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But even eight years of school and a medical residency hadn’t made me smart enough to do that.
Instead, some masochistic part of me nodded and said, “A double date sounds great.”
21
Liv
“Liv, Knox?” came a woman’s voice, and I turned to see Morganne walking in next to Fletcher.
No fucking way.
They looked like a model couple. Her in a cute light blue sundress and dainty little heels, him in khakis and a white shirt. Her blond hair fell perfectly in the waves I’d attempted, not a single strand out of place.
She smiled at us and came with her arms outstretched. “It’s so good to see you, Liv.”
Now I needed to hug the person capturing my boss’s heart?
It sounded so pathetic when I thought of it that way, but it was true. God, what would happen if they got married? Would he fire me? Or would I have to watch her kids too with a front-row seat to their relationship? I didn’t know which fate would be worse; all I could think of was seeing him happy with someone else.
I’d accepted the fact that Fletcher and I couldn’t be together. (At least I tried to.) But that didn’t mean I needed to have his new relationship rubbed in my face.
I forced myself to hug her without throwing up, and behind me, Knox chuckled, giving his brother that weird half-hug/handshake thing that guys do.
Morganne giggled. “It’s so funny we all got out of Cottonwood Falls to avoid the townies, and here we are. Should we stop fighting fate and eat together?”
I could feel Fletcher’s eyes on me as I turned to Knox, silently begging him to turn her down.
Either he couldn’t read me or didn’t want to, because he grinned and said, “The more the merrier. We’re going out dancing after this too if you want to join us.”
“That sounds so fun!” Morganne said. “It’s been forever since I’ve been on a dance floor, and I seem to recall Fletcher being an excellent swing dancer.”
I fought a scowl. She must have paid enough attention to him in high school to remember. Now the present was right in my face, messing with my head and my date with a cute cop.
The host smiled between us and said “I have a table for four available. Right this way.”
We followed her to a booth toward the back of the restaurant and sat down, Knox next to me and Fletcher across from me.
We must have been right under a fan, because I shivered. “It’s chilly in here.”
Knox put his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into his warmth.
Fletcher’s eyes held mine across the table for a moment before he physically turned his body away from me, facing Morganne.
“What’s your favorite thing to get here?” he asked, flashing her a smile that melted my heart as much as hers.
She glanced at the menu left by the host. “It’s been so long since I’ve been out. Single mom budget, you know.”
“Not tonight,” Fletcher said. “Whatever you want is on me.”
Gag. I looked up at Knox. He was cute, with blond hair short on the sides and longer on top. He had bigger muscles than Fletcher, and one arm was covered in a tattoo sleeve. I wondered how many women had come on to him to get out of a speeding ticket and ended up blurting out the question.
Knox chuckled at my curiosity, leaning his elbow on the table and his face in his hand. “Plenty of women have tried to flirt their way out of tickets, none of them as cute as you.”
Damn, this boy was trouble. Exactly the kind I’d drool over in a bar... until Fletcher came back to town and fucked with my head.
Morganne butted in. “Isn’t that illegal? Could you arrest them for that?”
Knox launched into a full-blown explanation of ticket evasion, and Fletcher and I locked eyes across the table. My stomach swirled uncomfortably, and I glanced down at my lap. I shouldn’t be thinking about my boss while on a date with his brother.