by Gina Wilkins
“His maternal grandfather invented some sort of doohickey that’s used in manufacturing equipment all over the world. He doesn’t talk about it, apparently, but Elissa did some research on his family and she told Nicki, who mentioned it to me when I asked if anyone knew James.”
Her expression conspiratorial now, she added, “They think that’s why he’s not interested in tying himself down to anyone. I mean, he’s good-looking and rich and he’s going to be a respected doctor, so why limit his options when he’s still so young? He’s only in his thirties, after all. Nicki and Elissa didn’t know why he wants to work so hard to become a doctor, when he could probably live comfortably without doing much of anything.”
“He won’t be thirty until next month. And James doesn’t strike me as the type to spend his life doing nothing. He already has one advanced degree, and now he’s working toward his M.D., preparing to take on a very challenging residency. Whatever his social or financial standing, he works very hard.”
Devin held up both hands in response to Shannon’s tone. “I just thought you’d want to hear what I found out about him. I mean, I’ve never thought some rich playboy doctor would be your type.”
“James is hardly a playboy doctor. He doesn’t brag about his circumstances—just the opposite, actually. This is the first I’ve heard of a rich grandfather. And I sincerely doubt he’s had time to party all that much and still be at the top of his medical-school class, not to mention having earned a Ph.D first.”
“You’re very defensive about him.” Devin studied her quizzically. “You sound like you’re getting annoyed with me for telling you these things. Now you know why I said you’ve fallen hard and fast. Why I’m worried you’re going to get hurt again.”
“I’m annoyed because you’ve been gossiping about my friend at the hospital where he works. I would be just as annoyed with anyone who gossiped about you. I’m annoyed because you’re treating me as if I’m some dimwit who has to be protected from my own feelings. Philip did not leave me brokenhearted and vulnerable—I dumped his pompous butt. And I decide what sort of relationship I’ll have with James, or any other man in my future.”
It wasn’t the first spat she’d had with Devin—not even the first based on Devin’s habit of wanting to watch over Shannon—but this time Shannon argued with more force than usual.
Devin sighed gustily. “Fine. Forgive me for caring. All I did was ask a few coworkers if they’d ever worked with him or heard of him. It wasn’t really gossiping.”
But her tone said she knew differently and her expression was slightly apologetic when she added, “I won’t do it again.”
“Thank you. Now I have to hurry or I’ll be late to work.”
“Yeah, guess I’ll get some sleep. Uh—sorry about…well, you know.”
Shannon merely nodded. Knowing Devin had meant well did not excuse the behavior. Shannon suspected James would be appalled to find out that his private life was being discussed so avidly in the hospital where he had worked so hard to establish himself in his career.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one with some dating mistakes in her past.
“Have I mentioned how nice you look tonight?” James asked Saturday evening as he held the door of the bar where his classmates were meeting for drinks and socializing. “Thanks again for coming with me.”
It had been a crazy busy week for both of them with their work and her family obligations. Though they had talked a few times by telephone, this was the first time she had seen him since he’d slipped out of her bed at midnight on Monday. She’d half expected at least a little awkwardness when they’d first seen each other again, but he’d been held up at the hospital and was running a little late picking her up, so they’d started the evening in a laughing rush.
She’d hosted a fun, quirky, after-school birthday party at the ice-skating rink the day before and she chattered about that during the drive to the bar, making him chuckle a few times with her adventures on ice. He hadn’t said much about his week, only that it had been busy and—his highest praise—challenging. But the discomfiture she’d dreaded had never materialized, to her relief.
She automatically smoothed a hand down the front of the full, printed-cotton skirt she wore with a deep-scoop green T-shirt. He’d assured her the occasion was casual, so she’d dressed accordingly. She enjoyed wearing skirts and colorful tops in warm weather—it made a nice change from her work uniform of khaki pants and jeans. “Thank you. And I’m looking forward to meeting your friends.”
She had hesitated a few moments when he’d asked her during a phone conversation Wednesday evening to join him for this gathering. He had apologized for waiting so late to ask her. He’d explained that he hadn’t planned to go himself since it wasn’t really his type of thing, but he’d been persuaded by his friends.
It wasn’t the short notice that had caused her pause. Nor was she particularly hesitant about mingling with a group of medical students. She was proud of both her retail work and her party business, so it wasn’t that she had any feelings of inferiority in comparison. Rather, her uncertainty was due to her suspicion that James probably attracted rumors like honey drew flies.
As Devin had pointed out, he was handsome, wealthy and naturally reserved. The less he shared about himself, the more the gossips would speculate about him. She wasn’t eager to be a part of that idle conjecture.
Yet, she had agreed, partially because she wanted to spend more time with James, and partially because she was curious to see him interacting with his friends. He just seemed so darn isolated in some ways, which triggered that knee-jerk sympathy for him. Was it his family background that set him apart from most people? The fact that he’d skipped so many early grades, making him younger than his classmates? His obviously genius IQ?
