The Doctor's Undoing (Doctors in Training 3)

He nodded. “Yeah. See ya.”

His expression shuttered now, he opened the door and stepped out.

Holding the open door, she spoke impulsively. “Ron?”

He looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Nothing has to change between us, you know.”

He gave her a faint, crooked smile, so different from his usual cocky grins. “We both know it has already changed, Haley.”

Biting her lip in a silent acknowledgment of his point, she closed the door between them.

Okay, so she and Ron had kissed. And she couldn’t deny that she was the one who’d initiated it when he’d been on the verge of backing off.

Lying in her bed, staring sleeplessly at the darkened ceiling, she replayed the entire scene, and certainly not for the first time since he’d left a few hours earlier.

She supposed it had been inevitable. That kiss had been building for a while. Since Georgia McMillan had put the idea in their heads? Or had she merely commented on something that had been simmering between them almost from the beginning?

She already knew the answer to that rhetorical question.

So, she was drawn to Ron. And vice versa. More than a casual attraction—the heat between them had built from the start. Sometimes erupting in temper, other times in barely suppressed temptation.

Restlessly rearranging her pillows, she pulled the sheet to her chin. Like Ron, she worried about doing anything that would permanently affect their friendship. Attraction or no, she valued the connection between them. The shared memories, the mutual support and encouragement. The bond that had been forged among the five study friends during those sometimes nightmarish first two years. The celebrations of accomplishments and milestones. Each of her friends was precious to her.

She had a pretty good track record of staying on good terms with former lovers, she reminded herself. She and Kris had parted on very amicable terms, and she still remained in loose contact with her two college boyfriends. So even if she and Ron allowed themselves to explore the feelings between them, it didn’t mean they couldn’t remain friends when it ended.

And it would end, she thought, punching her pillow. There were so many strikes against them. Their differing personalities. The career commitments they had made that would keep them busy for several years yet before they could even begin their practices. Not to mention Ron’s notorious reluctance to make a full commitment to anything. Or anyone, for that matter. She remembered hearing him make several only half-joking comments about being a confirmed bachelor who valued his independence.

It wasn’t as if she was looking for anything serious, herself. She had another year and a half of medical school, including preparation for the Step 2 exams. Then five years of residency, followed by getting established in her chosen career. She certainly wasn’t saying she wouldn’t make a commitment to anyone during the next seven years, but she didn’t think it would be soon. Nor was it likely to be with a man whose stated philosophy was, “If it’s not working out, just walk away.”

So…a temporary affair, perhaps. With the understanding from the start that it was nothing more. Wasn’t that what she’d had with Kris? They’d had fun for a while, then gone their own ways, both emotionally richer for the experiences they had shared. They hadn’t given up and walked away—not the way Ron defined walking away, anyway.

Or maybe it wouldn’t even go that far. Maybe a few kisses would satisfy the itch, or the curiosity, or whatever it was drawing them together. They could play it by ear. See what happened. She could do that without risking too much, as long as she kept the limitations in mind from the start.

It wasn’t as if she was falling in love or anything.

Flipping again, she gave the pillow another hard punch.

He wasn’t going to rush this. Fighting his characteristic impulsiveness and impatience, Ron was determined to take things slow with Haley. They’d had two years to get to know each other as friends; now they had plenty of time to explore any new options between them.

He greeted her in the students’ room the morning after The Kiss with his usual teasing remarks, neither pretending the incident hadn’t happened nor making any specific reference to it. Though her cheeks were a bit pinker than usual, she responded in the same way, chatting easily with him, laughing or groaning at his jokes, even punching his arm once, making him chuckle.

He glanced at his watch. “Time to get back to work.”

“Yeah, me, too. See you later, Ron.”

“Want to have dinner together after work? Maybe study a little?”

Her hesitation might not have even been noticeable to anyone else. Her smile might have looked entirely natural to someone who didn’t know her as well as he did. Which made it all the more satisfying when she nodded and said, “Sure. I’ll meet you after work.”

One step at a time, he told himself, tucking his stethoscope more snugly into his pocket and heading for the wards. They’d shared the first kiss, and now they needed to spend more time together—not as classmates or study partners, but as a potential couple.

Taking it slow—but definitely taking it forward. Satisfied with that observation, he turned his attention to his young patients.

Mia’s birthday was the last Saturday in September, and Connor invited everyone to their house for a birthday barbecue. He told Ron it was the first time since he’d started medical school that he had time to properly celebrate Mia’s birthday. This time he wanted to do it right.

He invited the study group, of course. He’d also extended invitations to a few of his and Mia’s coworkers from the school where they’d both taught before he’d started medical school and she’d entered graduate school to obtain her doctorate in education. A few other mutual friends of Connor and Mia’s rounded out the sixteen-person guest list.