“Remember that,” Nate said, grinning. “Because I hate waiting in that damn ER with all those over-eager nurses.”
“Oh, poor baby. What a hardship, to have beautiful women lusting after you.” Ry clapped him on the back and rolled his eyes. “If you don’t need me anymore, I need to get help Mike get his tux on. The little guy is super excited about dressing up.”
“I’m good. Thank you, all of you. I would’ve been lost without you.” I shook my head, disbelief still running through me that Maxine had done this. And she’d done it for me.
The guys had all dispersed, giving me a few minutes to clear my head and get ready for the madness that was destined to be this event. Nearly all of Tulip would be there, eager to get a glimpse of the Hometown Heroes. They wanted photos. They wanted gossip. They wanted to see if the matchmakers had done it again.
By the time the guests started to arrive, I was already exhausted. Maybe it was my lack of sleep from the night before, but my money was on the fact that planning this thing was more tiresome than working six double shifts in the ER. Nearly all the guests were there by cocktail hour, but I hadn’t caught even a glimpse of Maxine. And I knew she was there because her assistant, Becks, had been fluttering around the ballroom on and off for nearly an hour.
Maxine, though, was nowhere to be found—which meant she was hiding.
“Becks,” I called out. She froze and turned, a question in her eyes. “Is Maxine here?”
She nodded. “Busy in the kitchen. You need something?”
I shook my head. What I needed was Maxine, and I was determined to get a moment—longer than a moment—alone with her before this night was over. In fact, sooner would be better than later. “I’ll take care of it. Thanks.” She shrugged and walked away and I stood, grabbing my jacket to make sure I was presentable when I set my sights on Maxine again.
Two days was too damn long.
“Dr. Cahill, exactly the man I wanted to see.” Sabrina Worthington stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Becks just before she pushed into the kitchen. “Everything looks wonderful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Worthington. It was a big job and I hope the rest of the night goes off without a hitch.”
“I’m sure it will.” She put a hand to my shoulder in an uncharacteristically causal gesture and smiled. “I know this is a headache, this Hometown Heroes nonsense. I thought so too, at first, but the publicity has drawn a lot of attention, which our town could use. You boys have been wonderful about this.”
“It’s a little much, but it’s for a good cause so I’ve kept my complaining to a minimum.”
Sabrina flashed another satisfied grin and gave a short nod. “You will be an excellent ED director, Derek.”
“Thank you.” I did my best not to look eager to end the conversation because I didn’t want to be rude, and because it would only encourage her to hang around longer.
The moment she joined a group of hospital donors, I turned to go find Maxine and ran, literally, right into Steven. “Derek. You’re the man of the hour, I see.” He flashed a genuine smile and shook his head before clasping my shoulders. “Good news from Mrs. Worthington?”
“Nothing bad,” I told him, looking over his shoulder just in case Maxine decided to make an appearance while I was distracted. “She seems happy, but the night is still young.”
He nodded again. “Glad to hear it. Are you busy now?”
“Actually—” I began but Steven was in his element, already guiding me towards a group of people I had no desire to fake-smile at during cocktail hour.
“Because I have a few donors who are dying to meet a real-life hero.”
I laughed. “I’m just a doctor, Steven.”
“Exactly. You save lives every day, and they’re all eager to shake hands. Come on.”
This was part of the job, the final part of my job for the night, and I couldn’t shirk my responsibilities. The appetizers hadn’t come out yet, so there was no need to worry.
There was plenty of time to see my woman and make her mine.
Maxine
The hour before an event officially began was my favorite part. None of the guests had arrived and all the other people who worked so hard to put the event on were taking care of the finishing touches. It was a quiet kind of chaos in which I thrived—even now, as I tried not to think about anything but getting the appetizers finished and plated. In about fifteen minutes the black-and-white clad waitstaff would line up on the other side of the stainless steel table, a staple in every professional or industrial kitchen in the world, ready to start filling the bellies of donors, doctors, and Hometown Heroes alike.
I enjoyed the quiet and the running around to make sure everything was perfect, even if it was just for a few hours.
The door swung open and I looked up to ask Becks if the guests had begun to arrive. It was cocktail hour, but usually when people were being asked to open their wallets, they showed up before dinner was served. Except it wasn’t Becks. “Nina, what are you doing back here? You feel like getting food all over that gorgeous dress?”
She did a sexy twirl in her leather and lace black dress and four-inch heels, shaking her booty while she turned. “It’s already had the desired effect on Preston, so I don’t much care what happens.”
I whistled and she rolled her eyes. “It looks expensive.”
“It’s two thrift store dresses put together, thanks to Hope and her magical fingers.”
“Well, you look great. What brings you back here?”
Nina turned and reached her arm out through the doorway, grabbing at something. When she found it, a smile lit up her face and she pulled her arm back, a garment bag attached to it. “I came for two reasons, but both of them come down to talking some sense into you.”
I shook my head, a wry grin twisting my face. I should have known, I did know, that Nina’s days of silence were too good to be true. “You decided the best course of action was to wait until tonight to ambush me? Tonight, when I have to make sure Sabrina Worthington is happy with my work?”
