Page 101 of Dr. Attending

My sister sets the boxes down on the white-washed coffee table in front of us as Parker crosses the room to give his wife a kiss. He places his hands on her shoulders affectionately, but his gaze darts between me and Weston like he’s confused, even though I told him that he was coming tonight. But in classic Parker fashion, he never responded to my text, so who knows if he saw it.

To my surprise, his mouth curves into a satisfied smile. “I’m glad you guys finally kissed and made up . . . it only took you what? Five years?”

Morgan giggles mid-bite. “Oh, they’ve been doing a lot more than kissing. Trust me.”

Her emerald-green eyes widen as soon as the words slip out, and her hand flies up to cover her mouth like she might actually be able to stop the disaster she just unleashed.

I blink at her, hoping—praying—that nobody heard her muttered joke. But judging from the sudden silence in the room, they definitely did.

Was I going to tell my family about our relationship after dinner? Yeah—that was the plan. And that plan also included keeping any sexual references far, far away from the conversation. But apparently, plans change when you have a friend born without a filter.

“Ummmm—” Morgan’s mouth opens and closes several times, like she’s trying to think of a distraction.

“Surprise!” she blurts out, dropping her half-eaten pizza slice into her lap as she throws her hands into the air. “I’m pregnant!”

Jesus Christ.

I drop my head into my palms because this has comedy written all over it, only she’s not the buffer—she’s the instigator.

When I finally look up, Cassidy has tears streaming down her face as she hugs Morgan. Walker is glaring at his wife like she’s in serious trouble as Carter squirms in his arms. And Beau and Claire are chatting excitedly about how they can’t wait to be godparents.

The whole room is caught up in the tornado of chaos.

The whole room, except for my brother.

Parker’s nostrils are flaring with each breath he takes, like a bull about to charge as he stares directly at Weston’s thumb slowly tracing circles on my upper thigh.

I feel Weston tense beside me, his movement faltering for just a second. But he doesn’t say anything—he’s letting me take the lead like I asked him to do, even though I know every protective instinct in his body is kicking into overdrive.

I give his hand a soft squeeze to let him know I can handle this.

My eyes narrow on my brother, daring him to say what’s on his mind. “Is there something you’d like to ask, P?”

Parker’s fists clench and unclench several times, his jaw working like he’s holding himself back. Finally, he inhales sharply. “Tell me this is a joke.”

My pulse spikes and a hot wave of anger swells in my chest. But before I can say anything, Morgan chimes in because, of course, she does.

“Nope,” she says, her tone as playful as she can manage, given the shit storm she unleashed around us. “Thought it was rabies. Turns out it was just a baby. Crazy how that happens.”

I grit my teeth, my gaze flicking back to Parker. His glare could burn a hole straight through me, but I genuinely don’t give a shit. This is none of his business and I’m not going to let him steamroll me ever again.

“So you’re together?” he asks, his tone calm and composed.

“We are.”

The room is quiet, except for Carter’s babbles as he tries desperately hard to escape Walker’s arms. I can feel the tension thick in the air, and I know everyone is listening. Watching. Waiting to find out if Parker Winters has really changed—or if this is going to be the same old story we’ve come to expect from him.

“You’re dating my best friend,”he states simply.

“I am.”

Beau sniggers, his face beet red from holding back his amusement. “You know what they say . . . fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice, shame on you.”

The vein in Parker’s forehead throbs, but he ignores Beau and glances down at his wife. “There’s no way you think this is okay.”

Cassidy wipes a tear from her cheek.

“Actually, I think it’s amazing,” she says before giving Morgan a sincere smile. “I think it’s all amazing.”

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