21. Olivia
Despite Carol’s confrontation putting a hitch in our weekend, I’m still feeling pretty positive by the time we return to New York City and I’m back in the hospital, basking in the busy atmosphere and the knowledge that I can tackle anything. It’s probably the accumulated energy from a great vacation, but my smile is wider as I greet staff I’ve become acquainted with over the weeks and list down the workload I have for the day in my head.
I don’t account for bumping into Mark this early, but I even smile at him. He’s surprised but recovers and smiles back, then studies me as he notes my good mood.
“Hey, Liv. Slept well?”
I nod. “You could say that. It was a good weekend.”
“I can tell. Listen, about our last few interactions…”
I wave a hand. “Forget about it. Let’s just start over, okay?”
In my mind, starting over means not avoiding him anymore but also keeping our relationship as cordial as possible. I expect him to take it happily, but he continues studying me instead.
“Hmm. You have a tan. Did you go to the beach or something?”
“Or something.” It’s not like I can hide my tan. But a niggle of worry is already seeping into my spine. I don’t know its source, but it drives me to shift the topic quickly. “How about you? How was your weekend?”
“It was uneventful. Just catching up on household cleaning and other stuff.”
“I see.”
“Nothing special.”
“Hmm.”
“Luke has the same tan that you have.”
The source makes itself known and my nerves awaken in an instant. The glint in Mark’s eyes is speculative, and I can almost see his gears turning as he analyzes it. Fear thrums in my system that he’ll put two and two together…and then what?
I’ll be in trouble. Luke will be in trouble.
Riley will be affected.
It takes everything inside me to channel calm when I’m not feeling it at all, but I manage to keep my tone the perfect balance of curiosity and casualness. “Oh? He’s tanned, too?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I heard he went to the Hamptons.”
My heart spikes. How the hell did this man find out Luke went to the Hamptons? Did he know anyone from the party?
Did anyone spot us?
Before my overactive imagination can run wild and ruin it for me, I gulp down my nerves and tilt my head. “How did you know he went to the Hamptons?”
“I heard someone ask him about his tan this morning and he said that.” His gaze narrows. “Why are you asking?”
Keep calm.
“Because I didn’t know it myself. You doctors sure keep gossip like this to yourselves.”
It’s a light teasing, but not too much that he’ll think we can be friends again. But it’s enough to clear the expression on his face a bit—and that’s all I need before I sidestep him and give back a relaxed wave.
“Anyway, I have to get going. All that fun time at the beach with my family doesn’t erase the fact that I still have a stack of work waiting for me. Have a good day, Mark.”
At least that wasn’t a lie. Luke is technically my child’s father, hence he’s also family.
I don’t know how I manage to keep my stance relaxed until I’m out of his sight, but it’s a feat that gives me relief. Still, I’m no longer as confident as earlier, my consciousness taking over that I never even took into account how all that time under the sun would look on our skin.
What if Mark isn’t the only one who questions it? What if the others notice the tan, too, and speculate? What if those speculations turn into suspicions once they see us together since we work closelytogether?
Keep calm.
Then there’s Mark, who’s still not out of the picture. He was friendly earlier and engaging, but something about his line of questioning and that look on his face tells me he’s not done observing—and if he gossiped to a new acquaintance like me when he sat in the cafeteria with me, then there’s no stopping him from gossiping to others. I can’t stop that.
But I can control the narrative with my actions. No, not just can.
I have to.
Luke is called to oversee a surgery as soon as I arrive in the office, then stays busy for the rest of the morning. It’s a good thing as Wanda comes in to check on me, her face lighting up when she notices my tan. She excitedly asks about my weekend with my daughter, and I don’t have the heart to deny her the details.
So I tell her that we went to the beach without revealing there was a third person with us or that the beach was at the Hamptons. She doesn’t question it, too focused on how much fun my daughter had before she tells us about bowling with her husband and kids, then just lounging around on a lazy Sunday.
“That sounds like my kind of day.” I grin teasingly. “And that’s usually how Riley and I spend our weekend. But I guess we wanted some sea breeze for a change.”
“Let’s go to the beach together next time. I might even get Jasper and Maria to come with us if our schedules click and we tell them there are hot people there.”
I laugh, then agree that it’s a good idea. I leave the office during my lunch break and make sure not to pass by the operating room area where Luke is, even going as far as just ordering food and eating inside one of the quieter lounges.
The trying-not-to-bump-into-Luke and trying-not-to-be-seen-together-with-Luke don’t last long as Luke comes back while I’m in the file room. I can hear him chatting with someone, so when he calls for me, my shoulders stiffen, and I get nervous all over again.
Thankfully, it’s just James, who has been pretty nice and friendly since I met him. He continues discussing work with Luke and asks how I’m doing with my workload, never once mentioning our tans or asking how we spent our weekends. My shoulders relax when he finally leaves the office.
