Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Matthew
It was Friday morning, and I’d just wrapped up my laps around the park. My shirt was soaked with sweat thanks to the summer heat clinging to our little town, but the runner’s high that came after made it worth it.
I snapped a picture of my water bottle and sent it to Evie. Then I drained almost all of it, exhaling as I leaned against my car.
This week had been a whirlwind so far. I was counting the days, hours, and minutes until my date with Evie.
Finally.
I should have asked her out months ago, but because of Austin, I’d held myself back.
As the lead doctor at the hospital here, my days were often filled to the brim with work.
There were many weeks where I practically slept in my office.
Even small towns had their fair share of accidents.
Plus, being in a small town meant staffing problems were a real issue.
I didn’t have nearly enough nurses or other doctors.
Our emergency room was only open because I’d pushed for it to stay that way.
Otherwise, folks would have to try to make it to a bigger city—which just didn’t work if there was a real emergency.
The good news was we had a great fire department.
Over the last few months, Mateo and Dallas had become two of my closest friends.
More than once, they’d run an ambulance for us or given me a heads-up about an emergency so I could get to the hospital in time.
Not to mention, they were both fun to share a beer with.
My phone rattled in my hand as I slid into my car and cranked up the air conditioner, desperate to cool off. I chuckled as I read Evie’s text.
Evie
I don’t think I can drink THAT much, but here’s proof of slight improvement
She sent a picture of a pink water bottle. It was a 16 oz one, brand new, but it was progress.
My fingers hovered over the keys. We had officially established two days ago that I was her water Dom.
Me
Good girl ;) Make sure you actually drink the water I see there.
What time should I pick you up tonight?
Evie
Okay, SIR, you can’t just good girl me so casually. What if I was working?
I narrowed my eyes. She was supposed to be resting.
Word on the grapevine from Mateo was that Nick had fixed the bakery oven, but everyone had collectively bullied Evie into keeping the shop closed until Monday.
Knowing her, it was still going to be a challenge to get her to stay home, but I felt better knowing that everyone was pushing for her to do so.
Me
The good news is that I know you’re off work. Our friends tattled
Evie
Ugh, of course they did
Pick me up around six? Does that work?
Me
Perfect. I’ll see you then
Evie
Should I wear black lace or red?
Fuck. I stared at her message. So much for having a clear head after my run.
I was rusty at this. But also, when it came to Evie, flirting came naturally. Especially since we’d been texting this week.
Me
I might need a visual reference
Evie
Naughty ;)
She sent a photo of just the tops of her breasts, just enough to see the lace against her soft freckled skin.
The red was a bold shade of crimson with scalloped lace edges.
The black was strappy with a metal ring at the center, dark and sexy.
I wasn’t sure I could pick, she was perfect in both.
My cock strained against my mesh shorts and I groaned.
Me
You look gorgeous in both, Evie
I can barely think right now
Evie
I’ll surprise you then
See you tonight, doc
I put my phone down and laid my forehead against the steering wheel, trying to will away my erection, but that wasn’t going to happen. Not after seeing those pictures. It’d only been a peek too, but it was enough to set my imagination on fire.
This week had been a fucking nightmare, but knowing I had a date tonight with Evie kept me sane. It got me through an elbow break with a four-year-old, a stage-four lung cancer diagnosis with an older patient, and a construction worker being pierced through his foot by a nail gun.
I’d always wanted to be a doctor. I’d known since I was a kid that it was right for me.
My mother still told stories every holiday about how I used to carry around a toy stethoscope and check everyone’s hearts.
Eventually my dad bought me a real one just so I could hear the beats.
My family was proud that I’d become a doctor, even though they were all confused on what brought me to a small town like Whynot.
The answer was too complicated though. And sad. I slid my hand over my collarbone, feeling for the locket there. I didn’t even want to think about it.
But Whynot was my home now. And I was finally able to push myself to reach for the romance I wanted in my life. It was time to move on from the past.
Maybe I’d swing by the store for supplies. Just in case Evie ended up coming home with me. I wasn’t going to press for that, I was content to take my time, but I liked being prepared.
Which meant I needed to tidy up my place, do laundry, and make it presentable.
All my nerves fired up as I started my car and drove the three streets over from the park to the grocery store.
It was a tiny shoebox-sized place that did its best to stock the freshest foods.
They also made tortillas by hand every morning, so maybe I’d get lucky and there would still be a pack. Maybe some wine, some condoms . . .
I drained about a quarter of my water bottle before heading inside to shop. A wave of cool air blasted as the doors slid open.
I picked up a hand basket and perused the store, making my way all around until I came to the condom aisle.
God, when was the last time I’d bought condoms?
It’d been ages. What if she had an allergy to something I wasn’t aware of?
I groaned and tossed three different boxes into my basket.
Hopefully one of them would work . . . if we went that far.
Fuck. I was still thinking about her lingerie.
I crossed over to the wine aisle and stopped when I saw a familiar face.
Nick. I recognized him from the bakery the other day.
I found myself staring, my heart pounding as he inspected the different bottles of wine.
His flaxen-blond hair was cut into a mullet, and piercings glinted along the shell of his ears.
Countless tattoos inked his golden skin, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many were hidden under his clothes.
I didn’t know what to think about him. My first impression of him at the bakery was that he clearly wanted Evie.
But Evie wanting him back surprised me, then made me wonder .
. . What would it be like to have two romantic partners?
I’d certainly seen that work out for Mateo and Dallas.
Both of them were so happy with their partners.
In the front of his cart, a little head popped up. Two bright green eyes blinked at me and my mouth dropped.
