“Do it, and we’ll even put my mom’s name on the bottom, quoting her for saying it.”

  He laughs. “Yes, she’ll love that.”

  “Or kill us.”

  “Oh, for sure. Murder us dead.”

  We laugh like two little kids, and I hate the guilt that creeps in. I feel like I’m cheating on Evan when Dart and I hang out. It’s hard, though, when we spend a lot of time together. We’re on the same line. We share a hotel room. Dart is my homey. I know I’m not cheating on Evan. I’d give up Dart to have my brother with me right now, but I do feel kinda bad. Not that Evan would be happy with me for feeling that way. Every time I talk to him, he tells me how happy he is with my play and how he’s doing so well. I worry he’s lying to keep my nerves under control, but Mom says the same thing. So do Dad and my siblings.

  Evan is doing awesome at home, which was the goal.

  Since we are a goal-driven family, we take that as a win. No matter how much I miss him.

  As we enter the nursery, we get some looks from some of the customers since we are two huge dudes looking at plants, but I can see why Angie digs these things. They’re pretty refreshing. Lots to choose from too, like, so much to choose from. Instantly, I’m overwhelmed while we look around. But Dart, well, his mind is blown.

  “This shit is expensive! Who would spend this kind of money on something you could kill? Like, seriously, I would forget to water it, and bam! Dead. And I’m out twenty bucks!”

  I laugh as I look at something green and bushy. Really, everything is green, but I think this is an outdoor plant. Is she into those? “Some people know how to keep them alive.”

  He shakes his head. “I couldn’t risk it. This shit is too expensive for the chance of death.”

  “How do you feel about dogs?”

  He gives me a wide-eyed look. “I want a dog.”

  “But you adopt one, pay the fees, and it dies. Then what?”

  “I cry and die inside.”

  “That’s how people feel about plants,” I explain, looking at this really pretty plant with huge leaves. “Wow, this one is amazing.”

  He makes a face, looking right at the price as I stroke its leaves. They have these awesome openings in them and are huge. “And it’s fifty bucks.”

  “But look at its leaves. They’re all big and cool-looking.”

  He leans in, reading the tag. “It’s a Monstera,” he says, drawing out the syllables of the word.

  “I love it,” I say, running my fingers along the leaves. “I think Angie will too.”

  He shrugs. “Hopefully she keeps it alive for fifty bucks.”

  I scoff and stop a lady as she walks by. “Hey, my girlfriend likes plants. Do you think she’ll like this?”

  She smiles at me; she’s older with shiny gray hair and kind brown eyes. “Everyone loves Monsteras. They’re extremely popular.”

  I nod. “I wonder if she has one.”

  “You can never have too many Monsteras. They’re God’s miracle.”

  “God would literally have to come down and hand me this plant for me to pay fifty bucks,” Dart says then, and I give him a hard look.

  “I will pay you fifty bucks to shut up,” I throw back at him before grinning at the lady. “I’ll take it.”

  She beams happily and takes fifteen minutes to find me the “best-looking one.” When she walks away, Dart says, “Bet your girlfriend will love it.”

  I don’t acknowledge him, but damn, I sure hope she does.

  I haven’t been in the mental health facility since Evan left.

  I kinda hate it. As I walk through, I carry a protein bar and an iced coffee in my hand for Angie. She doesn’t get off for another three hours, and I wanted to make sure she ate. I might be overstepping and she might think it’s overkill, but in a way, I don’t care. I miss her, but with how skittish she is, I wonder if this was the right move. Well, no backing out now. As I walk through the place, I really do love the look of it. It’s more a hangout than a medical facility, and I appreciate that. I know it makes people feel welcome. It sure makes me feel welcome, and I’m lucky enough not to suffer mental illness.

  When I reach her office, she’s behind her desk, hard at work. Her hair is down today, and I hadn’t realized how long it is. She has naturally curly hair, so it’s all wild and flowing, while her bangs are straight across her forehead. She’s wearing a pair of dark-red glasses today, which intrigues me as to how many pairs she actually has. Her scrubs are black, and damn if she isn’t pretty. She’s losing weight, especially from her face. It’s nowhere near sunken-in like it was when we were younger, but it is narrower.

