Page 38 of Draft Pick
“Hold on, wild woman,” Tenley tells Navy. “Maybe we should see if Juniper is looking to date right now.” She then turns to me. “You just moved here, so maybe you want to get settled for a while longer.”
One would think, right?
“Actually…” I reveal. “My best friend, Valentina, who’s also a physician in the area, is setting me up with a guy this weekend. We have a date Saturday night.”
“Oh my god! That’s so exciting. So, if for some horrible reason it doesn’t work out, at least we know you’re interested in dating. I can already think of a handful of single guys who would kill to date you, babe. You are one hot doc,” Navy tells me, and despite being scared shitless about putting myself out there again, it makes me excited knowing I now have people in my life who will be equally excited for me.
I have friends now. Go me!
“Sooo, where’s this guy taking you?” Kodi asks.
I laugh because the irony is pretty funny. “Here, actually. When he texted me suggesting Boone, I knew it had to be a well-loved place since you girls insisted we come, too.” I hold up my BBQ smokehouse burger with quite possibly the best grilled veggies and sauce I’ve ever had on it, and say, “I can confirm. This might just be my new favorite spot.”
“Nothing beats the food. Crew made sure of that when they opened.”
I halt my devouring, eyes staring blankly at Kodi. “I’m sorry, did you say Crew?”
Navy and Tenley share a look. “Well, yeah. It’s his restaurant.”
There’s no way…
I set my burger down, fully invested in the trajectory of this conversation. “Crew BriggsownsBoone? The restaurant? Same one I’m sitting in right now, inhaling the entire menu like it’s my full-time job?”
Their laughter builds. “The one and only,” Navy says, a bright smile beaming against the paleness of her skin and red color of her hair.
“Holy hell,” I huff. “He told me he had a delivery coming, and I guess I just thought maybe he knew the owner or worked the bar every now and then. Never that he owned the building.”
“He built it from the ground up. Part of the reason his time with Addie has always been so limited. The guy is a hustler and, unfortunately, has too many eggs in one basket. Or whatever that saying is,” Kodi tells me.
So much for getting over my little obsession with him. Leave it to me to move to Atlanta and fall madly in love with thefoodat a restaurant owned by the one man Ican’thave.
I need to deflect or they’ll catch on to my panic. “Cool. Cool. Big accomplishment. Love that for him.”
“Is that going to be an issue for you, Juniper?” Tenley questions me, and I know she isn’t stupid. Crew’s silence in the car the night we headed to Dirty Bingo was a dead giveaway. Not that he had any reason to be awkward, but he sure enough took it there anyway.
I wave them off, poorly attempting to hide my face. I feel the blush creeping up my neck to my cheeks, and it’s not a good look. Not when there’s no me and Crew. Never will be, either. “An issue? Not at all. In fact, I’m thrilled. It’ll be nice to know someone in case I need to dine and dash, ya know?”
None of them seems convinced. In fact, maybe it’s their established friendship telepathy, but there’s something neither of them is saying. And I’d argue over that being normal until hell freezes over.
“Great then,” Tenley announces. “He’s tending the bar Saturday night, anyway, so you’ll have all the moral support you could need.”
Son of a bitch. How am I supposed to focus on my date when sexy Suburban Daddy is close by?
“Amazing,” I lie. “How does he even have time to do it all?”
“He doesn’t. That’s the problem. Crew and Hil switch off weeks, and thankfully, they have Addie’s nanny, Vanna, who’s been a godsend when they both work. It’s just difficult all around, likely why retirement makes the most sense for him to get some consistency back in his life.”
Again, I’m reminded of how much Crew really does have going on. That’s a lot for one person to carry on their own.
“Well, for his and Addie’s sake, I really hope everything works out for them. That little girl loves him so much. I can tell.”
“She’s the cutest thing ever. Pretty sure she and Apollo will eventually get married, and she’ll boss him around until the day he dies,” Tenleys says, and Navy adds, “And he’ll love every second of it.”
“Sure will.” Tenley smiles proudly, and I’m reminded of how much I want what they have. Love. Happiness. A family that’s mine to keep forever. I work with children regularly, yet the biggest part of me still longs for one of my own. I want to wear the names wife and Mom far more than I ever wanted the title of Doctor.
I’m appreciative, don’t get me wrong. I worked hard to get where I am, but my career as a physician is just a sliver of the woman I aspire to be.
“Oh, Tenley! Did Crew ever talk to you about my practice possibly being a sponsor at the event? He mentioned you were head of marketing and said he’d reach out to you. I never heard back from him on whether he actually did.”