Or was she going to see tonight that he fit in just fine and she was simply letting her imagination run away with her?
She didn’t bother to mention that he looked good, too. He always did. His gray-pinstriped white cotton shirt and gray chinos were stylishly casual, making him look as though he’d just stepped out of a men’s clothing catalog. It was no wonder women’s heads turned immediately in his direction the moment he walked into the crowded establishment.
His classmates had reserved a large back room for their gathering. She had asked on the way if there was any purpose for the event, but he’d merely shrugged and said the class officers wanted everyone to get together a few times during their last year of school, just for socializing. He didn’t expect a large turnout, he’d added. The class was so scattered this year in various rotations and after-graduation preparations and many had family obligations by now. As he’d already mentioned, he’d considered skipping this one, but his friend Haley was one of the class officers and she’d let him know she expected to see him there.
At a glance, she could see that he’d estimated the attendance fairly well. The room was full, but not overly crowded. He’d said there were about a hundred and twenty-five people in his class, so not even a third were represented here tonight from her estimation as she mentally subtracted dates and spouses from the number of people milling around the small tables and chattering over the piped-in music.
A long table at one side of the room held assorted snacks—buffalo wings, canapés, dips and chips, a few trays of sweets that might have been brought in by the party organizers. Two servers dressed all in black with the bar’s logo emblazoned across their chests worked the room, taking drink orders and stuffing what looked to be generous tips into their apron pockets.
A woman with a glossy brown bob and warm amber eyes moved toward them, followed by a sandy-haired man with an engaging grin. “James, I’m glad you could make it,” the woman said.
James laughed wryly. “After you ordered me to show up or you would track me down and drag me here? I didn’t dare skip out, Haley.”
Haley giggled. “I wasn’t quite that threatening.”
“You had me shaking in my shoes.”
James placed a hand on Shannon’s back. “Shannon Gambill, I’d like you to meet Haley and Ron Gibson, two of my closest friends.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Haley replied. “We saw you at the restaurant on half-price lasagna night. We were dining with James when you stopped to say hello, but he didn’t bother to introduce us.”
Because his ego had still been stinging that night over her comment that he made her nervous, Shannon mused with a slight shake of her head. “Yes, I remember seeing you.”
“We were at the Hayes party, too, but we stayed inside while you wrangled the kids outside. Your party was a great success. Alexis had a wonderful time.”
“I’m glad,” Shannon said, pleased.
“Actually, Haley and I both thought you looked familiar that night at the restaurant,” Ron piped in. “We haven’t met before, have we?”
“Not that I recall.” She didn’t add that she’d had the same feeling about James when she’d first met him at the lake, a sense that they had talked at some time in the past. Just coincidence, she was sure.
“There’s my daughter’s heroine.” Connor Hayes approached with a mug of beer in one hand and a plate of buffalo wings in the other. “Nice to see you again, Shannon.”
She smiled at him. “You, too. How is Alexis?”
“She’s fine, thanks. Still carries her tote bag from the party everywhere she goes.”
“I’m glad she likes it. She’s such a sweet girl.”
“Thanks. Mia, Anne and Liam are holding a table for us. Y’all grab some food and a drink and come sit down.”
Haley sighed gustily. “The point of tonight is to mingle, not just to sit and talk with each other.”
“We’ll mingle after we have a drink and some snacks,” James promised, nudging Shannon toward the food table.
But Shannon noted during the next half hour that the close-knit study group was in no hurry to work the room. The five of them were obviously on friendly terms with their classmates, exchanging greetings and handshakes and pleasantries when they trekked to the food tables or when anyone stopped by to speak to them, but they seemed content for the most part to spend the evening with each other.
She supposed some people might consider them a clique, but to her they were more like a little family. They finished each other’s sentences, laughed at unspoken inside jokes, sympathized over each other’s problems, celebrated their accomplishments, and communicated with glances and half smiles. She didn’t feel left out—they were very careful to make her feel a part of the group—but she was very aware of the close bonds between this group.
Connor’s wife, Mia, and Anne’s husband, Liam, were accepted among them with warmth and affection, but, clearly, there was a special connection between the five who had survived the first three years of medical school together. As guarded as James was with his deepest emotions, she had no trouble seeing that he cherished these friendships.
She sensed again that he had never been part of such a tight group before, probably because he had been so much younger than classmates from his previous schools. The study group were all close in age, with no more than four or five years separating the youngest, Anne, from the oldest, Connor—gaps that made less difference in adulthood than in adolescence and college-age.
Shannon liked all of them and could see why James had grown so attached to them. She had to admit that she had been secretly a little impressed to meet Anne’s husband.
“Liam McCright?” she repeated after being introduced. Eying his trademark curls and familiar, roguishly infectious smile, she’d blurted, “I’ve watched you on TV!”
He had responded easily to her gauche remark, setting her immediately at ease, but she still found it hard to believe at times that she was seated next to a man whose cable TV adventure travel show had made him increasingly famous. She didn’t follow celebrity gossip very closely, so she hadn’t realized he was married to James’s friend, Anne Easton.
