First Take (Star-Taken) (16 page)

FOURTEEN

At ten-thirty the next
morning, Rachel dragged herself off the elevator on her dad’s floor. She’d been so tired she hadn’t even heard her mom and brother leave for the hospital that morning. Heat flamed up her neck and across her face. She could only imagine what was going through their heads if they’d seen the airing of the TV wag rag last night. When she saw Robert talking to one of Dad’s interns, her steps faltered. The doctor touched Robert’s arm and alarm raced through her. Had something happened?

She jogged over. “Hey. What’s up?” She’d kick herself
if, while she’d been sleeping, her family had needed her.

Robert took a step
backward and jammed his hands in his pockets. A flush brightened his cheeks when he cleared his throat. Without meeting her gaze, he said, “Uh, nothing.”

The intern gave Robert a puzzled look before saying, “I was just going to check on your father’s progress. They took him to the lab to run a couple of tests. I can’t say for certain bef
ore I see the results, but if they all look good, he’ll be able to check out late this afternoon.”

Relief swept through Rachel. “That’s good news. Thanks.” And it was good news, so what was wrong with Robert? She glanced from him and his
“I’d rather be anywhere but here” stance then to the doctor, who looked as confused as she felt.

She’d been so wrapped up in her fantasy with Stephe
n she hadn’t really noticed the hospital staff. This one was H-O-T. He stood well over six feet with shoulders so broad they would fill a door frame, wavy blond hair, and sparkling blue eyes. His name badge read Dr. Michael Holloway, Cardiologist. Not an intern then. “Where’s Dr. Shen?”

D
r. Holloway shifted his weight and shot a glance at Robert, who was still playing “Look Away,” before meeting Rachel’s gaze. “He’s making his rounds. I, uh, just wanted to keep Rob, er, your family posted on the progress your father’s making.” The man’s pager went off and he sucked in a deep breath as he unclipped it from his jacket pocket. He flashed a smile. “In fact, this is the lab. I’ll check back later.” The flaps of his jacket kicked up behind him in his haste to depart.

Interesting.
Something had just happened, though she wasn’t sure what. If Dr. Holloway had been a wom—

She
frowned and looked at Robert, whose cheeks were still flushed and he wasn’t meting her gaze. Why was he embarrassed? Ashamed? No, guilty, like he’d done something wrong. Her heart wrenched. Was this why he’d been feeling out of sorts? What had he said? Something about needing to be grounded. Her own personal life might be in turmoil, but she could be his rock.

However, given the lack of closeness in their previous relationship, she didn’t feel comfortable saying, “Robert, it’s okay if
you’re gay.” Or homosexual, or bisexual, or whatever-sexual. She had to take a less direct route.

“Well, that’s awfully nice of Dr. Holloway to take such an interest in Dad’s case.” Which was the truth.

Wariness washed across Robert’s face. “You think?”

She hooked an arm through her brother’s
then pulled him along toward their dad’s room. It might be empty if Mom had gone with Dad, and more importantly, it was also private. “Sure. Doesn’t everyone want a doctor with a pleasing bedside manner?”

Ro
bert stiffened. “What are you implying, Rach?”

Though she knew he was asking if she was talking specifically about him and Dr. Holloway,
Rachel offered a puzzled frown. “Just what I said. More than one girl has grown up thinking she wants a hot doctor on her arm and more than one patient has drooled over his or her doctor, but a kind disposition is better than looks.” She nudged Robert’s side. “Can’t beat the whole package though. I wonder if he’s married.”

“You’re seeing a movie star.
” Robert grumbled as they stepped into the hospital room. “What do you want with a doctor?”

“I
was
seeing a movie star.” Her heart ached at the confession, though she’d decided putting Stephen in the past was best, safest, for that particular organ. Still it might take a while to believe her. “But who said I’m looking for me. I know plenty of sing—”

Robert spun, whipping his arm free. “I doubt he’d be interested in any of your friends. He’s gay.”

She smiled. “I figured as much.”

“You kno—how long have you known I was gay?”

She laid a hand on his arm. “Oh, you know us sisters have special insight into these types of things. So, pretty much since the hallway out there.” She grinned at the laugh her answer startled from him. And it was true. He’d dated girls in high school, but then he’d probably been uncertain. It wasn’t like all that many teenagers had been openly gay back then. A trace of sadness for what that must have been like for him went through her, but she shoved it away. Life only moved forward.

You hear that heart? Move forward.

It beat a dull thud back.
Stupid emotions.
How battered would that organ feel after indulging in a full-on relationship with Stephen then being dumped for the world to see? He was a star. How long could regular-old her hold his interest?

“Well, it’s not as if we’ve been the closest of siblings, is it?” Robert asked.

No. There’d been a lot of petty arguments as they’d grown up, though none of them important enough to be remembered. “As Dad would say, we’re each our own person and had to live our lives. Maybe now we can try and share a bit more about them with each other.”

“
That would be nice.” He covered the hand she rested on his arm.

After patting his hand with her free one, she
freed herself to cross the room to one of the hard plastic visitor chairs. Sitting, she asked, “So, are you dating the delicious Dr. Holloway?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you goin
g to tell me about the ‘was’ in ‘was dating a movie star’?”

“Tit for tat, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

She wasn’t sure if she even knew what to say about Stephen.
Maybe her brother would have a useful guy perspective. If nothing else, he was an uninterested party, which gave him more distance than she currently had. She sighed. “You should get comfortable.”

Robert walked over to the take the seat next to her and she started spilling
the relevant details—the way they’d met, the quickness of the relationship, and the words she’d said to Stephen during the fight last night. She finished with “So, do you think I made more out of this thing with Stephen than was actually there?”

