Chapter 1
Chapter One
Angie
It’s been an hour since Jason came to my house, and I’ve been sitting on the floor on the other side of my front door, thinking about what to do. I should get to campus, but I can’t get myself to move.
He wants me to go away with him. To Switzerland. For God knows how long. Long enough for me to have to take a semester off school.
Aunt Melanie will disapprove, that’s for sure.
My whole family will.
But Jason’s right about one thing. I can come back. It’s not like I’m moving to Switzerland.
But…we haven’t even been on a date. All we’ve done is sleep together.
I laugh at that. There was no sleeping involved. And we’ve only done it in a bed once.
I rub at my forehead. Tillie scampers up to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, girl,” I say to her.
I can’t take Tillie overseas, either. I’d have to drive her out to the Western Slope, leave her with my family. I just adopted her. It would break my heart to leave her so soon.
But then there’s Jason.
The chemistry we share is undeniable. I’ve heard my own mom and dad talk about how they fell in love. My aunts, my uncles, my cousins, too. The Steels in particular tend to fall hard and fall fast.
Is that what’s happened to me?
Am I actually in love with Jason?
I can’t stop thinking about him. About the time we’ve shared together. About our first kiss in the anatomy lab, how he ravaged me in my own kitchen. And then back at school, with the cadavers silently watching.
And maybe I’m the only person who can support him in this endeavor. This surgery that means so much to him. A chance for him to return to his old life.
It’s only a few months. And Brianna would not stop blabbering about how beautiful the UK was when she went with Jesse’s band.
I’ve never even left the continental US. The Steels aren’t typically big travelers, despite our wealth.
And away from the university, away from the judging eyes of our colleagues and peers, Jason and I could actually try being a couple.
In that moment, I know what my decision is.
I’m going to do it. I’m going to throw caution to the wind and see if this thing with Jason has any legs.
I run over to his house, pound on his door. “Jason. Jason!”
No answer.
His car isn’t in the driveway. He must have gone somewhere. Probably to campus.
I call his cell. It rings a few times and then goes straight to his voicemail.
Weird. After asking me to go to Switzerland with him, I would think he’d pick up pretty quickly to learn my answer.
Maybe he left his phone in his car or something.
I’ll drive over to the university. I have a class in an hour anyway, and I want to tell Jason in person that I’m going to go to Switzerland with him.
I dash back to my house, let Tillie out for a quick potty break, and then get in my car.
Once I’ve parked, I walk up to the building.
I see Jason’s car parked in the fire lane. I recognize it from the day he discovered we were neighbors.
Good. He’s here.
I run to his office, nearly knocking over a few students and professors on the way.
“Excuse me, sorry.”
I turn the corner to the hallway where his office is located.
Jason, my sweet Jason. The man of my dreams. The man I’m in love with. He’s going to be so happy to hear what I have to say.
And I run right into someone.
I fall back on my butt. For a second everything is blurry.
I rub my eyes and look at who I’ve run into.
Oh, no.
Sitting on the floor across from me, rubbing his forehead, is Ralph. A few pieces of paper are scattered around him.
Great. Just great.
He looks at me and scowls. “What the hell, Angie? Would it kill you to look where you’re going?”
I slowly get to my feet. “Sorry. Just excited, I guess.”
He furrows his brow. “Excited about what?”
I cross my arms. “Excited about something that is none of your damn business, Ralph. Just like most things in my personal life.”
His ears perk up at my words. “So you’re admitting it, then, that you’ve been fooling around with Dr. Lansing?”
I scoff. “Christ, Ralph. Do you know any other songs?”
He smirks. “That’s not a denial.”
“I’ve already denied your accusation countless times. I don’t need to do it further.”
“Whatever.” He gathers up the documents he dropped when we ran into each other and stuffs them into his pockets. He glances over his shoulder down the hall. “But you seem in an awful rush to get to his office.”
“As a matter of fact… I have an appointment with him. Office hours. About anatomy lab.”
He curls his lips into a grin. “I think you’re going to have to reschedule.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, I’m sure you, like everyone else, think that I’m a lost cause because my interest is in psychiatry. But I’m determined to prove you all—”
He holds up a hand. “Save it. Be a psychiatrist if you want. Be a dentist, a chiropractor. Hell, go for your yoga certification. I don’t give a shit.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Then why did you make that nasty comment about rescheduling my appointment?”
He chuckles softly. “Because your precious Dr. Lansing isn’t in his office right now. He was escorted out about a half hour ago.”
My heart drops to my stomach.
Escorted out?
Like, by a police officer?
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demand.
“I don’t know. A man and a woman were walking with him down the hallway.”
“What man and what woman?”
“You expect me to know that?”
I poke him in his chest hard. “I expect you to be straight with me. Were they…uniformed?”
Ralph lets out a loud guffaw. “Uniformed? Like a security guard or something?”
“Like police officers, you idiot.”
Another guffaw from Ralph. “If only… No. They were dressed like normal people.”
Relief. Only a bit of relief, but I’ll take it.
Why would I be thinking they were police officers anyway? Jason hasn’t done anything wrong. But when Ralph said escorted…
“You’re a piece of work,” I say to him.
He looks me up and down, leering. “So are you, Angela Steel.”
“It’s Simpson, dumbass.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but it may as well be Steel. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth like the rest of them. You have no idea what it’s like for us regular people.”
“You know,” I say, “Tabitha and Eli are regular people, and they seem to accept me just fine. And yeah, I was born to great privilege. I didn’t ask for it.”
“So you’d give it back in a heartbeat?” He scoffs.
“Hell, no.” I look him straight in the eye with my hands on my hips. “Would you?”
He says nothing for a few seconds, until, “So did you check out Dr. Lansing online?”
I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of telling him I did. That I now know Jason is a widower who lost his only child.
Speaking of such a trauma with Ralph seems like I’d be bastardizing it.
“Haven’t had the time yet,” I say.
“Right.” He scoffs again.
“You need to get a life.” I walk away.
“I had a life once,” he says just loud enough for me to hear. “But it was destroyed long ago.”
I stop in my tracks. That was an odd thing to say. I almost turn around to ask him what the hell he means by that, but then I realize he’s just saying cryptic shit to weird me out. Going back would be giving him exactly what he wants.
I keep walking until I’ve left the building.
Crap. I’m still holding Ralph’s notes, but I’d rather poke my own eyes out than go back to him. I’ll return them later. I stuff them into my backpack and get in my car.