Page 52 of No Way Home
I took off for the staff entrance. When I got there, hands full, I eyed the door handle, willing it to open of its own accord.
A construction guy who’d been scraping paint off a windowsill jogged over. “Let me get that for you.”
“Thank you.” I strode inside, ready to go toe to toe with Topher. But it wasn’t Topher who met me this morning.
Just as I came through the door, a dark-haired man stepped into the hall, directly in my path. I shrieked as suture packs went flying into the air.
He swore and bent over, moaning like he’d been shot. I panicked, thinking I’d somehow stabbed him in the gut. Until I spotted an inch-long slice down the center of the palm. My gaze followed the steady drip, drip, drip of his blood as it hit the floor. The corner of a scalpel packet glinted red at his feet.
“Ohmy gosh.” I gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
His head snapped up, and gray eyes I knew like my own reflection stared back at me. “Magnolia?” he rasped, face going white like he’d seen a ghost. Or maybe it was the loss of blood.
I gulped. “Bowen?”
Chapter Seventeen
BOWEN
“What areyoudoing here?”I croaked, heart in my throat.
Before she could answer, the door flew open behind her, narrowly missing her shoulder. She stumbled forward, slamming into my chest. I steadied her, my good hand slipping around her back.
Good grief, I forgot how good she smelled.
Her eyes were wide, staring up into mine, as…my mom’s ex-husband tripped through the door.
Magnolia jumped back, slipping between the open door and the wall.
“Are you kidding me?” Billy’s nasally voice grated on my nerves every time I heard him talk. Thankfully, it wasn’t very often. Only when we ended up at Food Lion at the same time and one of his patients stopped him partway down the aisle, wanting free medical advice. “No Duprees allowed in this clinic unless they’re dying.”
I huffed, still unable to believe my mom had ever willingly married this moron. “I’m the new junior architect for Slate and Timber,” I said in a tone that told him he was not my boss but yes, I belonged in this building.
He peered around the door at Magnolia. “What are you doing back there? Get out here!”
She slid along the wall, face in full blush. Dang, I forgot how beautiful she was. Okay, not forgot—buried maybe. But seeing her again was like light breaking through stained glass, flooding every dark corner I’d boarded up.
Billy’s eyes widened like he’d just put two and two together. “Ah, I see.” He saw nothing, but with the way Magnolia was cowering, you’d think he had. “I don’t have time to babysit two horny teens?—”
“Horny teens?” I snorted. “I graduated. From UVA. With my master's.” Magnolia blinked, like the news surprised her. “And Magnolia is a third-year med student,” I reminded him. Her eyes widened a little more, like she couldn’t believe I knew what year she was in school. Of course, I knew. I could do basic math, for crying out loud.
Billy sneered. “I noticed you didn’t address the horny bit.”
“M’kay. Says the man who cheated on my mother with a barely legal gas station attendant the same day my aunt was buried.” Yeah, I went there. “Horny indeed.”
His eyes bulged and a vein in his forehead threatened to explode. Not gonna lie. It was fully satisfying.
Magnolia snickered.
Billy righted his face, all calm and cool. “That was a great interview you did on the Breaking Curfew show. My wife kept it on in the background for weeks.”
Magnolia’s eyes shut tight, like she could block out the whole room if she just tried hard enough.
Billy’s cunning expression told me he knew exactly what he’d done. The only reason he’d be bringing up an interview I did two years ago was to hurt Magnolia. Or me. That’s the problem with being part of one of the most famous families in Americaandliving in a small town. Even if your well-connected uncle keeps the worst decision of your life from airing on Netflix, a stranger will inevitably get it on video. The reel they postmight not go viral, but one person back home will see it, twist it, and before you know it, the whole county’s running their mouths like it’s breaking news.Billy smirked, so proud of himself.
“Which wife?” I asked, ticking off my fingers like I was trying to remember them all.
I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t been so terrified of my dad—and my mom, for that matter—he would’ve throttled me.