“
Having had my fair share of one-night stands and weekend flings, I’m gonna say it was more. No one is that supportive of someone he’s just met, no matter how good the sex.” Robert raised a brow. “And the sex was good? I’m guessing by the love bites. Don’t let Mom see those or you’ll never hear the end of it. ‘Proper girls don’t…’”

H
eat flushed Rachel’s skin. She untucked the hair from behind her ears and combed it forward, hoping the ends were long enough. “Better?” Good thing her clothes hid the rest of the marks. Bittersweet disappointment rolled through her. No matter what she told herself, she wasn’t forgetting Stephen anytime soon.

He nodded.
“Well then,” Robert sucked in a breath then blew it out, “way to overreact last night.”

She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue. “Thanks for the support.”

With a shrug, he said, “I think one of the reasons I never liked girls is because I couldn’t understand the way their brains worked, and this is a great example.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand and raised a finger. “First, you know he’s not gay. I mean, I guess he could be bisexual or something, but why believe the wag rag? We’re always poking fun at the stupid logic of the
‘reporters’ on there. Second, he’s been focused on you and what’s been going on in your life. Dads are important people in their kids’ lives. So what if Stephen didn’t share news about a job, because that’s all it really is, a job. Do we share every single contract we land?”

She shook her head. She didn’t. Contracts were only important when they were in scarce supply, and she’d been in demand for years now
. “But—”

“No ‘buts.’ You were wrong, and you know it. The whole thing needed time to unfold, but instead, because he’s been Mr. Wonderful about everything, when the tiniest thing happened, you latched onto it like Ms. Patterson’s
Chihuahua on a new squeaky toy.”

The dog running up and down the street with its jaws squeezing a rhythmic squeak from those poor stuffed animals drove the whole neighborhood crazy.
Did Stephen think she was as insane? He’d turned his life upside down to take care of the parents who’d abandoned him, and she’d gone off because he hadn’t told her about a job while she was consumed with thoughts of the dad she loved? Shame washed through Rachel. She stood and started pacing the room.

On her return trip from the door, Robert said,
“And what exactly were you doing in that photo?” Robert smirked. “Mom cracked up. It was kind of nice to hear after how tense everything has been.”

Rachel rolled her eyes
. “Trying to convince Stephen I wasn’t drunk, and I’m so glad my moment of stupidity could provide you with some entertainment.”

“Me too.
It was a welcome break.” He shook his head. “Mom’s been harping about fixing me up with Ms. Patterson’s nephew.”

It was no surprise Mom knew, and given her Dad’s secretive behavior regarding Robert’s promise to him, she’d guess their father knew as well.
“So I’m the last one to realize you’re gay.”

“
Hey, I wasn’t even the first to know. Apparently Mom’s was suspicious when I broke up with Heather Lawrence in tenth grade. She said no straight guy would walk away from such a sweet, beautiful girl.” Robert crossed his ankles, leaning back in the chair, which cracked in protest. “I didn’t even figure it out until college, and who knows when Dad put it all together, though maybe Mom told him.”

“Oh my God, Heather Lawrence, I forgot about her.” Valedictorian, head cheerleader, homecoming queen, and yes, like her mom had thought, beautiful and sweet. The woman had married her college sweetheart and now had three kids. Yep, Richmond was that small. Rachel still knew everyone’s business. Her stomach sank. “What’s Mom going to say when she finds out about Stephen?” Rachel would never hear the end of it.

Fighting a smile and failing, the corners of his lips twitched like he had a tic, he said, “Just take Nate back.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Be serious.”

He chuckled then his expression cleared. With a shrug, he said, “Don’t tell her. If she asks, just say he flew back to New York or wherever. Then, after you’re back home and out of the line of fire, you can tell her.” He folded his hands across his belly. “I’ll be safely back in the nest and she can concentrate on smothering me.”

She smirked. “Don’t you mean mothering?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just because I’m her favorite doesn’t mean she doesn’t exhaust me sometimes, Rach.”

“Hmm.” She’d never stopped to consider Robert didn’t like the doting attention of their mom. “Very kind of you to offer yourself up as the sacrificial child
then.”

He nodded. “And don’t forget it.” He ruined the seriousness by
laughing.

Rachel smiled. They’d never joked about their personal lives like this. It was…nice.
“So, you moving back, is that because of a bad relationship?”

“I wish.
” Robert snorted. “I think I’d have an easier time dealing with a bad relationship or the ending of a relationship than the crap running through my head now.” His heavy sigh tore at Rachel’s heart. “Remember when I said I’ve had lots of experience with one-night stands and weekend flings? I’m tired of it. I want something more serious, but I need a fresh start in a new city to make that happen.”

“Like Vicky Ramirez?” During Rachel’s
junior year in high school, her friend Vicky had been date raped by a boyfriend. When she’d turned up pregnant, the truth had gotten out, but everyone ignored the rape part. People had called her a slut and worse. Rather than raise her child in a hostile environment, she’d moved to California to live with a cousin.

Robert blew out a breath.
“Wow. I’d forgotten about Vicky. How’s she doing?”

“Good. David is so cute. He looks like her.”
She still spoke with Vicky every few months, though Rachel had been the one to push to maintain the relationship in the beginning. For a while, Vicky had thought Rachel was just fishing for gossip to feed the local mill. Vicky had started sharing a lot more when Rachel had gone off to college then moved to New York. There was something about getting distance from a place that gave a person new perspective.

Maybe that’s what I need, a little distance from Stephen. Time to decide.

Her stomach knotted as her heart whispered,
He said he’s not coming after you. Who says he’ll still be interested after however long it takes you to work things out?