  Thankfully, her cheeks are still plump and adorable.

  I head toward her, but before I can reach her, Dr. Tembalt stops me. “Evan, I wasn’t expecting you today! How are you?”

  I chuckle. “Hey, I’m not Evan. It’s Owen.”

  He grasps my shoulder. “Oh! Sorry! Now that you say it, I thought maybe you just put on some weight. You’re much bigger than your brother.”

  “I do outweigh him. He’s more the smarts, while I’m the brawn.”

  He grins. “I wouldn’t want to get mixed up with either of you in a dark alley.” We share a laugh, and when I look at Angie, her eyes are wide as this little kitten grin sits on her lips. “What can I help you with?”

  “I’m here to see Angie,” I say, angling my head toward her. “Brought her some fuel.”

  He looks back at Angie, smiling. “Hmm, interesting choice of fuel. I didn’t know you two knew each other like that.”

  “We actually grew up together,” Angie says, standing up.

  Oh, we’re going with that? I agree since I don’t want to embarrass her, and Dr. Tembalt grins at us. “Awesome. Lucky you both have each other with being so far from home.”

  We both agree, and then he is pulled away.

  My lips curve as I close the distance to her. There’s still some space between us, but we’re close enough I can feel the heat coming off her curvy body. Her lips press together, though her eyes are dancing with mine. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “I told you I wanted to see you,” I say, handing her the coffee and protein bar. “These are my favorite protein bars. I hope you like them. I got you Dunkin’ since you’re still boycotting Starbucks.”

  “Starbucks is trash coffee,” she says simply and then smiles at me in thanks. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  “I wanted to,” I tell her. “You look super hot today. I like those glasses.”

  Instantly, her cheeks turn the color of the glasses. “Stop.”

  “I will not,” I promise her, and she looks up at me through her lashes. “You think you’ll get out on time?”

  She nods. “Yeah. I planned on skipping my workout.”

  “Cool. I’m gonna have Dart drop me off, and I’ll wait for you by the car.”

  “Really? You sure?”

  I lean in. “Yes, absolutely.”

  She lets out a sigh, but before she can say what she wanted, a very thin, very pretty girl interrupts us. “Angie, did you get that file done on Masters?”

  Angie looks back at her and says, “Yes, I placed it in your Dropbox.”

  The girl looks over at us, and her brows rise. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”

  Angie clears her throat, gesturing her open palm toward me. I want to grab it and hold it. Maybe lick her fingers. But I refrain. “This is my…” She looks over at me, not sure what to say.

  “Boyfriend. Hi, I’m Owen,” I say, holding out my hand to the girl. “And you are?”

  She takes my hand and says happily, “Oh! Hi! I’m London. We actually live together.”

  I drop her hand then, my eyes narrowing. “Yeah.” London’s eyes move from me to Angie, and when I glance at my newly labeled girlfriend, Angie gives me a very stern look. “It’s nice to meet you,” I add for Angie’s sake.

  London smiles politely. “I didn’t know you were dating, Angie.”

  “It’s new,” she informs her.

  Silence falls between us, and I wish she would disappear. And take her stupid boyfriend with her.

  “Okay. Well, I’ll leave you to it.” London walks away then, and I look down at Angie.

  She looks so worried, and I hate that I may have caused it. She lets out a sigh before glancing up at me. “Thanks for being somewhat cordial.”

  “I wanted to cuss her out.”

  “I’m aware,” she says, shaking her head. She reaches out, taking my hand in hers, and I rub my thumb along the back of her hand. “Thank you for my stuff, but I need to get back to work.”

  “Totally. Anytime,” I say, squeezing her hand. “I hope it brightened your day.”

  She smiles widely at me. “Seeing you did that,” she whispers, and I don’t know why she’s unsure of herself. Can’t she see it’s the same for me?

  “Good,” I say, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing her. “All right, girlfriend. I’ll see you after your shift?”

  She closes her eyes, shaking her head. “I’m admitting to dating Owen Adler.”

