“Ten more minutes!”
“No, now!” I call, clenching my jaw. “Maddie has a date and I have to get some work done.”
“Roman, it’s not—”
“You better go get ready,” I cut her off. “I’m sure you’re even more behind schedule now that we made you get into the pool. Have a good time. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Maddie narrows her eyes at me, her confusion quickly turning to anger. “You know, you can’t…”
“Bye Maddie!” Ty climbs out of the pool before she can finish.
She swallows whatever she was about to say to me and turns to him. “Bye buddy. I’ll see you later.”
I turn in frustration, heading for the house, before I can make an even bigger ass of myself.
Chapter Twelve
“So,kindoflikea private doctor?” Jake glances up at me as he scans the menu. We’ve been to this restaurant at least a dozen times during his visits, and it hasn’t changed, but he always pretends he might try something else.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I chew the inside of my cheek, staring at the ice melting in my margarita. It sounded good at first, but adding tequila to my already raging emotions isn’t the best idea.
No one in the world has ever gotten to me the way Roman does. Never made me angrier. Never frustrated me more. Never turned me on quite like he does. And aside from a few incidental touches and pointed looks, we haven’t done a damn thing.
I wanted to avoid the topic of him entirely tonight, but I should have known that Jake would want the rundown of my new job. I left out the finer details, because my brother is about the last person I want to know that I’m working for—and am insanely attracted to—a vicious mobster.
It’s about as out of character as I could get, and honestly, he might try to have me committed if he knew the truth.
“Hmm.” He presses his lips together, setting the menu down. “I think I’ll get the salmon this time.”
Like always.
Predictability must be a family trait. Me, Jake, and even our brother, Lucas, are all exactly the same in that department.
None of us went through any bout of teenage rebellion, but that was probably because we never had the time to. Growing up in the shadows of my father, one of the most notable trauma surgeons in the entire world, and then two equally talented and driven brothers, was anything but easy.
I idolized my dad as a child and wanted to be exactly like him. Unlike other girls, I preferred a white coat and scalpel to princess dresses and fairy wands, wanting to be a trauma surgeon just like him. His dream was my dream.
My brothers and I were constantly competing over who had the highest grades, the most scholarly awards, the best offers from colleges and med schools. It always felt like a race, and like I was born already behind. Medicine is fairly male dominated already, but trauma surgery is its own beast. I could probably count the number of notable female trauma surgeons on one hand, so the odds have always been stacked against me.
Even as kids, my brothers got more opportunities than I did. They got to go to work with my dad, observe surgery, and meet the doctors. I was always “too young” or the injury was “too gruesome” for me to see. And in college, it was even worse. Because my dad was a John Hopkins alumni, my brothers inherited two legacy spots there. I had to fight for a spot with thousands of other hopefuls, and work ten times harder for the same things that my brothers were handed.
Somewhere along the line, it stopped being about a dream for me, and more about proving myself to my family and anyone else who doubted me.
The server comes and Jake and I order, and we suffer through a little small talk. Usually, I love when he comes to visit, but my mind is consumed with Roman tonight.
His reaction when I told him I had plans threw me off. He’s been leading me on for days without making any kind of move, and the moment he thinks I’m seeing another guy, jealousy consumes him.
Even if this was a date, he has no right to react like that. Nothing turns me off faster than the half in, half out thing that Roman and I have been doing. It’s stupid and childish, and one of us needs to put an end to it. One way or another.
I probably enjoyed his reaction more than I should have. Having the upper hand for a change is nice, especially when it makes Roman as uncomfortable as he usually makes others. Not to mention the look of simmering jealousy in his eyes sent a shockwave through my core. He’s strung me along like a damn yo-yo the last few weeks, and I’m clinging to the slightest bit of confirmation that he feels the same way I do.
“So, how many patients do you see a day there? Can’t be many if it’s just for this man’s staff.”
“It’s not,” I agree. “I’ve really only seen two patients in the few weeks I’ve been working for him. But it’s good money, and I’m so busy at the hospital that it’s nice to have a quiet, boring job to bring in some extra income.”
Quiet and boring is almost laughable in regards to what I’m doing.
Jake gives me a funny look and shrugs. “Suit yourself. You know you could come home to St. Louis and have your pick of departments…”
