Forbidden Prescription 6 (Forbidden Medicine 6)

“Great,” Winston said. “I’ve leased a medical office in Manhattan that has a surgical theater. We’ll still be part of the CUIMC network too, so you can still do your rounds, and then spend either mornings or afternoons with me at the clinic. How does that sound?”

“Yes,” I said breathlessly. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” he said proudly. “You’re going to be a lot of help. By the time you’re done with your residency, you’ll be more experienced than any of the other interns. I think you will even give Damon a run for his money.”

I looked over at him and he rolled his eyes at his father.

“Were you in on this?” I asked Damon.

“Well, I’m not going to work for him, but I may have suggested he hire you. I promised you I’d find you something good.”

“Thank you,” I said to both men as it dawned on me that this was what Dr. Farnham had been talking about on my evaluation!

When we were finished with lunch, I figured we’d spend the rest of the day together as one fucked-up family.

“So what else is on the agenda for today?” I asked.

My mother said, “Well, Winston and I are leaving, we have to be on his private jet in an hour. We’re going to a couple’s therapy retreat in Cabo San Lucas for the week.”

I blinked in surprise.

“A combination of vacation and couple’s counseling? Sounds fun,” Damon said sarcastically.

“It will be fun,” Winston told his son. “This woman is the most important thing in my life, after you kids, of course. And despite how I behaved, I want this marriage to last.”

Mom looked at him and smiled. “I do too.”

“Well, have fun,” I said, standing up as I hugged my mother goodbye. “Call me if you need me to fly down and get you.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “If I need to leave, I’ll take the jet and leave Winston there in Mexico.”

I had been a little skeptical when my mom said she was going to give Winston another chance. I don’t know if I could if I were the one in that situation. But, despite his issues with infidelity, Winston was a pretty good guy. I liked that he treated my mother well— for the most part —and that he was making a real effort to get his act together. Even Damon noticed a difference in his father. Winston was more attentive to my mom and Damon seemed to think he might be changing for good.

If a retreat was what they needed to move forward, then I would support it. However, I’d told my mom that she couldn’t give the man a third chance. If he truly loved her, he would do whatever was in his power to stay faithful. Thankfully, she agreed with me. They continued to work on their marriage and certainly hadn’t completely fixed things. She had been spending most of her time in Hazelwood while he stayed in New York. But, in the past week, he had been staying at our house to prove his faithfulness.

And, even though it didn’t seem like a divorce was imminent, Damon and I decided we would still try to make it work. We acknowledged that our situation was weird, but not so weird that we wanted to be apart. We could live our lives while being part of our larger family. It would take some getting used to, but we weren’t ready to let each other go.

“What now?” I asked as we stood in front of the restaurant.

“Come back to my place?” Damon suggested.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “Remember? Carol’s moving out, and I can’t afford the apartment on my own, so I’m going to commute from Hazelwood. I have to get everything packed, and then clean. You’re still going to help me move, right?”

“Sure,” he said, taking me under his arm. “We can do that later. I’ll even help you clean. Let’s just chill out at my place for a little bit.”

I gave him a funny look. “Are you afraid of seeing interns or hospital staff?” I asked.

“No,” he said hastily. “But since you mention it, I’m not sure I want to mentor interns anymore. I don’t think I was very good at it.”

“You were good,” I said without thinking.

“I don’t think so,” he laughed. “You didn’t read the mentor evaluations.”

“Well, I’m glad you did it for my session,” I said, putting my arm around his waist as we walked down the street.

“I am too,” he said, leaning down to kiss me on top of the head.

We walked arm in arm to his apartment. Luckily, there was no sign of Kevin. We rode the elevator to the top, this time behaving ourselves.

Inside, I tossed my bag on the counter and plopped down on the couch, exhausted from the long morning. I kicked off my heels, flinging them onto the rug. I stretched out the full length of the couch, causing Damon to have to rearrange my limbs so he could cuddle up next to me.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, letting his voice trail off. “What if we didn’t move you back to Hazelwood? You’re going to be spending a lot of time at the hospital and at Dad’s clinic, and that commute is going to be hellish.”

“I can’t really afford a place in the city on my own, Damon,” I said. “And, I don’t want you or your father to buy me a place either. You’ve both already done too much.”

“Can I make another suggestion?” he asked.

“What?” I asked, snuggling into his chest. I let him wrap his arms in front of me.

“What do you think about just moving in here?”

I whipped around. “Really?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “This place is plenty big for the two of us. It’ll be convenient for you already being here in Manhattan. Besides, I’m going to want you around here all the time anyway. If you just officially move in, you won’t have to worry about leaving some of your things here and some of your things at home. Make this your home.”

I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. “I’d really like that,” I said softly.

“Good,” he said, giving me a big kiss on the lips. “We’ll pick up your things after we’re done here.”

“What do we have to do here?” I asked.

Damon nuzzled his nose in my hair. “I don’t know about you, but these last few weeks have been the longest of my life. Do you know how hard it was to hold that last session and not stare at you the whole time? To see you doing rounds, but not touch you? A few times, I thought about breaking our agreement, just to spend a few hours with you, in person. Talking on the phone was nice, but it doesn’t compare to the real thing.”

I moved onto his lap, cradling his face in my hands. “You’re all mine now, aren’t you?”

He grinned broadly. “I am.”

I kissed him on the lips as his hands began to caress my body. “Then I’d like to have you now.”

I giggled as he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. I had only lived there for minutes, and it already felt like home.

Thank You