Authors: Danielle Sibarium
“Are you a patient?” She asked looking down at her schedule, not making eye contact.
“No,” I answered steadily in spite of my throbbing heartbeat.
“Do you have an appointment?” This time she looked at me, a trace of annoyance on her face.
I leaned my forearm on the desk and shifted my weight forward. I spoke low so only she could hear, making sure to keep the smile glued on my lips. “Dr. Penbrook isn’t expecting me.”
“Well then, I’m sorry. I can make an appointment for you, or you can leave your number and a message,” she
picked up her pen and notepad.
“That’s not necessary.”
I reached out and touched her hand. It was a move that often brought me results. Girls got giddy when they thought I was flirting and would gladly hand over what I wanted.
This woman was older, a little more experienced than my usual target. She wore a quizzical look, trying to figure out if I wa
s being kind or hitting on her.
“Pardon me?”
“Perhaps I should introduce myself,” I continued with my voice low so only she could hear. “I’m Carter Penbrook.”
A look of surprise and recognition washed over her face.
“I haven’t seen my father in some time and hoped to surprise him. I’ll just be a minute.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry, sir,” Her heavily mascaraed eyes grew wide and twinkled as my words
sunk in. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Penbrook.” She stood and shook my. “Of course we can make an exception for you. I know the Doctor will be thrilled to see you!”
“Thank you.”
“He’s never too busy for you. That was the first thing he told me three years ago when I started working here. If you came to the office, he was to be interrupted no matter what.”
“Thank you very much.” I gave her hand a tiny squeeze, still smiling in spite of the lump in my throat.
“He’s in a meeting now, but he should be finishing up any minute. Shall I show you back to his office?”
“That’s oka
y,” I winked, “I know the way.”
I headed past the receptionist into the back, past the waiting rooms with patient files sitting neatly in their holders on the doors, straight to my father’s office.
The door was closed. I swallowed hard contemplating cutting my losses and running, but decided against it. I could handle an encounter with my father, especially if I kept my mind focused on the reason for it. Elizabeth. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
Poised to knock I hesitated when I recognized a familiar voice coming from within the office.
“Please sir, I am not at all comfortable being here with you,” the soft female voice said.
I knew that voice. It was her.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. Have I done anything to make you uneasy?” I thought my heart was going to explode.
I felt breathless, like I’d been kicked in the groin by a Clydesdale. He made a move on her. That son-of-a-bitch made a move on
my
Elizabeth. I wanted to tear him apart, but I couldn't move. I stood frozen and eavesdropped.
“Of course not.
I just know this would upset Carter. And that’s reason enough for me.”
I swallowed hard, feeling like I could breathe once again. He didn't do anything. She wouldn't give him the oppor
tunity. Just like she promised.
“Understandable. When I heard the news I wanted to offer my
congratulations. That’s all.”
Footfalls approached the door. I panicked and looked around searching for someplace to hide. Elizabeth couldn’t find me there listening. She w
ould think I didn’t trust her.
I saw the employees only sign and darted into
the bathroom on the wall perpendicular to my father’s office. I made it inside seconds before he and Elizabeth stepped out.
Standing in the dark I tried to calm my racing heart with deep breaths. Shielding myself behind the door, I knew I would only make it look worse if I got caught from heavy breathing. Still I couldn't help myself. I watched through the crack of the door jam, I looked and listened to the rest of the interaction, and prayed no on
e would come and find me there.
“If you don’t mind my asking,
was it worth losing your son?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
My father forced a sad smile, “Nothing in this life is worth losing your family. Especially the family I had.”
“I’m
sorry, I have no right to . . .”
He interrupted her, and placed his hand on her shoulder for reassurance. “My dear girl, you have every right. You are going to marry my son. That gives you the right to call me on the carpet when I deserve it.”
Elizabeth hesitated before continuing, “Why did you do it? I mean, you’re a good looking man. You’re a doctor. I’m sure you could’ve had anyone you wanted, why her?”
He shook his head, “I’m not going to try to justify what I did. It was wrong. End of story.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t. I’m just stating the facts. Why her? I can’t answer. I used poor judgment and allowed her to play on my insecurities.”
“So she pursued you?”
Wishing I wasn’t hearing any of the conversation, I wondered why she wanted to know. Was
she interested in him as well?
My father shook his head. “I’m not going to make excuses for what I did.”
“Fair enough.”
“Elizabeth, I love my son and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to make up the pain and humiliation I’ve caused him.”
“If that’s true, let’s make certain we’re clear on a few things. I will not be a messenger for you, so please don’t ask again.”
“Agreed.”
“Nor will I be an information source. Any and all interaction between us will be work related. And since we didn’t have any cause for direct contact before you knew about my relationship with Carter I expect the same to hold true now.”
My chest swelled with pride. I wanted to make things better for her, and here she was trying t
o improve the situation for me.
My father smiled, and stroked her hair gently. “My son is very lucky to have you. I can't express how happy I am for you both.”
I felt every muscle in my body tense as I watched him touch her. He was at it again! I had to hold back from jumping out and pummeling the old man.
“Thank you, sir,” Elizabeth smiled sweetly.
“And one more thing. Please, don’t touch me. There's no reason for it, and I'm sure nothing good could come of it.”
My father chuckled as she walked away. He stood outside the examining room closest to his office, picked up the file and sh
ook his head before entering.
