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A tall man in a dark bespoke suit turns from the window. He’s about Ian’s height but with jet black slick-styled hair. A slow smile spreads across his face.
“You didn’t mention how gorgeous your friend is.” He steps toward me, and I take a step back, closer to Ian. “Dr. Ramsey.” He extends his hand as he introduces himself. “But, please, call me Harrison.”
I glance over my shoulder at Ian and catch his scowl. His expression reminds me of how he sometimes looked at his older brothers when they figuratively pissed in his cornflakes.
“She’s off limits,” Ian says as I shake Harrison’s hand.
It might be because of the expensive-looking suit, or the slicked back hair, but Harrison strikes me as the kind of man who prowls for prey, then disappears before the sun rises. You don’t get to be a single woman my age without coming across a few of them.
Harrison presses his lips to the back of my hand in a gallant gesture, and Ian groans. “I just told you…”
Ian’s groan causes a few giggles to bubble up.
“What? This is how a gentleman treats a lady,” Harrison says with a look of innocence.
“Stay away from her,” Ian says sternly, but his lips turn up at the corners. My guess is Ian is messing with Harrison as much as he’s messing with him.
“I’m going to put your bag in the guest room. Do you need anything before we get going?” he asks.
“No. I’m good. Sorry I’m late. New Year’s Eve is a madhouse at the salon. Everyone wants blow outs.”
“Are you a hairdresser?” Harrison asks, looking quite cavalier as he swirls the golden liquid in his highball glass with one hand in his slacks pocket.
“No. I own…well, one is pretty much a hair salon, but the other is a spa. I used to do hair, but I don’t now. But on a day like New Year’s Eve, I step in and help out where needed. Today I did a lot of make-up. I’m an aesthetician, but not many women want to get a facial on the day of a big night.”
“I’m a plastic surgeon. In my private practice we have a medical spa. It’s a big profit center for us.” Any sign of the flirt evaporates as the businessman emerges. “What certifications do you have?”
Ian claps his hands as he returns into the living area. I assume the bedrooms must be down the hall in the opposite direction of the living area. “Ready? The car is here.”
“We’re taking a car? I can drive. I’m not going to drink that much.”
Ian waves a hand dismissively. “If you saw what we’ve seen come through the ER, you’d take a car service.”
“Spoken like a true orthopedist,” Harrison jokes as he deposits his glass in the sink. “This is Houston. Parking is a nightmare. We Uber everywhere. Would you like one for the road?”
“Oh, no. I’ll wait until we get there. Is what I’m wearing okay?” I flinch after the words fall out of my mouth, perfectly aware my question comes across as needy.
“You’re perfect,” Ian answers, and the warmth in his gaze sends a flurry of goosebumps up my exposed arms. “As always.” He smiles at me the way one smiles at a friend and offers his bent arm. “Shall we?”
In the back seat of the car, I sit in the middle between Harrison and Ian, but slip closer to Ian’s side of the seat.
“How do the two of you know each other?” I ask.
“We were in med school together at Rice. And we both did our residency at Houston Medical,” Harrison answers.
“But you chose different specialties?”
“Yes,” Harrison says. “I went into med school knowing I wanted plastics. Not sure how Ian ended up an orthopod.”
Ian’s attention is on the passing city streets, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.
“How’d your ski trip go with your brothers?” I ask Ian.
After Christmas, he and Sam joined up with Oliver for a few days to go skiing in Jackson. From what Patty told me, it had been a last-minute decision for the brothers to get away together, just the three of them. She’d been thrilled to see her sons spend time together, and as soon as she got the green light that her grandkids were better, she and Mr. Duke had been on a flight to Aspen to spend time with those precious grandbabies at Sam’s ski chalet.
“You know how it is.” Ian shrugs.
But I really don’t know. The last time I joined the Dukes on a ski trip was in high school, which was over twenty years ago. “What do you mean?”
