“Yes, exactly what I was thinking,” Avery said dryly. “How responsible of you, Lucas.”
I glared at her over the top of my mom’s head and mouthed a curse.
Avery carried on cheerfully until we entered the exam room and she spotted the table she had to sit on.
It had metal stirrups.
I coughed out a laugh. “I’ll just be outside.”
Mom grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. “Just where do you think you’re going?”
I gave her a helpless look. “Mom, she needs privacy. I’ll wait outside the door while the nurse and doctor . . . examine Avery.”
“I completely agree.” Mom nodded and crossed her arms. “So if you need me, I’ll be reading that new book about the naughty duke on my Kindle. In the waiting room. You two have fun!”
She was gone before I could argue.
Leaving both Avery and me staring at the table in horror.
“We could pay him off.”
“What was that?” I asked.
“And when I say ‘we,’ I mean you. You can pay off the doctor, tell him not to make me take off all my clothes and get on the death contraption.”
“Avery, I—”
“They make me spread my legs, Lucas!” she wailed. “And this thing”—she made an alligator motion with her arms—“clamps together and gets shoved up into . . . Well . . .” Her cheeks turned pink. “You know where, and then it does THIS!” Her arms slowly opened. “WIDE!”
I was a sick man.
Because the image wasn’t at all horrifying.
In fact, I had half a mind to ask if I could watch.
What the hell was wrong with me?
“Lucas!” she hissed. “Pay attention.” She snapped her fingers in front of my face. “I’ll be completely exposed!”
I tugged the collar of my shirt and nodded. “Avery, relax, it’s going to be over with before you know it.”
She hung her head and made a little whimper, then said, “Okay, well, I need to put on the gown of death, so you—you can go.”
I sighed. “I’ll turn around while you change, and at least wait until the doctor and his nurse get in here, okay?”
Avery’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t believe you got us into this predicament.”
Sadly, I had to turn around, and I nearly passed out when I heard the sound of a zipper lowering. I clenched my hands. “How do you figure? You’re the one who got drunk and then lied to Erin the next day, not me.”
“You were right. You should have left me to die on the street corner, Lucas.”
“Believe me, I would have, but you said you frowned upon prostitution, and I guarantee leaving you on a street corner would have been a very quick way to put you on the exact career path that working for me is keeping you from.”
The sound of paper rustling had me too curious to resist peeking over my shoulder. Avery was already up on the exam table, her knees exposed and her small body completely swallowed up in an ugly pink hospital gown.
“Don’t . . .” she said through clenched teeth, looking down at the pink fabric, “. . . laugh.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Wasn’t even tempted to look beneath the paper sheet.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’d like to think we’re beyond the lying.”
I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling.
“Fine.” She looked heavenward. “You can laugh for three seconds, then you have to stop and tell me how sexy my legs look.”
I laughed and then reached for her knee, which was warm, like the rest of her skin. My fingers bristled at the innocent touch, greedy for more. We locked eyes. “Your legs look sexy.”
Her lips parted.
My fingers slid up her gown.
After a couple of soft knocks, the door opened before Avery could answer. “Avery Black?” One of the most attractive men I’d ever seen, damn it, walked in, clipboard in hand, plastic smile on his face. He had bleached-blond hair and dimples, and he was built like a tank. Oh, hell no.
His nurse followed and stood politely in the corner. I could feel the heat of her gaze on me, but my focus was entirely on Avery and her reaction to Dr. McDreamy.
“That’s me!” Avery practically leaped off the table in an attempt to shake the doctor’s hand.
The bastard grinned and touched her shoulder. If that wasn’t a malpractice suit, I wasn’t sure what was.
I moved quickly to intercept the hand that was already nearing hers. “Lucas Thorn.”
He shook my hand, his eyebrows knitting together. “Oh, hi.”
Damn it, he wasn’t gay.
I was really banking on him being gay; at least then I could divert his attention away from Avery.
No chance in hell was he getting anywhere near the lower part of her body . . . Shit, was it hot in here?
“Do those windows open?” I pointed to a window and started rolling my sleeves up like I was going to be elbows deep between Avery’s thighs, a mental picture that would land me in hell.
“No.” The doctor laughed. “We’re on the sixteenth floor, and people tend to jump.”
“Hah-hah,” I nodded. “What about pushing someone off? That happen often, Doctor?”
“Dr. Dupper.” He grinned and turned to Avery. “But you can call me Dustin.”
“Wow, Dustin”—I made sure to say his name loudly—“aren’t you a bit young to be a doctor?”
His face hardened. “I’m thirty-three. I’ve been out of residency two and a half years. So, no. Would you like to see my degree from Yale School of Medicine?”
Of course he’d gone to Yale.
“No,” I said through clenched teeth. Who would name their kid Dustin Dupper? “No, I’m sure you’re more than qualified.” It hurt like hell to keep a smile on my face while he eyed me up and down before he finally turned his attention back to Avery.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
Avery gulped. “Yeah.” She peered around Dustin. “Lucas, you should wait outside.”
