Pick Me (12 page)

“Now before you get too excited,” Thea explained, “I didn’t say yes.”

“Apparently, you didn’t say no, either,” Willa pointed out sourly.

True. Not saying yes wasn’t exactly a refusal to Dennis’ proposal.

“Then you’re actually considering it?” Willa asked.

“Of course she’s considering it,” Peach cried as she plucked the ring from its slot and inspected it closely. “Oh, sweetie, it’s perfection. And he went to Geiss! I told you he was a keeper!”

Willa rolled her eyes. Thea let herself be swept up in Peach’s excitement. Why not? A part of her wanted to enjoy this moment—what was so wrong with that? Lord knew she’d been imagining this exact conversation for a long time—albeit without the whole break-up part, but so? Was it so terrible of her to want to savor her sister’s excitement, to indulge maybe a little bit of her own?

Willa stepped in front of Peach, her arms crossed. “How can you say of course she’s considering it? Dennis broke up with her!”

“I know all that,” Peach said impatiently, still inspecting the ring. “But it’s not like there was another woman. He just needed some space to think it over. Big deal! Lots of people take breaks in their relationships.”

“You and Brady didn’t,” Willa pointed out.

“That’s because Brady and I always knew we were meant to be.”

“So you’re saying that Dennis and Thee
aren’t
?”

“Stop twisting my words.” Peach thrust a palm in Willa’s direction. “Don’t listen to her, Thee. All I’m saying is that it takes a strong man with a level head to admit when he’s wrong and do the right thing.”

“Oh, please,” Willa groaned, shoving Peach’s hand away from her face. “The only level head on Dennis Connolly is the one in his pants.”

Thea shoved the ring back into the box and escaped back to the kitchen with it, stashing it in the kitchen utensil drawer, wanting it out of sight as soon as possible. Maybe her sisters’ impromptu visit wasn’t going to be as comforting as she’d initially thought.

A cell chimed with Madonna’s
Material Girl
—Peach’s. She pulled out her phone and cooed, “Hey, sweetie—We were just talking about you! Hold on a minute, will you?—Thee, I’m gonna take this on the deck, okay? Y’all don’t talk about this until I’m back. I don’t want to miss anything—Okay, sweetie, I’m back…”

But as soon as Peach had closed the slider behind her, Willa moved to the kitchen to join Thea. Her eyes pooled with worry. “When did this happen?”

“Today,” Thea admitted. “Honestly, Will, it was all such a blur. I went in to the office for a consult and Dennis showed up, and the next thing I knew we were having lunch at Husk. And I know I should be over-the-moon, but it’s just…”

Willa’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Thea shook her head. “It’s silly.”

“It’s obviously not if you’re wound up about it. Tell me.”

“It’s just that last night Calder and I were talking about life and the choices we’d made and whether or not we’d followed our hearts and…I don’t know. I guess it got me thinking about things.”

“Wait a minute.” Willa searched Thea’s face intently. “There’s something that you’re not telling me. Something else happened, didn’t it? Something other than talking…”

Thea turned away, unable to look her sister in the eye because she knew the minute she did, her secret would be out.

She needn’t have bothered; Willa’s mind-reading skills were as sharp as her fondness for old buildings.

Willa’s eyes rounded. “Oh my God, you slept with Calder last night, didn’t you?”

“Shh!” Thea looked past Willa to the stairs to make sure Peach hadn’t returned. “I didn’t sleep with him,” she whispered harshly. “Not technically speaking, anyway.”

“What the hell does that mean, not technically speaking?” Willa demanded. “Because
technically speaking
, you sure look like a woman who just got busy with a very hot guy—and I’m not talking about lunch with Dennis.”

Thea reached for her wine and gulped it.

Willa leaned closer. “So, are we talking pictures-off-their-hooks, technically-not-sex, hot sex?”

Forget pictures off hooks, Thea thought. They were talking plaster falling off lath, wall board falling off studs—and that was
with
their clothes on!

Thea took a deep breath and slowed her racing thoughts. When was the last time she and Dennis had gotten that crazy with each other? In the beginning of their relationship, sure—but in the years since?

“It’s not that simple, okay, Will? I’ve been with Dennis for three years. Am I just supposed to throw that over a cliff because of a few great nights with some guy I lusted after in high school?”

“Dennis had no problem throwing those three years over a cliff.”

“He sees he’s made a mistake.”

“Oh he does, does he?”

“Yes,” Thea said firmly.

“Well, I think the only person making a mistake here is you if you take that jerk back.”

Exasperated, Thea moved to the window, needing space, but Willa followed.

“Did he even ask Daddy for his permission?”

Thea frowned, considering the question. Surely he hadn’t—otherwise, her mother would have spilled the beans. Lily Bloom Dunn was as good at keeping secrets as she was keeping track of receipts.

The realization was troubling, but not enough to warrant her sister’s obvious outrage. “I’m sure Dennis plans to speak to Daddy at some point,” Thea defended.

“When? Because I’m fairly certain the idea is for him to ask Daddy
before
he asks you.”

“Will, please.” But when Thea turned, her sister’s eyes swam with affection. Thea’s anger melted away.

“He broke your heart, Thee. He doesn’t call you or try to see you for weeks, and now he thinks he can make it all go away with some dumb ring?”

Thea sighed. “I told him I had to think about it.”

Willa lowered her voice as Peach stepped back inside. “Sounds to me like ever since you moved next door to Calder Frye you’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”

Peach clapped her hands together. “So what did I miss?”

Chapter Eleven

“I
hear you took a bad spill at the Lucky Mart, Mrs. Moore.”

