Every one of my siblings was just as filthy rich as I was, but they’d had a little more time to digest their newfound wealth. I’d been so busy just trying to get through my residency that I hadn’t had time to think about it. Nothing had really changed for me while I was finishing my residency, even though I’d had a pretty hefty bank balance for a while now.
“Of course you can hang out with them,” Andie scolded. “Every one of them is elated because you’re back in California and done with school.”
I wanted to explain to Andie how surreal my life seemed now, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. “I know that. But things are definitely different. It’s me. It’s not them. I guess I’ll get used to all of the changes eventually, but I’m not there yet.”
“I’m sure it’s weird,” Andie said thoughtfully. “I mean, you’ve gone from a struggling resident in Boston to a billionaire doctor in Southern California. Your siblings are all married now, and you weren’t around to see all those changes as they happened. Their new homes, and their new lives. It will take you a while to catch up. But try to enjoy the freedom you have now, Owen.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it,” I explained. “I’m glad that I’m done with school and back home in California. I’m happy that I’m finally a physician with my own practice. And I sure as hell don’t mind that I’m not a new doctor drowning in student debt. I’m just not sure what to do with all the extra time and money I have now. I’ve caught up on my sleep, and I’ve done all of the pleasure reading I wished I could have done while I was in school. What else is there to do?”
I’d been a fantasy-series junkie in high school, but I hadn’t had the time to read that kind of stuff once I’d gotten to college. I’d made up for that once I’d gotten back to California. I’d plowed through several long fantasy series, reading books back-to-back until I was caught up.
“Maybe you could try dating,” Andie suggested dryly.
“Now that I’m extremely wealthy, I doubt that any woman will be interested in me. Just my money,” I told her. “I’ve had a bunch of women ask me out, but I’m not even tempted. I’d like a woman who wants to get to know me, not my bank account. I knew some of those women in high school, and they definitely weren’t interested when I was a penniless guy in secondhand clothing.”
It wasn’t like any of the women after me now had suddenly woken up to what a great guy I was or something.
It was all about the money.
“I get that,” Andie sympathized. “But there has to be somebody out there who will care about you. You’re such an incredible guy, with or without billions of dollars.”
I wasn’t exactly an experienced dater. I’d had some hookups during college and medical school, but that’s all they’d been. Most had been one-nighters with women who were students as busy as I was, and who didn’t have time for a relationship, either.
“The only woman who really cared about me ended up married to my older brother,” I joked.
She chuckled. “And she still cares about you, even though she’s married. I want you to be happy.”
“I’m happy enough,” I assured her.
Since I didn’t really want to explain that my dick only saw one female right now, and that woman apparently hated me, I really needed to get off this whole topic about me and dating.
“I hope you can work everything out with Layla,” Andie said softly. “It would be nice if you two could be friends again.”
I wanted to tell her that it would be even nicer if Layla and I could become a hell of a lot more than friends, but I didn’t.
Luckily, I was saved from thinking up some kind of neutral response by my chiming doorbell. “I think she’s here,” I informed Andie. “Don’t worry, and just get here whenever you can. Don’t drive crazy.”
“Okay. I’ll let you go. Hopefully, this freeway will stop looking like a parking lot soon,” she answered, her voice a little less stressed.
Andie and I said a hasty goodbye, and I headed for the door, determined to resolve any issues Layla had with me today, since it might be my only chance.
Our relationship had been strained since the very first day I’d started work at the clinic.
Obviously, my attraction to Layla didn’t go both ways. She’d looked horrified every time I’d suggested grabbing dinner together. I could only imagine how she’d react if she knew I wanted to get her naked.
So yeah, the fact that she didn’t want me the same way I wanted her did bother me more than I wanted to admit, but it wasn’t just lust that drew me to Layla.
Hell, the two of us had a history together that had started long before I’d become infatuated with her during senior year, and that meant something to me.
I didn’t want her to hate me, and I did want to fix whatever had happened in the past.
At some point, I might even get over my hellacious physical attraction to her if we could just hang out as friends again, right?
I opened the door, fully prepared to approach Layla about the possibility of clearing up our past and being friends again.
My resolve lasted all of a couple of seconds.
Once I saw her standing on my doorstep, her curvy body encased in the sexiest damn sundress I’d ever seen, I was speechless as my eyes greedily consumed every inch of creamy skin the garment revealed.
Holy shit! Why in the hell did she have to wear that sexy dress!
I wanted to pull her into the house and nail her hot and hard against the first available surface I could find.
Every thought of being her friend again flew out of my brain, exiting like it had been a ludicrous idea in the first place.
I’d gone from hopeful to fucked in less than five seconds, and I had no idea what to do with that lightning-fast reaction.
“Owen, is everything okay?” Layla asked hesitantly as she removed her sunglasses.
Damn. She was finally calling me Owen, and my body was reacting to the small intimacy like it was the sweetest kind of endearment.
I need to get a grip. Layla is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Yep. Good. Fine,” I muttered. Damn. Ten years of higher education, and that was the only response I could think of giving her?
Apparently, my intellect had completely left the building when I’d heard my name on her gorgeous lips.
I shook my head, thoroughly disgusted with myself.
I opened the door wider, and then watched as temptation sashayed right on into my house.
CHAPTER 4
LAYLA
“Well, I guess that about covers everything,” I said to Owen in an overly bright voice that I wasn’t feeling as I stepped back inside his home.
I’d spent a lot of time outside arranging, and then rearranging, the tablecloths, napkins, and all of the decorations I’d put up. Honestly, there hadn’t been all that much to keep me occupied, since Owen had hired a caterer for the food. The tables had already been set up for the barbecue, so I’d killed as much time as possible fussing with basically . . . nothing. All so I could avoid spending too much time alone with Owen.
I was having a really hard time finding anything to say to him. I could handle being in a professional atmosphere with him, but it was awkward being outside the office and in his home.