Page 68 of Dr. Sexypants

I stood and told him, “We’ve got to get the bakery ready for a wedding reception this afternoon. Why don’t we talk about this later.”

As in never.

He grabbed his coffee and pastry and stood up, too.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “It was great to see you,” then he walked toward the front.

Lainey mouthed, “What is going on?” but I subtly shook my head and mouthed back, “I’ll tell you later.”

Just before he reached the door, Katelyn and Rob walked in, and Jon and Rob greeted each other with a hearty handshake, followed by some small talk.

Katelyn hung back to chat with them.

It was obvious by the way they all three looked my way at the same time that they were talking about me.

Aw, hell.

Jonathan took a step toward the door, then turned back in my direction, and from across the bakery exclaimed, “I’ll call you tomorrow, Kristy!”

I offered him a fake smile and head nod, then glanced over at Rob and Katelyn and was met with matching scowls.

Fuck.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Justin

When I woke up before work, I noticed I had several texts from Rob. My stomach bottomed out after reading what they were about—Kristy and Jonathan were dating again, and I seriously considered calling in sick to work.

I knew I was going to be distracted—not exactly something you want in your emergency room doctor.

I did some breathing exercises, then took a cold shower as I weighed what good would come from me staying home, and I realized—absolutely nothing. It wasn’t like I was going to crash the wedding and demand answers. I’d just spend the night pacing the floors while picturing Kristy with Jonathan at the wedding.

So, I got ready for work. I decided it was my best bet for staying busy and not thinking about things.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

Every spare thought between patients was dedicated to what I was going to do.

Call me old-fashioned, but I wasn’t interested in being with her if she really was going to date other people.

Confronting her would be pointless. She’d get defensive and remind me that we weren’t exclusive. And I wasn’t going to beg her to be with me, so that really only left one option.

By the time I walked to my car after work, I knew that Kristy and I were over.

Frankly, it sucked. I liked her—a lot. Maybe even loved her, although I hadn’t let myself even consider that since I knew it’d freak her out.

But I could’ve seen a future with her. One that included sassy little mini-Kristys. Since the explosion, I hadn’t allowed that thought to enter my mind. I’d written it off as not in the cards for me. Along with getting married.

But Kristy’s acceptance of my missing legs—or really, the lack of it even being a big deal to her—had changed that.

Maybe it just took trusting the right woman.

Except, she turned out not to be the right one after all.

But she did open me up to the possibility, so I needed to thank her for that.

Ugh.