Chapter 13
It took forever for the heat to leave Gabe's face and his pulse to return to normal after everyone turned their attention to Gladys.
His outburst was unprofessional. He could handle the ribbing and teasing, but when they drew Paige into the middle of it, his protective side reared its head and brought out the worst in him.
What was I thinking?
He should never have asked Luke to help him find a girlfriend.
Except, thanks to Luke broadcasting his private life, Paige had volunteered to play the role.
He didn't dare so much as glance in her direction as he returned to his computer to review the intake information for this afternoon’s new patient.
Luke had said it was obvious Gabe was attracted to Paige. Could everyone else see it too?
He still wasn't sure how he felt about Paige's offer to be his girlfriend.
Relieved? Yes. Especially since he'd contacted three former patients he thought might be willing to help him out only to find out the first one was getting married in two weeks; the second was single but expecting a baby any day; and the third had just reconciled with her wife.
Gabe shook his head again, wondering how he'd managed to misread the signals from Lena two years ago.
He never would have guessed she was into women.
He was also concerned. Could he keep a fake relationship with Paige under wraps? If it got back to Dr. Stoker—not likely, but possible—or worse, Dr. Young, would they fire him? Or at the very least force him to resign?
His chest tightened at the thought. He loved his job, and he didn't want to lose it. But he loved his mother more and making her happy was what mattered most.
What concerned him the most, however, was how easily he could see himself falling for Paige—as manifested by his outburst. But she'd made it clear the other day that she was done with men. After what her ex did to her, he didn't blame her.
Would he find himself in love with her only to have her decide she wasn’t ready to move on?
"Are you serious?" At Nikki's outburst, Gabe tuned into Gladys' story.
His eyes grew wide as she talked about pretending to be her brother's best friend's girlfriend to make another girl jealous. She'd been secretly in love with her brother's friend for years, but it wasn't until she threw herself into her role that Harold finally noticed her.
"And the rest is history, so they say." Gladys beamed. "We were married six months later and celebrated our fifty-sixth wedding anniversary shortly before he passed away three years ago."
"That is such a sweet story." Nikki pressed a hand to her chest. "Does that mean if I get one of my guy friends to act interested in me, I could get my best friend's older brother to notice me?"
"No, silly. Then you'd end up falling for your guy friend." Luke smirked as he put a band around Nikki's knees for her to do clamshells. "If you're interested in your best friend's older brother, you need to ask him to help you make your guy friend jealous."
Nikki's face blanched. "That would mean actually talking to him."
Gabe rolled his eyes as Luke gave Nikki pointers on how to talk to guys.
Thirty minutes later, he was in the process of rolling Nikki out when the door opened, and a man he didn't recognize walked in carrying a bouquet of red roses. He shot Luke a questioning look.
Luke paused in the process of adjusting the weight set on the wall for Paige. He looked as surprised as Gabe.
Paige gasped and hurried toward the door. "Phillip, what are you doing here?"
Phillip? Her ex?
The man with sandy-blond hair winked and grinned at Paige. "I came to take you to lunch, like I promised."
Paige took a small step back. "How did you find me?" Despite whispering, her voice carried through the room.
A quick glance around told Gabe he wasn't the only one eavesdropping. Every eye was on Paige and her ex.
"I happened to catch your mom at home, and she told me you were here." Phillip gave a smug grin.
Paige's fists balled by her sides as her shoulders bunched. "I told you I don't want to see you again. Why won't you leave me alone?"
"Because, Paige, sweetheart, we're meant to be together." He took her hand and gave her an intense look Gabe suspected he'd used on Paige—and other women—many times. "You need to give me a chance to make everything right."
Gabe's grip on the roller tightened. He must have pressed too hard, because Nikki jerked away from him. "Ow."
"Sorry." He stopped rolling.
Both of their gazes returned to the drama playing out near the door.
"No, I don't." Paige jerked her hand away. "There is no way you can make right what you've done."
"Come on, babe." Phillip pressed a hand to his chest in a pleading gesture. "I realize I came on too strong last night with the ring and all."
Ring? No wonder Paige is so desperate for a fake boyfriend.
"We can rebuild our relationship." Phillip went on. "I want to hear all about your recovery over lunch."
"I'm not interested in rebuilding a relationship with you, Phillip. Please leave me alone." Despite backing up a step, Paige's voice wasn't as firm as a moment ago. Certainly not firm enough to convince the jerk to leave.
