Nathan looked a little wide-eyed at that, but Zoe had no time to coddle him. She took him by the arm and propelled him over to the doctor.
“Doctor Giovanni,” Zoe said, holding out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve seen a couple of your videos — you do amazing work.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Marco replied, taking her hand. “What brings you here?”
“I’m here with my client, Doctor Nathan Hale.”
“Doctor Nathan Hale!” Marco beamed. “The ‘Hottest Doctor Alive.’”
Nathan looked deeply uncomfortable, but he nodded. “I suppose that’s how I’ll always be known now.”
“Nonsense. My first viral video was about a racoon that had sneaked into my bedroom in the night and fallen asleep in my curtains.” Marco smiled. “Where you begin doesn’t always affect where you end up.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Nathan said. He relaxed a little, and the two doctors started chatting about patient education, which they both seemed deeply fascinated by. Once Zoe was sure things were going well, she politely excused herself and made a beeline for the bathroom.
She’d thought she could do this. She’d thought she could come and tell everyone how wonderful Nathan was without her own heart threatening to break. But the fact that Nathan had rejected her so firmly, calling their night together a “mistake,” stungmore than she wanted to admit. He’d just seemed so different from the other guys she’d met. He’d seemed like a genuinely good man, the kind who’d make his family pancakes on Saturday mornings and kiss her every time they saw each other after work and — Zoe almost laughed. This was why she was so heartbroken. Even though she’d tried not to, she’d started to imagine a whole future for herself in Islingburn with this man. A future with marriage and kids and all the things she’d thought she hadn’t wanted.
It was for the best that Nathan had ended things. If he hadn’t, Zoe might have moved off to Islingburn and made a life there, far from the city she loved and far from any real client base. She needed to focus on her career, not on a hot doctor.
Zoe met her eyes in the mirror. Her mascara was a little streaked, so she carefully fixed it with the tip of her finger, then gave herself a bright smile. Nathan would never know how hurt she was. She would pour all her energy into making this show a huge success — it would be hard, since he was her client, but she could do it. Then, once the show was established, she’d never see Islingburn, or Nathan, again. It was the only way.
Taking a deep breath, Zoe headed back out into the hall. From across the room, she spotted Nathan and started winding her way towards him, exchanging polite smiles with the other guests and taking another glass of juice on the way. Nathan needed help with networking, and she would do exactly that. She would pretend that he was just another client for her, instead of a man who had hurt her.
Even though pretending made her heart ache.
CHAPTER 19
NATHAN
After Zoe slipped away to the bathroom, Nathan kept talking with Marco. The older doctor had a lot of interesting stories about growing up in a big Italian-American family, starting his practice in Brooklyn, and taking off as a celebrity. He talked a lot, which was good, because it meant that Nathan didn’t have to say as much. He listened, nodded, smiled, and added comments in all the right places.
“Oh, and as an aspiring TV star, there’s someone else you should meet,” Marco said. He waved to a young woman with blond hair and big blue eyes, who smiled and came over. “Doctor Nathan Hale, this is Doctor Tory Stevens from the showDoc Tory.”
Nathan held out a hand to the doctor, who grinned at him. “Nice to meet you!” She was very peppy, which Nathan supposed she had to be — she was a pediatrician. Her show centered around her brave young patients as they faced, and overcame, illness and injury.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Nathan said. Zoe had told him to build connections, and he had a great potential connection with Tory. “I think you know my PR professional, Zoe Devine?” Weeksago, when Zoe was first pitching a collaboration with him, she’d mentioned working with Doc Tory, as well as a few other doctors.
“Zoe Devine?” Tory’s brow furrowed, and she shrugged, though her bright smile never slipped. “I’m not sure. How would I know her?”
Nathan suppressed a smile. Maybe Tory was as forgetful as she sometimes appeared on the show — she always saved her patients but often lost her keys or forgot to finish her makeup.
“Zoe’s your PR professional as well,” Nathan said. He paused, suddenly unsure. “Or maybe she isn’t anymore, but she was when you got started. She was the one who helped you set up your show.”
Tory laughed. “I’m not sure where you heard that, but it isn’t true. I worked with a big PR company out in LA, where my practice is.”
Nathan’s heart sank. After all this, was it really possible that Zoe had lied to him? Nathan took off his glasses and started to polish them against his shirt. Surely Zoe wouldn’t have lied. Maybe she’d worked at that PR company in LA — after all, she’d mentioned working with some big names in PR before recently starting her own business. Or maybe, for some reason, Doc Tory was lying.
“What isn’t true?”
Nathan put his glasses back on in time to see Zoe come up beside him. She looked refreshed and gorgeous; he always liked her with her hair down. Now, there was a pit in his stomach, though, as he wondered if she’d lied to him.
“Well, Doc Tory here says that she doesn’t know you,” Nathan said, trying to keep his voice light. “But I thought you said you worked together.”
“I don’t recognize her. I’m sorry.” Doc Tory bit her lip. “But I work with lots of people, and I don’t always remember their faces.”
It was as good a reason as any, but when Nathan turned to Zoe, it all became clear. Her face had gone as pale as a sheet, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. One of her hands had lifted to rub the top of her collarbone, the same gesture she’d made before when she was particularly stressed.
“Zoe,” he said, a tinge of disbelief still in his voice.
