Page 283 of The Doctors Will See You Now

I watched, immobile, as she crossed the room to me like she was floating. She was graceful and composed, and Christ, I felt like we were the only two people in the room.

“Hi, Harlow,” I greeted softly when she made it to me.

“Hi, Scott,” she whispered back.

Like it had a mind of its own, my hand started to move, toward her arm, her shoulder, something—just anything to feel my skin on her skin.

“Your beard looks like it’s eating your face alive. I thought you’d at least shave for a fancy shindig like this,” she commented, and thank God, really. The derisive note in her voice was the only thing that made room for my sanity to return. I shook off my episode of fascination and focused on what we did best—laying carefully concealed barbs within normal conversation and amusing one another.

“It’s a Beards for Babies thing that Will Cummings is doing.”

“Will Cummings? You mean, Dr. Obscene?”

I shook my head as a bark of laughter escaped my throat. “You know, he’d just love to know you’re more familiar with his nickname than his real name. Truly, he’d be honored.”

“I take it he doesn’t covet the celeb life quite as much as you, Dr. Erotic?”

“No, he doesn’t.” My eyes narrowed. “That’s why you’re going to keep him out of the limelight, right?”

“Hey, I’m just—”

“An opportunist.”

With a perfectly manicured hand to her chest, she feigned discomfort. “You wound me.”

“Bullshit. You’re not offended in the slightest. And you shouldn’t be. I, for one, find it blindingly attractive.”

She rolled her eyes.

“But keep the stories to me, okay? Leave the other two alone.”

“Ohh,” she cooed, her eyes lighting up. “I’d almost forgotten about the third. What’s his name? What’s his deal? When do his episodes air?”

“Harlow.”

“What? I’m just trying to be informed.”

“He’s got a kid. Drop it.”

“Wow, a beard for the babies and defensiveness for the child of the third mysterious doctor of The Doctor Is In. Are kids a weakness for you, Scott?”

“Yes. They are. And quite frankly, they should be for everyone.”

Her face softened ever so slightly. Not enough to change the shape, and not enough to make me step closer, but enough to know she didn’t have a heart of stone locked in there behind all that armor.

“Shall we?” I asked, offering her my elbow as the band music softened and they instructed everyone to make their way to their seats.

She looked at my arm closely for several moments before taking it, and I noticed for the first time that my mother had moved on to Bill. I’d completely forgotten about her. Does that make me a shitty son?

“So what’s the deal with your parents?” Harlow asked as we walked, securing my full attention once again. “I told you about mine.”

I nodded and pulled her in closer so I could whisper. God, she smells good.

“Ah, yes. Nicole and Tanner Shepard divorced when I was seventeen years old after nearly twenty years of unhappy marriage. They both knew they weren’t meant for each other probably five years in, but I was a toddler. And while my mom is the stubbornest woman on the planet, my dad is the nicest man. No way he was going to leave her and me during those formidable years. When they finally separated, my mom held a grudge. Still does, quite frankly. But not because she actually loves him or anything.”

“Kind of like a kid with a toy?”

“Exactly like that,” I agreed. “Anyway, he met Linda a couple years later, and they married nearly immediately. Now, they are soul mates. The real, written-in-the-stars kind. Somehow, they manage passion without disagreement. I hadn’t even thought that was possible until the two of them.”