Dr. Fake It - A Possessive Doctor Romance

I knocked on the guest room door then opened it a crack. Erica sat on the bed, looking at her phone, and glanced up at me. “You learned to knock.”

I grinned at her. “See, I’m not so bad.”

“Is she here?”

“Yeah, she’s waiting out there.” Erica climbed off the bed and tossed her phone onto the nightstand. “I didn’t tell her your story, I figured that’s your call.”

She hesitated and tapped her nail against her bottom lip. “I think she needs to know, right?”

“I think she does too, but like I said, it’s up to you.”

“I’ll tell her.” She sighed and marched past me. “This is so messed up.”

“Yep,” I said, and followed her back out to the living room.

Fiona stood up when we entered. “He didn’t touch you, did he?” she asked.

“Goddamn it, Fiona,” I said. “Can you knock it off?”

She gave me a look then nodded. “Okay, sorry.”

“He’s been a gentleman,” Erica said, glancing back at me. “Mostly, anyway.”

“Sounds about right.” Fiona took a step toward her. “Are you doing okay? I checked on your mom. No change yet, honey. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Erica took a deep breath and gestured at the couch. “Why don’t you sit down? I need to tell you what’s going on.”

Fiona gave me a concerned look and I only nodded. She sank back onto the couch cushion and I sat on a chair in the far corner. Erica paced around in front of us and began to talk, telling the same story she told me.

I watched Fiona’s face the whole time. At first, she looked like she felt sorry for Erica—which was hard not to feel, since Erica clearly had a difficult life considering how much of a bastard her father was—but as the story progressed, she seemed more and more skeptical. When Erica finished talking, Fiona leaned forward, elbows up her knees, and looked up with a strange expression on her face.

“Look, honey, you’ve been through a horrible accident, and you’ve got a mom in a coma, that’s a really tough thing,” Fiona said. “But seriously, how much of that is true?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. That was exactly how I would’ve reacted if I hadn’t overheard that conversation in Erica’s room.

“It’s all true,” Erica said, her face pained. “I know it’s crazy, but it’s all true.”

“I can back her up,” I said gently. “Remember when I was eavesdropping on those guys?”

Fiona looked at me and nodded. “I chewed you out for it.”

“Right, and I told you to watch out in case they came back. Well, they work for that Cosimo guy, and I heard them trying to convince Erica to give in and marry him.”

Fiona looked between the two of us and her face turned slightly pale. “I’m having a lot of trouble coming to grips with this story right now.”

“I know,” I said, standing up, and Erica looked almost grateful—though still annoyed. “But I completely believe her, and honestly, it’s okay if you don’t. She told you that story so you’d understand the next part.”

“There’s more?” She looked like she might get up and run out of the room at any second.

“We’re getting married,” I said.

She burst out laughing. She stared between us, and her laughter tapered off as she realized that I wasn’t kidding. Erica was mortified and angry, but she didn’t say anything as she paced across the room, hands shoved in her back pockets.

“You’re serious,” Fiona said. “Why the hell would you get married?”

“A few reasons,” I said. “Mostly to keep her away from Cosimo, but I also need her help— you know that director job opening up in the Emergency Department?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m aware of it.”

“Well, I want that job, and I don’t think they’ll ever consider me without fixing my bad reputation.”

“You think getting married to a patient’s going to help with that?”

“She’s not a patient anymore,” I said, looking at Erica, “and I think getting married will make me look more serious.”

Fiona opened her mouth to respond but whatever she had to say died on her tongue. Instead, she took a sharp breath and blew out her cheeks. “This is nuts,” she finally said.

“I need you to watch out for me,” Erica said, turning to her. “I’m going to marry this guy, but I didn’t want to do it without someone else knowing. And since my mom’s in a coma—” She shrugged and held up her hands.

“So that neutral third party’s supposed to be me,” Fiona said.

“You wanted to get involved.” I grinned at her. “You could’ve backed out.”

She glared at me. “You got me involved in this.”

“Please, Fiona.” Erica walked toward her. “You don’t need to do anything other than promise to pressure him if he doesn’t give me a divorce when I ask for it. I just need someone on the outside ready to step in and help if he decides to do something crazy.”