Page 2 of Hate To Want You
Thad’s irritated huff bothers me. Especially since I’ve done most of the packing on my days off. But I push it aside. It’s easier not to engage him when he’s annoyed. It’s easier to just go along with whatever he says.
Even if the voice in my head tells me all I ever do is go along with what he says. And it’s getting louder and louder every day.
As we walk down the hall toward the elevator, I see Max up ahead talking with another doctor. His head lifts, and our eyes meet. And the icy glare he shoots my way makes me shiver. I turn away and try to pay attention to what Thad is saying. But it’s difficult when a part of me wants to look back and see if I was imagining the vitriol in Max’s eyes.
Because why would a man who’s been nothing but respectful and kind turn cold so suddenly?
What could have possibly happened in the last ten minutes to make Max Donnelly act as if he hates me?
Chapter one
Present Day
Max
Some days my job is heartbreaking, and some days it’s just fun. Today, thankfully, it’s the latter.
“Boom! I just schooled you, doc,” my patient Sullivan cheers, dropping his video game controller down as he pumps his fist in the air.
“Darn, you really did.” I put my controller down and push up to standing. “We’ll do a rematch tomorrow?”
“Deal.” Sullivan’s smile fades. “How much longer am I gonna be in here?”
I sit back down beside the teen. He’s been stuck here, recovering from open heart surgery, for a week now. And if it weren’t for some issues with his blood work, he’d be home. “Hopefully, just a couple more days, bud.” I drop my hand on his shoulder and squeeze lightly before standing up again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I leave the patient lounge, and Sullivan, and head to the nursing station. I might not have planned to be a pediatrician when I first went into medicine, but I wouldn’t have it any other way now. Working with kids and their families, while challenging and painful when it doesn’t go well, is so rewarding when it does.
“Dr. Donnelly?”
That voice. I know that voice. I lift my eyes up from the computer screen where I’ve just pulled up some blood work for another patient and meet the deep green gaze of the most stunning woman I’ve ever met. Ironically, she’s also one of only two women on this planet I wantnothingto do with.
“Heidi?”
There she is, looking just as beautiful as she was ten years ago. And just as repulsive, given what her presence here means. Her hand lifts to push a piece of hair behind her ear, and that’s when I see the flash of a gold band on her finger.
She fucking married him? That means if she’s back,he’sback.
“Dr. Donnelly, there you are.” The booming voice of the director for the pediatric program at WGH, Clarence Ross, echoes down the hall. “Ah, wonderful, I see you found him, Heidi. I mean,Dr. Morgan.” He winks at Heidi as my jaw drops open.
“Doctor?” I say, as if I didn’t hear him clearly, but hearing is different from comprehending, and seeing her again has apparently rattled my brain.
A slight pink tint covers her cheeks. If she were anyone else, it would be cute. But all it does is turn my stomach. “Yeah, I, um, decided to quit nursing and went to medical school. Now I’m in my final year of residency, and I was lucky enough to secure a spot here to finish out my program.”
“That’s… Wow. That’s unbelievable.” I can hear the icy tone to my voice, at odds with how my blood is boiling at the thought of Heidi moving back to the area. Or more specifically, the man who almost destroyed my family.
Thad fucking Marshall. The man I was shocked to discover was apparently the love of Heidi’s life all those years ago. I knew she had a boyfriend, but never in a million years did I think a sweet woman like her would be with a selfish, slimy asshole like him.
It might be strange to have such a strong reaction to the very thought of a man who, for all intents and purposes, hasn’t played a role — directly or indirectly — in your life for years. But no one in our family will forget the night Mom was paid a visit by a police officer who told her Dad had been hit by a drunk driver and was in the hospital. It took months of rehab for him to recover, and to this day, he still walks with a limp. The long days, visiting Dad in the ICU of this very hospital, wondering when the swelling on his brain would go down, and if he’d ever be the same, left a scar on all our souls.
For me, that day is burned into my memory for more than just the accident. I’ve carried an extra burden by myself for twelve years. Because the day Thad Marshall decided to drive home drunk from a liquid lunch with some coworkers was also the day I found out my girlfriend at the time betrayed me.
But right now, even that betrayal is overshadowed by the onslaught of memories that seeing Heidi is bringing up. She was with Thad when he weaseled his way out of taking accountability for what he did to my dad. His lawyer got him off on a technicality, never mind the fact that our family was never the same after.
It’s a special kind of asshole that can show absolutely no remorse and take no responsibility for something that was completely his fault. And she was with him through it all. Which makes her just as bad as him in my eyes.
Clarence is still talking, singing her praises, I’m guessing. I don’t give a fuck if she’s top of her class, I don’t want her anywhere near me. But I try to focus on what he’s saying, given the man is in charge of my paycheck.
“We’re thrilled to have her back with us, hopefully to stay, if I have anything to say about it. Now, Dr. Donnelly, you’ll have to excuse us. We’ve got some paperwork to attend to.DoctorMorgan has her first shift with you tomorrow.” Clarence claps me on the back. Normally, that wouldn’t make me budge, but I’m so off kilter, I actually stumble forward, catching myself on the counter just in time. But the action brings me close toher.Close enough to hear her intake of breath.
