“She did a great job,” I say, extending my forearm as proof. “It healed really well.”
Austin steps closer and peers down at my arm. “Huh. It was how long ago?”
“Just over a week.”
“Not bad, Soph,” Austin admits grudgingly. “For an ER doc.”
“Oh, I’m sure you could’ve done better,” Sophie says sweetly. “I just didn’t think you’d want to deal with a routine laceration. But the next time someone needs sutures, I’ll call you.”
“That’s a great idea, Sophie,” Luke puts in. “I’m sure Austin would be happy to help. Especially if it’s the middle of the night and he’s not on call.”
“Nah, you should call Luke,” Austin says. “He needs the practice.”
Luke swats him playfully on the shoulder, and Austin yelps.
“They’re always like this,” Melissa says apologetically. “I should have mentioned, we’ve got soft drinks in the cooler or there’s lemonade in the fridge inside. Help yourself to whatever you’d like.”
“Thanks.” I walk over to the cooler and grab a can of iced tea for myself and a Perrier for Drew.
“So I take it you don’t work in health care?” I ask Melissa.
“Not even close,” she says with a laugh. “I teach math at Brookline Academy.”
“Wow.” Brookline’s the only private girls’ school in town, and they’re known for their high standards.
Melissa blushes a little. “I’m not technically a teacher yet,” she explains. “I don’t have a degree, but?—”
“They’re paying you to teach, so you’re a teacher,” Luke interrupts, slipping an arm around her waist. “They begged you to take the job?—”
“Because they couldn’t find anyone else,” Melissa puts in.
“Because you’re a damn good teacher,” Luke corrects. “Pretty soon you’ll be running that school.”
Melissa rolls her eyes. “Luke’s mom knows the principal,” she explains. “And since Brookline’s a girls’ school, they only hire women, and they couldn’t find anyone qualified for upper level math. I don’t have a teaching degree, but I did my undergrad in computer science, and it had a lot of math. So I’m muddling along.”
“Don’t be modest,” Luke says, looking at her proudly. “You got invited to give a talk at a Women in STEM conference in August.”
“Yeah, I kind of fell into that one,” Melissa says. “One of my students asked why they had to learn math, and I went on a bit of a rant. Someone filmed it and put it on Instagram, and it got some attention from STEM groups.”
“My niece found it really inspiring,” Drew says. “She wants to do something in STEM.”
Melissa’s blush deepens. “Thanks. Anyway, I’m starting Teacher’s College in the fall, so I’ll eventually be legit. I found a program that I can do mostly online, so I’m hoping it won’t be too bad.”
“That’s great,” I say, wondering how old Melissa is. If she dated Luke in high school she’s probably close to his age, and he must be early thirties at least.
I thought I was too old to go back to school, but maybe it was just an excuse.
And Luke looks so damn proud of Melissa.
All of a sudden Luke’s expression changes. “Hey, Ethan’s here,” he says. Everyone follows his gaze toward the side gate,where a man’s standing with a huge gift-wrapped box in his arms. He’s about Drew’s age, tall and dark with a golden tan.
And he looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here.
Luke hustles over to greet him, with Austin and Melissa close on his heels.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Drew says, starting toward the group.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing Drew’s hand. As we watch, Luke releases Ethan from the most awkward hug I’ve ever seen.
