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“Whiskey, neat,” I tell Reed, the bartender, as soon as my ass hits the seat.
“You got it.”
Grabbing a short glass, he flips it over and pours in a couple inches of Maker’s. He slides it across the bar, and I snap it up, tipping it to my lips. I grit my teeth as the harsh liquid slides down my throat.
I turn and face Bryan. “What the hell is going on in here tonight? It's usually not this crowded this early.”
“Some employees with Adair Marks came in a bit ago,” he answers, glancing over his shoulder across the room. “Apparently, some new guy Penelope hired from North Carolina landed them a big client, so they're here to celebrate.”
I take a look at the crowd in the back of the room. Adair Marks is a PR firm here in Silver Falls. The owner, Penelope Adair, opened the firm a few years ago, and it’s expanded in that short time to be one of the top firms on the east coast. Word is the company has gotten so big Penelope plans to open several other firms, including one on the west coast.
My eyes land on Penelope, as she talks to one of her sisters, Taylor. Penelope and Taylor are half of quadruplets. The four sisters are known as the Adair Quads. Despite being identical, each sister is very much different from the other. Not just in hair style and the way they dress, but in personality.
“Good for Penelope,” I comment, turning back in my seat to face the bar. “I hope she shoves one of her stilettos up her father’s ass.”
Bryan and I both went to school with the Adair sisters, along with their older brother, Wesley. I can’t remember the amount of times one of them came to school with a bruise. The incidents were never reported because neither Wesley nor the girls would ever admit it. Their mother was sickly and needed constant medical care. I have my suspicions they kept quiet because the only money they had came from Eric Adair, their father, who paid for their mother’s medical expenses. Rumor is, without that care, she would have died. Unfortunately, she passed right after the sisters left for college. Since then, as far as I know, they’ve cut off all contact with him.
I take another swallow of my drink, then set it on the bar.
“How are things with Charlotte?” I ask.
Charlotte is Bryan’s patient. Or rather, she was his patient until he started seeing her outside of his office. She may not be his patient any longer.
“It’s going great,” he answers, turning his head to the side to look at me. “That’s actually why I asked you to meet me here.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a small, black box. He flips it around a few times before he pulls it open to reveal a square-cut diamond solitaire engagement ring.
My brows shoot up. “I don’t need to guess what that’s for.” I lift my eyes and find Bryan staring down at the ring.
He snaps the box closed a moment later and stuffs it back into his pocket.
“It’s fucking crazy to be at this point already. I may have known Charlotte as my patient for six months, but we’ve only been seeing each other romantically for a few weeks. I honestly can’t see a future without her in it.”
“That’s great, man.” I slap his back. “I’m happy for you.”
He glances over, doubt lining his face. “You don’t think I’m moving too fast?”
“For a lot of people, I’d say yes. Young people these days mistake lust for love all the time. But I believe you’ve lived long enough to know the difference. You’ve gotten to know the person Charlotte is through your time together as her doctor. And she you. If you feel ready for this next step, I say take it.”
He blows out a breath and rakes his hands through his hair. As he contemplates my advice, I think about my own situation with Luna.
What I feel for her is definitely lust, but something tells me there’s more. When I saw Aaron pressing himself against her Friday night, I didn’t want to beat him to a bloody pulp because she was a random girl being attacked. It wasn’t even that she was my student. It was her. From the moment she walked in my class, something inside me whispered mine.
We were lucky it was Aleah who caught us in my classroom. Had it been any other student or a teacher, our lives right now would be in chaos. But even so, I find it really hard to care. At least on my part. I wouldn’t want Luna to be subjected to the repercussions should anyone find out about us. But myself? I want her more than I fear what would happen to my career.
And that thought freaks me the fuck out.
Loud clapping and cheerful yells pull me from my thoughts, and I turn and face the room just as Bryan does the same. Penelope’s crowd of people is congratulating a newcomer, clapping hands with him and slapping him on the back. I’ve never seen the guy in Whiskey’s before, which is surprising since the clientele here pretty much stays the same.
Penelope and the guy break away from the crowd and head this way. The open space beside me is filled a moment later when Penelope steps up to the bar.
“Hey, Reed!” she calls. “Can I get a Johnnie Walker and a vodka tonic when you get a moment?”
Reed jerks his chin up in acknowledgement as he finishes the drink he’s already making.
“Congrats on the big win today, Penny,” I say, tipping my drink up to her and downing the rest.
Her pretty face turns into a scowl at the use of the old nickname she got when we were in grade school.
“I’ll let that slide because I’m in a really good mood,” she says, perching her ass on the stool as she waits on her drink order. “But you only get one pass.”
