Weird. But whatever.
I tried not to care, as I saw the two of them laughing and talking together, Gemma’s hands drifting all over his arms and even his chest. He didn’t back away.
“Maybe you could take me home tonight,” I heard Gemma say, giggling.
“Sounds good,” Tim said, looking at me. His eyes were dark and snapping in that way they did when he was angry.
What the hell did he have to be angry about?
The night wore on, and I chose to ignore Tim and Gemma while I worked on helping Carrie make sure everything was in place with the caterers and the auction items.
It was finally time to go. “You’ve done an amazing job, Carrie,” I said. “Tomorrow is going to be wonderful.”
“Thanks,” she said gratefully. She looked exhausted and kind of… sad. It had been obvious when her husband Thatcher had briefly stopped by that they were having some sort of problem in their marriage. She was a wonderful person, so I hoped they were able to work things out so she could be happy.
“Hey, Nat, can you get a ride home with one of these losers?” Tim called out as he had his arm around Gemma Reardon.
“I don’t need a ride. My boyfriend is picking me up.”
I saw Tim’s face go pale at the word boyfriend. I raised my eyebrows. What was his problem?
We all moved into the parking lot, and everyone hung around talking until Heath pulled in.
“Oh my God,” Gemma said as he got out of his luxury SUV. It was one of his other ‘weekend’ cars. “It’s that handsome surgeon from Halliwell Hospital. Hello, Heath,” she called waving and sticking out her ample chest.
He gave her a half-hearted wave and a smile, obviously trying to place her.
She sashayed over to him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Just here to pick up my girl,” he said, pulling me to him for a kiss.
When we pulled apart, I said, “Everyone, this is Heath Reyes. I work with him at the hospital, and, well, we’ve been dating for several months now.”
I introduced him to everyone and stopped in front of Tim last. He was in his most imposing stance and frowning.
I ignored that. “And Heath, this is my best friend, Tim.”
“Ah, the best friend. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, sticking out his hand for a shake.
Tim looked at his hand like it was a snake.
I thought he wasn’t going to shake it for a minute, but then Sadie elbowed him. He complained about her hurting him but finally gave Heath a half-hearted handshake.
As we left, I heard Tim telling Gemma Reardon he wasn’t up for taking her home.
“So,” Heath said, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he drove off, “he’s in love with you, huh?”
“What? Tim? No. Believe me, he’s not. He’s just protective, that’s all.”
He gave me a disbelieving look but dropped it. “Are you excited about the ball tomorrow?”
“I am. I can’t wait for you to see my dress. It makes me feel like a princess.”
“I can’t wait,” he said as he pulled in the driveway. He reached for me, and soon we were making out in his car.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked.
He was breathing a little hard. “I’d love to, believe me. But I’ve got the early shift in the morning to make sure I’m not on call during the ball.”