Luke’s gaze, however, stays on me.
“What’s wrong, Liv?”
Leave it to him to figure out how uncomfortable I am and call me out on it. He’s good at that—good at comforting me, too, or finding ways to distract me. But since he’s part of the reason this time, I hesitate.
“Nothing.”
The look he gives me tells me he’s not buying it. He stands up.
I take a step back.
“Liv?”
I love that Luke knows me better now. But I also hate it. It means that I can’t hide things from him that easily anymore, but I at least have to try.
“We’re both tanned.”
At my answer, he blinks. “What?”
I take a deep breath. “People see us together since we work closely together, and we both got tanned at the same time. On the same days off and the same weekend. People will speculate and it’s dangerous.”
Silence. He tilts his head.
“Did someone ask you about it, Liv? Why we’re both tanned on the same weekend?”
Mark.But I don’t say it out loud, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. I know he’s still not over his loathing for the guy, and I don’t want another confrontation between the two men that will hurt Luke’s reputation further.
I shake my head. “No.”
Either Luke isn’t convinced by my lie or he still thinks I’m worried. He sighs.
“Liv, I saw George and Tanya earlier.”
I frown, scanning the names in my head until they click. “What about Dr. Riley and Dr. Reed?”
“They’re both also tanned. On the same days off. And they were together with me in the operating room earlier, but no one suspects them of having an affair just because of it.”
That…makes sense. I recall my interaction with Wanda earlier and how she didn’t make speculations. Maybe she hasn’t seen Luke yet.
But James also didn’t say anything.
What if it’s just Mark trying to get into my head? Probing because he wants to add meaning to Luke defending me before?
I’m getting a headache just thinking about it, so I take another deep breath. “I’m just saying it would be better to be on the safe side. To be careful with our interactions.”
There’s more silence as he takes in my words. I wait for the protest, but a wistful expression comes instead.
“Does that mean I can’t touch you anymore?”
Dark eyes are steady on mine. I don’t realize he’s already comforting me with that look alone until my entire body relaxes and I grow reluctant. Not touch Luke anymore?
That’s absurd. Impossible.
“Well…I meant not in public. Or here, when we’re at risk of being walked in on.”
A small smile tugs on his lips at my words. He nods, and it means a lot to me that he doesn’t dismiss my concern. He has all the power in this place but understands that I don’t.
“I have a solution for that, Liv.”
“Oh? What’s the solution?”
In response, he takes my hand and leads me to the file room. I bite back a laugh, but I appreciate the gesture as he closes the door and turns the light on.
“No risk of anyone walking in. Can I touch you now, baby?”
How can I turn that quiet request down, knowing he’ll back off and respect my wishes when he hears me say no?
“Yeah.”
I wait for the kiss, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he wraps me in his arms first, perhaps thinking that it’s what I need the most. Luke buries his face in my hair and inhales dramatically.
“Good. I miss this smell. I loved this smell when you slept in my bed this weekend. And when you took that nice shower with me.”
The shower flashes in my mind—particularly how we lathered each other up with soap and it became a game of who got turned on first. I won that challenge, of course, when I used the suds as lubrication to stroke this man’s huge cock, getting him so hard that there was no other alternative but for him to slip inside me while we were still slippery and wet.
It was a good thing Riley was still asleep, otherwise she would have heard my unbridled screams of pleasure. It was a good thing, too, that Luke could support both our weights easily, otherwise our tryst in the shower would have been an accident waiting to happen. Instead, it’s another memory I will cherish in my heart…and probably replay in my mind when I’m feeling extra horny.
“I love your smell, too. And your hugs.”
I thought admitting it would make me feel like I was leaving another part of myself vulnerable, but his quiet assurance only makes me feel safe.
“Liv?”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks for still letting me hold you. I don’t think I would have survived a day if you cut that off.”
I smile against his chest. “I didn’t hug you last week and you survived just fine.”
“Well, you spoiled me this weekend. You can’t take it back.” He growls. “I’ll be very, very sad.”
Oh, this man. I don’t know if he’s joking or not, but it lightens my mood.
Maybe I’m overreacting over Mark’s comments. Maybe I’m not. All I know is that I don’t want to dwell on it anymore, not when it will bring nothing but paranoia—and I don’t need that in my life, not when I’m still trying to make my mark here career-wise while navigating the blossoming relationship between me, Luke, and Riley.
I’ll be careful, perhaps the most careful I’ve been since my connection with Luke deepened and we started dating. I’ll stay true to my professionalism despite little stolen moments like this because Luke deserves it as much as I do.
But hell, if I cut off what I have with him, not when it’s this good.
And hell, if I let men like Mark and other irrelevant people dictate my happiness.