I leaned against the wall trying to catch my breath. I didn’t get caught and she set my father straight. With my pulse still racing, I didn’t know which I was most thankful for. Once I felt certain the hallway had cleared, I snuck out of the bathroom and headed back to the receptionist.
“Dr. Penbrook seems to be busier than I thought at the moment. I’d still like my visit to be a surprise, so I’d appreciate if you don’t mention I was here.”
"Of course."
She smiled.
With a quick look around to be certain Elizabeth wasn’t within eyeshot, I dashed out of the office.
Chapter 45
Elizabeth
I sat at my desk and looked down at my engagement ring. It was beautiful. I shouldn't have been surprised that Dr. Penbrook wanted to talk to me. It just goes to show how fast office rumors spread.
On the upside, he was happy for us. Finally one of our parents was. I knew the good feeling I had spreading through me would end as soon as Carter found out. But I promised. Still, once I told him his father called me in his office for a special meeting, we'd go through the whole, "I want you to quit routine," all over again.
My phone vibrated. Another text message. Violet and I had been going back and forth all morning. She sided with Carter and me, and fed me bits and pieces of the conversation between my parents from the night before.
Just as I thought.
My mother wasn't completely convinced Carter was the devil. Unlike my father, she thought we should all talk rationally about it. Violet agreed and tried to sweet talk my father into giving Carter a chance, but even she wasn't able to sway him.
You need to tell him.
I let out a long sigh and wondered why I bothered to tell her Mason called me last night. I just wanted to tell someone, and since she was the only one that knew the truth about Mason and I, she was the one I turned to.
He won't understand.
He wouldn't after everything that happened with his father and Jamie, after trying so often to convince me to quit my job, there was no way in hell Carter would understand about Mason.
I think if you don't tell him you're setting yourself up for a world of hurt.
Some part of my rational mind knew Violet was right. If he was going to find out, it should be from me. But not now. The timing wasn't right. I'd wait for a better time to confess the little pieces I failed to mention already. Besides, there was no way Carter would find out without me telling him.
Not unless Violet spilled the beans. And since, as she explained, he served as something fun to look at during boring family dinners, I didn't think she'd dare try to scare Carter off.
Unless she had thoughts of seducing him.
I was starting to sound as paranoid as Carter.
Chapter 46
Carter
Alone in my car I wondered how my plan went so wrong. I meant to do something good, to surprise Elizabeth, make her happy, and I almost blew everything to shit. I sped out of the parking lot, my wheels screeching as I turned onto the main road. I knew I'd be in the clear if the blonde would keep her mouth shut.
If she blabbed Elizabeth would be furious. She'd jump to the logical conclusion and accuse me of spying on her. It would be true though, regardless of my intent. Once I chose to hide in the bathroom, I chose to spy on the woman I love and give her reason to believe I didn't trust her.
Why did I feel so guilty? I didn’t do anything wrong. At least I didn’t set out to. In the end intent doesn’t mean a whole lot. I was fairly certain my father didn’t intend on bedding and marrying my fiancé. But he did.
My phone rang and my stomach dropped. I looked down at the number of the incoming call and felt my stomach flop around. Elizabeth. She knew I should be with a client and didn't call when I was in session. The receptionist must’ve said something.
“Damn!” I hit the steering wheel trying to think up a good excuse for being there and leaving without seeing or speaking to her. There was no good excuse. None.
My mind wouldn’t function. I couldn’t process. The phone kept ringing. I had to answer. I couldn’t avoid her. And I knew the longer I put off picking up the more difficult the situation would get.
I cleared my throat before accepting the call.
“Hello.”
Silence. My heart swelled in my throat.
“Hi, Carter.”
“H . . . Hey beautiful. What’s up?” I tried to sound as normal as possible.
“Are you alright?” She asked.
“Yeah, sure. Why?”
“You sound strange.”
“Oh.” I forced a laugh feeling a morsel of the tension in my body melt away. “Everything’s fine.”
“Carter.” she hesitated.
The tension returned tenfold.
“Do you have a minute?”
“For you? Always.”
My nerves got the best of me. I couldn't concentrate on anything. In the spirit of being safe, I pulled the car to the shoulder of the road.
“I need to speak to you.”
Shit. Her tone held something I wasn’t used to, distance?
Anger?
“Okay, talk away.” I wondered if she heard the emotion in my v
oice that I felt choking me up.
I traced my pointer finger over stitching of the leather steering wheel. Why was I playing this game? Why pretend I didn’t know what she was about to say. She'd lace into me and I deserved it, so why go down the path of self-preservation? Why not take the
high road and apologize first?
“Carter.” Again she paused. “You’re not going to like this.”
I wanted to stop her from speaking, from saying the words I most feared. She came to her senses and now she would end it. She realized her father was right, and didn't want to spend her life living with someone from such a morally depraved family. I felt like an adrenaline junkie at the end of a wild, and dangerous ride wishing for more.
Unable to accept the likelihood of being kicked to the curb I cleared my throat. I knew I had to stop her. I had to convince her we were right together. If I could see her,
touch her, kiss, I could do it.
“It sounds serious.”
“You can say that.”
“Not over the phone then.”
She once accused me of being a coward and trying to take the easy way out. I couldn’t allow her the comfort of breaking my heart without so much as looking me in the eye.