“No!” I barked, then cleared my throat. “I mean, what kind of fiancé would I be if I bailed during the hard times, right, pumpkin face?”
“But, cupcake . . .” Now her teeth clenched, and she subjected me to a hard stare. “You said that—”
“I love you.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, making every logical bone in my body panic while my heart continued to steadily beat against my chest. It was an odd feeling. My brain wanted me to run, but my heart was . . . content.
The feeling didn’t last long.
Because the minute I released those three words, Avery hung her head, and every ounce of teasing left her body. Like I’d just zapped her of all the happy hormones she had floating around and told her I was going to kill her favorite pet.
“Avery?” Dustin asked. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, let’s just get this over with, okay?”
The doctor grinned, then eyed his clipboard. “Fantastic. Now, it says here that you’re currently sexually active.”
“The hell she is!” I yelled.
Both turned to me.
“Oh.” I decided to backpedal before I made more of an ass out of myself. “Sorry—I mean, yes, with me, her fiancé.”
“Do you mind?” Dustin barked out.
I held my hands up.
“Are you currently on any sort of birth control?”
Avery shook her head and whispered a no.
“Do you want to be?”
Wasn’t that kind of personal?
“Yes,” she answered thoughtfully. “I think it’s time.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Was I sweating? “Avery Bug, maybe you’re, I mean, we’re rushing into this . . .”
“Safe sex?” The doctor gave me a confused look. “She’s rushing into safe sex with her fiancé?”
I was shaking with the urge to strangle him. “No, you’re right, ignore me.”
Avery rolled her eyes at me while
he checked something off his list.
There were about a million questions he went on to ask her, and I had to sit and listen to her answer every single one.
Chapter Twenty-Two
AVERY
One of the most common questions when you’re in a new group of people or introducing yourself at school—heck, it’s the favorite question that gets asked at parties—is, “What’s your most embarrassing moment?”
People confide in one another, laugh, create an emotional bond over their sad, unfortunate situations, and move on.
Before today, I would have said my most embarrassing moment was when I accidentally flashed the entire senior class at high school graduation because I’d tucked my miniskirt into my thong. Luckily, there was a nice wind that day, which clued me in when I was halfway up the stairs, ready to receive my diploma, that I had a cheek exposed.
It could have been worse.
That moment made a killing my freshman year at college. People laughed, guys hit on me and asked if I still had the skirt—so really it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Until today, I’d never truly understood the word “embarrassment,” its definition, its meaning, and everything else attached to it.
Until Lucas Thorn.
Until his mother.
Until now.
“If you would just relax and lean back, this will be over with before you know it!” Dr. Dupper patted my leg with his latex glove. He then pulled a curtain around the examination table so that I was partially blocked from Lucas’s view, for which I was grateful.
Shaking, I tried to go to my happy place, but I was miserable. Lucas had said the three words I’d dreamed of him saying to me when I still wasn’t over my crush in high school—and he’d looked like he meant them.
I’d rather be rejected than given a taste of what it would feel like to be loved by him, only to realize two seconds later that it wasn’t real.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the inevitable, but Lucas peeked from around the curtain and whispered in my ear, “This will be funny tomorrow, I promise.”
I opened one eye. “You aren’t the one with your legs spread.”
He looked down at my legs and smirked. He couldn’t see anything, but it was still horrifying for me.
“I can at least appreciate the flexibility.” He winked.
I smiled. “Really? That’s what you’re going to say?”
“Beautiful,” Dr. Dupper commented.
I frowned and propped myself up on my elbows. “Excuse me?”
He peered up at us in confusion. “Oh, I just appreciate it when a woman takes care of her health.” He winked.
Lucas cursed on the other side of the curtain. “More doing, less talking, Doc.”
The doctor snapped back at him, “Please don’t tell me how to do my job.”
“Lucas . . .” I shook my head slowly even though he couldn’t see me. “Just leave it.”
“He called your parts ‘beautiful’!” Lucas hissed as if he was actually angry that a doctor was doing his job.
I burst out laughing. “So?”
“So!” He swore violently and then gripped the edge of the curtain like he was getting ready to tear it down. “Just, that’s not . . . professional.”
“Okay, big guy.” I patted the part of his arm that was visible and then let out a little whimper.
“What?” He poked his face around the curtain, his eyes locking on mine. “What’s wrong? What did the bastard do?”
“You know I can hear both of you, right?” Dr. Dupper asked in a detached voice. “And, Avery, I need you to stop clenching or it’s going to hurt a lot worse.”
“THEN STOP DOING IT!” Lucas yelled.
The doctor ignored him and shoved the metal thingy further in. I clutched the paper sheet and started to sweat.
By this point the curtain was long gone and Lucas was at my side, gripping my hand like I was getting ready to pop out a kid.
“What do I do?” Lucas looked like he was ready to pass out.
“You could have just told the truth to begin with instead of making me go through with dinner last night,” I said through gritted teeth.
“And miss this amazing team-building opportunity?” he joked. “Never.”
“You’re a jackass and should burn in hell.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” He patted my head. I swatted his hand away and swore.
