how many more minutes until you get here.
That warmed his chest. They were growing on him too.
Tell them very soon.
He slipped his phone back in his pocket, then turned to Gracie who was still standing there, anxiously awaiting Sloan’s response. “You can come. Put on pants though.”
“Pants? I can’t show up at Dr. Sloan Copeland’s house in pants. I need to impress her. Only my spring formal gown will do. If you peasants will excuse me.”
“Who are you calling a peasant? I’m the queen of this house,” Monica replied.
“Too true. Not you, mom. Just this bum.” She stuck out her tongue at him.
“You can stay here.”
“No! I’ll be nice, I swear.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go get dressed.” Gracie took off for her room. It was the smart thing to do. “She used to be cute. Remember?” Rafe said.
“I can’t blame anyone but myself. She got my mouth. Let me put on my face and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Sounds good.”
An hour later, they left his folks’ place and headed toward Westwood. Gracie whistled when they pulled up to Sloan’s house. “I have to study more.” Rafe couldn’t imagine what a new build with a pool in that area cost, but he knew it wasn’t cheap.
“I’ll have to tack real estate listings above her desk,” Monica teased as she put the car in park. Just as Rafe climbed out, one of the twins opened the door and came out on the front steps, still in her pajamas. The way she glared at him made him almost positive that he would be dealing with Avery first. Right behind her came Sloan, sporting a loose tank top and a pair of skintight yoga pants. Rafe got one look at her and knew he was absolutely fucked.
4
Rafe took the few moments he had to make his way from the driveway to the front door to get his shit together. He was officially on the clock and Dr. Copeland wasn’t his to lust over. “Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” Sloan replied. “Avery, can you say good morning?” Instead of following her mother’s suggestion, Avery looked him up and down.
“Let me see your working man’s hands.” Rafe held out his perfectly filed nails. Avery grabbed his fingers and turned them this way and that. Then she grunted, possibly in disgust, before a sinister grin spread out over her face. “They’d look better with pink polish.”
“Oh, good lord,” Sloan groaned.
“Let’s make it through our first week and then I’ll let you paint my nails.”
“Yesss.”
“This is my mom, Monica, and my sister, Gracie. This is Sloan and Avery.” When she didn’t correct him, he knew he’d guessed right. “I imagine Addison is around here somewhere.”
Sloan held out her hand and greeted them warmly. “Twin number two is really into a puzzle right now. It’s wonderful to meet you. Please come in.” Rafe stood aside to let Monica and Gracie follow them inside to the kitchen, where Sloan motioned for them to have a seat at the island.
“Addison, baby. Come meet Rafe’s family,” she said before turning back to Monica. “Can I get you ladies anything to drink?”
“Oh, we won’t be staying long,” Monica said, pointing a thumb in his direction. “Just wanted to keep this one from riding across town with a duffle bag strapped to his motorcycle.”
“Safety first,” Rafe shrugged, before he caught a glimpse of Addison coming at him at full speed. Before she could smash into him, he dropped his duffle, leaned over and scooped her right off her feet. She made a little squeaking noise of surprise as he settled her on his hip. “Hey.”
“Hi, Rafe. Hi, Rafe’s family. I’m Addison and that’s my sister Avery.”
“Lovely to meet you both,” Monica said with her usual warm smile. “Rafe told me you haven’t been in Los Angeles that long.”
“Just a little over a year. I finished my residency in Seattle and stayed on for another couple years, but I was given an opportunity to get more experience in robotic surgery and I couldn’t pass that up. The girls’ dad is back in Seattle,” Sloan added like she’d been asked that question a lot. “My parents and my brother and sister are back in Rhode Island.”
“Oh so it’s really just you here?”
