Page 32 of When You Became Mine

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. He definitely does not like me.”

“He may want you to think he doesn’t like you. But trust me, he does.” Hampton was still grinning, like he was in on a joke none of us were privy to.

“Well, I wish he would quit griping at me to clean up after myself all the time. Maybe say actual words to me when I greet him instead of chin lifts and grunts. And you know, it would really be nice if he would let me spruce the place up a bit,” I grumbled. “I’m used to living with a man who had actual taste in furniture. He wouldn’t know good décor if it bit him in the ass!”

“Aw, give him a break. He can’t help it that all the good genes skipped over him.” Hampton flexed a bicep, showing off his large muscles and drawing a burst of laughter out of me.

“Hm…I don’t know. He grew up a lot while he was in Vegas. He may be able to give you a run for your money now,” I teased.

Only, it wasn’t an untruth.

Lawson was definite

ly not the same gangly kid who had left all those years ago. And while I’d tried not to notice the changes in him, they were too good to ignore.

“Enough about Lawson,” I said, ready to change the subject. “I’ve got that interview coming up. I’m so nervous, I’ve been listening to lectures nonstop.”

“Just be yourself,” Smith piped up. “You’ll be great.”

I nodded, smiling. It was great advice…for a kid starting their first job in high school. I was pretty sure my mother had told me the same thing when I got hired at the local burger place at sixteen. But I needed actual pointers. “This residency program has been my goal from the start. I’ve been planning for it for the last eight years.”

“Well, the most important thing to remember is that they will be lucky to have you, not the other way around,” Hampton assured. “If you want, I’ll come to the ER on my next day off and do your rounds with you.”

I nodded so enthusiastically, I was worried my head might bobble off my shoulders. “Yes!”

He smiled. “In the meantime, keep doing what you’ve been doing. Listen to lectures, read over every medical book you have.” He paused as I continued to nod. “And the most important thing? Relax.”

He reached out and gave my thigh a quick pat, his genuine smile setting me at ease. He was right, just like he always was.

“I don’t know if I can relax, but today is definitely helping.” I grinned and leaned my head back against the chair.

I let my eyes flutter shut as Melinda got to work on what was, in fact, the best pedicure I’d ever had in my life.

14

Lawson

The voice coming from the bathroom was not Piper’s. It was deep and monotonous, obviously belonging to a man. Every time he stopped talking, Piper would respond, repeating the words. Every now and again I would catch a term I understood, but most of it was medical terminology I didn’t know.

Piper had been here a month and we hadn’t really talked about the rules of the house. This was probably because I didn’t have any rule, but that was before she’d moved in.

Now, we did. And the first rule of the house was, don’t take a two-hour long bath. I had no idea what she was doing in there, and if it weren’t for the conversation I could sort of make out with her and whoever mystery man was, I’d wonder if she’d drowned.

I stalked to the bathroom and lifted a hand to pound on the door. “Piper! How much longer are you going to be in there?”

She screamed on the other side of the door and water splashed. It sounded like she was slipping in the tub. “Oh, fuck! Dammit! Shit, shit, shit!”

My hand on the knob, I yelled through the door. “What the fuck is going on in there?”

“What the hell, Lawson?” she shouted from the other side.

I cleared my throat. “You’ve been in there for two hours!”

I could hear more water splashing around and I shuddered thinking about the flood that was probably on the tile floor. A few seconds later she yanked the door open, nearly pulling me into the bathroom with it.

Her face was the shade of a ripe tomato and her scowl matched my own.

“You broke my laptop!” she screeched, waving her free hand around. The other one was holding a ridiculously small towel around her body.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com