Burn Out (23 page)

Evan covered his
face with his hands and tipped his head back. Continuing the charade with his
best friend was pointless, so he said, “I told Erika we made this switch last
minute because the director was embellizin’ money and I couldn’t trust the
organization anymore.”

“That wasn’t
true?” Dom asked, bracing his hands on his knees as he leaned forward.

“Yes and no,” Evan
said, feeling like a kid caught cheating on a math test. “The guy did embezzle
money, but they fired him, so he was no longer a threat.” He winced when Dom
shook his head in disgust.

“There’s more to the
story, isn’t there?”

“I trusted the
organization enough to donate a quarter of a mil of my own money to make up for
pullin’ the plug on the benefit.”

Dominic appeared
stunned. “Are you tellin’ me you dropped that kind of coin just to get closer
to Erika?”

“Man, can you
blame me? You know I’ve been goin’ through hell without her this past year.”

Dom laughed. “I
don’t know about that. I thought things were heatin’ up between you and that
sexy little party planner. What’s her name again?” he asked, snapping his
fingers.

Evan shot a
scathing look in his direction, hoping he would see it as a warning. “Courtney.
And you know nothin’ was goin’ on between us.”

“You were sleepin’
with her, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but…”

“I’d say that’s
somethin’.”

“Shut the hell
up,” Evan said, tossing a pencil at him. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. I just
wanna know that you’re gonna keep all this shit to yourself. I can’t afford to
have Erika start doubtin’ me now, not when we’re finally startin’ to
reconnect.”

Dom looked at him
a long time. “Is this really how you want it to go down, Ev?”

Evan reached for
his take-out cup of coffee, taking a sip as he considered his response. “I’m
doin’ what I have to do.”

“Man, you can’t
rebuild a solid relationship on lies. It’s like tryin’ to construct a building
on a crumbling foundation. It just doesn’t work.”

Evan rolled his
eyes. Leave it to his friend, the structural engineer, to compare his love life
to a pile of bricks and mortar. “What would you suggest I do?”

“Tell her the
truth. About everything.” He pointed at Evan. “And don’t think you’re foolin’
anyone with this whole backwoods thing you’ve got goin’ on.”

Evan couldn’t help
but smile at that. “What the hell are you talkin’ about now?”

“You’re city,
Erika’s country. Ryan showed me the listing for that house you bought. That’s
Erika’s dream home, not yours.” Dom laughed at him. “Man, you even went so far
as to adopt a dog. Aren’t you layin’ it on a little thick?”

Evan scowled when
Dom continued laughing. “It so happens I like livin’ there and I like the damn
dog.”

“You’re tellin’ me
you didn’t do all that to impress Erika?”

Evan lifted a
shoulder. “It may have had somethin’ to do with her, but…”

“But nothin’,” Dom
said, getting to his feet. “It was all about her and we both know it.” He
pointed a thumb at his chest. “This is me you’re talkin’ to, Ev. You can lie to
yourself, but you can’t lie to me.”

“I’m not-”

“Yeah, you are,”
Dom said, suddenly looking serious. “And that’s what worries me. Lena and I
watched you and Erika put each other through hell for too long. You were both
miserable, man. I don’t wanna see either one of you go down that road again.”

“We’re not,” Evan
said, trying to ignore the twinge in his gut. “We’re in a better place now.”

“Really?” Dom
asked, raising an eyebrow. “From what I can tell, you’re worse off than ever.
At least before you were bein’ honest with her and yourself. Now you’re just
tryin’ to turn yourself inside out to be the guy you think she needs you to be.
Problem is, when she finds out you’re not that guy, she’s gonna hate you.”

Evan sat there,
speechless, as he watched his friend close the door behind him. Was Dom right? Was
he at risk of losing Erika’s
love and respect?

***

Erika stepped in
to one of the exam rooms later that day, pleasantly surprised to find Brianna
and Coco waiting to see her. “Hey, I didn’t know you guys were coming in
today,” she said, bending to scratch under the cat’s chin.

“It’s just a
check-up. I was going to mention it to you last night, but you and Evan took
off in such a hurry.” Brianna smiled. “You wanna tell me what that was about?
As if I didn’t know.”

Trying to keep her
attention fixed on the purring cat, Erika said, “We, uh, had some things to
discuss.”

“I’ll just bet you
did,” Brianna said, grinning.

Erika stepped
back, propping her hip against the exam table. “Enough about me. What about you
and Ryan? Have you two set a date yet, or what?”

“No, we’re already
living together, so I see no reason to rush it.”

“I bet your fiancé
would disagree. That man is crazy about you,” Erika said, sticking her hand
into the pocket of her white lab coat.

“I’m not the only
one who has a gorgeous man head over heels in love.” Brianna giggled. “When
Evan walked in and saw you dancing with Jeff, I thought he was gonna start
tearing the place up.”

“He does have a
possessive streak, that’s for sure,” Erika said, trying to keep a straight
face.

“So does Ryan.”
Brianna wrinkled her nose. “It should piss us off.”

“Definitely,”
Erika said, nodding in agreement.

“So why doesn’t
it?”

The two women
shared a meaningful look and started laughing.

“Yeah, it is kind
of hot when that dominant streak carries over into the bedroom, isn’t it?”
Brianna asked through her laughter.

“Enough!” Erika
said, fanning her face as she tried to slip her professional mask firmly back
in place. “We can talk sex later. Right now, I need to see how this little guy
is doing.” She patted the stainless steel table. “Up here, Coco.”

Brianna set the
cat down and watched Erika perform the routine examination. “You and Evan are
in a good place now though, right?”

She couldn’t blame
her friend for being concerned. Erika had been a wreck when she’d finally moved
out of Evan’s apartment, and from what she’d heard from Lena and Dom, not to
mention Evan himself, their break-up had been as hard on him. Naturally their
friends wouldn’t want to see them make the same mistakes.