She shrugged and hung the garment bag on an empty hook where the kitchen whites and back-up waitstaff uniforms hung. “I gave you nearly a week to get your head screwed on straight. You chose to keep on being stubborn, so here I am.” She spread her hands wide, as if I couldn’t see the big, leather-and-lace clad troublemaker right in front of me.
She had given me time to process my feelings before coming to her, but there was nothing to talk about, so I did what I did best. Misdirection. “Where’s Callie?” Since I no longer had to pull double-duty as a caterer and a date, I’d bought her the blue dress and brought her along; Nina and Preston had even offered to watch her until my work duties were complete.
Nina rolled her eyes. “She’s at the table with Preston, both of them are nerding out over some new dinosaur exhibit in Houston so don’t be surprised if she asks about it.” Even that eyeroll couldn’t hide the soft, gooey grin she wore whenever she talked about her husband.
My shoulders relaxed at the news that Callie was all right and not causing any trouble, not that my little girl ever caused much trouble. She was more likely to question someone to death than run a person ragged. “Thanks, but I don’t need a lecture. I’m fine.” I wasn’t fine, not yet, but I would be. I’d been through this before, and I knew that time was the only cure.
She let out a low, frustrated growl. “You can’t be this stupid. She isn’t this stupid, right?” Nina’s gaze was fixed just over my shoulder and I turned, surprised to see Becks behind me putting together appetizer plates.
“I’m Switzerland.”
“Coward,” Nina growled and turned her annoyed stare back to me. “Look, women come on to Derek all the time, and that goes double for the rich wives of his older, wealthier patients.” I snorted and her gaze narrowed. “He’s an ER doctor, which means he has less control over his clients than you do.”
“I never said he didn’t.”
“Yeah but you don�
�t get it. He is a good-looking doctor who also happens to be a genuinely nice guy, which is like catnip for women. Especially women in a small town.”
“Yeah, he’s a hot commodity, I got it. It’s good news he’s back on the market then, isn’t it?” I knew I sounded like a whiny-ass baby, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to hear about how much other women lusted after him. “I’ve seen it first-hand, Nina. Thanks.”
“But what you haven’t been willing to see is that he never, ever gives any of them the time of day. Not patients and not spouses of patients, either.”
“What’s your point?” Okay, so I was being stubborn, but that was me.
“Seriously,” she growled, taking a few steps closer so only the table separated us. “My point is that you can’t hold other people’s behavior against him. Not your shitty ex’s behavior and certainly not desperate trophy wives. They go after him and he turns them down.”
I barked out a harsh, bitter laugh that echoed in the kitchen. “I’m not holding anyone’s behavior against Derek but Derek’s. He kissed another woman, Nina.” She arched a brow that told me she at least knew some of the story. “Fine,” I conceded with a roll of my eyes. “She kissed him. But you know what he didn’t do? He didn’t pull back or tell her he was seeing someone—and nothing you or he says will make that okay.”
Her eyes widened as my words sank in and a low whistle escaped. “Shit.”
A small smile touched my lips at her whispered expletive. “Yep, exactly. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when we went out and everywhere we went, some woman approached him, bold and sexy. Married and too forward for my liking. I understood, and I still do. But what I don’t understand is why he didn’t push her away or find a way to reject her. He just let it happen, Nina.”
“Damn. I got nothing. What about you, Becks, you got anything?”
I turned to see if my trusted assistant had anything helpful, or otherwise, to add. “Still Switzerland,” she said as she wiped the edge a small saucer.
“I’m sorry, Max. I… shit, I’m just sorry.”
“Me, too,” I told her honestly because despite what he thought, it wasn’t easy to leave Derek alone. I missed him. I missed his smile and his laugh. I missed his way-too-fancy-for-a-bachelor kitchen, and I missed his hard, masculine body. Most of all, I missed his kisses.
“On the upside,” she put in with a mischievous grin, “the chances that Derek hasn’t learned his lesson are slim. Very, very slim I’d say.”
I laughed at her sing-song voice. “You, Nina Worthington, are not nearly as slick as you think you are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong my dear friend, because I am exactly as sly as I think I am. In fact, let me know what you think when you slip this bad boy on,” she said and gestured towards the garment bag.
“Tell me you didn’t.” I’d found the perfect purple dress to wear to the ball back when I was attending as more than the hired help. “I already took it back and the purchase was refunded to the bank.”
“Bank, schmank. I told Mikki to hold it and I bought it. Consider it a gift. Better yet, consider it an ‘I told you so.’”
I shook my head and turned my attention to the new rows of empty plates Becks had set in front of me. “I’m not going out there. I have too much to do.” And the last thing I wanted was to see Derek before I was ready, before I had my armor in place.
“Yes, you are. When you’re done, put on the damn dress and go put your man out of his misery. He’s trying to hide it, but he’s a terrible liar. Something that should make you happy.”
I smiled, remembering that I’d had the same thought about him earlier. “It’s not his truthfulness that’s the issue.”
“Yeah, yeah. He’s learned his lesson, I’m sure of it. Or, you can let this dress go to waste and let another trophy wife try to get her claws into him. I’ll be having a blast with my homegirl Callie and my sexy husband.” And with those words, she gave me one final pointed stare and left the kitchen.
