Hitched (Hitched #1)(25)

My phone beeps, distracting me from my thoughts. I pull it out of my pocket and check it, then smile and reply. Sebastian waits patiently until I'm done. "Anyone I should be jealous of?" he asks, teasing.

"Nope, just my brother. We have a date to jog this morning, so I have to get going. Are you working today?" I stand, finishing off my coffee and setting in on the table between us.

"I'm checking on some patients later. But I'd like to see you tonight. I have an idea to aid in us getting to know each other better. To put your mind at ease. I'll text you later with instructions."

I lift an eyebrow. "Instructions?"

He grins, then kisses me. "Trust me, you'll enjoy it."

He leaves to get dressed and drive me home, and I wander his house while I wait, my mind cataloging each of his belongings and wondering how many Celene picked out. The thoughts do not make me happy.

On the drive home, I ask him about his music. "Where did you learn to play the piano?"

"My parents insisted on piano lessons once I was old enough to reach the keys. I resisted for a long time, but then fell in love with music and drove them nuts, practicing day and night. At one point, I actually considered Julliard over medical school, but I knew I couldn't give up my dream of savings lives. "

It's not the answer I expected, and my heart softens even more to this amazing man next to me. Spending time with him so far has not helped in my plan to get sick of him, I realize. It's still early, though. Surely he has more faults that will eventually tip the scale and make it easier to let go.

But as I look at him, at his strong profile and his talented hands, as I reflect on the kind of person I've seen him to be thus far, my confidence waivers, and I worry I've gotten myself into something I may not be able to get out of without breaking both of our hearts.





Chapter 17


Running


"It's f*cking hot," I say as Tate and I take another hill, our feet pounding the pavement in a familiar rhythm.

"If someone had come home last night, we could have gone running earlier, when it was cooler," he teases, nudging me in the shoulder.

Running isn't my favorite thing in the world to do, but it keeps me in shape when I can't get to a pool to do laps. Thinking of pools draws my thoughts back to last night, to Sebastian and his cock and f*cking him in the cool water and the feel of his hands.

Now I'm even hotter. Great.

"Looks like you and lover-boy are getting serious," Tate says, probing for more.

"I told you, it's just a summer thing. I'm still filing the annulment papers first thing Monday morning."

He snickers. "I'm sure that's true, at least the filing part. The 'just a summer thing' part? Not so much. I've never seen you like this, sis. It's not just a fling."

The light ahead of us turns red, and we stop. I bend over, breathing hard, and take a swig of my water. Sweat is dripping down my face, stinging my eyes. I wipe it away and stretch, thinking about Tate's words. "You know I'm not going to get serious with him. And you know why. Now can we please change the subject?"

He rolls his eyes but doesn't push. "Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

I'm about to bring up our schedule for the next few weeks when he stops me with a look. "Except work. Anything but work."

We start running again. "Okay, what's going on with you and the girl from the bar. What was her name?"

"Stephanie," he says. "I'm not seeing her anymore. It didn't work out."

This time I snicker. "Let me guess. It didn't work out because you slipped, and your dick fell into someone else's vagina?"

He clasps a hand over his heart dramatically. "You wound me, sister, to think so little of me."

"So you didn't f*ck someone else?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that. But I broke up with Stephanie before the actual penetration occurred. I'm not a total sleaze."

"Right. Bummer really, she seemed… nice."

He laughs. "Are you judging her by her choice of men or her attire, since you never actually spoke to her."

"I could go Mom on you and ask when you're going to settle down with a nice girl and have babies."

He swats at me, then runs ahead to avoid payback. "Hey, I could throw that right back at ya. Speaking of, Mom called last night while you were with Romeo. She wanted to talk to both of us together."

That's news. She hasn't called in a while. "What did you tell her?"

"That you were out f*cking your new husband and wouldn't be home all night."

I nearly choke on another sip of water. "You didn't."

"No, I didn't. I told her you were out with Vi, and I wasn't sure when you'd be home."

"You'd better not tell them shit about this mess I'm in. They would freak."

A car swerves onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting us. I jump to the side and narrowly avoid the bumper. "Watch where you're going, asswipe."

"With such a ladylike demeanor, I'm honestly shocked you don't have more suitors," Tate teases, but I punch him, my heart still thumping in my chest from the near-collision.

"What did mom want?" I ask when I'm recovered enough to keep running. We're on the route back to our house, and my legs and ribs are burning, my lungs are dying, and I need a bath and a cold drink. God, I hate running sometimes.