Page 84 of Dr. Bad Boy

And now my credit card is officially groaning. “That’s probably all the shopping I need to do,” I say with a happy sigh, holding up my bags.

Ellie makes a similar noise, and Sasha shakes her head. “Amateurs. I’m going to keep going, but text me from wherever you end up for dinner and I might join you.”

“Thanks for the gift advice,” I say warmly, meaning every word. “And we should definitely do this again. I have a weakness for nice work clothes and we didn’t even hit some of my favourite stores tonight.”

“Oh yes!” She grins and flips her blonde hair over her shoulder. “It’s so on after the holidays. We’ll kill the sales.”

“Awesome.”

We watch her disappear into the throng of holiday shoppers, then Ellie points for the nearest exit. “Shall we head away from downtown a bit?” She tips her head toward the now invisible-to-me security detail. “I just need to tell them where we’re going.”

“My car is at my office, do you want a drive?” That’s weird to offer to the PM’s fiancée.

She shakes her head. “I drove. They usually split up, one traveling with me and one in the car behind, but I can probably convince them to follow in the car behind if you come with me.”

I can always cab it back to my office to get my car, or she could drop me off. “Sure, let’s go somewhere quieter.” I wait until we’re into the parkade and have found her car—a small SUV right next to a giant black sedan—then ask, “Is it weird having the guards?”

“It was at first. But once I got into the swing of things at work, where they’re totally invisible, it was fine. It’s only been a couple of months, really, and it feels like routine now.”

“Funny how our lives can change so quickly,” I murmur.

“No kidding.” She steers out onto the dark winter night and drives quickly but confidently down one-way streets until she pulls into a parking lot just off Bank Street. She turns the car off but doesn’t get out. “So…can I ask about you and Max? How that’s going?”

“It’s going.”

“Hey, I get it. There aren't many people I can trust with confidences now, either.”

“I’d never—“

“I know. And that’s why I ask, because I want you to know that I’d never reveal any of your secrets, either.” Ellie’s face softens, a frown tugging just a bit between her eyebrows. “You know, I wish it wasn’t a big deal, who I'm in a relationship with, but it is. Wanting it to be different doesn't change that. So…I don’t know exactly what the deal is, but I’m guessing it’s not as simple as regular dating a famous guy, right?”

I almost do a double-take, because I never think of Max as famous. He used to be, but now he’s one hundred percent doctor.

Well, maybe ninety percent doctor, ten percent evil Dom. “No, it’s not simple. But not about his fame, either. You know…I didn’t recognize him when I met him. It wasn’t until he came into the office…” I trail off. Maybe she doesn’t know. When Gavin asked where we met, I was cagey and Max let me keep it vague. “Do you know that I’m his lawyer?”

Her eyebrows jolted up. “Oh. That’s complicated.”

“Yeah.”

“Do we need booze for this story?”

I laugh. “Maybe a glass of wine.”

“Let’s go in and get some dinner.” She blows on her hands. I hadn’t even realized it was getting cold in the car. “And we’ll get a private table. I want to hear all about this. Or—” She waves her hands. “However much you feel like telling me, of course.”

“Of course.” I’m so relieved to have said that out loud to someone and not have been shamed horrifically. Baby steps. But I think I’m ready to tell Ellie a lot more than I thought I would.

She’s brought me to a bistro that’s quiet inside, but private, too. The front of house guy who greets us obviously recognizes her. “Good evening, Ms. Montague.” He gives her a warm smile. “For two?”

She laughs quietly. “Two for two, please. It’s cold out there.” She pulls out her phone and fires off a quick text.

“Inviting them in?”

She nods. “They’d stay out there if I didn’t. Crazy men. The whole thing is crazy, but there you go. That’s my life.”

We’re seated at the farthest booth in the back, and in a minute, her security detail comes in and sits in the next booth, creating quite a significant buffer between us and any other patrons.

And nobody has given us a second glance.

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