Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
I scoffed. “Oh, you’re so under me the second you walk in the door.”
His breath caught then, and our eyes locked together like they did sometimes. I could stare at the man for the rest of my life, and he seemed of the same mind.
“Dr. Benning?”
It took a moment, but then he turned to the man calling him—also a doctor, going by the white coat, but whereas my doctor was wearing green scrubs under his, this man had on a dress shirt, tie, and slacks.
“Could I get an introduction?”
Cy seemed confused, and when two other men and four women were suddenly there, all in white coats, clustered around us, he started scowling.
I felt bad. I didn’t want to embarrass him. That had not been my intention.
“We should go,” I said quickly, turning to the boys.
“No,” he rushed out, arm sliding around my waist, anchoring me there, holding on. “Weber, this is our chief of surgery, Dr. Harold Swan. Chief, this is my boyfriend, Weber Yates.”
I didn’t swallow my tongue, which was really impressive. When I looked at Cy, the lift of his eyebrows, the steadiness of his gaze, all of it dared me to contradict him, correct him, anything… there was no way. He’d said it. I let it lie.
“Weber.” The chief smiled at me, and it was not a little smile. It was huge. He was much more than simply pleased to meet me. He was stupidly happy. “Very good to meet you. It’s such a pleasure.”
I shook the man’s hand as Cy’s pressed into the small of my back. There were a lot of people then, meeting me, meeting the kids, asking questions, all of them looking at me like I was some amazing new species of animal at the zoo. When it was time for us to leave, when the chief ordered everyone back to work, they all said again how nice it was that I had come by.
The man in the suit I’d initially seen next to the nurses’ station walked up then—Donovan Allen, one of the hospital administrators and board member, and surprisingly, he too was thrilled to make my acquaintance.
“What the hell?” I asked Cy afterward as he took hold of my hand with his right and Pip’s with his left and led us toward the elevators.
He was laughing.
“Your boyfriend?”
“That’s what you are,” he assured me. “We’re more than friends, but you don’t live with me, so you’re not my partner. But if I see an opening, if you give me even a sliver of a chance, I’m keeping you. That to me, says boyfriend.”
I scowled.
“Lover would have been better?”
“Aw, hell no.”
“Well, then.”
“They were like vultures.”
He chuckled. “I’m a very private man, Web. They all know I’m gay, but I would never, could never, date anyone at this hospital or associated with this hospital, and since they’re a big incestuous mess, they don’t understand.”
I nodded. “Don’t shit where you eat. I get it.”
He grunted. “They don’t. And I don’t bring dates here. No one comes to pick me up. They see my picture in the newspaper on the society page or in the ‘About Town’ section or such. They see me at fundraisers, like the one I’ll be at tonight, but they don’t see my family or meet the man I sleep with, ever. I don’t share my personal life. I never have.”
“Don’t you have friends here?”
“I have colleagues. Most of my good friends, who are doctors, have private practices.”
“Okay.”
“But my best friends aren’t doctors.”
“They’re the guys who came along with you on the trip to Texas, huh?”
“Yes.”
I had to think. “There was a lawyer, and the real estate guy.”
“He’s a land developer, and yes.”
“Do you still see them?”
“Yes. We’re supposed to take a trip to Cancun in February.”
I smiled. “I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”
“I’d rather stay home,” he said, eyes softening.
“I won’t be here.”
“You never know.”
But I did.
After we had clam chowder and bread bowls—mine the spicy kind, the kids’ the regular—we headed over the bridge to Sausalito. Tristan had a cell phone, and used it to make the important call.
“It was really good,” he told his uncle on speakerphone. “We ate it all.”
“That’s awesome,” Cy praised. “I love it when you guys eat.”
I cleared my throat.
“Yes, yes,” he said, chuckling. “You won the bet.”
“I certainly did.” I snickered.
He groaned, and we hung up. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Spending time with Lyn’s boys was fun. Going to the psychologist proved to be a surprise. I expected an office, a couch, everything I’d seen in the movies. What I got was an older woman, Dr. Erin Watase, on a small farm in the foothills. She had a few chickens, three donkeys, two cows, and four ducks. I felt more comfortable than I had in days.
“You’re a real cowboy?” she asked when she and Micah finished their session and returned to the wraparound wooden porch. I’d been relaxing in a rocking chair, watching the boys push each other in the tire swing.