Love M.D. (8 page)

Before I know it, he’s out the
door. I hate the disappointment I feel. I’m confused. Maybe I should forget my
ridiculous rules. But in the back of my mind, I hear Leo reminding me of why I
shouldn’t.

For the rest
of the day, Morgan and I stay out of
each other’s way, Leo leaves by late afternoon, and I’m alone in the house with
Morgan.

Soon after Leo’s exit, there’s a quiet
knock on the door.

“Hey. Can I help you with
anything?”

“Come in,” I say, sitting among
boxes on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Just mounting stuff. We finished
the wall treatment in the other room and the closet. I want to show you
something.”

“It looks great,” he says looking
around.

I pull over a beautiful trunk I
picked up online weeks before. I wasn’t sure where I’d use it at first, but I
found a home for it here.

“Sit,” I say patting a spot on the
floor beside me. He does and curiously looks on.

“So… since you shared your news
about Abby, I picked up some pretty bedding and accessories.” I open the trunk
and pull the items out. “I have some pink and purple bedding, throw pillows, draperies,
bath mats, towels and accessories. Should her parents allow her to come spend
some time with you, I thought this could make her stay with you a lot more
comfortable. Swap out everything in this trunk with what’s in the room, and it
will completely transform the space. Then after she leaves, swap them back out
and you have your elegant guest room again.”

I look at him, waiting for a
response, but he doesn’t say anything.

“So? Don’t you have anything to
say?”

His gaze penetrates my eyes. “You’re
so thoughtful.” The words softly exit his lips. “You have no idea how much this
means to me.”

As I look at him, the energy
between us becomes magnetic. Slipping one of his palms alongside my face, he stares
into my eyes and gently draws me close. Tremors come through my soft breaths. My
heart beats rapidly as I realize what we’re about to share. Our lips connect,
and I taste him once, twice, three times. He teases me with his tongue,
inviting me in, and I whole-heartedly accept. He circles his arms around my
body, folding me entirely in his arms, while I span his thighs and circle my
arms around his neck.

Feeling his hands roam against my
body unleashes an intense desire inside me. I feel him awaken between my thighs
and my hips swing automatically over his arousal. I am breathless. I stop and
lean my forehead against his. Palpitations pound in my chest.

“You’re my client,” I finally
whisper.

“I won’t be in two days.”

“And you’re married…”

“As of midnight tonight, I’m not.”

“You’re making me break all my own
rules.”

He trails kisses on my cheek and
down my neck, electrifying my body. “I want you to break them. Give me a chance,
Zoë. Let me prove to you that I’m different.”

No one had ever set the bar so high
before; no one had ever asked for that responsibility, but he was…

“Please. Give me a chance to treat
you the way you deserve to be treated.”

He’s saying all the right things,
but my hands tremor as I hear his words. He takes my hand in his and says, “Don’t
be scared, Zoë. I’m not asking you for a commitment. I’d just like to date you,
to start.”

“Men like you are trouble.”

“I promise you, I’m not. One date. We’ll
see where things go from there. I know you want this. I can feel it. You know
you want this. What will it take for me to put your mind at ease?”

“I don’t know…” I whisper.

“I’ll tell you what. In two days, I
won’t be your client, and I’ll officially be divorced. We’ll talk then.”

A loud beeping sound rings between
our bodies.

“Damn it. Sorry,” he says, kissing
me once more, gently guiding me to his side and rising to his feet. “I have to go.
That’s the hospital paging me. There must be an emergency with one of my
patients.”

“Okay,” I answer, a bit
disappointed.

“I’ll call you once I get a break.”
With that statement, he disappears from view.

After tending to
my patient, I step into my office
for a moment.

Soon after, a knock sounds on my
door.

“Doctor Drake?”

I’m startled. I look up to see a
man slightly younger than I am in the doorway. He looks vaguely familiar.

“Yes?”

