I liked normal.
“I’ve been thinking about what we’ll do after,” he said, gazing forward.
“After? I hardly know what that looks like. It feels like we’ve been running around forever.”
He squeezed my hands. “There’s always an after.”
“You’re training me. That’s all I need to know.”
“Beyond that, even.” He looked down, head tilted. “I’ve always wanted to start a private practice. What do you think? It could be fun.”
“Fun?” I laughed a little. “A lot of work, more like.”
“I don’t know. I found that list of clients pretty easily, and I think they’d all come work with me, assuming they’re still around when we make the move.”
I stopped walking and he turned to face me. “We?” I asked.
“I thought you’d like to be a part of it.”
“Come on. I’m still a resident.”
“You won’t be forever.” He touched my cheek, lips parting. “There’s always an after.”
I stepped forward and let him kiss me. His lips were sweet, plump, delicious. He stayed there as his hands lingered on my skin, slowly moved down to my hips, and wrapped around my waist.
“If you’re asking, then the answer’s yes,” I whispered when we broke apart.
“I wasn’t really asking,” he said. “More like informing.”
I grinned and put my hands flat on his chest. “You’ll have to stop being such a dick though.”
“We can work on that.”
“Seriously, at our practice, HR is going to be pretty intense.”
“I’ll run HR. You don’t have to worry about it.”
I laughed and got up on my toes to kiss his neck. “That’s actually terrifying,” I said, and we started walking again.
“I have other plans, you know,” he said. “Dog, children, big house—”
“Are you asking me to have your babies?” I nudged up against him. “A little early for that.”
“Not yet,” he said, and glanced at me. “But one day. I assume you want them too.”
“I do,” I said, trying not to smile. “And a dog. And a big-ass house, which you’ll buy me when our practice makes us very, very rich.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I want a life that’s not just… surgery.”
“You want more than work. I want that, too.”
He pulled me against him, and I had to marvel at how much he’d changed since we first met. I could still see that man, sitting at his desk, annoyed that I was even talking to him—and the difference was incredible. Piers hadn’t fixed himself completely, he was still short-tempered and difficult, but he cared about me. He looked at me like I was the light he’d been missing from his life all this time, and that feeling, that incredible rush of emotions I got every time he kissed me, every time he pulled me close—that was worth everything.
“Come on,” he said. “Since we have a day off, I figured we’d spend it in bed.”
“That’s presumptuous. What if I want to see a movie?”
“I have a TV in the living room. I guess I can have you on the couch, too.”
I laughed and chewed my lip, but didn’t argue as he tugged me faster down the sidewalk.
30
Piers
The town car parked outside of my building and the window rolled down. Lori shifted from foot to foot beside me, brimming with nervous energy.
Rees stared out at us. “Get in,” he said, gesturing with his chin.
I glanced at Lori then led her around the car. I opened the door, let her get in first, then followed after. The car pulled out when we were settled.
Rees watched out the window like he was bored. “I didn’t want to do this,” he said. “But the lawyers talked me into it.”
“What are we doing, exactly?” Lori asked.
“Giving the hospital a chance to settle.” He glanced at her, then at me. “You’ll have to play this hard, you know. They’re not going to want to give in so easily.”
“I’m not too concerned,” I said. “Whether they fold now, or in front of a judge, it won’t matter.”
Rees only grunted, and looked back out the window. Her cousin was a strange man. Whatever he did for a living, he must have been very, very good at it—otherwise, I couldn’t imagine anyone letting him get away with being such a bastard.
And for the first time since meeting him, the irony of that fully set in. I wasn’t rich like him, but I hadn’t dedicated myself to making money. We were two of a kind, I realized, both of us driven intensely, willing to go to great lengths to become the best in our respective fields. I had a grudging admiration for him, and maybe one day we could be friends.
Actually, no, that would never happen. One of us would end up dead.
The driver let us out in front of the hospital, then went to circle the block until we were done. Rees strode forward in a smart, sleek black suit, his dark hair pushed back. Two men in long brown coats and suits approached from the bench nearby and fell into step with Rees, and I glanced back at Lori, who only shook her head, as confused as I felt.