Hotshot Doc(23)

“Oh.” I slide off my stool. “Well…if you’re left hanging, you’re welcome to join me and my friends.”

He smiles. “Thanks, but I’ll probably call it soon. I have an early flight tomorrow.”

NO. That means he’s leaving the city. My chances of ever seeing him again are decreasing by the second.

“But if you give me your number, maybe I could call you sometime?”

MAYBE HE COULD CALL ME SOMETIME?

I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so wide. My cheeks are liable to split right down the middle. My face betrays every ounce of my excitement, which means Cooper sees it too. Maybe my excitement is infectious because soon enough, we’re two smiling fiends.

He tugs out his cell phone, I type in my number, and just like that, I have the possibility of love on the horizon.

Josie is going to pee her pants.





Chapter 10





MATT



“Ah, there he is, the man of the hour.”

My pen stills and I pinch my eyes closed.

Cooper.

Shit. I completely forgot I was supposed to have drinks with him tonight.

I look up and my little brother is standing at the doorway of my office with his arms crossed. He looks pissed, which is a rare expression for him. His factory setting is easygoing nice guy. His feathers don’t get ruffled very often, but then, if I’d been stood up by my asshole brother, I’d be pissed too.

I glance at the clock and cringe. An hour. I made him sit there for an hour. I push away from my desk and stand.

“There’s no excuse. I’m sorry. C’mon, we can still go. I’ll finish this later.”

He shakes his head and cuts me off before I can reach for my coat. “Don’t bother. I already had two beers while I was waiting. If I have another, I’ll feel like shit in the morning.”

He walks to my leather couch and pushes a mess of hardware out of the way, clearing a spot so he can sit down. I would snap at anyone else for moving my shit, but not Cooper.

“Paperwork keep you?” he asks.

I roll my desk chair over toward him, take a seat, and lean back. “Always.”

“Must have been a busy day if you’re still in your scrubs.”

He’s right. Usually, I change after surgery.

I rub the nape of my neck, massaging the tired muscles. “The day got away from me. It was hectic to say the least.”

He holds up his hand. “Spare me the details.”

I get it. Cooper’s in this world too, just in a different realm. He works in sales for Hasting Biosciences, the largest medical devices company in the country. We were both jocks in high school, stars on the baseball team, but he amplified his popularity and I ran from mine, more comfortable concentrating on my grades while he ruled the lunchroom. That outgoing personality has paid off for him; he’s the leading salesman in the northeast region.

“You missed a good opportunity to hang out and bond with your dear brother,” he says, pushing to stand and passing me by to head to my desk. “I leave tomorrow for Cincinnati. I’ll be gone for a while.”

He opens my topmost desk drawer and roots around until he finds what he’s looking for: a small toy basketball.

“What’s in Cincinnati?”

“A prospective doctor.”

“Big fish?”

He walks back around the desk and inspects the floor until he finds the small X made out of duct tape. I’ve had to redo it a few times, but it’s more or less in the same spot it was when we placed it there a few years back.

“Biggest fish I’ve ever seen.”

He lines up his shot, aims the ball at the hoop hanging on the back of my door, shoots, and misses by a hair.

I hiss and stand to retrieve the ball. “Will you be back in time for Molly’s wedding?”

“When is that again?”

“Mid-November, I think.”

It’s my turn now, so I head back to the X, aim, and sink the ball into the net.

“Pfft.” He shakes his head. “Luck, nothing else.”

I smirk and hold the ball out to him. It’s the least I can do after standing him up for a drink. “You better fly back for it. Aunts, uncles, cousins—everyone’ll be there. I won’t last without you. Besides, they like you better anyway. They only ever tolerate me.”

“Aw c’mon, you’re going to make me blush.” He swats the ball out of my hand, shoots, and scores. “Oh hey, I forgot to ask—did you submit that grant proposal you’ve been working on?”

I laugh. “Yeah, like six months ago.”

“When do you hear back?”

“Before the holidays.”

My heart races thinking about it…the possibilities, the lives it would affect.

His brow arches with interest. “Think you’ll be able to give up this cushy life if the committee picks you?”

“I’ll manage,” I reply sarcastically.

We continue like that for a little while, taking the toy basketball game more seriously than we should, but we get like that with each other. I’m concentrating so hard on landing the perfect shot that I don’t really pay attention as he starts describing the girl he just picked up at the bar across the street.