Page 151 of Masters of Secrets

Her mom would see the crack between them and work even harder to push at them.

Which, if she and Connor broke up over this, she did not want it to be because of her parents. It would be because she’d decided that was the best thing to do. And she wasn’t sure yet that she wanted to break up with him over this… but was that because she truly didn’t or because she didn’t want her mom to win?

She couldn’t think. Not with everyone standing right there around her.

“Ah, yes,” John cleared his throat, looking increasingly uncomfortable, which was the only joy she was getting out of the situation. Connor’s obvious confidence in the face of meeting her ex had clearly thrown him. He’d probably expected Connor to react the way he would—with anger or insult. “Head of surgery, actually. I was just telling Sun that we might need to talk about her shoulder.” He pushed his smile back onto his lips. “It’s the least I can do for family.”

“Hopefully, surgery won’t be necessary, but I appreciate the concern,” her mom said, beaming at John as though he’d just offered her the moon. Because, of course, she did. “I don’t even know what’s wrong with it. I didn’t hit it or do anything; it just started hurting one day, and it keeps getting worse, no matter how much I rest it.”

“You didn’t injure it when that started?” Connor asked, frowning.

“No, nothing. I noticed it was sore one morning, so I started resting it, but it doesn’t seem to have helped. I can’t move it as much as I want to, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“Which is why we need to take a look and discuss surgical options,” John said pompously. At least, it sounded pompous to Julie, but her mom didn’t seem to notice, so maybe she was a little biased. Or maybe her mom was.

“Do you mind if I take a look at your range of motion?” Connor asked, leaning forward slightly, seeming to ignore John’s remark.

Her mom blinked in surprise.

“Oh, well…”

Connor smiled at her easily, totally focused on her, though his grip on Julie’s hand remained firm.

“We get a lot of shoulder injuries and other issues at the clinic. Did you have Sandra look at it?” he asked.

“No.” Her mom was frowning, but not as if she was upset. “What do you need me to do?”

“Can you hold this?” Connor asked Julie, holding out his cup. Dropping his hand, she took it, allowing him to step forward. It was a good opportunity to run. She could leave John and Connor there competing to see who could impress her mom the most, but at the same time, she felt stuck in place. She didn’t really want her mom to have to have surgery, and she was strangely fascinated by this other side of Connor.

It struck her that this was his work side. When he’d gone “on” for her family, that was probably the Connor his clients got to see. He was still “on” right now, handling her mom in a completely professional, firm, caring manner that seemed to have thrown John completely off.

Then again, John wasn’t used to being ignored or questioned. And he could hardly try to physically intimidate Connor the way he might someone else. Did she get more joy than she should out of that? Yes, yes, she did, no matter how irritated she was at Connor.

Connor helped her mom out of the sling, murmuring soft instructions as he worked through her range of motion. It wasn’t much, and Julie could see how much it distressed and worried her mom that she couldn’t move the way she should be able to. It distressed Julie, too. Was this why her mom had been calling John lately? Because she was worried about her shoulder?

No, don’t do that. Don’t justify it. That way lies madness. If she was worried, she could make an appointment to see a doctor. One who isn’t my ex-husband. And she was constantly giving me updates about him and pushing my boundaries long before her shoulder was an issue.

Julie took a deep breath.

“I think it’s frozen shoulder,” Connor said. “You shouldn’t need surgery. Frozen shoulder even goes away on its own sometimes, but physical therapy can help you get back to normal faster.”

Scoffing, John stepped forward, puffing up his chest. “You’re hardly an expert on whether or not someone needs surgery.”

“No, but I am an expert on when someone needs physical therapy,” Connor said cheerfully, stepping back to take his place beside Julie again. He looked at her mom. “You should get a second opinion if you feel more comfortable with that, but I’m pretty confident that it’s frozen shoulder.”

“What is that?” Julie asked. “What causes it?”

“A number of things,” Sandra said, pushing her way into their little circle and pulling Terry with her. Julie’s cousin beamed at Connor. “Sometimes, it just happens to women over the age of thirty-five, and we don’t really know why. Basically, your shoulder starts to hurt and becomes harder to move. Of course, most of us do exactly what your mom did and rest it, which actually makes it worse because it gets more frozen.” She looked at Julie’s mom. “I told Mom to tell you that it sounded like frozen shoulder. Did she not tell you?”

“She did.” Julie’s mom had the grace to look slightly abashed. “I just wanted to get a second opinion from John.”

John looked like he had bitten into something sour.

He probably wanted to say something nasty to Connor about his competence, but he could hardly do that now without casting aspersions on Sandra, too. Regardless of her mom wanting his opinion, she wouldn’t take him insulting her niece well.

It was kind of fun to watch him struggle with the dilemma.

“Oh, it looks like your dad could use some help,” Connor said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”