Dad continued to study me.
“And there’s no doubt that I still love her…always will. When she cried, I felt terrible. Like always, I wanted to take care of her. I’ll always want to take care of her.”
“Then why did you say no?”
I inhaled a deep breath. “I guess…because of Sicily.”
Dad gave a slight nod.
“She would never do what Catherine did, you know?”
“No, she wouldn’t,” he said in agreement.
“If I took Catherine back, that would mean I would never get the opportunity to have anything with Sicily, whether that’s tomorrow or sometime in the future. And I think Sicily is right…I deserve more. I deserve to be with a woman who would appreciate me every single day without having to lose me—and she’s that woman.”
Four
Sicily
I thought Zach was going to be a one-time thing, just a good time and nothing more.
But he continued to text me, sometimes asking me to dinner, and other times making inappropriate comments just to get me to smile while I was at work. I’m in a meeting right now, but you know what I can’t stop thinking about?
I sat at the desk in the lobby and grinned at his message. Football?
Nope. Try again.
Pizza?
Sweetheart, you think I can’t focus right now because of pizza?
LOL. Men only seem to care about food and sports…
Uh, you’re missing another important one. A very important one.
Vacation?
Come on, quit this good-girl act. Your mind is in the gutter, and we both know it.
“Sicily?”
I typed back. Fine…my panties that you stole.
Bingo. We have a winner, folks.
I chuckled then set the phone down.
“Sicily?”
I looked up and noticed Dex standing in front of me. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you were there.”
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into my eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in disappointment. “Everything alright? I said your name like three times.”
“Yeah, I was just distracted.”
He continued to stare at me, standing there in a t-shirt and jeans. Now that the weather was improving, he didn’t wear his hoodie as often anymore. “I wanted you to get these faxed over to the hospital.” He set the papers on the counter.
“Sure thing.” I grabbed them and set them beside me. “How was your lunch?”
He didn’t answer the question, just stared at me.
He’d been in a somber mood all week, and when I asked if there was anything wrong, he deflected the question. But he was definitely down, more down than usual, and I wasn’t sure if it was because we’d broken up a couple weeks ago, or if he had something else on his mind.
I doubted it had anything to do with us, though.
When he didn’t change his mind within the first couple days, I realized this decision was permanent, and I stopped hoping he would have a change of heart. Dex was off the table permanently—and it was time to move on.
Zach was making that process much easier.
Dex stood there for a while, his eyes dropping for a moment as he considered whatever he wanted to say. “Can we talk at the end of the day? There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Um, okay. Everything alright?”
“Yeah.” He went back to his office to get ready for the next patient who was about to walk in any moment.
I watched him go before I turned back to my phone.
Zach texted me again. He sent a picture of his crotch, his hand pulling out bright red panties from the pocket of his suit. Definitely not gonna get shit done now.
I had dinner plans with Zach, so I quickly took care of all the office stuff in order for me to be able to leave on time. Whatever Dex wanted to talk about probably wouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes. Otherwise, he would just ask me to schedule a meeting sometime during the day. Andrea left, and then I turned off all the lights in the rear of the office since housekeeping was gone.
I grabbed my bag and waited for Dex in the seating area in front of the windows.
Dex came out a moment later, his satchel over his shoulder, walking toward me with the same dimness in his eyes.
“What’s up?” I stood with my hands in my pockets and watched him come close to me until he towered over me. Even when I wore my highest heels, he was still a mountain beside me.
He stared at me for a while before he dropped his gaze and looked at the hardwood floor between us. Then he rubbed the back of his neck, his fingers gliding into his short hair. “About a week ago—”
The elevator beeped before the doors opened.
We both turned to look at who it was, prepared to give directions because they were clearly lost. It happened sometimes. People came onto our floor, getting confused with another doctor in the building.
But it was Zach.
In his crisp gray suit and shiny shoes, he entered the lobby with one hand in his pocket, taking a look at the office as he approached.
Dex addressed him. “The Landon Firm is one floor above.”
“Actually, he’s here for me.” I didn’t make eye contact with Dex as I said it, even though I shouldn’t be ashamed. I’d done nothing wrong, and Dex probably had been with several women by now. I turned to Zach. “What are you doing here?” We’d planned to meet at the restaurant.
He came closer, his eyes on me, wearing that arrogant smirk. “I left the office early and thought I’d swing by. Wanted to check out your office.” His hand moved around my waist. “Don’t act like you aren’t happy to see me, sweetheart.” He gave me a gentle squeeze into his side and placed a quick kiss on my lips.
I didn’t turn my cheek because that would be so fucked up to Zach, but I felt uncomfortable the entire time, knowing Dex was standing there and watching the whole thing. It was seriously the most awkward moment of my life.
Zach turned to Dex. “You must be her…wait.” His eyes narrowed. “Dex?”
Dex’s face was pale as milk, his eyes even more lifeless than before. He stared at Zach with steady eyes that didn’t blink at all, and the subtle outline of the vein in his forehead started to come through.
Fuck, why did Zach have to swing by?
Dex didn’t say a word, as if he was incapacitated at the moment.
“You’re a cardiac surgeon?” Zach asked in surprise. “Damn, I had no idea. That’s awesome, man.” He extended his hand to shake his. “Glad to see you’re doing well.”
Dex hesitated before he completed the exchange. “Yeah, thanks.”
Zach turned to me. “I’m glad you two met. Because if he hadn’t poached you from the Trinity Building, this never would have happened. Funny how things work out like that.” Then he looked at Dex again. “Isn’t it?”
Dex didn’t say a word.
I knew Zach well enough to know he knew.
He knew exactly who Dex was without my having to say it.
I cleared my throat, so tense I thought I might throw up. “Zach, I’ll meet you in the lobby. Dex wanted to—”
Dex immediately turned away. “Forget it. There’s something else I need to do anyway.” He walked away without saying goodbye and disappeared into his office. Then his door opened and shut.