Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Caleb
I was trying to be as silent as possible as I crept down the hall to my apartment, not only because of my landlord’s excessively early bedtime and insistence for us to basically play dead any time after it but also because I had a feeling that my nosy across-the-hall neighbor wanted to talk to me.
“The wedding bonding experience” that my friend Ani had come up with—a weekend experience that was meant to replace the bachelor and bachelorette parties—was taking place in just a few days. Being trapped at a farm in rural Wisconsin would require Samantha and me to bury the hatchet, at least temporarily. She’d been lying in wait for me the past few nights, and I’d barely escaped, her door opening just as mine shut—but she never knocked, and I didn’t answer. I was waiting for my temper to cool.
I usually didn’t require that—I was a fairly easygoing guy, and I didn’t typically harbor anger. But through a strange twist of fate, Samantha had unknowingly thrown another complication into my life that had messed with my relationship with Lilly, my first and potentially only love, who was Ani’s oldest friend and in the wedding too.
Call me romantic, call me an optimist who doesn’t know when to quit, but I couldn’t stop wondering if Lilly was the One. Things hadn’t ended well between us, but there were circumstances. This wedding weekend was my chance to set things right and start us off on a better foot, in a brand-new direction. I didn’t want to live with what-ifs and what-might-have-beens, and being in this wedding together would be the perfect opportunity to resolve things.
I’d grown up understanding that love was a rare and precious gift and the only thing that truly mattered. I learned this because I’d lost a sibling—my younger sister Mia’s twin—when I was eleven. So nothing Samantha said or did could stop me from taking my last chance with Lilly.
I dreamed of being an orthopedic doctor in our quaint little hometown, where Lilly worked as a florist. We’d have a cute house near my parents’ farm, and our kids would grow up roaming the fields and forests and having a great time being surrounded by family just like I did. The dream was there, within reach—I just had to actualize it, starting this weekend.
Tonight I was tired after a long day and definitely not in the mood to hash anything out. I was okay with pretending that Samantha and I liked each other for the weekend, but I had no desire to talk with her about anything. Silent as a cockroach—or any one of the random critters living in this old place—I turned my key but accidentally dropped my keys. They hit the wood floor with a metallic chink . Behind me, Samantha’s door opened with a loud creeeaaaak.
I spun around to find my annoying neighbor standing there in shorts, a Brewers T-shirt, and pink fuzzy slippers, her long black hair wet from a shower. I’m not even going to mention catching a glimpse of her nicely tanned legs, which made me do a double take that I instantly regretted.
Samantha looked fun, attractive, and not at all like someone impossible to be friends with—but looks are deceiving. She didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, but she had long, thick lashes and pretty, full lips and didn’t need it one bit. Looking at Samantha sure wasn’t painful, but talking to her definitely was.
I reminded myself to be cordial for my sister’s sake. But I was still so damn angry.
“Why, if it isn’t the notorious Dr. Gas,” I said in a false-pleasant tone, using the common nickname for anesthesiologists as I slowly straightened up in the dim hallway. “Awake past curfew, I see.” My gaze flicked up and down, until I realized that I was staring at her legs again. I diverted my gaze directly up to her face and forced it to stay there.
“Dr. Bone Cracker,” she shot back, glancing at her watch. “You barely squeaked by, I see.”
“Mrs. Von Gulag thinks I’m charming. She always cuts me some slack.”
“Men always get cut slack. But we women don’t need any slack. We make our own destinies.”
I usually got this type of diatribe about women vs. men, which for some reason she felt I needed to hear. I tried to remember that Mia loved her—they were the very best of friends. I honestly didn’t have a clue why.
Small talk was over. I was ready to call it a day. So I turned back to my door and jiggled the key—or rather, tried to. But it was now stuck. I silently cursed.
“I need to talk to you about something,” she said.
Dammit. Reluctantly I faced her again. The light above our heads was shining on her hair. Black, shiny hair and so much of it, thick and lustrous. I pushed the distraction out of my mind. Sooner or later I was going to have to confront our troubles. “Funny you should say that,” I said. “I’ve got something to get off my chest too.”
“I hope it involves an apology for trying to boot me off that case last week.”
I bristled. “You make being nice so hard, Gas.” I pinched my nose for patience. If only my key wouldn’t have stuck.
“This is no joke,” she said. “What you did could have cost me my job application. I was lucky no one told Dr. Benson about it.”
I crossed my arms and looked down at her. Not that far down, because the woman was tall—not the usual dynamic I had with women. I disliked Samantha, but she was a conscientious doctor. What I’d done about trying to replace her on my case was a little reckless, not my usual behavior, but nothing bad had come of it. Just this painful conversation.
