"I shouldn't have listened to her when she told me not to come before," Autumn says between bites. "Why did I listen to her?"
I sense the question is rhetorical, so I keep my mouth shut. I don't have an answer to give anyhow.
We keep eating, until Autumn scrapes the tines of her fork across her plate and looks at me. "Last night…" A blaze of pink blooms on her cheeks.
My muscles clench, readying myself for the wordswas a mistaketo come from those delicious lips.
"…was amazing," she finishes.
My entire body melts like a snowman in a hot yoga class into the chair. "Yeah?"
"Oh yeah."
I fist pump close to my chest in celebration. An incredibly dorky thing to do, yes, but I'm too relieved to care. Autumn smiles.
"Are you almost done with breakfast?" Her eyes dart back to my bedroom.
I stand quickly, the legs of my chair making protesting noises against the floor. Grabbing the arm of her chair, I yank it, causing it to rotate toward me. She laughs as I lean in, lifting her from the seat and over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.
I’m just about to take her to the bedroom but the doorbell ringing stops me. My stomach sinks.
There’s no one else who drops by this early without calling…
Naomi.
“Expecting anyone?” Autumn slides down my chest, plants her feet on the floor, and looks up at me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I’m so fucked. I can’t breathe. I don’t know what to say. The doorbell rings again and I’m standing there frozen like an idiot.
“Owen?” Naomi’s voice comes through the door and Autumn’s eyes go from sexy sultry to axe murderer in two seconds flat.
I gulp. “So … I had a casual thing with this doctor friend, but I haven’t touched her since you got home,” I ramble, trying to explain the situation.
Autumn looks so angry, I swear she’s going to turn into the Hulk. “Okay … should I go?”
My head reels back in shock. “No! Are you crazy? No. I’ll tell her what’s up.”
I hurry to the door, praying my hard-on goes away in the next eight seconds before I open the door and tell Naomi I’ve moved on.
I feel like such an asshole right now. Yanking the door wide, I see Naomi in her doctor scrubs, looking tired but smiling wide now that I’ve answered.
“Hey, I have an hour to burn if you’re up for it.” Her voice drops three octaves and her fingers reach out to stroke my chest.
Autumn clears her throat behind me and Naomi stills.
Oh shit.
Can I just die of a heart attack and not have to deal with this? As a physician, you would think I could deal with conflict and stress well, but apparently it doesn’t extend past hospital walls. I hate this stuff.
“Naomi … can we talk?” I step outside and she backs up, her face falling when she sees Autumn behind me.
I leave the door open a few inches as Naomi steps out onto the front porch. She hugs her chest and tries to look cool, but I can see the hurt all over her face.
“I should have called first.”
I run my hands through my hair and try to think of what will hurt the least. Maybe just the truth.