His cat. He had his black cat in the store.
I couldn’t stop myself from cracking a bad joke as I neared. “What aisle do they sell those on?”
Nick glanced up and his face lit with a smile. “Oh, hey.” He scratched the top of his cat’s head. “Want to say hi this time? Lucky is nice to everyone except Austin. I know I’m probably not supposed to bring him in, but no one has stopped me yet, so . . .”
I laughed as I held out my hand. Lucky butted his head against me and offered a slow blink. He wore a lime green harness and leash with a silver clover-shaped tag.
“Oh yeah,” Nick said. “See? He knows someone good when he meets them.”
My stomach gave a slow flip. “He’s so cute. I want a pet, but I can’t while working at the hospital. I’m gone way too much. I have like three plants I’ve barely managed to keep alive, and really it’s just because my sister texts to remind me they exist since she got her plants at the same time.”
Nick leaned his forearms on the cart, the silver earrings catching my eye again as they gleamed beneath the store lights. “See, I could never keep plants alive. But a cat? They don’t let you forget about them. He will fucking remind me if he’s hungry or thirsty.”
I chuckled as Lucky leaned into me, his eyes waning to half-moons.
Nick studied me a little closer, and I finally met his gaze. I didn’t really know what to say to him. Part of me wanted to get to know him more. Not that I expected us both to date Evie, but she’d certainly made it clear she liked him too. I should have felt threatened by that, but I didn’t.
Maybe I wouldn’t mind having a girlfriend and a boyfriend.
For a while, I thought I’d end up dating Austin, but he was impossible to read at times. Despite being well-known in Whynot, it felt like no one really knew him except for maybe Dallas and Avery. Possibly Mateo or Levi, but even they regarded him as a loved yet mysterious overworked entity.
But what about Nick? I didn’t know Nick. I knew nothing about him, aside from the fact that he had a cute cat, an abundance of tattoos, and a cheeky smirk.
“We kind of met in a whirlwind the other day,” Nick started. He held out his hand and I shook it, noticing the rough callouses on his palm. “I’m Nick. I grew up here, but I left once I graduated.”
“Nice to meet you. Well, again. I’m Matthew.”
He propped his chin up with his hand, and I suddenly really understood why Evie liked him. With just a tilt of his head, he’d turned up his charm factor by ten.
“You’re a doctor, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I run the hospital. And you . . . somehow pissed off Austin the other day, so I don’t really know what you do.”
Nick laughed and straightened. “Well, it’s easy to do that. I bought up some land outside town and I’m building a spa and resort.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “Do you think it gets busy enough for that?”
He nodded his head quickly. “It does. Think about the tourist seasons. Plus, I think it’ll help bring more folks in. I’m also going to offer discounts for locals.”
“How did you get into doing stuff like that?” I asked.
“I ended up in the hotel industry,” he said. “One of my first jobs once I moved was in hospitality.”
“And the callouses on your hands?”
His brows shot up in surprise. “I guess I should have guessed you’d notice everything, being a doctor and all. I also worked in construction, so when my job eventually became more suit-based, I took up woodworking as a hobby. I like to make random stuff.”
I tried not to think about the man I’d treated earlier this week. “You wear protection, right? When you work.”
“Of course. Why? Worried?”
“After some of the injuries I’ve seen, always.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He reached over and plucked a bottle of wine off the shelf. “If you want to know more, you have to wine and dine me, though.”
I laughed, my shoulders feeling light. “I’m already taking Evie out tonight. I don’t think I can do that with you too today, sadly.”
“Mmm, your loss. What kind of wine does she like?”
My mouth opened, but then shut. I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t even much of a wine guy, but it felt right to get something just in case. “I don’t really know, honestly. Do you have any suggestions? Is that weird to ask?”
“I don’t think so.” He hummed and took a step back, looking the shelves up and down.
We were shoulder to shoulder now, both trying to pick out a wine for Evie.
I’d just met him, I knew that he knew I knew about their past date, but there was something about this that just .
. . felt good. Like we both cared about her, and wanted her to have a good night.
“Personally, I’d go with a pinot noir and pair it with berries.
Strawberries, raspberries. Maybe figs or an apple.
You can feed her a strawberry by hand . . .”
“I don’t know if we’re going that far. Or if I should even be asking you . . .”
Nick glanced at me. “I guess you’re right. I think the question is—are we competition or are we friends?”
I held his gaze, considering his question.
Nick was hot. There was a very real part of me that wondered what it would be like to share Evie.
“I think we could be friends,” I finally said.
“Well, friends help friends. So buy this.” He took a bottle off the shelf and tucked it in my grocery basket. “Go get some fruit you can feed her. And thank me later.”
“By wining and dining you next?”
Nick smirked. “Maybe. Did . . . I’m assuming she mentioned me.”
“She did.”
He sucked in a breath. “Okay, well that’s good.”
It wasn’t as bad as I worried it could be. There was that. “Do you have any family or friends in town?” I asked.
Nick pressed his lips together as he became unreadable. “Not really. I wasn’t exactly loved in high school. I was a troublemaker.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. I have some friends here,” I said. “But I know what it’s like to be alone in a small town. Do you want my number?”
“Is this just an excuse to see my cat?”
“Obviously.” I handed him my phone. “Also, in case my date goes completely wrong tonight, I’ll need someone to blame.”
“I’m good at that.” He tapped in his number and I snorted when I saw he put his name as Lucky’s Father. “I’ll see you around, Matthew.”
“See you.” My cheeks burned as he pushed his cart away, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he went.
No wonder Evie liked him.
And no wonder Austin hated him.