“You’re right, our dislike of each other isn’t a joke. I admit that what I did wasn’t the greatest way to handle things. And I am sorry about that. But this time you went too far, and it cost me something too.”
* * *
Samantha
“ I went too far?” I couldn’t wait to hear this.
Caleb tipped his tall, lean frame against the scarred doorjamb. “For your information, you cost me something with someone I care about.”
“I’m confused. You actually care about someone? With human emotions?” I instantly regretted being snarky. The hospital grapevine said that he dated around a lot. I wasn’t sure if he ever went out with anyone more than a couple of times. But then I didn’t pay much attention to the daily dish.
“Judge much?”
“I can’t help it if I find you reprehensible.” Okay, so subtlety wasn’t my strength. At least with me, people got what they got. I wouldn’t apologize for that even if his frown lines were distractingly cute. Who has cute frown lines?
“I can’t help it if you’ve got a tree trunk up your?—”
“Just tell me what happened, okay?” Somebody had to be mature here, so it might as well have been me.
“Something you said last week got back to someone I care about.”
“I don’t gossip,” I said firmly. I couldn’t fathom what he was talking about. But I had been royally upset after he’d nearly booted me from that case. Had I vented to a couple of my girlfriends? I had. But I don’t have the kind of friends who break confidences. “Who?” I asked, straining to remember what I said and whom I said it to. “Got back to whom?”
“Lillian Hardy.”
Lillian Hardy? Never heard of her. Wait a minute—yes, I had. Lilly. She was Ani’s oldest friend from childhood, and she was one of her bridesmaids, along with me and Caleb’s sister Mia. “From Oak Bluff?” That was Caleb and Ani’s hometown, a quaint little place in the middle of a lot of farmland, about two hours from Milwaukee.
The look in his eyes confirmed a yes. “Lilly happens to be very special to me, and she’ll be at the farm this weekend.”
“I’m still not following.”
“She’s my ex. My first love. I hope you understand about love.”
He got an eye roll for that. “Your first love?”
Caleb sighed heavily. “I don’t want to talk about this. But yes. Things didn’t end well, but I have a chance to make them right. Except someone at the hospital spread some rumor—that I don’t treat women well.”
First love—didn’t end well—make it right . That sounded to me like strikes one, two, and three. I would’ve never pegged him as a full-blown romantic. Good luck with that, buddy , was my first thought.
“I have no idea how you treat women. I only know how you treated me, which wasn’t nice. Or collegial. Or fair.” And I was still pretty steaming mad about that.
“Lilly is good friends with Stacey from 5 North,” he continued, “and Lilly apparently… heard things from her.” He cleared his throat. “Things ‘the anesthesiologist on the case with the child with a broken leg,’ said about me.”
A dull sense of dread seeped into my veins, like anesthesia before a surgery. That happened in the OR all the time. Patients felt a cool sensation and started counting backward from ten, and by eight they were out. Stacey was a nice work friend. I knew she was chatty, but I guess I’d been angry enough to be careless with my words.
Nora, our friend from NICU, had been beside herself that week. She’d gone out with Caleb a few times, but then the very next week, he dumped her for a respiratory therapist who also worked in the NICU—whom Nora said he’d been dating at the same time.
I’d vented to Stacey about what a terrible person Caleb was. How he indiscriminately dumped women, how he’d screwed me over and nearly got me called in by my department chair. And Stacey must have told Lilly.
“And now Lilly doesn’t trust me,” Caleb said. “She broke off with her boyfriend a few months ago. I finally have another chance with her, and now it’s blown—because of you.”
All the blood left my head. I got so weak-kneed I had to back up and lean on my grandma’s little book stand for support.
I’d been so upset. So appalled at what he’d done to me. When I’d heard what he’d done to Nora, I guess I’d just lost it—I’d told Stacey everything.
I felt terrible. Also, how was I going to tell Mia what I’d done? Because this would upset her too.
Anger had disconnected my stupid mouth from my brain.
Stacey knew Lilly? How was that even possible?
And Lilly was the love of his fricking life ?
Ugh. No matter how terrible Caleb was, Oma didn’t raise me to be a vengeful person. And I wasn’t a gossip. And I especially wasn’t one of those people who ruined someone’s chances at love.
In my family, that was a mortal sin.
My last name, Bashar , means bringer of glad tidings, of love. Oma was a matchmaker. She’d proudly matched over one hundred couples in her lifetime.
