Mom gasps, delighted. “Oh, honey.”
“You guys are reading too much into this,” I mutter, stabbing a bite of roast like it personally betrayed me.
“I think it’s very kind of you,” Mom says, her voice lilting. “You’re always so serious, but you have such a good heart underneath all that armor you put on after Jadelyn.”
“Lucy’s sweet,” Grayson says out of the blue, quieter now, his eyes distant. There’s a flicker of something in his expression—nostalgia, maybe. Regret, definitely. For a minute, I feel bad about how things played out between him and Gabby, but still, I stand by the advice I gave him. Gray had a good thing going and giving it up for a girl who might grow up and fall out of love like Jadelyn did with me? Bad juju.
“Lucyissweet,” I admit, before I can stop myself. “And life’s really stacking up against her right now.”
Bennett barks out a laugh and slaps the table. “And there it is.Nash is smitten.”
“I’m not smitten,” I snap, too fast.
Bennett turns to the laptop. “She’s the perfect blend of stubborn and damsel in distress.”
Grayson’s eyes light up as he shoves a bite of sandwich into his mouth. “You never could resist someone in need, Nash.”
“That’s not true.” I sit back, arms crossed, glaring, not enjoying the direction this conversation is headed.At all. If either of them brings up my ex-wife, I might just have to leave.
“So what was Jadelyn then?” Bennett asks, smirking. “She had nothing, you gave her everything.”
“And what about your whole job being built around saving people?” Grayson adds and I turn to Mom like I’m ten again.
“Enough, you two,” she says, brows raised, pointing at her younger sons with her fork.
Bennett leans back in his chair, looking way too pleased with himself. “So, what happens now? You start dating my childhood friend? Am I supposed to be offended? Do I get to punch you in the face and protect her honor, or are we too grown up for that now?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”
“Pleading the fifth.” Bennett smirks. “Classic. Definitely not an admission of guilt.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Mom cuts in.
“Now, come on,” she says, trying not to laugh. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“I’m not jumping to anything.” Bennett pops a bite of roast into his mouth. “I’m just curious. Nash doesn’t dothings outside of work. He has us. He has his job. And now he has Lucy. That seems kind of like a big change, doesn’t it?”
Sure, my life got small after I became single, but the hospital? It takes up a lot of time. I just don’t have space for much else. You’d think that would be obvious, but the three faces staring in my direction suggest they feel otherwise.
“Lucy needed help,” I say quietly. “And I had means. That’s all it is.”
Bennett arches a brow. “Uh-huh.”
“You like her,” Grayson singsongs like he’s eight again.
I stare at my plate.
What is there to say?
I like the way she fights through pain without complaining. I like the way she pushes back against me. I like the way she looked at me in the pool—like I wasn’t just fixing her, butseeingher.
And that’s the damn problem.
I don't want to see her. I don't want to know her. I want to help her get back on her feet so she can get her life back and mine can return to normal.
“She’s a patient,” I say again, but the words feel thinner now.
Like evenIdon’t believe them.