"You and I belong together, Paige. I'm going to make you see that." Phillip put a hand on Paige's shoulder.
Gabe dropped his roller and was halfway across the room before he realized what he was doing. He hesitated only a moment before walking up behind Paige. He had hoped to keep their fake relationship a secret, but Paige needed him to play his part.
Right here.
Right now.
"Is there a problem here?" Gabe asked with the same firm tone he'd used to forbid the discussion of his love life thirty minutes ago.
"No problem." Phillip sized him up then squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. "I'm just here to take my girlfriend to lunch."
Phillip was a few inches taller than him, but Gabe wasn't at all intimidated.
He looked over his shoulder. "Gladys, you cougar, your lunch date is here."
Snickers from Luke, Gladys, and Nikki floated through the room.
"No, I'm here to take Paige to lunch." Phillip stepped closer to her.
"I don't think so, pal." Gabe laid his arm across Paige's shoulders. "Paige is my girlfriend now."
She flinched as a chorus of gasps sounded behind them. After several long seconds, she leaned into his side and wrapped her arm around his waist, but her body remained tense. "That's right."
The look Phillip gave her was a mixture of disbelief and disgust. "You're dating your physical therapist?"
"Look at him." Paige smiled at Gabe as she made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Can you blame me?"
Her smile looked as stiff as her body, and Gabe didn't blame Phillip for not buying their act.
Her shoulder jerked in a shrug. "You know how it is…when you spend a lot of time…with someone. Feelings…develop." Paige's words were stilted.
Gabe cringed inwardly.
"Yes, feelings like the love you and I shared." Phillip pointed to his chest. "A love like ours doesn't just die overnight."
"They do when one of the partners is unfaithful." Gabe's voice turned hard as he channeled the anger he'd felt toward Harper years ago.
Phillip's expression turned stony, but Gabe held his gaze, unflinching.
"You're making a big mistake, Paige," Phillip said, then he turned and stormed out the door, swinging it open so hard it bounced back and nearly hit him in the face.
"Bravo." Gladys clapped, and Luke and Nikki quickly joined in.
Feeling a sudden headache coming on, Gabe removed his arm from Paige's shoulders and turned to face the group.
Time for damage control.
The applause had barely died down before everyone spoke at once.
"I knew you'd step up to the plate and be the hero Paige needed." Gladys beamed.
"Looks like you've found yourself a girlfriend." Luke grinned and nodded.
"That was so brave of you." The look of adoration on Nikki's face made Gabe uncomfortable.
He rolled his eyes. He was hardly a hero or brave. He only did what needed to be done.
"Listen everyone…" he spoke in his sternest voice. "You can't tell anyone what happened here today. And you can't tell anyone Paige is going to pretend to be my girlfriend."
"Why not?" Nikki asked.
"Because it could cost me my job. Doctors are not supposed to fraternize with their patients."
"Fraternize huh?" Gladys gave him a sly grin. "Do fake relationships call for fraternizing?"
Ignoring the heat creeping up his neck, Gabe quirked a brow at Gladys. "You tell me. Did you fraternize with Harold while you were trying to make that other girl jealous?"
"Oh, we fraternized alright." Gladys winked then her face grew serious as she looked at Nikki then Luke.
"While most people won't care, Gabe is right.
It could jeopardize his job if the wrong people find out he's dating a patient.
Especially here in a small town where people can be quite judgmental. "
"Fake dating," Paige said. "It's not like we'll actually be going out on dates together."
"That's right," Gabe agreed. Although if he took Paige out a time to two, he wouldn't technically be lying to his mom anymore. "So please, don't mention this to anyone." He met each person's gaze in turn, waiting for them to agree.
Luke gave a curt nod.
Gladys' grin returned as she nodded.
Nikki, however, got a calculating look in her eyes. "If we agree, will you promise to keep us posted on how things go when Paige meets your mom?"
Gabe locked gazes with Paige whose face was filled with apprehension. Finally, she nodded and shrugged one shoulder. He didn't want to talk about his mom with these people, but if it was the only way to keep Nikki quiet, he had to agree.
"We'll keep you posted." He clapped his hands then rubbed them together, putting an end to this ridiculous conversation. "Now why are you all sitting around? You've got exercises to do."
Thirty minutes later, Gabe rubbed Paige out. Nikki and Gladys had both left and Luke was busy helping Sam with his exercises.