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She couldn’t tell what he was really thinking, but when he nodded, she almost sighed aloud in relief. She couldn’t have Chris disappointed in her. He was the most important person in her life.
Chris reached across the desk, taking her hand in his.
“You deserve to be happy, Kel. I’ll support you in whatever you do. You know that.”
Kelly squeezed his hand back. “Thanks, Chris. What would I do without you?”
Chapter 2
Chris was an unsupportive dick.
Okay, maybe not out loud. But for the last three days in his head, he hadn’t been able to shake the urge to call Kelly up and tell her not to date. That dating was a stupid idea.
He hadn’t because he couldn’t come up with a single reason why she shouldn’t.
At least none worth really considering, since he was currently out on a date himself. More than a date, really. He’d been seeing Cassidy Palos for over a year, and she was great. Funny, sweet, and pretty without being high maintenance. She was busy with her surgical residency, so she wasn’t demanding, and they got along well together. He could see himself proposing in the future.
Yet the thought of Kelly finally getting back in the saddle and dating again had thrown him for a loop. In fact, he couldn’t concentrate on what Cass was saying over the constant replay of Kelly’s announcement in his head.
It wasn’t that he wanted Kelly for himself. They were just friends, always had been. Of course, there had been times over the years where the thought crossed his mind that there could be more between them, but he couldn’t bring himself to take that step with her. Kelly was too important and if they didn’t work out, their friendship would be forever altered.
It dawned on him that Cass was frowning at him, annoyance flashing in her brown eyes. They were seating across from each other in the middle of the crowded restaurant. In the center of the table was a large candle, an empty bread basket, and a glass bottle of an oil and vinegar mixture. Their dinner dishes were stacked to the right, and they were just waiting on the waiter to come back with dessert.
“Chris? Did you hear a word I’ve said?”
Not a one. Shit. He hoped his smile was charmingly sheepish. “Sorry, I guess I’m tired tonight.”
Cassidy’s expression darkened, and he realized that she was pissed. It was strange because he’d never seen her truly angry before. They’d had little arguments, but never fought.
And he would have remembered that death stare.
“Really? You’re tired?” she said snidely.
Okay, that surprised him. What the hell had he missed? “Uh, yeah.”
“I have been up for forty-eight hours straight, performing numerous surgeries. Yet I still manage to listen to you drone on and on about whatever issue Kelly has with her wedding shop this week.”
The way she dragged out Kelly’s name rankled him. He’d introduced the two of them not long after Cassidy and he had started dating and they’d always seemed to get along. Not a whiff of jealousy or trouble between the two, so where was this animosity coming from?
“What is your problem tonight?” he asked.
She set her purse on the table and started rummaging through it, making the candle flame flick and weave. “My problem is us, Chris. When we started dating, you were the one thing I looked forward to. We’d go out, have fun, talk, make love…things were great. But it seems lately, I actually have to force myself to drum up the enthusiasm to get dressed for our dates.”
Well, that was a blow to the good old ego. “Okay.” He paused, trying to come up with a clever retort, but was too stunned by her frankness. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to that.”
She rolled her eyes at him with a huff. “I’m bored, Chris. You’re bored too, if you’d only admit it to yourself. You should be upset by what I’m saying, but you’re not, are you? Because you’re just as uninterested in my life as I am in yours.”
Chris was floored to say the least. He wasn’t uninterested in Cass, was he? Okay, there were times when his mind drifted a bit, especially when she started talking about bowel reconstruction, but that’s just because the visuals it created made him queasy. There was a reason he chose a profession that did not have to contend with people’s bodily functions and juices.
“Are you going to say anything?” she asked.
How had he never seen this side of her before? This angry, frustrated person who had obviously been bottling things inside. “What can I say? You’ve obviously made up your mind that it’s over.”
“No, I’m just saying it out loud. It’s been over for months.” She pulled out several bills and left them on the table. “I’m sorry if this is coming across as harsh. It’s not that I haven’t had fun with you, and I do like you as a person.”
Chris held up his hand. “No need to try and make me feel better with whatever the but was attached to that sentence. I’m fine, really.”
Cass sighed. “I know. That’s what sucks. Because if you cared, you’d be fighting this right now.”