“Hi. I’m sorry, the receptionist
wasn’t at her desk.”

“I came in for an emergency. I’m
not usually here on Sundays, but I’m done now. Have we met before?”

“I don’t think so. My name is
Adrian. Doctor Michaels referred me to you. I wanted to set up an appointment.”

“I know what it is. You look like
that actor… the one on Criminal—”

“Minds. Yeah, Shemar Moore. I get
that a lot.”

“If you have the time, I’ll see you
now. Otherwise I won’t be back until Thursday, and I have no idea what my
schedule looks like then.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” I rise to my feet and shake
his hand. “Just give me a moment. We’ll need to get some paperwork out of the
way first.”

“Great.”

I hand him some forms to fill out.
Soon after perusing through his paperwork, I see the familiar last name.

I take a
second look and realize why he looks so
familiar to me.

“Adrian Zachery Jenkins? Zoë’s
Zach?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Morgan Drake. Zoë has been
working on my house. I saw a photo of you at her house. That’s why you looked
so familiar.”

“
Ahhh.
Yes… it’s great
meeting you. I’ve heard a lot about you. She refers to you by your first name
all the time, so I didn’t make the Doctor Drake connection.”

Does she?

“Our dad’s name was Adrian, as
well, so to differentiate when we were kids, our parents called me by my second
name. It just stuck.”

“So what can I do for you?”

He pauses, as if he’s unsure if he
should continue. “This is confidential, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I don’t want my sister knowing
about this. She’d only worry.”

“I understand. What seems to be the
problem?”

“I started suffering with bad stomach
aches a few weeks ago, and I realized I started losing weight for no reason. This
afternoon for a few minutes, I felt extremely nauseous. I never get sick. I
haven’t even had the flu in years. I came into emergency and saw Doctor Michaels.
He said he’d forward you his findings, but since I’m seeing you so early, I’m
not sure if he has sent them over yet.”

“Well, that’s as simple as checking
my email or a phone call.”

I check my messages and see his
files.

“It’s here.” I read the notes and
tests from Dr. Michaels. The more I read, the more I agree with him. Zach has a
tumor that might need to be removed.

“He sent me to you for a second
opinion. He thinks I might need surgery. I was hoping to avoid that,” Zach
murmurs.

“From what I see here, I think he
might be right. Let’s run some other tests to ensure we explore any and every
option before we go that route.”

“I’d really appreciate that.”

I hand him a list of further tests
to be done.

Seriously, I look at him. “Zach,
this is none of my business, but you realize how important family support could
be at a time like this, right? It may actually be very beneficial to you to
have Zoë there to support you.”

“I understand that. But Zoë and I run
a business together. And no matter how non-life threatening this surgery may
be, it would only serve as a distraction to her. I want to tell her at the last
minute to lessen the amount of time she spends worrying about it. If I can
avoid telling her at all, I will.”

He seems so determined. Since we
just met, I decide not to push too hard. I’ll try again to convince him that he
needs family support the next time he comes to see me.

“Then I have to respect that.”

“Thank you. Just pretend like we
never even met.”

“Sure, but get those tests done as
soon as possible, please. Depending on the exact location of that tumor it can cause
problems.”

“I will. I’ll be in touch soon.
Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

“Here,” I say jotting my home and
cell numbers on the back of my card. “Call me anytime at any of these numbers
if you can’t reach me here or at the clinic.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” He shakes
my hand and leaves.

Of all the people to walk into my
office—Zach Jenkins. Who would have thought?

Tuesday morning, bright
and early after getting
sporadic text messages from Morgan the last few days, I get a call from him as
I drive to the office.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hi. How are you today?”

“Good. I’m on my way to the
office.”

“I have the address, but I have no
idea where it is.”

“It’s in the city.”

“May I take you to dinner tonight?”

I’m still apprehensive about this.
But as of yesterday, he is officially divorced, and in a few hours, his house
will be complete.

