Page 63 of Dreamboat

I look up and into his face as we part. “I’ll text you so we can figure out what night works for all of us.”

“I can work with that,” he says. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but are you getting enough sleep?”

I laugh. “The only way to take that is that you think I look like shit.”

“You look a little tired.” He skims a finger over my chin. “Callum told me you had food poisoning. Are you over that?”

I can’t help but laugh. “That was over a month ago, Rome. I’ve been back from the cruise for weeks now.”

He nods. “Yet you couldn’t carve out an hour to see your favorite brother.”

“He’s your favorite brother?” Georgie comes bounding toward us with a blue lollipop in her hand. The evidence she’s enjoying it is the color of her tongue. It’s a perfect match to the candy treat. “If I was you, Uncle Matty would be my favorite.”

“Uncle Callum would be mine,” Dora adds her two cents as she trails behind he sister.

The still-wrapped lollipop in her fist is a bright shade of orange.

“Huh?” Georgie turns to look at her sister. “Why?”

“Yeah, why?” Roman asks as he chuckles. “No one picked me.”

They both laugh, but Dora lays out her case for Callum being her favorite. “Uncle Callum told me it’s okay not to be perfect. That being a little not perfect is what makes me Dora. There’s not another Dora like me anywhere.”

“I’d pick Callum too,” Roman says.

I can’t help but laugh, but I don’t pick a favorite because my three brothers all bring something unique to my life and I can’t imagine it any other way.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Donovan

Worry crowds every other thought from my mind. I’m grateful that I haven’t had to scrub in for any surgeries today. The one emergency procedure that was thrust onto the clinic’s schedule was when a schnauzer was brought in. He had swallowed a small child’s toy and since the blockage was life threatening, Carolyn jumped into action and was in our operating room before I knew what was happening.

“Do you want to grab a beer after work tonight?” Matt asks as he strolls into my office. “You look like you could use it.”

I’ve never been the type of man who lets guilt weigh me down. That’s because the majority of the choices I’ve made in my past have been good ones.

Hooking up with Delia on the cruise six weeks ago falls into that category, as does everything we’ve done together since, but I’m beginning to think about my relationship with Matt more, both professionally and personally.

I want a future with his sister but at this stage, I don’t know if she does and if she doesn’t, it’s going to sting every time I come into work and see him here.

That won’t change Matt’s employment situation but it could impact our friendship and that will be a hard hit for me.

“I have plans,” I say because I’m hoping I’ll hear back from Delia at some point this afternoon.

I’ve sent her two text messages since noon and tried to call her once about two hours ago. It’s unlike her to not respond within the hour and it’s closing in on four. I’m concerned about her.

She doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who ghosts anyone. We agreed to meet at my townhouse for dinner at six, so I’m hoping she’ll show up then.

If I knew exactly where she lived on Park Avenue I’d feel a whole hell of a lot better. If it does sail past six without any word from her, I’ll be walking that block for hours looking for anyone who knows her.

“Another night then?” he asks, a smile splitting his lips apart.

“Sure,” I respond with a grin. “How’s the day been for you, Matt?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. He’s dressed in blue scrubs today. That’s not typical for him, or for me for that matter. I’m almost always wearing dark pants and a button-down shirt, as I am today. I slide on a clean lab coat and go about my day.

If I know I’m facing a day of surgeries, I’ll opt for scrubs, too.

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