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“Seems unbelievable, right? But that’s where I am. You know that this ego of mine has never really needed much stroking. And the thought of adding the kinds of accolades that will come with being on this particular research team…” She shook her head and laughed. “Seriously, just pump my ego full of steroids right now.”
Then she sobered, her expression turning more earnest. “But it’s just not for me. I have so much respect for the doctors conducting research out there. It’s because of them and the work they do that I can do my job. Butmyjob is in the operating room. I became a surgeon because I wanted to perform life-saving surgeries.” She shrugged. “My heart wouldn’t be in the work here, and that’s what should matter the most. But I just can’t do it.”
She slid her arms around his neck and cradled the back of his head in her hands.
“Are you still willing to put extra miles on Trident’s jet in order to come and see me in Austin?” she asked.
He grinned. “I am, but I don’t need a jet to get from Westlake to County Hospital, or to your house in Hyde Park.”
“What?”
“I probably shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch, but if the offer I put in on a house in Westlake yesterday falls through, I have several others in mind.” Drew hunched his shoulders. “I was going to buy a condo, but I decided it would be nice to have a place with a yard for once. That’s one of the reasons my mom loved her house in Hye. Maybe I’ll take to gardening the way she did.”
London stared at him with an awed look on her face.
“Drew fucking Sullivan,” she said. “Who would have ever thought I’d find myself in love with you?”
Drew’s heart lurched. “You do realize you just said that you’re in love with me, don’t you?”
Her smile broadened. “Yes, I do. Because I am.”
She lifted her head up and Drew leaned forward, meeting her kiss. It was slow and generous and breathtaking.Shetook his breath away. This woman who claimed to have hated him for years, who had seen him as only a temporary hookup. This woman had just told him that she was in love with him.
“I hope you know that you could have accepted a fellowship in China, and I would have gladly signed up for Mandarin lessons. Well, I would have had Larissa search for the class and sign me up.”
London burst out laughing.
“You don’t have to follow me halfway around the world, Drew. Just halfway across town, because I’m not giving up my cute bungalow in Hyde Park.”
Not yet.
He knew her too well to say those words out loud, but he’d convinced her to come this far on this ride with him. He would eventually bring her around to the idea that just living in the same city wasn’t close enough.
Or maybe he’d join her in that chintz-covered house in Hyde Park. He didn’t care, as long as he was with her.
39
London readjusted the green-and-white baseball cap that had been in a constant battle with her springy, natural curls since the moment she’d put it on. She stood so that the father and his twin daughters who’d gone to the restroom three times since the start of this volleyball match twenty minutes ago could get to their seat.
Bless his heart—in the true sense of the phrase, not the Southern. This poor man was living testimony that the struggle was real when it came to toddlers.
London settled back in her seat, braced her open palms on either side of her mouth, and yelled, “Here we go, Tigers! Here we go!”
Nina’s eyes shot to hers and she made acut it outmotion, swiping her hand across her neck.
“Well, excuse me,” London muttered. “I was just trying to show some team spirit.”
“Did you come here just to embarrass your little sister?”
She looked up and smiled.
“Hey, you,” she said to Drew. He took a seat next to her, and she immediately planted a loud kiss on his lips. She’d already embarrassed Nina, so she figured what the hell.
“Apparently, my dear sister thought she was getting a quiet, demure spectator,” London said. “That’ll teach her to be more careful about what she wishes for.”
“I’m sure she is thrilled that you’re here, even if she doesn’t show it.”
London had no doubt about that, even if she’d barely made it in time. She’d spent the morning in the OR—Sarah and Charles Jefferson decided that Ahmad should have his surgery after all, much to Peter Foster’s chagrin. But London had been determined to get to the match. She’d arrived at the gym just as the two squads made their way onto the court.
