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She wrapped her hand around his shoulder and held his gaze. “Promise?”
“I do.”
“Then kiss me like you did in the shower. Full possessive dark Jedi, I burn for you.”
“Trust me, cupcake. It’s in every kiss.” He obeyed wholeheartedly.
Further words were not necessary.
Part Two
Summer Dinner Party
Chapter 11
It was after dinner at the Kandal-Varma house, and the kids were upstairs. The two sisters were doing the dishes when Eliza started a conversation.
“You know, the kids are going to be at summer camp for the next two weeks.”
“I know. Emma can’t wait. She’s packed four swimsuits and keeps changing her mind on which stuffed animal should come to camp,” Kayla said.
“Tell her to take the third favorite and make sure it’s washable. She’s still in the stage where she feels intensely for each stain,” Eliza said. Little Emma enjoyed taking her Auntie Kayla’s advice over her own mother’s.
“I’ll tell her. She can be rough on her stuffies. Lucky her mom’s a surgeon and can sew them up. I’m pretty sure Scottie’s been packed for a week.”
“Not a surprise. He’s meeting with friends from last year and has been counting the days.” Eliza cleared her throat. “With the kids gone, I would like to have an adult-only get together.”
Kayla set the dish she was drying down. “An adult get together? Not a girls’ night?”
“Now that Angela is married, we can’t pretend medical student Michael doesn’t exist, and our ‘girls’ nights shut him out. We should get to know him and Alex Casserty better since they aren’t going anywhere.”
Their almost cousin and next-door neighbor Dr. Stella Magi had a baby with neurosurgeon Alex Casserty. He’d moved in before Stella’s maternity leave ended, thus insuring his permanent presence. The man had thrown himself into full ‘Daddy mode,’ and most of his current conversations for the past two months had revolved around their daughter Alexis.
“Makes sense. Maybe a movie or two? I’d love to watch both Avatars in a row,” Kayla thought out loud.
“No one talks during movies, and I hate blue, computer-generated cat-people.”
“Maybe board game night? Monopoly can be fun. Or we can do Pandemic Legacy. It’s fun and has doctors and teamwork,” Kayla suggested. Her fellows and residents had started playing it this month between admissions.
“Also no. You think Stella is going to sit through a board game? How about a dinner party? Couples only.” Eliza gave her half-sister the side eye, waiting for a reaction. Kayla was dating the fabulously rich plastic surgeon, Daniel Steadman. Which would have been fine if he wasn’t a total douche and bully. Their relationship of three years was limping along on life support.
Kayla blanched and tried to muster enthusiasm, especially since she had mentioned inviting him to the Avatar double-feature. “Sounds nice.”
“Couples are the way to go. It’ll be fun.” Eliza laid it down even thicker.
She could tell Kayla was searching for an escape route. “Umm, Eliza, are you in a couple?”
“Not at the present, though I’m sure I can find a date. Not Dr. Akimov,” Elizabeth named the derm resident she’d dated the previous fall.
“Did you two officially break up?” Kayla asked.
“We were never officially together, though we filled out the paperwork for MetroGen.” Eliza continued breezily, “We had a good time and then parted ways. Neither of us had the illusion it was going to be long-term.”
“Because he was young?” Kayla asked, missing Eliza’s point completely.
Honestly, it was because he wasn’t Scott, her husband, who had died four years ago. Saying so would not help her make the needed point.
“No. He was from derm. I’m a surgeon. At the end of the day, we didn’t have much in common. Besides, I couldn’t stay with someone prettier than me.”
