Turning Point(67)

    Gabriel spoke to her in an undervoice as they left the steps.

“Stay with me tonight,” he said urgently. “I need you.”

“I need you too, but I can’t. He senses something. This is going to turn into a mess if we’re not careful. I can’t tonight.” He stared at her intensely, then stormed out of the building, but she couldn’t do anything about it. At least he hadn’t made a scene with Andy, and a few minutes later, Paul told them all that Gabriel had gone back to the hotel with a headache. And for once, he didn’t text her. She went to find Andy then, and tried to include him in the group, but he had found someone he knew and was talking to him. Stephanie was more relaxed with only one of her men in the room, although she wished it could have been Gabriel and not Andy.

“Well, that was interesting,” Bill said to Wendy. “For a minute there, I thought Gabriel was going to hit him, or maybe the other way around. I wouldn’t have the nerves to be sleeping with someone else’s wife, or want to. I’d be on Xanax all day long.” She laughed. “That was intense.”

“Yes, it was,” she agreed.

“I like your dress by the way.” It was short and tight, but not vulgar and she had the figure to wear it.

    “I bought it for tonight.”

“Lucky mayor,” he said and she laughed.

“How are your girls?”

“They ask about you all the time. They want to go back to Euro Disney. So do I. That was fun. You were a good sport.”

“I loved it,” she said sincerely.

They all stayed for another hour, and the group wanted to go to dinner at a restaurant nearby. Andy said he was going home.

“I’ll come with you,” Stephanie said.

“Don’t you want to go to dinner with your friends?” He seemed surprised.

“They’ll be fine. I want to go home with you.” She felt that she owed him something for coming. She didn’t want to just dismiss him, even if she hadn’t wanted him there. He had done it for her.

They left a few minutes later and drove home without saying a word. The boys were already asleep, and they let their housekeeper go home. Then he took off his coat, laid it on the couch, and looked at her.

“Did you have something going on with the guy I met, the one who shook my hand? I think his name was Gabriel something.” He looked her squarely in the eye and she shook her head.

“No, I didn’t,” she lied to him. “We’re all good friends.” He nodded and didn’t question her further. She didn’t think he believed her, but he had the decency not to press the point.

“I thought he was going to take a swing at me for a minute,” Andy added, as he watched her face. “There’s only one reason a guy like him does that. It’s a turf issue, between two men who both want the same woman. Maybe he’s in love with you.” Andy headed toward the stairs. “You looked very pretty tonight. I liked your dress.” But he didn’t approach her or tell her he loved her. He wasn’t even sure if he did anymore, and he was sure she didn’t love him. It was over. Their marriage was dead. And they’d have to bury it one of these days. He wondered if the French guy knew it, or sensed it, and was staking a claim. It felt like it to Andy.





Chapter Seventeen


After the dignity of the mayor’s reception at City Hall, and the tension of Andy and Gabriel’s meeting, their tour of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was easy and anticlimactic. Tom sang the hospital’s praises, telling about their exceptionally good track record with cardiac surgery, neonatal intensive care, and obstetrics, and their outstanding emergency room facilities. He loved working there and they all noticed that nearly everyone in the hospital seemed to know him and said hello. Tom introduced the team, and the local staff were interested in what they were doing. The atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming and easygoing, and they could see why he loved it. And the emergency room was one of the best in the city. Valérie was proud of him as he showed them around.

They had lunch in the cafeteria because he said the food was so good, and everyone greeted him again. He took them to the doctors’ lounge and all the little nooks and crannies where he hung out. They felt as though he was welcoming them into his home. Whereas San Francisco General was a stern, imposing place, dealing with some of the city’s most acute trauma cases, which was the challenge Bill loved, and Stephanie was proud of the extraordinary new facility where she worked, Tom was proud of the medicine they practiced at Alta Bates, providing outstanding care in a warm atmosphere that allowed him to be himself and have a strong rapport with patients and staff. In each case, the place where they practiced medicine suited them perfectly. They had each chosen the right venue for their talents.

    Their tour of Stanford University Medical Center with Wendy on Friday was outstanding. They had an immensely impressive pediatric and adult trauma and critical care program. Their trauma center had been one of the best in the city for thirty years. And while Wendy was one of the most modest physicians in the group, her credentials, academic training, and history at Stanford shone the minute she walked into the building and started showing them around. Once she was in her own environment, they could see what a star she was. The administrator who joined them said she was one of the most valued physicians on the trauma team, and likely to be head of the department at some point. She looked embarrassed when he said it, but her extensive knowledge was obvious. They all listened to her raptly as she described what they did there, and the trauma services they provided as a matter of course. She was frequently a guest lecturer at the medical school, which she hadn’t mentioned before. She was a very discreet person, and they all thanked her warmly after the tour.