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“How about barbecue? Hannah loves ribs. I can use a good—”
“I’m sorry, Noah. Would you excuse me for a minute?” Amanda said, without listening to what he said.
She rushed out of the store and made a beeline toward Gene and Patrick in the parking lot.
“What the hell was that?” Amanda demanded.
Gene and Patrick stopped and turned to her.
One look at her face, Patrick backed away and said to Gene, “Text me if you still want that beer later.”
Amanda didn’t even acknowledge Patrick’s awkward wave. Her gaze never left Gene’s unreadable expression. A benign smile appeared on his face—the type he’d given to ease his patients, Amanda imagined. But it didn’t make her feel any better at that moment.
“Noah seems like a nice guy,” Gene said.
Confused, Amanda said, “He is. But I—”
“And a good father. That little girl of his is a testimony of that.”
“Why are you saying this?”
Her heart felt heavy, as she knew where this was going.
“We had our fun, Amanda,” Gene said. “But you’re not the type of woman a man just has fun with. You deserve more. You deserve a good man who can be there for you.”
“I know that,” Amanda said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her emotions in check.
“I’m not that man, Amanda.”
Tears burned her eyes. “Isn’t that for me to decide?”
“I didn’t want to put you on the spot, so I thought I’d take myself out of the equation,” Gene said. “Noah is stable, Amanda. I’m…” Gene barked a short, derisive laugh. “I don’t even know what I’ll be doing in three months.”
“So, that’s it? This week means nothing to you.”
“Oh, it meant a lot. You flipped my perspective on life and renewed my mission to help people. I see now that every little thing we do matters,” Gene said. “But I don’t know yet where my life will take me.”
“Right.” Amanda laughed at the realization. “And you don’t want me to tie you down here.”
“No, that’s not it. I don’t want to uproot you,” Gene said, jamming his hands into his jeans pockets. “In three months, I may go back to the ER or go abroad again. You have this legacy here.” He looked behind her at Sanctuary. “And the people you love and who love you.”
Amanda’s heart constricted at his words. He didn’t include himself in that group.
“You just thought of this in the past ten minutes?” Amanda demanded. “Because Noah showed up?”
Gene shook his head in denial and laughed with regret.
“I don’t want you to have to choose.”
Laughter rolled up from her churning stomach.
“So you’re bowing out. Is that it?”
“I’m trying to do the right thing,” he returned with a sharpness in his tone. “You were seeing him first.”
“Oh, so this is a male thing? A kind of bro code?” Amanda demanded. “Did you consider asking me how I feel?”
Gene dropped his gaze to his feet, avoiding the hurt in her eyes.