  I grin as I lean in, kissing the side of her mouth. “Yup, and you don’t even know what you got yourself into.”

  She sighs happily as I pull away. “I’m very aware of that.”

  “I wish I could really kiss you,” I say as I back away. “But I don’t think I’d stop.”

  Her eyes widen as she looks around to see if anyone is watching us. They’re not, and she whisper-yells, “Owen!”

  “What? It’s true,” I say with a wink. “See you soon.”

  She has a dreamy look on her face as she waves, and I can’t get enough. I may have said she doesn’t know what she just got herself into, but I’m pretty damn sure there is no preparation in the world to get me ready for Angela Paxton.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Angie

  * * *

  I don’t know if it’s the iced coffee or the protein that has me feeling on top of the world, but something sure is.

  Or someone.

  As I happily eat the yummy bar, I wash it down with my coffee, and I can’t stop grinning. Like, my whole face hurts, I’m smiling so hard. No one, and I mean no one, has ever done anything like this for me. Not even in high school when guys wanted to impress me, or hell, not even when I was in college at Bellevue. I dated a few guys, but no one ever stopped by my dorm or job to bring me anything. Even my parents never did this. They’d leave me notes in the morning or send me an email, but they never stopped by to make my day better. Not that I would ever ask or feel I need anyone to. Honestly, I’ve never done it either. Though now that it’s happened, I feel special. I feel important, and I want to make Owen feel the same.

  I didn’t even realize how much I missed Owen until I saw him. It’s kind of crazy. Super crazy, actually, that I am feeling things so quickly. Not love, that’s insane, but more like I adore him. I love the companionship, and I enjoy him as a person. I’m still sure he’ll get hit in the head on the ice and realize he’s dating a fatty, but sometimes I forget that. I truly only think that when I’m being super hard on myself. But sometimes, like now, I think that maybe it wouldn’t happen. He did introduce himself as my boyfriend. That was surprising and exhilarating all in one. I wonder if he told his parents? ’Cause I don’t know if I’ll be telling mine.

  Pretty sure my dad will flip his shit at the thought of Owen Adler dating his daughter. He never liked Owen, for the same reasons I didn’t, but while I’ve moved on from my childish, jealous thoughts of him, I don’t know if my dad will. He isn’t a fan of me dating, especially not after I was almost raped. Not that it was my fault, but he doesn’t trust guys with me. I’m not sure I want to find out how he’ll react. I’d rather enjoy what Owen and I have right now. I think we have enough stacked against us—not that he notices; only I do.

  Either way, I’m super happy. I’m typing in so much data so quickly, even I’m impressed by myself. I want to get done with work, and I want to see Owen. I can’t believe he’ll be by the car for me when I get off. I figured I’d meet him at his house or he’d meet me at mine. Though, I don’t know if I want to chance him coming to my place. Maybe after I move, if that ever happens. I haven’t had much luck finding anything in my price range, and I don’t want to ask my parents for more money. I don’t even like that they’re paying for me now. I don’t know. Maybe once I’m hired on, I can find something better.

  Hell, anything will be better than where I am.

  “Hey, Angie. Can I speak to you for a second?”

  I look up to find Dr. Tembalt standing beside my desk. “Oh, hey. Yeah, of course,” I say, putting down the iced coffee I’ve almost finished. I stand even though I don’t know if I should, and that’s when I notice London is standing there too. Well, shit. I bring in my brows. “Did I mess something up?”

  He shakes his head. “Not at all. It’s actually about Owen Adler.”

  I bring in my brows even more, making my forehead hurt. “Sorry?”

  “London brought it to my attention that you two are dating.”

  I divert my gaze to London, and she doesn’t even look sorry. What the hell? When I bring my gaze back to the doctor’s, I stand proudly. “Yes, we are.”

  “Okay. We have a very strict policy against dating patients.”

  “Owen isn’t a patient. His brother was. He came to one, maybe two appointments with Evan, and we never treated him, only Evan. We don’t even have a file on him.”

  Dr. Tembalt looks to London, and he shrugs. “That is true. If we don’t have a file, we can’t enforce the rule.”

