“Yes, I suppose. A new client.”
“Animal or human?”
“Technically, humansareanimals.”
She smirks at me. “You know what I mean.”
I sigh. “Human.”
“And male, I’m guessing.”
“What makes you say that?”
She snickers. “You sighed.”
“So?”
She leans forward, dips her chin, and looks up at me for emphasis. “I mean,siiiighed.”
“I did not,” I say this through a mouth full of fettuccine. A girl’s gotta eat, you know.
“Yes, you did. Now tell me.” She shovels in a bite and then covers her mouth as she speaks—something I did not do. “Who is this new patient of yours?”
“Graham’s best friend, Nick.”
She nearly snorts pasta and cheese out of her nose, which throws her into a coughing fit. Then she gulps down almost as much wine as I did, sets her half-empty plate on the coffee table, and scoots down to my end of the couch. “TheNick?”
I nod, regretting I ever told her about the crush I had on him when I was eighteen. She and I were hanging out on the beach one day, and I thought it would be interesting to point Nick out and spill the details of my youthful infatuation. “The one and only.”
“Oh, man. I remember all the news about the accident. That guy is as hot as they come.”
Now, it’s my turn to shoot something from my nose. Thankfully, wine is less chunky. “Yes, he is. Even with an injured shoulder.”
“How did he wind up your patient?”
“How do you think?”
“Graham?”
“Yep. And the one who would go ballistic if anything ever happened between Nick and I.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, Graham has made it clear repeatedly that Nick is not marriage material.”
Her face turns red with her frown. “Is your brother archaic or something?”
I giggle. “Something.”
Madi shifts and leans back onto the sofa, a somewhat dreamy look eclipsing her features. “So what’s it like toworkon him?”
In this instance, I’m so glad she’s not looking at me because I’m losing the battle to not match her love-sick expression with one of my own. “He’s a patient. That’s all.”
She clears her throat and stutters for a moment. “Sorry. Let me rephrase. How’s it going? Are you still attracted to him?”
Now, it’s my turn to raise my brows.
“Right. Stupid question. Are you going to be able to handle this?”
