Page 277 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“You in?” I asked her directly. She shrugged.

“I guess I can’t be the downer.”

Bill nearly shoved me out of the way to envelop her in a bear hug. “That’s it, sweetheart. Perk up! You’re the youngest one here.” He glanced to me quickly. “At least, I assume.”

“You’re right, Bill. She’s the youngest.”

Harlow’s eyes narrowed at the way I said it. That’s right, little miss columnist. I’ve been researching you.

I signaled for the bartender’s attention while Bill moved back out from in between his daughter and me and settled in to chat with my mom, and he gave me a chin lift that said I had it. “Four Nipple Blasters.” The bartender gave me a nod and pulled out eight shot glasses.

Harlow shifted uncomfortably in front of me and crossed her arms over her chest. I bit into my lip as my mind went straight to the one sexy thing she could be trying to conceal. Was Harlow Paige getting a little hot and bothered every time I said the word nipple?

I leaned close, teasing the shell of her ear with my hot breath as I tested the theory. “Do you like Buttery Nipples, Harlow?”

She shivered, her shoulder jumping up to her ear just slightly before she tightened her arms. I smiled to myself. Yep. Harlow might not like me, but her nipples seemed to be liking me just fine.

One, two, three, four, the bartender lined up the shots on the bar in front of us, stacking the Fireball chasers directly behind each glass. I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to him before Bill could get his wallet out of his pocket.

“On me,” I told him.

“Thanks, Scott,” he said with a thump on my shoulder and a smile for his daughter.

“I like this guy, Low.”

She grumbled. “Of course you do, dad.”

I laughed as I picked up a glass and handed it to Harlow, and Bill did the same for my mom. Then we both took our own and formed a circle to clink cheers before tossing it down the hatch and grabbing for the chaser. Mine went down easily enough, but Harlow’s face was downright comical.

“Not a big drinker?” I asked as she set her empty glasses back on the bar.

“Not usually hard liquor,” she admitted.

“I like that,” I told her. And I did. I was all about a good time, but I liked the idea of someone who didn’t need alcohol to have one. And Harlow Paige might be grumpy right now, but I could tell she was a good time when she was with people she admitted to liking—probably bordering on too good.

“I think I need to sit down,” my mom said suddenly, and I turned to her with concern. Bill, of course, gentleman that he was, immediately grabbed her arm to offer support. And she fucking winked at me.

“Oh, don’t worry, Bill. It’s just this one hip. Gives me a little trouble if I stand for too long.”

My eyes narrowed. She didn’t have any hip problems.

“Let’s go sit down then, Nicole.”

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

Poor sap. He didn’t fucking mind at all. My mom looked over her shoulder and winked one more time as Harlow sank into a barstool, her head in her hands. Jesus Christ. My mom had just arranged alone time for me with Harlow. My mom is helping me with dates now. This feels like a low point.

Harlow didn’t look up from her point of focus, a drop of water on the bartop, when she spoke. “Your mom is…well, she’s something.”

Hell on wheels. My mom was hell on goddamn wheels.

“Okay, yeah, she is,” I laughed. “But I’m sure your parents are Ward and June Cleaver.”

“Well…” She laughed, finally leaving the water droplet to its own fate and forcing her eyes to meet mine. “Not exactly. They’re kind of like Ward and June Cleaver and Bill Johnson.”

“What?” My face pinched in confusion, and laughter bubbled in my throat at the same time. “Who the hell is Bill Johnson?”

“He’s my dad. Actually, Bill Paige is my dad.” She rolled her eyes. “Obviously. But my mom, Karen, aka June, and her husband Jean-Pierre, aka Ward, are the perfect couple, and my dad is, crazy as it sounds, their perfect sidekick.”