Chapter 20 Cameron
Cameron
“And that…is exactly why it’s good to keep up on your tetanus vaccines, boys,” I say while slapping a space ship bandaid on a sixteen year old who is beyond mortified by the whole ordeal. He arches an eyebrow at him before smiling at me.
“Thank you doctor,” she says as both her boys (the other is sixteen as well.
Twins) shuffle towards the door of the clinic.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve told them not to ride their skateboards on construction sites.
You never know what kinds of danger things are just laying around.
Like loose metal and shards of broken glass,” she shoots over at the one who has ten fresh new stitches in his hand.
“I don’t see why I needed a shot too,” the other one grumbles. “I landed the trick. And not on my face.” He sneers at his brother who glares back.
“Your face is going to be more jacked up than my hand in about two seconds.”
“Boys!” the woman snaps then smiles at me again. “Thank you doctor. I’m sure we’ll be back.”
“Hopefully not too soon,” I smile as they make their way out.
“You think they’ll be back?” Trevyn appears from down the hall, a grin on his face.
“AbsolutelyAbsolutely. I’d give it a week,” I answer and he laughs. “Coffee break?”
“God, I was hoping you’d say that.”
We make our way over to the main building. Reinhart is a pretty large facility as hospitals go, complete with a large cafeteria and a full functioning coffee shop on the lobby level. We head over and wait in line behind two nurses who smile back at Trevyn.
“Aren’t you on the wrong floor?” one of them asks, batting her eyes about sixty two times.
“I mean you’re here so I guess I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” he smiles back, making them both giggle.
I shake my head and we wait while the girls order.
“You know for being the doc everyone refers to as the poor man’s McDreamy, you sure don’t know how to flirt,” he tells me.
“I’m not interested in nurses half my age,” I say.
“No. Only your patients’ moms…” he says and I shoot him a look.
“She’s not that young,” I argue.
“So how is the engagement going?” he asks and I can hear it in his tone. He wants the story. The one he demanded I tell him at the hotel and refused to give him because I was too busy being trapped in a hotel suite with my new fiancée.
God… even saying it to myself now, it all sounds crazy.
“It’s…fine. Nothing to report,” I state as we order our drinks and stand at the end of the coffee bar to wait.
“And the…night of?” he presses.
“What about it?”
“Come on. I locked you in the most expensive suite in the hotel and you’re going to stand there and pretend like it didn’t get freaky up in there? Please.”
I turn to face him, suddenly not caring how many people might be eavesdropping. “So it was you that got the room? You’re an asshole.”
“Of course it was me!” Trevyn laughs. “Who else would do you such a grandiose favor? Also, why am I an asshole? Any normal man would be thanking a brother right now. Unless…the situation isn’t as normal as you want everyone to believe…”
He trails off with a smirk and I know he knows I’m hiding something. Like the whole story.
“Get your fluffy latte and let's walk,” I tell him, referring to the raspberry, white mocha abomination he orders every time we come here.
I grab my cappuccino and we make our way out of the building.
Next to the facility is a small lake with a path and benches around it.
Once we are far enough down the walk, I turn to him.
“Alright, fine. So there is a story…”
“Obviously,” he snorts, taking a sip of his dessert in a cup.
“I mean it’s not every day your very jaded, very single best friend who turns down literally every date I set in front of him randomly announces at a holiday party that he’s engaged.
It’s why I told you that you’re going to tell me everything.
It’s also why I shacked the two of you up. There’s obviously something going on.”
This motherfucker.
“Where have you been hiding her?” he asks.
“Nowhere. She literally is just the mother of one of my new patients,” I admit.
“How long have you known her?” he asks.
“Halloween.”
“Jesus Christ…you met her on Halloween and you’re already popping the question? Alright, alright. Next question. Why?”
The answer that should follow that question is because I love her. But we both know I’m not about to say that.
“Because…it makes sense.”
“Because it makes sense. That is probably the least romantic, most mysteriously motivated answer to that question anyone has ever said,” Trevyn shakes his head. Then he stops and looks at me. “Or…is it?”
“Just say what you’re thinking,” I sigh. Because Trevyn is a lot of things (opinionated, unfiltered, wild, over the top to name a few). But stupid isn’t one of them.