  I look to London, and she nods before speaking. “I didn’t think of it that way, but I agree. I wanted to make sure everything was out in the open. I don’t want it to come back to bite her in the butt later.”

  What the ever-loving fuck? What a bitch. Yet I find myself asking, “And if he were a patient, what would have happened?”

  “You would have been written up and ultimately would have had to choose between your internship and your boyfriend,” the doctor says, and I make a face.

  “Wow, that sucks.”

  “It does, but you signed an agreement when you came on as an intern that stated exactly that.”

  “Absolutely. And just to be clear, when I’m hired, will I sign the same?” I ask him, and he nods. “Because I know Owen is going through a lot with his brother being gone, and I don’t want this to become a thing where he has to choose between me or getting help from our facility for his mental health.”

  London holds her hand up. “You would be exempt, of course, due to the relationship preceding your full-time employment. But we’ll deal with that if we get there.”

  Now I could take that comment a billion different ways. One way being, if I’m even hired. And the second being if Owen and I are together when I am hired. I don’t know what the hell her issue is, but I’m pissed. I also don’t like either of those scenarios. I don’t know what her game is, but I’m about to find out.

  Dr. Tembalt taps the back of my hand. “I’m glad this was all cleared up. I’d hate for something like that to cause us to lose you.”

  Doesn’t he make the rules for the program? I don’t ask that, though. Instead, I smile at him. “Same here.”

  “Great,” he says, and then he walks away toward his office.

  I look at London and hold her gaze. “You could have come to me instead of bringing Dr. Tembalt into it.”

  London shrugs. “I didn’t want things to escalate.”

  “They wouldn’t have.”

  “I don’t know that,” she says simply. “We’re good now.”

  When she starts to walk away, I stop her. “Answer me something. What did you mean by your comment about dealing with the issue of Owen and me if we get there?”

  She looks back at me. “If you get hired on.”

  “I thought that was a given. It’s why I’m working so hard to finish school early.”

  She squares her shoulders and turns. “Like I said, we’ll deal with it if we get there.”

  As I watch her retreating back, I want to throw my coffee at her. If Owen hadn’t gotten it for me and it didn’t taste so damn good, I would. Instead, I sit, pissed, scared, and unsure of what will happen with my career.

  Like he said he would, Owen waits for me by my car.

  He’s leaning up against it when I open the door to the parking garage, looking at something on his phone. I still can’t believe he is waiting for me, and when my heart flutters in my chest, I don’t know how to handle that either. He looks over at me, and my lips quirk at the side as he grins at me.

  “Hey there, gorgeous.”

  I sigh happily. “Hey,” I say, walking straight for him. He takes me in his arms, and I press my lips right to his. He wraps his arms around me tightly, and I hold his waist while our kiss deepens. My heart is wild in my chest as I get lost in his kiss. His lips taste sweet, like cherries, and when his hands slide down my back, squeezing my ass, I lean into him. For the love of God, he’s hard, and everything inside me goes hot. Gone are the issues with London, and gone are my worries about my career being up in the air.

  I want Owen Adler right now.

  I part from his lips, smiling as our eyes meet, and with a husky voice, I ask, “My place or yours?”

  He matches my grin, moving his hands up into my shirt. He holds my back, digging his fingers into my skin, and I freeze.

  Can he feel my stretch marks?

  Oh, fuck me, he’s going to see me naked!

  Did I shave? Can’t have a hairy puss when I’m full of stretch marks.

  His grin falls as he eyes me. “Paxy, what’s wrong?”

  Lie. “I had a rough night at work—”

  “Pax, tell me the truth.”

  I bite the inside of my lip as I look at his jugular. I can see it throbbing, and I know he is feeling what I am feeling. Pure heat and desire. He slides his hands along my skin, and my eyes fall shut as he hugs me closer to him. Our bodies line up, and I can’t with how hard he is everywhere. “I want you, bad, and after the night I’ve had, I’d like to forget everything. But I haven’t slept with anyone since I got fat, and it scares me to think of you looking at me and seeing my stretch marks.”