As the night moves on and some of the brothers disappear with the dancers, I think about Cherry again. She’s got some strange fucking chokehold on my thoughts. I’ve barely spoken to her,andI still don’t fully trust her. Raven is right, she isn’t the kind of woman I should be thinking about.
It’s getting hard to stop. Especially after I know how fucking amazing it is to kiss her, and the way she fell apart for me after telling me no one has ever made her come from having her cunt tongue fucked. Shit that was a fucking head rush.
I’d been determined to prove to her that maybe she was waiting for the right person, which is a really fucking dangerous thought. Hopefully my running out and leaving her, left a different kind of taste inhermouth and she never wants to see me again.
I’m glad that she has her dad’s bracelet back. She didn’t want to tell me how much it meant to her and I couldn’t let on that I knew.
Things with her are done.
One taste was all I got, but that is going to have to do. It’s best for both of us we never see each other again.
Chapter Eleven
Taylor
Mrs. Thorne wheels her husband out of my consulting room, and I follow them down to make sure they’re okay. They’re in their seventies and she has been looking after her husband for the last fifteen years.
He has a lot of different illnesses as well as the diabetes and it’s getting increasingly harder for her. She’ll never admit it though. They’ve been married for nearly sixty years and never spent a night apart.
I can’t imagine what that is like. It was always me and dad, he never talked about my mom unless I asked, which I stopped doing when I was around eight, because I could see it was upsetting him.
The bracelet shifts as I brush my hair back and I run my fingers over it. I’ve never been more relieved when Raven called to say she had it. She found it near the bathroom but didn’t know who it belonged to, so put it in the safe.
I do not think about Noah, or that he came through for me with Raven. And definitely not our last interaction. I’m a piss poor liar. It’s been ten days and I can’t stop thinking about what he did to me.
That says a lot about what I’ve been missing. Hereallyproved me wrong.
“They’re so cute,” Caitlyn is leaning against the counter watching as the Thorne’s leave.
“They really are but I’m worried she is taking on too much.”
“That’s true love for you.” She pats my arm and goes to call in her next patient.
Watching out of the window I ask Ashlyn to let my next patient know I won’t be a second and run out to help. Once he’s safely inside the car, I hand her a card for carer’s assistance. She looks at it and thanks me.
“For as long as I can manage, I want to take care of him, it’s what we promised when we got married. If I was in his position, he’d do the same thing for me. But thank you for caring Nurse Taylor. You’re a very sweet girl and one day you will find your Mr. Thorne,” she winks and turns away.
What if my Mr. Thorne is all wrong for me, with tattoos a motorcycle and part of agang?I chuckle to myself at that thought. I sounded like such a moron. Didn’t put him off though.
Long after they’re gone, I stand there on the sidewalk, thinking about their long relationship. It’s hard to imagine what a love like that feels like.
The sound of a motorcycle draws me out of the daydream and my heart races at the thought it might be Noah. But it’s not, it’s not the kind of motorcycle he rides. The man sees me watching as he slows to take a corner and looks at me until he has to turn away.
I’ve got more important things to do than stand out here thinking about something I can’t have. Even if I already know Noah has ruined me.
I’m back to working, full clinics now so the rest of the day goes by in a blur and I’m looking forward to getting home and taking a nice long bath. One of the best things about staying in dad’s house is the clawfoot tub.
When I check my last patient, it’s Jesse. For a moment I panic, then remember Ashlyn always schedules a two-week follow up appointment from when I last see a patient. I just forgot to tell her it wasn't required. He's here now, so I have see him. It’s insane to feel guilty but I’m still not convinced Noah isn’t the guy Jesse was referring to about having a crush on. He told me it wasn’t him but I’d completely forgot about it tillnow.
Oh God. What do I do? The door opens and Jesse comes and smiles. I can’t really pretend to be busy, not when I’m only standing here. So I tell him to come through and make small talk as we enter my office.
“How’ve you been?” I ask once we’re seated.
“Great actually. I probably didn’t need to take up an appointment slot, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay with you.”
“With me?” I ask in surprise. “Why would that be an issue?”
“The whole Noah thing,” he says pointedly.