“You’re marrying her for the money,” he says. “Your money. Not hers. I assume if she is a single mom with a terminal kid, she doesn’t have a lot of money. Which if I had to guess is also her motivation for saying yes. So my only other question is, does she know?”
“Does she know what? That I have money?”
“That you have money. That you have money you can’t access without getting married. The whole shebang.”
“Yes,” I answer, taking a sip of my coffee. He’s been drilling me so much, it’s already getting cold which pisses me off. “I told her about the trust money right before I popped the question.”
“You really are a romantic,” he jokes but I’m not smiling. Luckily, Trevyn catches on and moves the conversation along. “So I take it she’s on board.”
“Yeah. I told her that I need the money to keep the clinic open and the hospital functioning the way my father would have wanted it. The way I want it. And in turn, Noah will be taken care of, whatever that looks like.”
“You get a new paycheck and her kid gets new lungs,” he nods.
“Hopefully,” I add quickly because even with money, that’s not always how transplants work.
“Fingers crossed. And what happens after that?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, taking another sip. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out. It’s a text. From Riley. I open it, mostly because I am worried something is wrong with Noah. Fortunately, it’s not.
Riley- You wouldn’t happen to know anything about leaky pipes, would you?
Cameron- I know that pipes aren’t supposed to leak.
Riley- You’re so funny…not.
Cameron- I think it was kind of funny…
“I mean, you’re not going to stay married right? Or are you?” Trevyn goes on and I look back over at him.
“Am I what?” I ask.
Trevyn studies me. Meanwhile, Riley shoots a text back, faster than a tennis match. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t exhilarating.
Riley- The pipe under my kitchen sink is leaky. I would ask Brianna about it, seeing as how she is my landlord, but she’s at a movie with Bailey and I don’t want her to freak out.
Cameron- I think you need to shut it off.
Riley- The water? It is off.
Cameron- The main water line.
Riley- I don’t know how to do that!
Cameron- Damn. Guess you’re going to have to move out then…
Cameron- Hey! I have an idea. Why don’t you move in with me? You know, since we’re engaged to be married and all.
Riley- No way.
Cameron- Fine. Better buy some rainboots then…
Riley- I can’t move in with you.
Cameron- Why not? I have a nice house. And I make killer scrambled eggs. Noah will vouch for that.
Riley- You could be a serial killer. I barely know you.
Cameron- I’m not a serial killer. I’m your fiancé.
Riley- Fake fiancé.
Cameron- details, details…
“Yo! Cam! Are you even listening to me?” Trevyn’s voice breaks back into my thoughts and I shove my phone in my pocket.
“Yes. Sorry. Just a work thing.”
“Just a work thing,” he mimics me. “That was her, wasn’t it?”
“That was her, wasn’t it?” he asks.
“No,” I lie.
“Bullshit. You’re smiling. You never smile. I knew it…” she says with a cocky grin.
“You knew what?”
“You like her. You like your fake future wife.”
“I do not!” I snap and he laughs.
“Would it be the worst thing if you did?”
“It would…complicate things if I did,” I tell him, scratching the back of my head.
“I don’t know why you’re fighting it. I mean, Riley is attractive as fake relationships go. Hell, she’s attractive in general. But you know that. And the kid seems great. You guys might really be able to pull this off. The whole fake family thing.”
“Yeah, well, we have to be able to convince Josh and the lawyer of that for this to actually work.”
“Josh still being a stickler on cutting spending?” he asks.
“He’d love to see the clinic fail just to spite me,” I mutter.
“Asshole,” Trevyn shakes his head. “Well, shit, bro. I say go for it.”
“So you don’t think I’m crazy?” I ask.
“Oh I think you’re batshit. But I also think it can work. At least in the meantime. I mean, if you’re going to have an arranged marriage, Riley’s not a bad deal. And honestly, the kid kind of looks like you. A lot, actually. It’s pretty damn convincing to be honest.”
I think about that.
Noah does have the same color hair, the same quizzical brow, even his smile reminds me of my own. I mean obviously he’s not. I haven’t been with a woman since that crazy night on the rooftop. Five years ago. A thought creeps into my mind but I shove it back out. There’s no way.