Chapter 4 #2
“A while back, that same friend tried setting me up with his sister, but it turned out she was only using me as a distraction. She didn’t want him to find out that she’d been seeing this douchey frat boy he’d hated since they were kids.
But the guy had the nerve to show up at the restaurant and ruin our date.
I mean, they’re happily married and everything now, but I found out later that he’d already gotten her pregnant by the time she went out with me. ”
She gasps. “No.”
“Yep,” I affirm. “Wanna take a wild guess how I found out?”
“No,” she whimpers. “Tell me you weren’t her doctor?”
I lift my hands in defeat, and she leans back in her chair to cackle so loudly that it echoes throughout the room.
“Oh, man. This is the best and the worst at the same time,” she says once she catches her breath. “Congratulations, you’ve managed to one up my divorcée debut at a sixtieth anniversary celebration.”
“Glad I could brighten up your night,” I say, smirking at her. And I mean it.
“You’ll be fine, though. I mean, look at you,” she reassures me with a playful eye roll.
I twist my lips to the side. “I don’t know. I haven’t had the best luck in the dating department. Need I remind you of my current situation?”
“Yeah, all that trouble for another catch-and-release.” She gestures over herself with a self-deprecating laugh.
That makes me frown, mostly because I was already thinking it. “I meant the part about you having to take care of me.”
Claire shrugs me off. “This has been fun, and you’re adorable,” she says, waving a hand in front of me this time, “But from what I can tell, I’m not what you’re looking for.”
“What makes you say that?”
Her expression hardens, and she swallows hard before she replies. “You want a wife and a family, but I’m not exactly in the right headspace for anything like that.”
“Because of your divorce?” I ask, unable to hide my disappointment.
“Yeah. But also because of me.” She looks away as she says it, prompting another rush of protective instincts.
“Do you want to talk about it? We’ve still got time.”
She forces a smile. “Nah. I’m not that emotionally deep,” she says mockingly, but I can tell it’s not the whole truth. And now I’m dying to know what’s really bothering her.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” I reply, and she avoids my gaze as she shakes her head.
“Especially since you seemed so disappointed about not having kids before,” I continue, pausing to gauge her reaction.
I watch as her eyelashes flutter and the corners of her mouth turn down.
“Sounds like you at least wanted a family at some point.”
Her chest rises and falls in a deep exhale, and she fidgets under the blanket. “Yeah. Maybe I did. But it wasn’t … We couldn’t.”
Before I can respond, a hand yanks the curtains back, and the doctor steps in. “Hey, what’s up, guys? I’m Dr. Theriot. What seems to be—”
The doctor breaks off mid-introduction to slip my chart beneath his arm and reaches out to shake my hand. “Rowan? Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Hey, Jalen,” I reply and take his hand, grateful to see a familiar face despite his untimely interruption.
“Dude, it’s been a minute. What brings you and your lovely friend by tonight?” he asks with a smile, turning to acknowledge Claire with a nod. “Or is this one of your many sisters?”
I cough lightly as I tilt my head to show him the rash on my neck. “I had to use my EpiPen after accidentally triggering my peanut allergy, and,” I pause and glance at Claire, “my date insisted we stop by. But I’m fine, really.”
He ignores my tone as he leans in to examine me.
“How’s your throat? Any swelling?” he inquires once he’s done checking my vitals.
“Not since the epinephrine injection.”
Jalen drapes his stethoscope over his shoulders and hums as he studies my chart. “Heart rate’s pretty elevated.”
I clear my throat. “That’s, uh, coincidental.”
He seems confused, so I nod my head to gesture in Claire’s direction.
“Ah, I see. We haven’t been properly introduced, though. I’m Jalen,” he says, offering a hand.
“Claire. I’m the date.” She grins and brings the blanket down for a handshake, and his brow lifts when she exposes her body in that tight-fitting dress.
“Dr. Theriot and I went to medical school together,” I explain to Claire, unable to hide my displeasure after Jalen’s perusal of her and a subsequent congratulatory nod for me.
“How’d you get them to let her back here, anyway?” he asks me, and there’s a stab of guilt in my gut.
“The nurse thinks we’re engaged,” I admit begrudgingly.
Jalen glances back and forth between Claire and me. “But you’re not?”
“No, we’re not. But we are here together,” I remind him, and he grins once she tugs her hand free.