“Can I call you in a while to let
you know? I need to check today’s schedule.” The truth is, I want more time to
think.

“Sure,” he responds.

Zach walks into
my office soon after I arrive.

“A BLT for my amazing twin sister.”

“Thanks. My favorite.”

Dropping a folder on my desk, he
says, “I bought a house last night.”

“You what?”

As I look through the contract, he
responds. “Megan and I went looking at houses a few weeks ago before we put the
search on hold. She loved the house. She even wanted to put in an offer, but it
ended up being under contract. Last night the agent called me and told me the
deal fell through. I made an offer, and it was accepted. We close in a few
days.”

It’s great to see him so excited.

“I stayed up all night drawing up
plans for a bit of remodeling.”

“Does she know?”

“No. I’m going to surprise her this
weekend and propose then.”

“Congratulations. I’m really happy
for you.” I give him a warm hug.

“By the way, we’ll be close to your
new
boyfriend
.”

I blush uncontrollably, and I know
I can’t continue denying my feelings much longer.

“What is it?” Zach asks.

“He asked me out to dinner
tonight.”

“Then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t
you be getting ready or something?”

“I didn’t agree to go yet.”

“Why?”

“He’s a client.”

“That’s the excuse you’ve been
using. Why don’t you tell me what you’re really afraid of?”

“I… I… I feel…”

“What is it, sis?”

“I feel that I could really like
him. Like really,
really
like him. I’m just—”

“Afraid to go there?”

I nod, looking into his eyes.

“You know, Zoë, not every
relationship turns out like Mom and Dad or Geneviève or Todd. Isolating
yourself from people almost entirely because of fear or loss is no way to live.
I understand. I’m not judging you. But the world has so much more to give if
you would just let it. You can’t go on like this forever. You deserve so much
more.”

I stare at him in silence.

“Come on,” he says, outstretching
his hand.

“Where are we going?”

“Shopping for a new outfit for your
hot date tonight.”

“Zach, you hate shopping.”

“Not if it means I’ll be helping
you step out of your comfort zone. It’s time you take that leap forward.”

Zach convinces me
to go out with Morgan. Hours later,
I slip into a white, sleeveless, semi-transparent sheath dress and a pair of
camel strappy sandals. I’ve already changed my hair three times and question
the shoes and dress I wear probably six times. Finally, I decide to wear my
hair down and leave the camel strappy sandals on. Soon after, I hear Peaches
barking, and I know that means Morgan must be here. I double-check myself in
the mirror one last time then head down to the front door.

I take a deep breath and open the
door. Morgan stands, holding a bunch of purple calla lilies with the confidence
of a man you might see on the cover of GQ Magazine: dark pants, navy sweater, a
camel blazer that complements his beautiful hazel eyes and a striking, bright
smile.

“Hi.” This time, I can’t hide my
blush.

For a moment, he’s speechless. “You’re
stunning. These are for you.” He hands me the flowers and kisses me gently on
one cheek. I automatically turn to the other cheek but instead, my lips brush
past his lips. Our eyes meet, but Peaches barges in between us trying to get her
share of Morgan’s attention.

“Thank you. They’re lovely. Come in
while I put these in some water.”

I slip the flowers in a vase while Peaches
roughhouses with her new best friend. Morgan does not deprive Pixie. For a few minutes,
he gives Pixie a good ear scratch then washes his hands before we leave.

Fifteen minutes later, we walk into
the waterside restaurant with panoramic bay views. I’ve done my fair share of
dining in the Bay Area, but I’ve never been here. It’s beautiful. As we wait to
be seated, I’m startled when I see my ex-husband sitting across the room, alone.

Immediately following my eyes,
Morgan looks in his direction. “What’s wrong? Who’s that?”

“My ex-husband.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“No, that’s not necessary. I haven’t
seen him in a while. I didn’t think he was in town.”

Soon after, we sit and place our
order.

“What ended your marriage?” Morgan
asks.

