch my brow at him because I don’t think he knows what the word means. He’s been repeating “ no ” over and over again recently—it’s pretty much the only thing he’ll say other than “ bye ” or “ bottle, ” which baffles me because, for such a happy kid, he talks like a total grump.

“Yes,” I correct as I sling his diaper backpack over my shoulder. “Assuming your Uncle Parkie behaves.”

“He’s going to have to behave if he ever wants to be included in family dinner again,” Caroline says sweetly, giving me a quick wink before she starts up the freshly-paved walkway to the massive brick colonial, her high ponytail swishing with each step.

I didn’t get a good look at Caroline’s outfit earlier because I was focused on getting Carter’s stuff together, but now that I’m strolling behind her, I notice how the fitted navy leggings and matching zip-up hug her in all the right places.

I stop her before she can reach the door, unable to help myself from commenting on how good she looks.

“Speaking of behaving,” I murmur breathily as I lean into her ear. “I’m going to have a very hard time when you’re wearing that .”

Caroline snickers, brushing her ass against me on purpose. “Sorry, Daddy. Our next playtime isn’t for another few hours.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle a groan as the front door opens and Cassidy greets us with a knowing grin.

“Long time, no see,” she teases, stepping aside to let us in.

“Yeah, what’s it been? Four hours?” I ask as I walk into the house.

Cassidy laughs and turns to my son, changing her voice to a singsong tone. “Four hours too long.”

In all honesty, I was irritated when Cassidy barged into my house a few weeks ago. I love her like my own sister and know that she will be in my life forever, but the lack of boundaries was a little much, even for her.

But after she apologized several times and Caroline clued me in on their fertility struggles, I became a little more lenient with her constant requests to spend time with Carter. She took him to the zoo this morning while Parker went golfing, giving Caroline and me plenty of time to mess around with a few new toys.

“Yeah. Thanks for knocking this time, Cass.” Caroline smirks as she hands my son over.

Cassidy’s pale cheeks flush bright red. “Uh . . . so everyone’s in the living room watching college football. We’ve got wine and beer open, and Parker ran out to get the Mellow Mushroom pizza.”

I gesture down the hall with a smile. “Lead the way.”

Morgan’s voice booms above everyone else’s as we walk toward the living room, and it sounds like she’s complaining about something one of the new ER residents did.

Cassidy glances back and gives us a quick warning. “Don’t ask her about it. This is the third time she’s told the story today.”

Caroline laughs and shakes her head. “Trust me, I’ve already heard it. She sent me a voice note this morning and said I could use it as a teachable moment for how to avoid being a ‘ dumb doctor’ .”

“I could give her a few tips on how to avoid being a nosy nurse,” I snort because the number of times she’s tried to interrogate me about my relationship status at work is egregious.

Nobody notices us at first when we enter the spacious living room.

Beau is lounging back in an oversized leather chair, nursing a beer and watching the game, while Claire is perched on the armrest beside him, scrolling on her phone. Walker is sitting on the white sectional, his hand wrapped protectively around Morgan as she lies with her head in his lap, continuing to tell her story animatedly.

“Look who’s here,” Cassidy calls, holding Carter up in her arms like he’s in Lion King .

Everyone’s head whips in our direction as a chorus of excitement rings through the air.

“Let me see my little buddy,” Walker says, his tone more upbeat than normal. He’s clearly looking forward to having a kid more than his wife is because she’s currently staring up at him with a frown.

“Wow, why do I never get that reaction from you? It’s like you don’t even care.”

Walker narrows his dark eyes. “Morgan . . . we talked about this. You don’t always have to be the center of attention.”

“No,” she grunts jealously and gets up to make room for my son.“But I should be.”

Cassidy passes him off and settles in the recliner next to Beau and Claire, and for a second I don’t know what to do. These people are my best friends—the people who know me better than anyone in the world—but everything feels different than it did a few months ago.It feels more real.

Caroline squeezes my hand, her deep blue eyes finding mine and instantly calming me. “Want me to grab us a glass of wine?”

I nod and sink into the sectional, watching as Walker makes airplane noises at my son.

“When’s your pizza guy getting back, Cass?” Claire asks, twirling a dark curl around her pinkie finger. “I’m starving.”

“Is that some sort of kinky role-play you guys are into?” Beau chimes in, wagging his bushy brows at her. “Because I could see that being hot. He could be like, ‘ I’ve got a delivery, ma’am . . . a delivery of some dick. ’”

Claire smacks his beefy arm. “That was not a visual I needed of my brother.”

“I’m just saying,” he drawls, his southern accent more pronounced because he’s drinking. “You know they do some wild stuff. I’m pretty sure I even found a kink room upstairs.”

Morgan shoots across the room faster than I’ve ever seen her move, and flops into her friend’s lap.

“Cassidy Elizabeth Callaway,” she scolds, pointing a finger in her face. “I swear to God, if you got a kink room before I did, I’m going to be so fucking pissed.”

“Our whole house is a kink room,” Walker deadpans, not looking up from where he’s bouncing my son on his knee.

Cassidy pinches the bridge of her nose and looks at Beau.

“I’m not even going to ask why you were wandering around upstairs . . .”

His face lights up like a detective that just solved a tough case. “So it was—”

Claire presses her hand to his mouth.

“Stop,” she screeches. “Can everyone please stop using the word kink in the same sentence as my brother?”

Caroline hands me a glass of wine as she sits beside me. “What about your sister?”

My teeth clamp down on my bottom lip to stop my smile.

The relationship that the Winters siblings have is one of the things I love most about them. Even though they make it a point to spend time together, they’re all blissfully unaware of what’s going on in each other’s lives, and it’s entertaining as hell when they share too much.

Claire looks at her sister with a dubious expression. “You don’t even have a boyfriend. How could you be kinky?”

Morgan snickers in Cassidy’s lap.

“You don’t have to have a boyfriend to be kinky, idiot,” she argues, craning her neck toward the middle Winters sibling. “Walkie made me call him ‘ Sir, ’ like, the first time we hooked up. And we all know we were definitely not dating then.”

Walker’s jaw tenses, his tone dropping low. “Morgan. Some of the things we do stay between us.”

Caroline stifles a laugh beside me, and I know she’s thinking the exact same thing I am—nothing they do stays between them.

Morgan turns her head toward her husband as a wicked grin spreads across her lips. “Yes, Sir.”