Page 15 of Hate To Want You
“Rationalize it any way you want, bro, you’re a player,” Leo says matter-of-factly.
Sawyer pivots so he’s walking backward, facing us. He focuses on his twin, which he should know by now is a lost cause. If any one of us is a true introvert, it’s Beckett. “C’mon, Beck. Think of the hit we’d be with the ladies. Two hot guys for the price of one?”
Beckett blushes fiercely. I feel for him; he is the complete opposite in personality from his extroverted brother. At the same time, he’s had over thirty years to get used to Sawyer’s antics. “If you’re suggesting a threesome, I decline.”
Sawyer reels back in horror. “Dude. No. No way.” He spins back around and falls in step beside us. “You guys are no fun. If Jude were here, I bet he’d go out.”
The thought of our moody hockey player brother going out to ladies night at a bar has me snorting into my coffee.
By this point, we’ve circled around the town square of Dogwood Cove and reached the police station.
“Well, gentlemen, some of us have work to do.” Leo slaps Sawyer on the back before giving Beckett and me a nod. “Good to see you guys.”
We each wave goodbye, then carry on back around the square to where I parked in front of the bakery and café that our sister works at when she isn’t studying to be a nurse practitioner. Beckett agreed to go for a hike with me, but Sawyer has plans to hit the gym with a couple of other firefighters.
We’re passing by Pages, the bookstore next to The Nutty Muffin, when the door opens and a distractingly familiar head of blonde hair comes out, buried in an open book, and crashes straight into my brother.
“Whoa there, darlin’. Eyes up.” Sawyer’s flirtatious teasing is innocent but something inside of me rears its ugly head at the sight of his hands steadying her by the shoulders.
“Sawyer, stop being an ass and get your hands off her,” I rumble under my breath. Heidi’s eyes dart over and widen when she sees me.
“Dr. Donnelly,” she says flatly. “Hi.”
I guess I deserve that type of greeting, seeing as the last time I saw her, I was giving her shit for doing her fucking job. Still, my hackles raise. She’s the one infiltratingmytown and ruiningmyday off. Not to mention, the proximity of her to anyone from my family has me seeing red. Thank fuck, it’s highly unlikely for anyone to make the connection between her and Thad Marshall. Hell, I didn’t even realize it until her going away thing at work ten years ago.
“You two know each other?” Sawyer interjects. Fuck. I really do not want him figuring out who Heidi is. Not that she works with me, and not that she’s married tohim.But before I can stop him, he’s holding out his hand, his supposedly charming grin in full force. “Sawyer Donnelly. This bastard’s younger, handsomer,nicerbrother. And you are?”
“Sawyer,” I growl out a warning, but he ignores me. And to my chagrin, so does Heidi.
“Heidi Morgan. I’m a resident over at Westport General.” She shakes his hand, and gives him one of her warm, friendly smiles.
“Lovely to meet you, Heidi Morgan. A resident, you say. That’s how you know our Max.” He shifts his eyes to me, a knowing glint in them.
I’m fucked.
“Funny, Max was just telling us the other night about how impressed he is with the residents he works with. How professional and skilled they are.”
Lies. Well, sort of. I do think that, but I wasn’t tellinghimthat. What the fuck is he doing?
Heidi’s eyebrows lift ever so slightly as she casts a glance my way. I’m scowling, not at her, but at my brother. But the second she realizes it, I see her wince. “That’s, well, that’s nice to hear. The pediatric unit is a great place to work. I used to be a nurse there before I decided to go to med school.”
“I’m sure Dr. Morgan doesn’t have time to make small talk with you, Sawyer.” I stare at my brother, trying to get him to understand my unsaid meaning.
“Actually, I do have time.” Her voice is cold and brittle, and I instantly feel chagrined. “And since I’m not at work right now, I’m quite sure I can control what I do with that time, not you.”
Sawyer looks at me like I’m nuts, and maybe I am. “Yeah bro, it’s her day off. If she wants to get to know some new people, she can. And can’t you call her Heidi when you aren’t at work? Pull the stick out of your ass, man.”
I haven’t had this strong of an urge to punch my brother in years.
They carry on with whatever insignificant small talk or borderline flirtation is going on as my own inner turmoil starts to simmer.
I start to shift back and forth on my feet. Seeing her here, away from the hospital, is not something I was prepared for. Through furtive glances, I take in her appearance. And the fact her hair isn’t tied back but is cascading down her back, and the leggings and off the shoulder T-shirt she’s wearing, only heightens my discomfort.
Because goddamnit, she’s beautiful. And I hate myself for thinking that.
My discomfort is not going unnoticed. Beckett is eyeing me curiously, and I know he’s trying to figure out the reason for my moody silence.
“Sawyer, didn’t you tell us you were meeting the guys at the gym now?” Beckett interrupts. I hide my reaction, a combination of relief and regret.
