Page 116 of Dr. Attending

“P,” my sister yells excitedly across the room. “See how Carol just called him bro? And then he called her sis? It’s not that hard. Your turn. Say it with me. ‘Brother Beau.’”

Parker shakes his head. “If it ever happens, it’ll be when you least expect it.”

Claire sticks her tongue out at him, grabbing Beau’s hand to drag him across the room as Morgan and Cassidy walk up to me.

“How’s the nausea, Morg?” I ask, taking note of the piece of cake already in her hand.

She licks a dollop of white icing off her lips, her emerald-green eyes glimmering with wickedness. “Much better thanks to those ginger candies. I mean, I truly don’t know what I would have done without you.”

I turn to Cassidy. “I can’t believe she roped you into this.”

She laughs and adjusts her blonde ponytail at the top of her head. “You think I had a choice?”

Morgan points to herself innocently.

“I’m just a girl, Cass,” she says, her mouth half-full after taking another bite. “Don’t let little old me boss you around.”

“Yeah, okay,” Cassidy replies dryly. “Though to be fair, Wes was the one who organized everything. All we had to do was show up.”

Morgan lets out a satisfied hum as she glances across the room. “Walkie even picked Carter up from daycare. God, isn’t he going to be the best dad?”

I follow her gaze, focusing on Weston instead of Walker.

He’s holding his son in his arms as he talks to his friend, and I feel something in my chest tighten. The fact that he planned this before he even knew my results makes me want to thank him a million times over—in every way I can think of. Our relationship might be new, but I have no doubt in my mind that it’s going to last—we’re going to last.

I bite my lower lip, thinking about how much planning this must have taken. “What . . . uh . . . did Wes tell you guys?”

“Just that you—”

Morgan presses a frosting-covered finger to Cassidy’s lips, cutting her off.

“Why?” She tilts her head suspiciously. “What was in the backpack, huh? He put some sort of stupid lock on it, so I couldn’t open it. But you sure were gone alongtime.”

When I don’t immediately respond, she bounces up and down, letting out a loud squeal.

“Oh. My. God. Did you guys fuck in his office?”

My cheeks flame. “Morgan.”

“Alright,” my brother’s voice cuts through the chaos as he joins us, his jaw flexing like it’s about to come unhinged. “Clearly now is a bad time.”

Morgan grins, unfazed. “It is. Please come back later, Parkwad.”

“Now is perfect,” I counter.

I shoot Cassidy a pleading look to rein Morgan in, then grab Parker’s hand and drag him toward the cake table before things get really awkward.

“So . . . busy caseload today?”I ask, deciding to start off easy.

I pick up a corner piece and place it on a plate, handing it to my brother before taking one for myself.

Parker chuckles. “Not nearly as busy as it was when I was in residency.”

I nod and take a bite of cookie because I don’t know what else to say. My brother and I haven’t spoken since his blowup at family dinner, even though Cassidy has tried to apologize for him about a million times.

“I hope you know that I’m proud of you,” he says, studying me closely with his midnight-blue eyes. “And Mom and Dad would be proud of you too . . . we’re all proud of you, Caroline.”

“Thanks,” I choke out, trying to swallow down the ball of emotion in my throat. “Well, you know, there’s still a long way to go.”I shudder, thinking about the next few years and what they’re going to bring.

---