Page 32 of Dr. Attending

I’m about to brush past her when she steps to the side, positioning her body in front of mine. She bats her full lashes at me several times, giving me a suspicious look.

“What?” I cross my arms defensively even though I have nothing to be defensive about.

“Have you finally decided that you want to form an alliance with me? Because you know, I’m totally down to vote P off the island. All you have to do is say the word.”

I roll my eyes, even though I’m secretly thankful that this is about Parker and not Weston. The irritation I’m feeling for my brother is much easier to process than the conflicting emotions for the man who just walked through the door behind me.

Before I can respond, Claire lets out a shrill squeal.

“Oh my god, who the fuck is that?” She rushes past me, completely forgetting about her offer to put our family on a reality TV show. “Oh, sorry, I mean freak. Who the freak is that?”

I turn in their direction and can’t help but laugh at the way my sister is jumping up and down in front of Carter. Weston isn’t looking at her, though, his hazel eyes are glued on me, almost like he’s silently asking if I’m okay after the chaotic drive we had.

I give him a quick nod and gesture that I’m going to head toward the back of the house to find the others, not waiting for his response.

On my way through the kitchen, my eyes snag on a few bottles of champagne on the counter, and I promise myself that once I say hello to everyone, I’m going to come back inside and pour myself a massive glass of champagne. There’s no need to pretend that the orange juice is a necessary mimosa ingredient at this point in my life—I’ve evolved past watering things down.

The first person I see when I walk through the screen door is my sister-in-law.

Cassidy is sipping her coffee at the wrought-iron table that overlooks the back deck, looking stunningly bridal in her silky white PJ set. A beam of morning sunshine peeks through the clouds and lands on her cheek right as she looks up at me with a warm smile.

“I’m so glad you made it,” she says excitedly, pushing back her chair to greet me. “I have a matching pajama set for you upstairs.”

I force my lips into a grin, keeping my attention on my angelic sister-in-law because if I let myself look at her groom, they’re bound to twist into a scowl. And Cassidy doesn’t deserve that on her wedding day . . . not in front of her, at least.

“Me too.” I pull her into a quick hug before stepping back and taking her in. “You’re glowing, Cass. How do you feel?”

She laughs, running her fingers through her shiny blonde hair. “Trust me, I definitely did not wake up like this. I’ve been up for a few hours already, letting Morg and Claire work their magic.”

I glance at Morgan, needing her to work her magic on me too. She’s curled up into a tight ball in the chair beside Cassidy’s with her arms flung over her face, and definitely looks like she’s seen better days.

Cassidy leans in with a whisper. “Well, Morg just kind of directed from the toilet.”

“Who’s ready to get hung?” Claire asks, tearing open the plastic covering on a bag of saline as she walks backward through the door like she’s a surgeon entering the OR.

I arch my brow. “Really helping with that IV fluid shortage, C.”

Our school sent out an email about the saline shortage last week, something about hurricanes and supply chain issues. Hospitals are conserving it like liquid gold, but clearly, Midtown Memorial didn’t get the memo.

Claire rolls her bright-blue eyes.

“Chill, princess,” she snipes, knowing it will piss me off as she pads toward Morgan’s pitiful body slumped at the table. “Morgie is hungover. And I need the practice.”

She glances at Parker and Walker on the opposite side of the table. “Oh, and I told Wes that you guys would help him unload, by the way. He has more luggage than I do.”

“Well, he is traveling with two people, so I would hope so,” Parker deadpans as he stands from his chair.

“P.” I snap and point at my brother to get his attention. “When you’re done, we need to have a little chat.”

I give him the most angelic smile I can muster but narrow my eyes to let him know that I’m serious.

While my anger has definitely cooled off in the past twelve hours, I still plan to let Parker know that he doesn’t get to pull something like that again. He might not know the specifics behind my distaste for Weston—and he never will—but he does know better than to treat me like that.

Claire grins as she wraps a blue tourniquet around Morgan’s arm. “Oooo . . . someone’s in trouble.”

I glare at my sister. “Claire. Stop. Parker. I’ll meet you down at the boathouse when you’re done.”

My brother sighs, but he doesn’t argue as he follows Walker toward the door.

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