Page 57 of Dr. Attending

The way that he remembers my exact words makes me smile. “Listen . . . I stand by what I said.”

“And I stand by what I did. The kid was a douche.”

My brow arches. “And you weren’t?”

Weston shakes his head as all of the humor drains from his face. “Not to you. Never to you, princess.”

Chapter 21

Weston

Ilet out a relieved exhale as my front door finally closes, glancing over at Carter. “Did you have a good day, little man?”

He ignores my question because he’s currently in toddler heaven, sitting in the sunroom adjacent to the kitchen and surrounded by an absurd amount of birthday gifts.

I toss a wet rag in the sink and wash my hands before walking over to him.

“Your Auntie Cass and Uncle Parker went a little overboard, huh?” I say, scanning the pile of toys beside him.

When Cassidy walked in this afternoon with so many presents that she could barely carry all of them, I wasn’t surprised. She spent the entire weekend at the lake carrying Carter around, almost like she was making up for lost time.

What did surprise me, though, was when Parker walked up my front porch steps a minute after his wife with a handful of presents that he insisted were exclusively from him. Apparently, he’s just as wrapped around my son’s finger as his wife is.

I drop to the ground and brush a strand of snow-white hair out of Carter’s eyes. “You know you don’t have to play with that, right? I promise, he won’t ever know.”

Carter looks up at me with an incredibly serious expression, almost like I’ve personally offended him. He has a wooden reflex hammer in one hand and a plastic prescription pad in the other that he’s been banging together for the past several minutes.

I reach down to wipe a trail of drool from his chin and do a double-take.

Since I have to change his outfit multiple times a day, I don’t usually put much thought into his clothes. But now that the chaos has settled and I’m able to get a good look at him, I realize that this bodysuit isdefinitelydifferent from the one I put him in before the party.

The fabric is navy—the same color as our scrubs—and the words “Future Doctor” are printed across the front in white university-style font.

Jesus Christ.

Parker has lost his goddamn mind.

I thought theSurgery for Babiesbook and medical toys were a little much when we opened them, but I let my friend have his fun because I figured it was a joke.

I should have remembered that Parker Winters doesn’t joke.

I pull my phone from the pocket of my shorts and snap a picture to send to Caroline.

You’ll never guess who got him this.

Every time someone new walked through the door today, my heart would start to beat a little faster with the hope that it was her. And every time it wasn’t, I would have to steel myself and pretend like it didn’t bother me. Pretend that I was okay doing this alone because that’s all I’ve ever known.

But I think I’m starting to realize that I don’t want to pretend anymore. I’m tired of pretending. I’m ready for something real—something like all of my friends have.

At one point this afternoon, I looked around my house, which was more full of joy and love than ever, but all I felt was loneliness because the one person I wanted to be there, wasn’t. And I didn’t know if it was because she couldn’t, or because she simply wouldn’t.

When I drove Caroline home after the hernia repair case, my mind wouldn’t stop racing. All I could think about was how badly I needed to see her again. And since she was sitting in the backseat, singing songs with Carter and making him laugh, I panicked. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind—I invited her to a completely made-up birthday party for my son.

It was a desperate, last-minute audible, considering I’d originally told my family I wanted to keep things small and host a quiet lunch at the club to celebrate. But as soon as the idea left my mouth, I knew I had to make it happen. Luckily, my family was thrilled with the change of plans and rallied to help me pull it all together. No one suspected my ulterior motives either, because I managed to sell it as an exhausted single dad throwing something together at the last minute.

And while I’m fully aware that I shouldn’t have used my son as a pawn, I don’t regret it for a second. I might have lost the chess match with Caroline today, but Carter still had the best time, and that’s really all you can ask for as a parent.

I glance at the clock on my phone, noticing that it’s getting close to six-thirty. People stayed much later than I expected, and Carter has to be exhausted since it’s almost past his bedtime. I scoop him into my arms and airplane him through the kitchen, laughing along with his infectious giggles.

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