Page 13 of Dr. Do-Right
I love you. I almost whispered. But not right now. Not before we’d ever even kissed. Tomorrow, maybe.
“Thank you,” I said instead.
He twined his fingers with mine, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. Definitely against the rules. Definitely what I needed right at this moment. How did he always know?
I slept soundly with my dog all night, waiting for tomorrow.
Chapter 5
“Birthday cheers!” Sonia clinked her non-alcoholic sangria against mine. We usually needed a detox after a blowout like last night. “I’m sorry I was MIA today, but things werehappeningfrom like start to finish. Very glad I get to slow down and have some more bday fun with you. I’m even putting my phone away, but remind me to tell you later about the insane text I got from my old college roommate.” She made a show of slipping her phone into her purse, gesturing at it like she was Vanna White, talking a mile a minute the whole time. Sonnie was a little manic sometimes, but I loved her.
“It’s not my birthday anymore,” I reminded her, taking a sip and lowering my sunglasses over my eyes. I’d fared better than she did, but with another birthday came another reminder that I wasn’t in my mid-twenties anymore. Things like hangovers and muscle aches had a tendency to sneak up on me these days.
“Birthday is a state of mind, Ri. If you’re not celebrating for, like, a week, what are you even doing?”
“Fair.” I took a sip, glancing around the patio of my favorite tapas place. Malachi was due any minute now, and I was practically levitating in my seat with impatience.
We’d planned to tell Rija together, but a work emergency had pulled him out of the apartment early this morning, before I’d even woken up. He’d been gone all day, dealing with problems at the Chicago office he’d sneakily started setting up weeks ago.
Sonia had also been in and out since the morning, running errands, getting a mani/pedi, and grabbing lunch with one of her travel nurse friends. I’d been wound up since my alarm had gone off, waiting to get them to sit still in the same place so I could confess and get all this out in the open. Now, on the patio with a pitcher of glorified juice on the table, it was finally about to happen.
If he would just get here, already.
“Seriously, Ri. You deserve to celebrate. Like, a lot. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. The way you’ve stuck by me through everything with that horrible breakup last year and my job drama… I love you, girl. You know that, right?” Sonia’s green eyes were wide, earnest. My heart squeezed with affection and guilt.
Sonnie had been with me through the worst life offered, too, like my parents cutting me off and my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. I could only hope she’d keep sticking by me when everything was out in the open tonight.
“You’re my best friend, Sonnie. I love you, too.”
“I know, but I wanted to say thank you.”
Oh, God, please don’t thank me when I’m about to tell you I’ve been lying to you for months. “You don’t have to do that.”
She studied me, brows drawn, serious in a way she usually wasn’t. “I do. You’ve been so great about Malachi. I have a few issues there, you know? And I’ve never once had to worry about you ditching me for him.”
“O-oh…” For perhaps the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words. She reached over to rub her hand over my forearm.
“I know this seems like it’s coming out of nowhere, but I was thinking about it last night, watching you together and knowing you have my back, no matter what. I love how close you two have gotten.”
The only response I had for her was a tight grin. I moved my arm away to wipe my palms on the skirt of my dress. I was the worst person in the world.
“You should know—Oh, Siggy!” she sang, standing to greet the dog who shot to our table, the new leather leash I’d gotten him this morning trailing on the sidewalk. The other patrons grinned and cooed at him. God, he was so cute.
I’d spent all morning with the puppy and felt like he already owned half of my heart. At least, the pieces that weren’t already bought and paid for by the Dobrev siblings.
He was sweet and squirmy and though I’d hated to leave him in the crate for dinner, I wasn’t sure inviting a puppy to such a serious conversation was a good idea. Malachi, looking harried and striding down the sidewalk with his phone glued to his face, apparently thought differently.
He loitered at the edge of the patio, watching Sigmund try to jump into my lap. Mal’s face was thunderous. I couldn’t make out his words, but he paced, hand on his hip and shaking his head at intervals.
“Yikes. Wonder what that’s about.” Sonia gave the puppy another scratch on the chin before she ducked inside the restaurant to ask for a bowl of water.
“Christ,” Mal hissed, tossing his phone on the table and bracing his hands against the metal top. He stared while Siggy licked my face. “I will give you a million dollars if you let me kiss you right now.”
My stomach clenched. I really wanted to. “Bad day?”
He collapsed into a chair, the metal legs scraping against the concrete. “The worst. I’m sorry. I know we were supposed to talk to Sonnie earlier.” He reached out like he wanted to run his fingers over my shoulder, but pulled back, his hand fisting.
“I figured we’d leave this guy at home?” I rocked Siggy in my arms, where he was content to snuggle.
