Page 33 of The Choices I've Made
“Mmhmm,” was all she said as she made her exit.
I quickly followed behind, having to jog to catch up. She was already halfway to her car by the time I reached her.
“You’re playing with fire, Molly.”
I huffed. “What was I supposed to do, Mom? He showed up here, completely wrecked over his father’s death. I couldn’t turn him away.”
“Of course you could have!” she nearly yelled. “You’ve had a soft spot for that boy since the moment you laid eyes on him, and while I understand why, do I need to remind you that your fiancé is hurt and alone—”
Anger boiled in my veins. “That’s out of line, Mama, and you know it. I know exactly where Dean is. Jake is a nonissue for me. I blew out that torch I had carried for him a long time ago.”
She nodded, deflating slightly, but I could still see the worry in her bright blue eyes.
Her hands found mine. “Take care of yourself, will you, darling? And decide where your heart lies before others get broken. Including yours.”
I took a deep breath before answering, “Yes, Mama.”
She got into her car, the one I’d helped her pick out years earlier. It’d been an especially warm afternoon in February. We’d made a day of it after her fifteen-year-old Honda kicked the bucket. I still remembered her squeal of glee when they’d handed her the keys. My mama was a thrifty person, never doing anything for herself, due to the fear of a small business owner. On anniversaries, Daddy would take her out to a nice dinner, and they’d dance on the back patio, overlooking the water. But nothing more.
I hadn’t fallen far from the tree, as they’d instilled that frugality in me. It was why I couldn’t nail anything down for our wedding, scared to take any money out of my small savings to buy something as extravagant as a dress.
It had nothing to do with the half-naked man standing in my kitchen.
Nothing.
And I’d be damned if anyone thought otherwise.
By the time I made it back inside, the fury inside me was raging. As I marched into the kitchen, it only grew when I found the large space empty of my intended target. Stomping up the stairs, knowing the Lovells were thankfully in the third-floor suite and couldn’t hear my childish behavior, I went straight for the yellow room.
Not bothering to knock, I shoved the door open and let him have it.
“How dare you walk around here like you own the damn place! Did you even think first before traipsing down here in your damn underwear, Jake? Do you ever? It’s a goddamn wonder you even made it through medical school.”
“Top of my class actually,” he said calmly, seeming completely unfazed by my unexpected appearance.
His cool demeanor caught me off guard, and the epic rant I’d prepared for him faltered. I watched as he moved around the room, pulling on a pair of pants and a loose T-shirt, as if my presence were completely normal.
As if nothing had changed between us.
Except that everything had changed.
The mere thought of it had my anger abating into something closer to exhaustion. The room began to sway.
He immediately noticed the change in me, moving swiftly to my side. “You need to sit down,” he said, his deep voice radiating through my entire body.
“No, I just need you to not strut around my house in your boxers.”
“I was not strutting. And, yes, you do need to sit down. You’re dead on your feet. Believe me, I know that look.”
“Don’t get all doctory on me. I’m not one of your patients. Or your friend. This,” I said, making a motion between us, “isn’t a thing. You are simply another guest, okay?”
A slight smirk formed on the corner of his mouth. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, excuse me. I have things to do.”
He gestured toward the door as I tried not to stare at the stubble forming around his chin.
“By all means.”