Calder swept back the curtain in exam room two to find seventy-eight-year-old retired librarian, Alberta Moore, sitting in a yellow pantsuit with an ice pack pressed to her forehead.

“Really, it wasn’t so bad,” she said, as he gently inspected the bump just below her fringe of white bangs. “I didn’t see that last step, is all. And I wouldn’t have even troubled y’all if I hadn’t seen that episode of East Coast Emergency where the young man hits his head and lies down for a minute and falls into a coma!”

“It’s no trouble, Mrs. Moore. Always better to be safe than sorry, no explanation needed. It’s why we’re here.” Calder tugged a pen light from his pocket and pointed it at her eyes. “Look up for me.”

The older woman blinked against the tiny bulb. “Are all ER doctors this nice and handsome?”

“You know, I hear pediatricians are much better-looking.” Calder snapped off the light and slid it back into his pocket. “You’ll probably have a heck of a lump there for a few days but otherwise, you’re fine.”

“Oh, what a relief,” the older woman said, replacing her ice pack. “There sure are a lot of lovely nurses here. Are you married?”

Calder swept up her paperwork. “Mrs. Moore, are you asking me out?”

“Oh…” The old woman flushed and swatted playfully at the air. “Do you flirt this shamelessly with all your patients, Doctor?”

He helped her down from the table and smiled. “Only the prettiest ones.”

After returning Alberta Moore safely to the check-out desk, Calder moved back to the hallway and pulled out his phone to find a series of missed calls, disappointed not to see any with an eight-four-three area code that could possibly have been from Thea. He’d wanted her badly last night—he still did—and it had taken all his self-control not to slide off those lacy, lavender panties he’d gotten a tortuous peek at and explore deeper. Much, much deeper. When he’d returned home, he’d gone straight for the shower and stayed under the cold stream long enough to please a polar bear, but it hadn’t done much to cool him down. Then this morning, he’d woken up as turned on as he’d gone to sleep. Just the memory, and he felt the crotch of his scrubs start to tighten.

Keep your mind on work, man.

He moved into one of the free exam rooms for some privacy and called in to his voicemail, deciding that catching up on messages would be a perfect distraction, but the beep of an incoming call sounded before he could connect. He only hoped it wasn’t Pete or Marie with more bad news from the farm. Despite his sexy adventure with Thea, the earlier part of their night had been far from relaxing. Calder wasn’t sure he was ready to hear from his older brother so soon after their argument.

When he switched over and saw the caller’s number on the screen, he didn’t recognize it, or the area code. Four-one-five? Where was that?

He took a seat on the swivel stool and said, “This is Dr. Frye.”

A man’s voice responded. “Good afternoon, Doctor. My name is Doug Collins from Warner Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. I’m head of Emergency Medicine here. I got your name from a colleague of mine, Mark Williams, who worked with you through Doctors Without Borders. Is this a good time to talk?”

“It’s fine,” Calder said, wheeling his chair close enough to the door to shut it. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, it’s really what you could do for
us
. We’re looking to expand our unit here and your name was brought up to the board. There’d be a formal application process, of course, flying you out here for an interview and having you meet with our staff and the board.”

Warner Memorial? Calder remembered Mark Williams well, remembered how fondly he spoke of the hospital—not that Calder had been surprised. He knew Warner’s reputation, their commitment to research and public health. A position there would be a feather in his cap, to say the least. Not to mention he’d always wanted to live in San Francisco.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Collins said. “But when someone comes as highly recommended as you do, it behooves a growing hospital like ours to reach out as soon as possible. Give it some thought. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me anytime. Day or night. I’m usually up.”

Calder chuckled. “Aren’t we all in this business?”

A knock sounded. Andrea poked her head in and mouthed that he had a new patient. Calder nodded and ended the call with a promise that he’d be in touch soon.

Over the next hour, he saw three high fevers, a sprained ankle, and a burn, and through them all, his mind spun like a top.

The past twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind of the unexpected. First his date with Thea that had turned into one of the hottest experiences he’d had in a kitchen—or anywhere, for that matter—in a long time, and now this incredible opportunity from Warner Memorial. It was an amazing offer, one a doctor could wait his whole life for and never get, but the timing was far from ideal. After his father’s recent outburst, and Marie’s confession that there had been others, Calder couldn’t up and leave now, could he?

And, of course, he had other interests here.

Like Thea Dunn.

Not that he would consider turning down a job offer from one of the country’s top hospitals after a few dates, of course not. But he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that his time with her had left him wanting more, and that was a longing he wasn’t used to in his life of hit-and-run relationships.

Collins was right: It was a lot to take in.

* * *

As much as she hoped she’d wake with a fresh perspective, all the morning sun brought Thea when it poured through her tilted blinds was more confusion.

Willa’s points the night before seemed to echo in her thoughts as much as Dennis’ promises. She’d picked up her phone to find a Good Morning text from him and made herself a pot of coffee before sending one back, reminding herself that she needed time and that there was nothing wrong with that.

At the sink, filling the carafe, she glanced across the driveway to Calder’s condo, remembering that he wasn’t due back from his shift until later today, and remembering too that they were supposed to have dinner again, and pick up where they’d left off.

Did she have to tell Calder about the ring? Was it wrong of her to keep it a secret a little longer and allow their date to still happen? After all, she hadn’t said yes to Dennis—and what right did he have to expect that after three months of distance, she was just supposed to turn off the life and the plans she’d made in his absence just because he’d proposed?

Besides—seeing Calder might be the only way for her to be certain of her decision. Whatever that decision might be.

She pulled a Post-It off the blank stack by her computer and decided there was only one way to find out.

My place at 7?

She considered the brief message a moment after she’d written it, deciding it was perfect. Short, simple, and entirely innocent.