“Six months into our marriage, I caught
him screwing a mutual friend in our bed. See? We have something in common.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a good thing it happened
early in our marriage. He wanted alimony.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. He said I made more money than
he did while we were married, so I had to help him maintain his lifestyle. When
a judge told him he was a despicable excuse for a man, he filed one false lawsuit
after the next against our business and started a smear campaign on the
internet about the company and me. It got so bad, we had to rename the
business. We sued him for damages. It got really nasty. Only after the lawsuit
did it stop.”

“I’m starting to understand why you
were so apprehensive about this.”

“He vowed to get back at me, but
the company gets its check every month. That’s all I care about. I haven’t
spoken to him in almost two years. Any communications go through Jonathan.”

“Just so we’re clear, I’d never
pull a stunt like that. I’ll put it in writing if you’d like.”

“Once you signed off that the house
was completed to your satisfaction earlier today, that was all I needed. I
blame myself for a lot of it, though. Because we started seeing each other
while we were still working on his place, I let a lot of the formalities
slide—too many things. Thankfully many of our communications were via email, so
I had some sort of backup.”

“I was looking around this
afternoon. I can’t believe the amount of work you got done. I’m having my party
this Saturday. You’ll be there, right?”

 “Yes. I travel next week.” I sip
some of my white wine. “Jada decided she wants to see the progress on her
property, too, so we’ll be traveling together.”

“Please invite your brother. You
talk about him all the time.”

“I can tell you he won’t be able to
make it. He has plans for Saturday.”

“That’s too bad. The rest of my family
will be there, as well.”

“Wonderful… no pressure at all,” I
laugh.

“What do you do for fun?”

“About a year ago I took up tennis.
Jada needed a hitting partner, and I really enjoyed it, so we do that together
once or twice a week when we have time. And when I’m home, I spend most of my
time reading. On weekends I go for long scenic drives, and Sunday is my curl-up-in-bed-and-watch-movies-all-day
day.”

“And you play the piano.”

“Just a little.”

“That’s an impressive piano for
just a little. Why do I suspect you’re being modest?”

“Maybe. What about you? What are
your favorite things to do?”

“I like those long scenic drives,
too. Maybe someday I can take you for a ride on my bike. I love traveling the
world. I’m excited about my next trip. We’ll be going to Africa. I haven’t been
there yet.”

“I like traveling, too. It’s just
not much fun doing it alone or with your brother all the time.”

“You have a small circle of
friends. You don’t let too many people in?”

“That’s true. I can probably count
them on one hand—my brother, Jada, Leo to an extent.”

“I think Jada will be at the house
on Saturday. Jonathan says they’ll come by.”

“So I’ll have company besides you. Big
party—”

“Well look who it is…”

I recognize the voice immediately from
behind me.

“Don’t be fooled by that pretty
face.” Todd says to Morgan. “She’s no angel. Don’t let that white dress fool
you. She’s a shark.”

“Isn’t that a description you
should reserve for yourself?” Morgan calmly responds.

“Who are you? Her new lover?”

“Todd, please leave,” I say,
burying my face in my palms. I’m dying with embarrassment. From where I sit, I
smell alcohol on his breath. And his intrusion draws eyes to our table. I wish we
had left.

“Do yourself a favor and leave,” Morgan
isn’t shouting, but his words are cold.

“Who’s he? The fuck that fights
your battles for you now? Zach’s not around to do that anymore?”

I realize this is only going to get
worse. Two egos with a woman in between is never a good thing.

“Please, stop it,” I say under my
breath, trying to avoid a scene. “Morgan, let’s just get out of here,” I murmur,
rising to my feet.

At the same time, I make eye
contact with a tall forty-something year old man whom I suspect is the manager.
I’m thankful when he intervenes.

“You need to learn some manners,” Morgan
says, emerging from his seat. I am thankful when the manager steps in to speak
to Todd.