“I think so,” she
said hesitantly. “We’re still just trying to figure things out. I mean, we’ve
been spending a lot of time together and it feels good, but I don’t know if
that’s just because it’s new again.”

“Are you worried
he might revert to the same guy you left?” Brianna asked, biting her lip.

“It’s crossed my
mind.”

Erika finished her
examination and input the information into the computer before slipping the
stethoscope around her neck and turning to face Brianna. “I love him, Bri. I
want to be with him, but not if it means I’m going to start feeling the way I
did toward the end of our relationship. I never want to feel that way again.”

Brianna sat down
in the vinyl guest chair, cradling her cat in her arms. “Have you talked to him
about your concerns?”

“Yes, and he
assures me that he made all of these changes because he was tired of working
all the time. He said he’s ready to move on to the next phase of his life… with
me.” A look of skepticism passed Brianna’s face, making Erika feel uneasy. “You
don’t believe him?”

“I don’t know what
to believe,” Brianna said, settling Coco back into his carrier. “I know he
would do anything for you, and being apart from you was torture for him, but…”

“But what?” Erika
asked, leaning over the table. “Please, whatever’s on your mind, I just need
you to say it, Bri. This is my life we’re talking about here. I don’t want to
get hurt again and I don’t want to hurt him. If you have some insight that
could help me make the right decision, I need you to share it.”

Brianna hesitated,
as though she was wavering between her loyalty to two people she considered
close friends. “If he could change for anyone, I know he’d make the effort for
you.”

Erika’s heart sank
as Brianna confirmed her fears. “He can’t do this for me. This lifestyle change
has to be what he wants or it’s never going to work.”

“I know,” Brianna
said, lifting her head to meet her eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Evan could see
Erika was under a lot of stress by the tense set of her shoulders as he watched
her finish up with her last patient. He sat back in the guest chair in her
lobby, watching her instruct the pet owner on how to administer medication to
his Akita. Evan pretended to read a pet care magazine to pass the time until he
could corner her for the kiss he’d craved all day.

“Um, listen,
Erika,” the man said, leaning an elbow on the counter.

Evan set the magazine
down on the chair beside him. As far as he knew, most of her patients called
her Dr. Carlton, not Erika.

“I was wondering
if you’d like to go out for dinner this weekend? I mean, I had a great time at
the game last month…” He shrugged. “And I just thought you might like to go out
again?”

Evan glared at the
back of the man’s head, holding his breath as he waited for her to respond.
They’d never defined their relationship or talked about seeing other people, so
he had no idea whether she would agree to go out with someone else or not. One
thing was for sure, if she did show an interest in someone else, he would have
to find a way to put a stop to it.

“Thanks,” she
said. “But I have plans this weekend.”

He glanced at a
glossy flyer advertising the benefit that weekend. “Ah, this is where you’ll
be, huh? We could make it Friday or Sunday, if Saturday doesn’t work for you.
Or even better, I could take you to the benefit; that is, if you don’t have a
date?”

Evan had to give
the guy credit for persistence, not that he could blame him. Women like Erika
rarely came along twice in a lifetime. He was a fool for not putting a ring on
her finger when he had the chance. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about losers
like this guy coming on to her every day.

Erika darted a
quick look over the man’s shoulder and her eyes landed on Evan. “Actually,
Glen, I’m kind of seeing someone.”

Kind of seeing
someone?
Is that how she
defined their relationship? Evan raised an eyebrow when her gaze landed on him
again. A faint blush stole over her cheeks and he couldn’t help but smile. She
was obviously uncomfortable, having to ward off another man’s advances in front
of him. He would make it easy for her by telling her where he felt they stood.

“Oh, is it Jeff?”
Glen glanced down the hallway toward the offices and exam rooms. “’Cause I
heard he wasn’t working here anymore.”

“He isn’t. It’s
not Jeff.”

Deciding to put
her out of her misery, Evan stood up and walked towards them. “It’s me.”

The man perused
Evan from the tips of his custom-made shoes to his Armani suit. “I get it now.”

“Good,” Evan said,
putting his hands in his pockets as he rolled back on his heels. “Glad I could
clarify the situation.”

“Evan,” Erika said
between clenched teeth as she tried to maintain a smile for her client’s
benefit. “Why don’t you head on over and get the dogs while I finish up here?”

He smiled. “You
want me to get Chloe, too? We can drop them off at your place before we head
over to my parents’ house. It’s the old man’s birthday and my mom’s havin’ a
little get together. Just family and a few close friends. Naturally they want
you there.”

She looked at him
as though he’d lost his mind. “You’re just telling me about this now? I don’t
even have a gift for your father.” She pulled her pink scrubs away from her
body. “I was in surgery today. I need a shower, a change of clothes…”

“No worries,” he
said, ignoring the man watching their exchange with interest. “We’ll pass by
your place on the way.” He bent to kiss her cheek, knowing she would lecture
him about the gesture later. “Let me get the dogs while you…” He gave her
client a cursory glance. “Finish up here.”

“Fine,” she said,
glaring up at him.

***

Evan pulled into
his parents’ driveway two hours later, feeling frustrated and confused. He
didn’t know what happened to the woman who had kissed him good-bye that
morning, but he wanted her back in place of the quiet, pensive female occupying
the seat beside him.

Cutting the
engine, he turned to face her. “Okay, what’s goin’ on with you?”

She folded her
arms, scowling as she looked out the passenger’s window of his Jaguar. “You
were rude to Glen.”

“So?” He tried to
keep a straight face when she glared at him. “Gimme a break, baby. The guy was
comin’ on to you right in front of me. What did you expect me to do?”