The Reluctant Romantics Box Set (The Fall, The Mind, The Heart)

“Night, and thank you for all you’ve done for the center.” I closed the door behind me, walked straight over to my dresser, grabbed the vibrator that Jules had bought me, and took it to the bathroom with me. To hell with him. He was far too damned good looking, anyway.

“If Ben Affleck can outlive the embarrassment of Gigli, you can get out of bed, Rose.”

“So?” The two J’s looked at me expectantly as I pulled my jacket on.

“Nothing happened, and I mean nothing.” Other than the fast orgasm I’d brought myself to after dismissing Jack, I was still alone in every sense of the word. I’d drawn the conclusion after a long restless night. I’d snubbed Jack, and he’d reacted badly, but we were both guilty. Either way, it seemed over before it began.

The girls looked at me as I blew out a harsh breath. “He’s a good friend of my dad and doesn’t want to screw that up.”

“By screwing you,” Jamie added, pulling her long, silky hair into a bun.

“Exactly, and you know what?” I said, looking at Jules and slamming my locker. “About five seconds before he told me he couldn’t lay a hand on me, I’d decided to do his brains out.”

“Well, at least you’re finally up for it,” Jamie said, patting me on the shoulder as if I needed condolence. “I mean the doing part.”

“I think it pissed him off that I hinted it was all I was up for.”

“Let me get this straight,” Jamie said, sliding her sneakers on. “He got butthurt because all you wanted to do was have casual sex?”

“I think so. It was like he was telling me unless he could date me he wouldn’t do anything at all.”

“Out of respect for your father,” Jules added.

The excuses started to pour from me before either could press me further. “I’m six months away from being a senior resident and weeks away from opening the center. That’s all that matters. I mean, what could he want from me? I don’t have time.” I was lying and the looks they were giving me told me they knew better.

“Exactly,” Jules said, giving Jamie a look that screamed shut the hell up.

It was becoming more apparent just how sheltered I’d become. I wasn’t sticking my neck out enough; therefore, I had nothing to be afraid of. I decided then it was fine with me. The finish line was close. I may have the worst luck imaginable when it came to personal relationships, but I would be the best damned surgeon in the state of Texas.

Jack

I listened to the jets whirl beneath me and felt absolutely nothing. Noticing the passengers around me board the plane with smiling faces, I realized I hadn’t felt even a hint of the excitement or satisfaction I normally did when I was beginning a new adventure. Frustrated, I tossed back my bourbon, savoring the taste and the burn. It was no big mystery why, either. My Aunt Nadine had pinpointed it last night when we met for dinner.

“This is new,” she said, staring down at her menu as I sat across from her, ignoring mine.

“What?” I asked, motioning to the waitress for two more drinks.

She laid down her menu, her detective skills coming out to play. She’d been the lead investigator in the city of New Orleans for the last thirty years alongside my Uncle Spencer, who held a seat as judge. She’d been the hardest parent to put anything over on. Well, that and the fact that she knew me better than most.

“You haven’t stuck to your two drink minimum. You’re agitated and morose. You pushed your trip back by another week. My guess is you’re holding out for something. Who is she?”

Throwing the rest of my drink back, I scooted back into my seat, ignoring the girl at the bar directly over my aunt’s shoulder who was trying far too hard to get my attention. It happened often, and I hated it.

“It was nothing. A flirtation that didn’t go well.” I knew better than to dismiss my aunt. She wasn’t buying it. Neither was I.

I adjusted myself again to avoid reciprocating the stares that came my way.

“Ignore them, talk to me. Tell me.”

When I’d unexpectedly gotten the first onslaught of female attention a few years after my last surgery, my Aunt Nadine had been the one to school me on how to handle it. I’d been locked inside my head for so long, I’d had no clue what to do with my new popularity. It was a nightmare for an introvert. Nadine was one of very few to have brought me out of my shell.

“I just told you,” I said as my agitation grew. “Did you ever stop to think we only have these dinners once a month so you’ll stop grilling me on my personal life?”

“You don’t have one,” she said, sitting up in her seat, her fists balled at the end of the table, a sure sign of a conversation I didn’t want to have. My Uncle Spencer had loved the fire he saw in her when they met. She was nineteen, and already out of college. According to him, she had been the hardest woman in the world to handle, and still was. He loved her more than life.

“I do fine,” I said in another attempt to close the subject.

“Oh, I have no doubt,” she said and turned to look behind her at the woman at the bar who’d put her best assets on display for me, “if you want them fast.”