Page 117 of Hat Trick
“I care about a lot of people.”
“You really care about her.”
“I guess I do.” I drum my fingers on my thigh. Lexi and I got together last week, a quick meetup at my place on her way home from a Pilates class. She was sweaty. I was horny. And I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of this friends with benefits thing. “She’s done a lot for me. Everyone has.”
“How are you really doing, Riley?” he presses, but nothing about it feels forceful.
“I’m…” I trail off and blink back tears. I pull off my glasses and hurry to wipe my eyes, but Dr. Ledlow doesn’t say anything. “I’m okay. I’m closer to good than not, and that’s lightyears better than where I was before. A work in fucking progress, I’d say, but also someone who knows they have a bigger role here and is no longer in a hurry to leave.” I pause to swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you for asking.”
“We’ll stop there for today. You’ve made some big steps over the last six months, and I’m really proud of you.”
“Thank you for being patient with me,” I mumble. “I know I haven’t been easy to work with.”
“I’m always going to be patient with you, Riley. Not because it’s my job, but because it’s the right thing to do as a human being.”
“You’re way too good at this, Doc. Your ability to analyze me even when I don’t think I’m being analyzed is scary.”
“All in a day’s work,” he says.
I stand and hold out my hand, smiling when he clasps it. “I’ll see you next month?”
“You have my number if you need me before then.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate your time.”
“My pleasure.” He shakes my palm. “And Riley? If something makes you happy, I think you should go for it.”
“Wouldyougo for it knowing there was no shot at something coming out of it?”
“Your doctors said you shouldn’t have survived, but here you are. Aren’t you glad they went for it even though the odds were stacked against them?”
“Bastard.” I tip my head back and look up at the ceiling. “We’ll see.”
“Can’t wait for an update. Be well, Riley.”
I wave and take the elevator down to the ground floor, his words ringing in my ears in the backseat of an Uber all the way to Hudson’s place.
* * *
“Order, order!”Maverick yells. He knocks a rubber mallet on the living room coffee table. “Can everyone please shut the fuck up so book club can commence?”
“I’ve been waiting for this one.” Grant rubs his hands together and grins. “A dark romance where she falls in love with the stalker but only after she makes him crawl on his knees and beg for forgiveness? It’s like the author wrote this shit just for me.”
“I’m sure she had you in mind the whole time.” Hudson offers me a beer, and I shake my head. “I thought this one was just okay.”
“Okay?Okay?He buys her whatever she wants. He threatens the guy at the bar who harasses her. He’s a nice dude who makes sure she’s safe when she rides on the back of his motorcycle?—”
“There were motorcycles in there?” Ethan asks, looking up.
“Did you even read the book?” I ask.
“Nah. I got busy.” He smirks and flips through the pages of the paperback. “I’m a popular guy, Mitchy.”
“I did not need to know that.”
“If I have to see pictures of the jewelry on his dick, you all get to know how popular he is,” Grant says. “Imagine being in line at the grocery store and Ethan’s penis pops up on your phone.”
“I just gagged.” Liam scrunches up his nose and takes a sip of his water. “Please refrain from any further conversation on phallic tendencies. It’s cold as shit outside, and Piper has the car tonight. I don’t want to walk home, but I will.”