“You guys been seeing each other long?” he continues, directing his question at her this time.
“Long enough,” I retort.
Claire’s eyes dart over to me, her expression amused. “Long enough to be responsible for jamming an EpiPen into his thigh, but not enough to become his emergency contact.”
Jalen chuckles, and I roll my eyes, remembering how he’d built up a reputation for flirting with practically every female we’d interact with during school, patients included.
“That’s too bad,” he drawls. “How else am I going to accidentally stumble across your number now?”
My jaw snaps shut, and I fight the urge to reach out and grab him by the collar.
I don’t know where it’s coming from, since I’ve never been the jealous type before.
It must be those protective instincts again, I reassure myself.
It’s probably just a natural reaction to watching an unsuspecting woman get hit on.
“I’m just messing with you, bro,” Jalen says, turning to me with a cocky smirk plastered across his face. Then he lifts his left hand to brandish a silicone wedding band, and I barely manage to ignore the little voice in the back of my head telling me to aim my fist at his smile.
“Congratulations,” I grind out.
“Thanks, man. You should see my wife,” he says, bouncing his eyebrows suggestively. “She’s a total smoke show, too. We should all go out for a drink sometime. We’ll get you a chocolate milk,” he adds the last part lowly and nudges me playfully with his elbow when I glower back at him.
“This guy’s still the life of the party, I see,” he directs at Claire when he doesn’t get a verbal response from me.
“How do you think I met him?” she replies smoothly.
“Well, he didn’t graduate first in our class by accident,” Jalen says with a chuckle. “By the way, how’s your buddy Reed doing? You guys still in touch?”
I accidentally let out a growl while Claire snickers in the corner. “Sore subject, Doc,” she whispers. Jalen cocks an eyebrow at me.
“He just married one of my sisters,” I mutter, and he lets out a low whistle.
“Damn, and I would have put my money on you getting hitched before any of us.”
“No kidding,” I deadpan.
“So, any other symptoms to report?” Jalen asks cheerfully, returning to my chart as if he hasn’t been making my life miserable for the past few minutes.
“I’m fine,” I say through my teeth.
“Oh, babe, shouldn’t you tell him about your tummy trouble?” Claire volunteers, mouthing the last part and gesturing over her stomach.
Jalen’s grin widens. “Experiencing a little bit of the bubbly gut, are we?”
I blow out a breath, wishing I’d never stepped out of Tiana’s car. “Tummy’s all better now.”
“Must have been that toot he let out in the waiting room,” Claire tells Jalen, and he snorts.
I shoot her a pointed glare, but the way she’s biting her lip to keep herself from laughing distracts me from my irritation. By the time she starts giggling, I can’t help but join her.
“All right, my man,” Jalen begins after a while.
“I’d hate to keep you in here any longer than necessary, since you’ve obviously got a party to get back to, but there’s always the slight risk of a biphasic reaction.
You’ll need to be under close observation for the next few hours.
Got anyone willing to spend the whole night tending to your needs? ” he poses, winking at Claire.
She lifts her hand in a mock salute, and I gulp.
“Great. Let’s get you hooked up with a dose of diphenhydramine and a script for some hydrocortisone cream,” he continues, pulling out a prescription pad. “Need a refill for your EpiPen?”
“Uh, yeah, thanks,” I say faintly.
“Get this filled on your way home, and make sure you apply that cream as soon as possible. He can take another dose of Benadryl if he’s still itchy, but I want you to call me directly and bring him back in if any of his other symptoms worsen.
I’ll leave my personal phone number on his discharge paperwork,” he explains to Claire, his tone more serious.
“Thanks, Doc,” she replies and takes the prescription from him.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Claire. Take care of my boy, would you? He’s one of the good ones,” Jalen says conspiratorially.
Claire aims a sultry look my way, and my stomach dips. “He’s in good hands.”
“Rowan, great to see you, bro. Behave yourself.” Jalen clasps a hand on my shoulder and lifts his brow in a smug “you can thank me later” gesture, then he disappears through the curtains before I can say another word.
“Well, he was nice,” Claire remarks.
“I guess he was,” I reply absently, just as Mrs. Ethel returns with a tiny cup of pink liquid.
“One shot of the pink drink, courtesy of your friend, Dr. Theriot,” she says with a wink. “But he said the next round is on you, since he expects an open bar at your wedding.”