Her words lingered in my mind while I finished off the appetizers, giving explicit instructions to the waitstaff on what to say and how to offer the dishes to the guests. As they marched out in a single file, black-and white-line, I thought about Derek learning his lesson. I hadn’t done this to punish him, but I had to wonder if he truly had learned from it. My ex hadn’t. Forgiving him had only made him bolder, a more efficient cheater. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see Derek behaving the same way.
And if he had learned his lesson, who was I really hurting by keeping us apart? Eventually, he would move on—like Nina said, he was a handsome doctor who also happened to be a really good guy. And where would that leave me? Single and still pining for him?
Hell, no.
Derek was kind, and he had a big heart and a soft spot for kids, something I loved about him. He wasn’t cruel and, knowing how much he’d hurt me, I knew he wouldn’t do it again.
Shit. Was I going to let a man like Derek get away because I was once burned and twice shy? Would I let another married woman who didn’t respect her vows take another man from me? “Hell, no,” I growled.
“You good, boss?”
Becks’ voice startled me and I turned with a nod, feeling a blush creep up my face and scalp. “Yep. Better than good, in fact.”
“Good,” she laughed. “Go get your man. I can handle the rest of this.”
“I can’t,” I insisted. There was too much to do and I was here to work, not to tend to my love life.
“All right,” she nodded with a gentle smile. “How about you go get dressed and dolled up while I finish plating everything, and then you can take a second look at everything before going to check out the ballroom?”
I sighed, overwhelmed with gratitude. “Thank you, Becks. I owe you.”
Her smile widened. “I accept cash, credit or crypto,” she called out before shooing me out of the kitchen.
I smiled, the garment bag clutched in my hands, as I found the nearest bathroom. It was time to get all done up and get my man back.
Derek
Where was she? The ball had, officially, been under way for almost two hours and still there was no sign of Maxine. My eyes scanned the room nonstop in search of her, of one glimpse of that fiery red hair, just so I would know that it wasn’t too late.
“Quit your pouting and let’s get the last of these photos finished.” Janey’s small hand clasped my shoulder, stopping the swivel of my head. “Once we’re done, you can go back to pouting. I promise.”
“I’m not pouting,” I told her angrily.
“Sure.” Janey snorted and rolled her eyes, in case I wasn’t aware that she didn’t believe me. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, doctor boy. Just join the rest of the Hometown Heroes, because if I miss out on dessert, I promise there will be hell to pay.” Her eyes were lit with mischief and it brought a smile to my face.
Dessert hadn’t been served, and Maxine prided herself on providing the best desserts in three counties. There was no way she would leave before those tiny plates were delivered and properly fawned over by Tulip’s elite. “Lead the way.” All of my other duties were done. Finishing up the last of the Hometown Heroes photos was the only thing standing between me and my woman.
Maxine was definitely hiding from me, and though it stung like hell, I wasn’t deterred. If she wasn’t bothered by our split, she wouldn’t be hiding. She would have come out and enjoyed a dance or two with Callie, instead of letting me twirl the girl around the dance floor. If she didn’t care about me, or us, she would have come out to show me exactly that.
“If you all smile and look sexy and brooding, I promise this will be painless,” Janey told us. “Make me have to tug it out of ya and, well, I can’t control how long this will take.”
A few groans and grunts sounded in the group but each of us took Janey at her word. After months of Hometown Heroes activities, we all knew that the fast way forward was to give Janey what she wanted. Lots of deep stares int
o the camera, sexy looks, and brooding. Janey was big on brooding.
“All right guys, let’s do this.” I clapped my hands loudly, drawing the attention of every coupled-up Hometown Hero who couldn’t keep his gaze off his woman, wherever she was located in the ballroom.
“What’s the hurry?” Scott asked the question under his breath but he was standing right beside me, ensuring I heard him snickering to himself.
“I got a woman to go see about,” I told him, just as quietly. Though Maxine and I were the worst-kept secret in Tulip, she didn’t realize it and I didn’t want to embarrass her.
“It’s about damn time. I thought I might have to intervene.”
I laughed at that obvious joke, because everyone knew the man had a physical aversion to meddling. “If there was a chance of that happening, I might delay just to witness it.”
“If I thought it would wipe that sad-bastard look off your face, I absolutely would.”
“It’s a good thing you don’t have to do any of that. Just smile and make love to the camera when Janey asks you to so we can all get the hell out of here. Deal?”
“Damn straight.”
True to her word, Janey managed to get the remaining photos done in just thirty minutes. Still, it was a long thirty minutes of her herding us this way and that, posing us in a variety of ways and barking out the most bizarre instructions which most of us didn’t understand. “You boys will never work the runways in Paris or be on the cover of Vogue, but you all look gorgeous and you did a damn good job. Enjoy your week of rest.”
“A week?” Preston shook his head. “There has to be enough money to fix the damn tribute by now.” He’d been the first of us to sign on, which meant he’d been doing Hometown Hero duty the longest. I understood his frustration.
Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset Page 29
