Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
LUKE
“Someone looks happy,” Austin says with a smirk. We’re in the surgeon’s lounge eating lunch, and Melissa just texted to invite me to dinner.
“It’s a delicious sandwich,” I lie, gesturing to my roast beef on wheat.
“Really?” Austin asks skeptically. He’s right to be skeptical, since the sandwich is from the hospital cafeteria. The meat is dry, the lettuce is limp, and there’s not nearly enough mayo. The sandwich isn’t why I’m smiling, and he knows it.
But I keep up the charade a little longer. “Yep. Can’t beat the hospital cafeteria.”
“Right,” Austin says with a grin. “And how’s Melissa?”
“She’s good.”
“Remember, I get to be your best man.”
I roll my eyes at him. “We’re taking it slow.”
“Hmm.” Austin raises an eyebrow. I can tell he’s thinking of an innuendo about taking it slow, but he’s wise enough not to say it. Something in my expression must tell him it wouldn’t be appreciated.
I ring Melissa’s doorbell at six o’clock on the dot, and seconds later, I hear the pounding of running feet. The door swings wide, and I look down to see Liam standing in the entrance hall.
“Liam,” Melissa says, hurrying up behind him. “I told you not to answer the door without me.”
“But you told me Dr. Carlton was coming,” Liam protests. “And pizza.” He looks up at me. “Did you bring pizza?”
“No,” I admit. “I brought cupcakes, though.”
I hand Melissa the bakery box and lean in to kiss her cheek. It’s just a quick peck, but it’s enough to make my heart speed up. She’s wearing jeans that hug every curve, and a stretchy red top that’s somehow modest and provocative at the same time.
When it comes to Melissa, I’m easily provoked.
“Cupcakes!” Liam yells. “Can I have one?”
“After the pizza,” Melissa says. “It should be here soon. Come on in, Luke.”
We make our way to the kitchen, where Claire joins us.
“Hi, Dr. Carlton,” she says, giving me a shy smile. I get the sense that unlike Liam, she understands the significance of my appearance here tonight. I’m not here as her doctor this time.
“Call me Luke. Your mom and I are old friends, did you know that? We went to high school together.”
“Yeah, she mentioned it,” Claire says.
Liam wrinkles his nose. “You were friends with a girl?”
I nod seriously. “I still am.”
“Like Daddy’s friends with Olivia?”
There’s a beat of silence, and Melissa’s eyes meet mine. In a way, it’s exactly like that, but I’m not keen to admit I have anything in common with Troy.
“A little like that,” Melissa says vaguely. “Something to drink, Luke? I have beer, Pepsi, milk, or orange juice.”
I ask for a Pepsi, but Liam isn’t distracted.
“Are you staying for a sleepover?” Liam asks.
“Not tonight, buddy.” I’d love to stay over, but that’s not part of my plan.
Liam nods. “Do you know how to play cats and dogs?”
“No,” I admit, glancing to Melissa for help.
“Luke won’t want to play cats and dogs, Liam,” Claire says, looking embarrassed.
“Oh, I might,” I reply. “If I knew how to play.”
“Liam’s a cat and you’re a dog, and you chase him around the house,” Melissa explains. The gleam in her eye tells me she doesn’t think I’ll do it.
“Meow!” Liam yells, running off down the hall. “Meow!”
“Woof,” I shout, taking off after him. After we make a circuit of the main level, Liam hides under the kitchen table.
I pretend not to know where he’s gone. “Has anyone seen the cat? Melissa?”
“No idea,” she says, shaking her head.
The doorbell rings. “That’ll be the pizza,” Melissa says, walking towards the door. “I guess the cat won’t get any.”
I pretend to be shocked when Liam pops up from under the table, and he giggles.
“I’m gonna be a banana for Halloween,” Liam tells me proudly, as we dig into the pizza.
“Great idea,” I tell him.
“We saw the costume at Costco,” Melissa tells me. “Liam had to have it.”
“You’ll have to show me later,” I say. “What are you going as, Claire?”
“Taylor Swift.”
“Taylor Swift’s great,” I agree.
“Are you a Swiftie?” Claire asks eagerly.
“Sure.”
Melissa quirks an eyebrow. “What’s your favorite Taylor song, Luke?”
She thinks I’m lying to make a good impression on Claire, but I answer without missing a beat. “You Belong With Me.”
“Oh.” Melissa looks surprised, and her eyes catch mine again. I mentally thank my med school lab partner, who used to sing Taylor’s songs through all of our anatomy labs.
“What are you gonna be for Halloween, Luke?” Liam asks.
“I haven’t decided yet.” I turn back to Melissa. “How about you, Melissa?”
“Um . . .” she hedges.
“Mom always goes as a unicorn,” Claire announces.
“A unicorn, huh?” I say, enjoying Melissa’s blush. “I’d love to see that costume.”
Her blush deepens. “Uh, I think it might have gotten lost in the move.”
“No, it didn’t,” Claire puts in helpfully. “It’s hanging in your closet, Mom.”
“Great,” Melissa manages, and I wink at her before turning back to my pizza.
The chocolate cupcakes I brought are a hit. Melissa cuts hers in half immediately, and puts half away in the fridge. But she sure makes the most of the half she lets herself eat. Tiny bites with a fork, and she savors them. Her lips are plump and pink, and I’ll dream of them tonight.
“Sure I can’t tempt you to eat the other half?” I ask when she’s done. Or mine? You can have all of mine, since I haven’t touched it. I’d rather watch you eat it than eat it myself.
But Melissa shakes her head. “No, thanks. It was delicious, but I’m full.”
After dinner, Claire goes upstairs to finish some homework, and Liam begs to watch his allotted twenty minutes of evening TV. After she settles Liam in the living room, Melissa joins me in the kitchen.
