I’m still laughing as Drew parks in front of a pretty redbrick house. He turns off the ignition and takes off his seatbelt, but makes no move to get out of the car.
“Our friend Ethan will probably be here too. He’s a general surgeon like Luke,” he says.
“Okay,” I say slowly. I wonder what Ethan’s deal is, and why talking about him makes Drew look so uncomfortable.
“He had an alcohol problem, and he’s been on leave since the fall,” Drew finally says. “He just got back to town a couple weeks ago, and I don’t think he’s seen many people yet. I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but things might be awkward, and this way you’ll know why. And there probably won’t be any alcohol.”
“Of course,” I nod. “It must be hard to come back after something like that.”
Drew nods. “Yeah, I think it is.”
We walk up to the house, and Luke answers the door. He leads us through the house to the back deck, where three people are standing around a table of food.
“Drew!” A good-looking blond guy sets down a wedge of watermelon and starts toward us. “We were just talking about you.”
“I’ll bet,” Drew says, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. “Guys, this is my girlfriend Ally. Ally, meet Melissa, Sophie and Austin.”
I turn to Melissa, a pretty brunette in a pink sundress. “Thanks so much for inviting me,” I say, handing her a Tupperware. “I made some lemon squares.”
“Well, we’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” she replies with a grin, setting the Tupperware on the table and taking off the lid. “These look delicious.”
“They sure do,” Austin agrees, helping himself to a lemon square.
Drew glances around the backyard. “No kids today?”
Melissa shakes her head. “They’re at their dad’s. My ex lives in Toronto,” she explains to me. “They go every other weekend.”
“That must be a lot of driving,” I remark.
“It’s not so bad,” she says with a shrug. “Usually I drive them there and he brings them back. And I’m the one who moved, so I can’t really complain.”
“You’re from Toronto?” I ask.
“Not really, I grew up here,” Melissa says. “But I lived in Toronto for over ten years, and only moved back last fall.”
“She missed me, so she came home,” Luke says with a grin.
“I don’t remember it happening quite like that,” Melissa says playfully. “But my parents live here, and there’s less crime?—”
“But mostly you missed me,” Luke interjects. “Don’t try to deny it.”
“Okay, yes,” Melissa admits. “I missed you.”
Luke’s lips curve up in satisfaction, and Melissa blushes.
“So, Ally,” Austin cuts in. “I heard you met Drew at work?”
“Yeah, I was his admin assistant for a couple of weeks.”
“I have to say, I was glad to hear Drew was bringing someone who wasn’t a doctor,” Melissa says. “These guys love to talk shop, and Sophie’s just as bad. She’s an ER doctor.”
“Yeah, I met her in the ER, actually,” I say.
“Really?” Austin asks curiously.
I nod. “Yeah, I fell off my bike and cut my arm. She stitched me up.”
Austin turns to Drew. “You let Sophie do the sutures? You could have called me.”