I thought that maybe I’d inherited her gift too. Which sounds strange, but I had a special sense about couples who were meant to be together. So far, I’d predicted five marriages among my friends. Five, including Mia, who’d been dating our colleague Brax since last Christmas and wasn’t engaged yet, but honestly, those two were a perfect match.
“I don’t care what you think of me.” Caleb leaned in very close, his eyes glinting with anger, “Just know this: I. Am. Not. A. Cheater.”
He looked so determined, his distinct-looking brows turned down in a formidable frown. I’d never seen him that way before. He spoke forcefully, vehemently. Like someone telling the truth.
“I don’t owe you any explanations about my personal life,” he continued, stabbing a finger at me. “But since you’re my sister’s best friend, I’ll tell you that I never date anyone who wants to get serious. Nora happened to want more, and when I broke it off, she got angry. End of story.”
“You’re saying she lied?”
“To start a rumor, yes. Maybe to hurt me as she felt she’d been hurt.”
I had to admit, it sounded plausible. He certainly looked and sounded adamant.
“Fair enough.” I stood up straight. “Regardless of what I think about you, I owe you an apology. I’ll make it right—with your friend.” There. I wasn’t beyond apologizing. And I would make it right. That was who I was.
“No, you won’t,” he said quickly.
What? “I insist,” I said carefully, standing my ground.
“You’ve done enough. All I want now is for you to stay out of this.”
My head was spinning. I thought of Oma. She would be so ashamed that I’d stood in the way of someone’s chance at love. Even someone like him.
“Really, I feel terrible,” I said. “I may not like you, but I-I would never… I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the peace this weekend.” With a brief nod, he turned to place his key back in the lock. This time, I heard a successful click before the door swung open. I figured the discussion over, so I opened my door and started to walk into my apartment.
Then I heard, “Just be ready by eight on Thursday.”
I spun around. Did I hear that right? He wouldn’t be… could he be? “You’re offering me a ride? After all this?” I was incredulous.
We disliked each other. He was furious with me. I was still furious with him, despite feeling bad about Lilly. When he turned to face me, he looked… normal. Not fuming, not pissed. “Is this a trick?”
He scowled. “No.”
This had to be a trick. “Like, are you offering me a ride, only to leave me dead in those woods that line the highway all the way to Waukasaw?”
He rolled his eyes. “Mia told me about your car.”
Oh great. Thanks, Mia . She was a wonderful friend—well, except in this case. I, however, sucked, because look what I’d done. I narrowed my eyes. “What exactly did she tell you?” I didn’t want any pity about sacrifices I’d made for my sister.
“That it’s in the shop.” He paused. “I don’t mind giving you a ride, but I have a few conditions.”
Conditions? The nerve. “I was going to say that was incredibly nice of you, but now I changed my mind.”
He ignored that. Instead, he simply counted them out on his long, elegant fingers. “First of all, I’m spending Thursday at home with my family, so hope that’s not a problem. Number two, I don’t want to discuss Lilly anymore. Three, I’d prefer you not mention any of this to my family—especially to Mia. And four, most importantly, I need you to stay out of my way. Please,” he added, sounding vehement. “Absolutely no interference.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t want Mia to know that you’re planning to get back with your ex?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m getting back with her. But I need to resolve some things. And I like to keep my business private.” He got up close. So close I could see the pure, unusual green of his eyes. I’d never seen eyes like that before. They might be beautiful, if he wasn’t someone I wanted to run from screaming, as far away in the opposite direction as I could. His expression was dead serious. “Okay, Dr. Bashar?”
“Yes. Fine. I’ll be ready.” I hesitated, knowing what I had to do. I opened my mouth. Cleared my throat. Forced out the words. “Th-Thanks.” The word stuck like dry, sticky rice to the roof of my mouth. “Thank you.”
As painful as a shot in the butt, but I’d done it.
He gave me a nod and a self-satisfied smile. Then he disappeared into his apartment.
Behind his back, I flipped him the bird. No discussing, no mentioning, no interfering , I mimicked to myself. What a sanctimonious jerk.
But at least he was a sanctimonious jerk with a vehicle. And he’d been nice to save me the humiliation of asking.
So, fine. I’d follow the rules.
Except for that last one.
I lived my life like I lived our Hippocratic Oath; above all, I tried my best to do no harm.
Plus Dr. Annoying was Mia’s brother. Granted, he annoyed the hell out of her too, but she loved him. I had to fix the damage I’d done—fast. I wouldn’t be responsible for someone losing their true love. I committed to do everything I could to help.
I was almost inside my apartment when I heard his voice. “By the way, I saw that,” he called over his shoulder.