Now that it’s just the two of us, I can tell something’s bothering her.
“What’s wrong, Milly?” I ask.
She sighs. “I had a bit of a meltdown at school today. Vanessa Abernathy asked what the point of calculus was, and I went on a rant.”
“Good for you. I’m sure she deserved it.”
“Yeah, she definitely deserved it. And at the time, I felt pretty good about it, but . . .”
“But . . .” I prompt.
“I overshared,” she admits. “I told the class I got divorced after my husband had an affair, and that even though he pays me decent support, I like being able to earn my own money. And teaching math lets me do that.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad, Milly.”
She sighs again. “But at the end, I said that anyone who wasn’t interested in the lesson could leave. And if they didn’t leave, they should shut up so they weren’t a distraction.”
I bite back a chuckle. “How did that go down?”
“Well, they all shut up.” Melissa gives me a half smile before turning serious again. “But I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to say that sort of thing to your students. And Vanessa’s the type to complain, so I might lose the job—”
“Oh, come on, Milly,” I say. “Vanessa probably deserved a lot worse. If you’d said shut the fuck up, bitch, she might have a case, but—”
Melissa giggles. “I almost did, Luke. I wanted to.”
“So you should be proud of your restraint.”
She laughs again, and this time I laugh with her.
Liam appears from the living room and looks at us suspiciously. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Melissa says quickly. “Is your video done?”
“Yeah. Can I have a bonus video?”
“Not tonight, sweetie, it’s almost bedtime. Go upstairs and find your pajamas, and I’ll be up in a minute to read you a story.”
From the stubborn look on his face, I expect Liam to argue, but instead he turns to me. “Can Luke read me a story?”
“If it’s okay with your mom,” I say, looking at Melissa for guidance. The bedtime ritual seems significant, and I don’t want to overstep.
Melissa smiles. “Fine with me.”
So the three of us go upstairs together. Liam’s room is clean and cheerful, with a toddler bed shaped like a racecar. Melissa helps him change into pajamas, then takes him to the washroom and helps him brush his teeth.
She’s a great mother. Then again, I always knew she would be.
Liam crawls into his racecar bed and looks at me expectantly, and Melissa hands me a book. “He likes the same one every night,” she explains.
So I sit beside Liam’s bed and read him a story about a little blue truck. After the first couple of pages, Melissa tiptoes out of the room.
“Now you have to check for monsters,” Liam tells me when I’ve finished the book.
“Oh, right.” I pretend to look under the bed. “No monsters.”
“Not there, silly,” Liam says with a giggle. “In the closet!”
“Oh, of course.” I check the closet and declare it monster-free.
“You have to turn out the light before you sing,” Liam says.
“Sing?” I ask, as I move to turn out the overhead light.
“You have to sing the train song.”
“I don’t think I know that one, bud.”
Liam’s face scrunches in disappointment.
“You want me to get your mom?” I ask, moving toward the door.
“Can you sing something else?” Liam asks.
“Okay.” I kneel back down by the bed and rack my brain for a lullaby, but come up blank. I’m about to give up and go find Melissa when I spot the star-shaped nightlight in the corner. Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star will have to do.
“Again,” Liam demands when I finish the song.
“Sure,” I agree, and I launch into Twinkle Twinkle again. My hand’s resting on the edge of the bed, and Liam reaches up and pulls it over his body. I can feel his chest rising and falling, and it’s not long before his breathing deepens and slows.
When I’m pretty sure he’s asleep, I try to extract my arm. It’s almost free when Liam’s eyes fly open, and he pulls my hand back over his chest.
Ten minutes later, I’m still kneeling by the bed and my right foot’s asleep. I’ve made two more unsuccessful attempts to extract my arm, but each time Liam pulled it back.
I hear the door open and turn to see Melissa, silhouetted in the light spilling in from the hall. She tiptoes over to grab something from a toy bin, then crouches down next to me. After tucking a stuffed animal in the crook of Liam’s elbow, she gently pulls my arm from his grasp.
Liam gives a little sigh, but this time, he stays asleep. Melissa keeps her hand on my arm as we walk out of the room together.
After she eases the door closed, she turns to me. Her breasts are barely an inch from my chest; if we both took deep breaths, we’d probably touch.
“I should go,” I say, fighting to keep my tone light.
“Oh.”
Is it my imagination, or does she look disappointed?
“You sure you don’t want to stay for a bit?” she asks.
Not my imagination, then. She’s definitely disappointed.
“Another time,” I say casually. “I operate tomorrow, so I need an early night.”
“Oh, right.”
“Can I say goodnight to Claire?”
“Of course.” She walks softly down the hall and opens the door to another bedroom. “Claire, Luke’s leaving now.”
Claire appears at her doorway immediately.
“Goodbye, Luke,” she says politely. “Thanks for bringing the cupcakes, they were really good.”
“I’m glad you liked them, Claire. Have a good night, okay?”
Claire nods, and Melissa and I head downstairs.
“You still up for doing something this weekend?” I ask. As though it doesn’t really matter to me, one way or the other. “Dinner Friday, maybe?”
“Yes,” she says quickly. “But I have to take the kids to Toronto, and I might not get back until after seven.
“So we’ll do a late dinner,” I say. “I’ll pick you up at eight. If traffic’s bad and you’re running late, just let me know.”
“Okay.”
I use all the restraint I possess to keep my goodbye kiss chaste. It’s a mere brush of the lips. Less than a second of contact. The kind of kiss you might give a girl if her father was watching, and her father was a Mafia boss.
So. A chaste kiss. But it still leaves my lips tingling and the crotch of my jeans feeling tight.
But Melissa told me she wanted to go slow. If she wants to speed things up, she’s going to have to ask.
“Have a good night, Milly,” I tell her before turning to walk out to my car.