“Almost there,” the doctor said for what felt like the fifth time.
“He’s said that at least twice, right?” My eyes were watering. “Never again. I’m never going to the doctor again.”
Finally, Dr. Dupper, the doctor of death, pulled the metal thingy away and stood. “You can sit up now.”
I jerked the paper sheet over my lap.
I almost burst into tears with relief, until he locked eyes with me and said, “Is there something you’d like to discuss with me, Avery?”
I frowned and then shivered. “Um, no, I don’t think so.”
Lucas’s hand on my arm tightened.
Dr. Dupper looked between the two of us. “Your hymen is still intact.”
I looked up at Lucas and grinned, suddenly feeling quite pleased with the whole situation when I answered, “Well, he’s really small.”
Dr. Dupper burst out laughing.
And suddenly? The whole trip to the gyno?
Worth it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
AVERY
After the gyno adventure, we decided to skip having lunch together and sent Lucas’s mom on her way. I told her I was traumatized, and Lucas looked traumatized, so it worked. I whistled the entire afternoon at work—not because I’d had such a stellar start to my day but because I had every intention of going back to a certain doctor and getting a date.
That was, once I flushed Lucas Thorn down the toilet with all the penile enlargement pamphlets Dr. Dupper had given him. Hey, there was a thought. Instead of flowers at his burial, I’d litter the casket with those. Perfect. And he said I was evil for making fun of his small penis!
At least I can still be thoughtful!
“Lunch.” Lucas rapped his knuckles on my desk. “What do you want? Hot dog? Hamburger?”
“Gee.” I pretended to think about it. “How big is this hot dog?” I held two fingers an inch apart. “Would you say it’s this big? Or”—I moved them two inches apart—“this big?”
He glowered. “I’m never living this down, am I?”
“It was one of my favorite life moments,” I answered sweetly. “Ever.”
“That makes one of us. The bastard gave me pamphlets for a penile enlargement. He looked genuinely concerned, Avery. Think of what that does to a man! He thinks I can’t please you!”
I laughed. “And why does that bother you? You’ll never please me. Think of it that way.”
“But I could,” he pointed out. “And put your fingers down. It’s embarrassing how little you know about hot dogs—mine especially.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
“Careful.” He leaned over the desk and whispered, “Your innocence is showing.”
“Is not.” Mature, Avery. Well done.
“You’re blushing.”
“It’s hot in here.” I made a fan motion in front of my face to deflect his attention.
He eyed me up and down. “Yup, I see what you mean, very hot. Hot enough to give you a nice flush down your neck—hey, where’s that sweater from?”
I ignored him and pretended that I was checking my email so he’d leave. It didn’t help that my fingers shook a bit over the computer keyboard. “I’d like a hamburger. I think I’ve had enough hot dog talk for the day.”
“Done.” He nodded and started to walk away but then backtracked and scratched his head, like he was nervous. “When Chelsea gets here, can you show her to my office?”
My hands froze over the keyboard. I could only nod and mutter out a “Yup.”
“Thanks.”
Fortunately, my embarrassm
ent at the doctor’s office was trumped by Lucas’s, so he hadn’t even touched on the subject of me being technically a virgin. I can only imagine how that conversation would go, especially since by some miracle of God the only guy I’d had sex with hadn’t really done his job.
Needing to busy myself, I reviewed the calendar for the next few weeks. We had app training four times a week in addition to two more school visits this week before I could be done with work, which meant basically every day of my life—both business and personal—was with Lucas.
I exhaled and tried to get myself to think of anything but Lucas.
And the way he had held my hand.
And said he loved me.
And kissed me.
The pencil I was holding snapped in half. My phone lit up the minute the pencil tip nearly impaled my thigh.
Kayla.
Ah!
“Hi!” I answered on the first ring, my voice breathy and high. “What’s up?”
“You,” she sniffled. “You.”
“Me?” I started to have that dizzy feeling you get when you know that you’re in trouble and something bad is about to happen. I knew that the moms would talk. I just assumed they wouldn’t break the news to Kayla, of all people, that quickly. “Me, what?”
“Y-you and Lucas are g-getting married?” she shrieked. Loudly.
Oh no.
I wished I could blame Austin and Thatch and the stupid wine at his house, but this was all me.
All me and my stupid need to save Lucas from his parents’ wrath and possibly mend my own parents’ hearts in the process.
I quickly tried to think of a way I could lie my way out of it.
“Kayla, calm down.”
“CALM DOWN?”
“I mean, what I mean is, you don’t know all the details, and—”
“He cheated on me!” she wailed. “With our SISTER!”
Hah! Wondered what she’d do if she knew he always cheated on everyone. Would that make her feel better or worse? Decisions, decisions.
“Kayla.” I wondered if the day could get any gnarlier. “Look, I can explain—why don’t we meet for dinner tonight?”
Not only did I have absolutely no money, but now I’d have to sit across from my amazing sister and make her believe that I was in love with her ex-fiancé and that he’d turned over a new leaf—though none of it was actually true.