Prognosis: Romance (Doctors in Training 4)

“He misses you, Shannon.”

She swallowed hard. “Has he said so?”

“Well…no.”

“Has he mentioned me at all?”

“Um. No.”

She hoped her smile wasn’t as sad as it felt. “Then you don’t really know, do you?”

“I’m pretty sure. There was just something a little off about him last weekend. Ron and I think he misses you.”

“It’s been two months and he hasn’t even called. I think we can safely say he’s moved on. And so have I.”

Frowning, Haley asked, “You’re dating someone else?”

“No. Between two jobs and the upcoming Christmas season, I’m too busy to date anyone right now.”

Haley sighed, seeming to know when it was time to quit. “It was good to see you, Shannon.”

“You, too. Tell Ron and Anne and the others I said hello, will you?”

Haley had moved a few steps away when she paused to add over her shoulder, “You were good for him, Shannon. He was as open with you as I’ve ever seen him with anyone.”

Yet it still hadn’t been enough, Shannon thought with a pang. James simply hadn’t been able—or willing—to offer what it would have taken for them to stay together against all the odds.

Haley and Ron’s cozy apartment was filled almost to capacity with friends and classmates drinking spiked eggnog and cinnamon-flavored hot cider and nibbling on Christmas cookies mostly purchased from local bakeries. It wasn’t a formal affair, by any means, just a casual drop-in gathering to mark the end of another semester. A little over four more months and they would have their degrees, James thought, amazed by how quickly these four years had passed.

Ron and Haley stood side by side, chatting with their friend and classmate Hardik Bhatnagar. Ron’s hand rested familiarly on Haley’s hip as she nestled against him. On the other side of the room, Anne and Liam laughed with Connor and Mia while young Alexis admired a humorously decorated tabletop Christmas tree—Ron’s contribution to the holiday decor.

Standing alone with his cup of cider, James thought about how much he had missed these people during the past couple of months. Phone calls and e-mails had not been the same as seeing them all the time—he supposed he’d better get used to that.

Over in another corner, two classmates exchanged a quick kiss under a dangling ball of plastic mistletoe. Those two had been dating for a couple of months, but James didn’t expect it to last. He figured it was just a temporary fling during the relatively easy fourth year—though some people would scoff at the term “easy” being applied to any part of medical school. He hoped they would walk away generally unscathed when the affair ended.

“You’re being awfully quiet tonight, James.”

He didn’t realize Ron had approached him until the other man spoke. “Just taking everything in,” he replied lightly. “Nice party.”

“Thanks. It’s the first time Haley and I have actually entertained, you know. It’s not so hard if you use bakeries and delis for the snacks and buy your decorations at the local discount store.”

James chuckled. “None of that matters as much as the chance to get together with friends.”

“That’s what we figured. So, how come you’re here by yourself? You know you could have brought a guest.”

James shrugged. “No one I particularly wanted to bring. I’m having a nice time on my own.”

Ron cleared his throat. “So, have you called her since you’ve been back in town?”

It was tempting to prevaricate by asking blankly who Ron referred to. Instead, James merely shook his head and took another sip of his cider. “I’m sure she’s very busy this time of year,” he said after swallowing the hot beverage. “It’s a hectic time for both retail and party businesses, I would imagine.”

“I bet she’d like to hear from you.”

“I doubt it.” It took a bit more effort than usual to hide the pain and regret he still felt whenever he thought of Shannon. “Apparently, I wasn’t her type.”

Eying him over the rim of an eggnog mug, Ron murmured, “I wouldn’t have thought Shannon was your type.”

Staring at the plastic mistletoe, James replied with uncharacteristic candor, his tone bleak to his own ears. “You’d have been wrong.”