Page 13 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
The tallest of the trio shook her head in disappointment. “We should have anticipated this. I remember the day Tommy saw a picture of that vampire fromTwilight?—”
“Irene, Jesus,” the shortest of the three said. “Tom’s as straight as they come. He lost his virginity at the prom, for fuck’s sake. No self-respecting gay man would have held out that long.”
The leader shook her head at them and glared at me. Her fist held fast to the shirt fabric over my chest, pinching a chest hair or two in the process. “Which friend, Captain Deltoid?” She tilted her head toward the lobby. “The pretty doctor out there or somebody else?”
“Who wants to know?” I shot back.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll be asking the questions, Shoulders. You’ll be answering them.Capisce?”
The little one darted closer as if to intimidate me. Her walker banged my knee. “Yeah! Answer her questions, asshole.”
I put my hand over my mouth to hold in a sudden urge tolaugh when Tommy appeared. “For god’s sake, leave him alone, Aunt Tilly.”
My stomach lurched at the second sighting of the “Groom” sash.
“Tommy,” I said blandly, as if I hadn’t tasted the back of his throat last night with the tip of my tongue. “You left out a few details when we were… talking last night. It seems congratulations are in order. Who’s the lucky woman?”
If I accidentally put too much emphasis on the word “woman,” maybe I could be forgiven just this once.
“Knew it,” the leader—Tilly—said, shaking her head. “For fuck’s sake.”
The tallest of the three shook her head again, but this time, it seemed to be in wonder. “Thomas Marian. What a dark horse you turned out to be.”
“If dark horse is code for ‘dumbass who thinks with his dick,’ I agree,” the littlest one spat.
“Hey,” I snapped, stepping between Tommy and the woman. “Nothing happened. So whatever you’re upset with him about, you can stop now. And you can sure as shit stop with the name-calling.”
If anyone was going to give Tommy hell about last night, it was going to be me.
Tilly put her hand on the feisty little lady’s shoulder and squeezed. “Take a breather, wildcat. I got this. Why don’t you and Irene go out and tell anyone who asks that the big guy here is with Jett, then find Jett and loop him in.” She turned and gave me an assessing up-down. “They’ll buy it. Jett likes ’em muscle-bound and bossy.”
Tommy’s nostrils flared. “Absolutely not! Foster’s not with Jett.” His cheeks heated. “I mean, he’s not withanyone. You’re all overreacting. Foster lost his luggage, and I loaned him a shirt. That’s all.”
I bit my tongue and stared at the ground to keep from spouting off.Yeah. Nothing to see here. Just a loaned shirt.
Tilly barked out a laugh. “You’ve been a bad liar since infancy, Tommy. Tell me you didn’t kiss this man. Tell me right now, and swear on my…” She paused and gave me that up-down look again. “Actually, scratch that. Tell me youdid, ’cause life’s too short, and Chesticles seems like he’d be a hot piece of?—”
“Tilly!” Tommy snapped. “Please go back out to the lobby and tell K—” He stopped and swallowed. “Tell Kari I’ll be right there, alright? I need to talk to her.”
Tilly’s face softened into something like empathy. “Fuck. This isn’t a prank, is it, kiddo? I almost wondered if you and your parents were pulling one over on Blue and Tristan with the shirt.”
He shook his head, looking acutely miserable. “No. Please go. And leave Foster alone. It’s not his fault. None of this is his fault.”
“Hmph. Have it your way. But I’ve got my eyes on you, Beefcake.” She jabbed two gnarled fingers at her own eyes, then at mine.
Once Tommy and I were alone, an awkward silence fell, so different from our previous easy connection.
He was visibly, wildly unhappy, and my chest went tightwith the urge to wrap him in a hug and reassure him it would all be okay.
But I wouldn’t. No fucking way.
I had no right to touch him the way I wanted to when he was engaged to someone else… and he had no right to let me.
And the truth was, itwouldn’tall be okay. That instant connection I’d thought I’d felt with him had been a lie. The man I’d thought I’d been kissing didn’t exist. And I was a fucking idiot who’d once again gotten starry-eyed for a guy who didn’t think the concept of loyalty applied to him.
“I don’t entirely get what’s happening right now, but you probably want this back.” I yanked up the hem of my borrowed shirt and reached behind my head to pull it off, but Tommy darted a hand out to hold the shirt down.
Even that small touch—the barest brush of his knuckles against my stomach—caused goose bumps to prickle over my body. The shampoo and soap scent of him made me want to lean in closer for a better sniff, preferably one close enough to stick out my tongue and feel the rasp of his stubble.