“How long have you been married?” she asked as they’d gotten acquainted.
Anne and Liam had exchanged an amused look, a private joke Shannon didn’t understand but that the others apparently did, judging from their smiles. “Just over three years,” Liam answered. “But we didn’t announce it publicly until last year.”
She hadn’t asked any more questions about their private lives and the conversation had soon turned to plans for the upcoming months until graduation. Four of the five study-group members—James, Haley, Ron and Connor—would be out of the state for away rotations in October, and James and Anne would be away in November. Residency interviews would begin in December and continue for the next couple of months and then matches would be announced in March. Graduation would be held early in May.
“I’ll just barely make it back for the Halloween party,” Haley commented. “Someone else is going to have to do the prep work for that one.”
“I won’t make it to that one,” James said, holding up his hands in Haley’s direction. “You can’t blame me for missing a party when I’m not even in the state.”
She smiled. “Okay, you’re excused from that one.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll be spending your thirtieth birthday all alone in Seattle,” Anne said as if it had just occurred to her. “We should all try to get online that night and have a virtual party or something.”
James gave her a little smile. “That would be nice.”
“It sounds as though you’re all going to be very busy for the next few months,” Shannon commented, not wanting to think about James being gone for so long. She was getting a little too used to having him around, she thought.
The married couples shared long-suffering glances. “We’re all used to that,” Anne said.
Connor shrugged. “It’s just the life we’ve chosen. Liam’s schedule is packed full with his travel and writing and filming. Mia’s busy with teaching and working toward her doctorate in education. I know you must have a full calendar with your party business. None of us subscribe to the theory that doctors should be placed on pedestals or given special treatment just because the career we chose is somewhat demanding.”
“Hey, speak for yourself,” Ron cut in with a grin. “I might like to be on a pedestal.”
Haley rolled her eyes. “You’d only fall off and break your neck.”
“Hey!” her husband protested while the others laughed. “I resent that.”
“Get over it,” Haley advised him.
He heaved a sigh and pushed his chair back from the table. “I think I’ll have a couple of those cheesecake thingies. Anyone want anything from the food table?”
“I’ll go with you,” James offered, standing. “I wouldn’t mind something sweet. Can I bring you anything, Shannon?”
She smiled up at him. “I’d take a couple of those cheesecake thingies.”
“You got it. Anyone else?”
Connor and Liam decided they might as well go, too, taking orders for desserts from their wives.
Shannon watched as James moved away from her, conversing with his friends and disappearing into the crowd around the food table. He was only half a room away from her and she missed him already. That was no way for her to prepare herself for the next two months—or more—without him in her life, she thought with a hard swallow.
After all her big talk to Devin about knowing what she was doing with James, she hoped she wasn’t destined to have her heart bruised by him, no matter how hard she tried to prevent it.
Chapter Nine
“I could get used to being waited on like this,” Mia said with a laugh when only the women were left at the table. “Of course you know it could be a while before the men come back. Look at that group of guys gabbing by the goodies table. And they say we’re the talkative ones.”
“Uh-oh, looks like Margo has cornered Liam,” Haley said to Anne, glancing meaningfully across the room. “Think we should go rescue him?”
Anne shook her head. “Liam is used to people wanting to be his buddy because they’re impressed by his celebrity. He can handle it.”
Mia focused on Shannon. “I’m glad you could join us tonight, Shannon. I’ve wanted to tell you again how much Alexis enjoyed her party. She’s looking forward to McKenzie’s karaoke party next month. I know you’ll do a great job with it.”
“I’ve been working on a pop-star theme for that one. Like the TV show? They’ll be able to sing and everyone will get themed prizes like tiaras and glittery microphones and feather boas and splashy costume jewelry. The crafts project will be rhinestones and faux gems glued to picture frames. Don’t tell Alexis, because it’s going to be a surprise, but I’ll take a picture of the group dolled up like rock stars. I’ll bring a portable photo printer to make copies for all the guests to display in the frames they decorate.”
“That sounds like so much fun! I would have loved a party like that at their age,” Haley enthused. “My friends and I were always singing into hairbrushes at our sleepovers.”
Shannon laughed softly. “My sister and I did that a few times, too.”
“You’re good for James,” Haley commented, looking across the room to where James was chatting with the men hovering close to the sweets. “He seems to relax a little more with you than with other women he’s dated in the past couple of years.”
Shannon had already gotten the impression that Haley tended to speak frankly—a trait she certainly identified with. So she wasn’t particularly taken aback by the comment, but she smiled and spoke lightly. “He’s a nice guy. We’ve had fun.”
“He’s not an easy man to read, but we love him,” Anne said quietly, her blue eyes softening.
“Not easy, perhaps, but I know he loves you all, too,” Shannon replied. “He’ll miss everyone next year when you’re all in different places. He’s told me so.”
“Has he?” Haley eyed her speculatively. “Does he talk a lot to you?”
