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Nick kept checking the clock. It was after eight. Dr. Murphy was late.
Maybe he wouldn’t show.
Or he’d changed his mind.
If he was lucky—yeah, right—his mother had snapped out of this whole weird dating Dr. Murphy thing and called it off.
His phone vibrated for the eighty-seventh time in, like, two hours and his patience snapped. Eugene and half the JV football team had decided to harass the crap out of him about tomorrow’s big lake party. And Fran, his wannabe girlfriend, was making it extra hard to say no by sending him bikini pics. No other junior was stacked the way Fran Mendoza was. Thing was, she was super sweet, too. Too sweet to drag into his mental breakdown.
And now Diana was blowing up his phone with rapid-fire texts—things were getting better and better. Done. He turned the phone off and tossed it onto the recliner behind him, texts unread.
He didn’t want to deal with Diana, not tonight. If she said how cool it would be for her dad to hook up with his mom one more time, he would lose his shit. His mom had enough to deal with. She needed to stay as far away from Dr. Murphy and Diana as possible.
His mom deserved the best.
And the best man, the best father, would never let his daughter get mixed up with drugs, sneak out, and screw around with some loser who didn’t give a rat’s ass about her. Dr. Murphy being clueless made it hard to respect the man.
Besides, Dr. Murphy was linked to his dad, had been best friends with his dad—that was a big fat strike against him.
Now he needed to make his mom understand. Dating Graham could never work. Ever. Since no one else got that, it was his job to point it out.
“Nick,” Honor gasped, leaning into him as a zombie charged the screen.
He shifted his direction and avoided being killed with ease. “Chill.” He finished the round and picked up his soda can. “I’m empty. Want anything?” he asked Owen.
Owen shook his head. “I’m good, man.”
With a nod, he pushed through the kitchen door. His mother was at the table, propped on her elbow, reading a book. She glanced up when he came in, instantly smiling.
“Need anything?” she asked, already standing.
“I can get it.” He tossed the can in the recycling bin and opened the fridge. “Plans change?” he asked, doing his best to sound noncommittal.
She nodded. “Babies. They’re on their own schedule.”
Nick had vague recollections of his father running out of T-ball games, family dinners, and movies when his patients went into labor. Part of the job.
“You okay with that?” He popped the tab on his soda and waited. Her smile wavered and pressure crashed down on his chest. He didn’t know what was worse: seeing her dating or seeing her unhappy.
She shrugged. “I was looking forward to going out.”
“Because of Dr. Murphy?” he asked, clearing his throat. “Or going out?”
She looked at him with that look—the mom-look. “What’s up, Nickie?”
He cleared his throat again. “Mom, you can’t date him. I know he’s cool, and you think he’s cute or whatever but, you know, Diana. And Mrs. Murphy. And Dad.”
His mom frowned. “What about Diana and Julia and your dad?” She leaned against the counter, crossed her arms over her chest, and waited.
“Diana is a fricking nightmare, Mom. Like, you have no idea. How does he not know how screwed up she is?” He held his hands up in front of him. “You don’t need that. You don’t want that. I don’t want her in my life.”
Her eyes widened. “Nick—”
“No, Mom, I’m serious.” His attempt at persuasion sounded more like desperation. “You don’t think it’s weird to date your best friend’s husband? I get Mrs. Murphy is dead, but still, isn’t that sort of really, really wrong?”
She blinked.
