Love M.D. (11 page)

I turn to look. Standing with an
older man, who I assume is Morgan’s father, is the old so-called friend I
caught my ex-husband screwing.

I try to remain
neutral-faced, but from the way Morgan
looks at me, I know I did not hide it well.

“Son, the new place looks great,”
says the older man. He’s probably in his late sixties or early seventies with silver
hair and bold, blue eyes. He’s wearing navy trousers, a light blue shirt with a
blue argyle print vest and matching bow tie. Cute.

“Thanks Dad,” he replies, with a
hug. “Meet the person responsible—Zoë Jenkins. She created this amazing
transformation. Zoë; meet my dad, Barney, and José’s sister, Jodi.”

“Nice to meet you Barney. It’s a
pleasure,” I say, shaking his hand. “Jodi and I have already met.” I cast a
fake smile in her direction.

She returns my fake smile but what frustrates
me further is the warm, “hi Zoë,” that exits her lips. She
attempts
to
look so angelic today, dressed all in white. The wrap dress she wears clings to
her voluptuous curves and her cleavage pokes through the perfect V at her
neckline.

“Have you? From where?” Morgan
asks.

“College,” I reply curtly, and I’m
glad when Barney butts in.

“I’ve heard such wonderful things
about you and your work, and I haven’t been through the finished house yet. Why
don’t you show me what you’ve done,” he says, crooking his arm to his side,
urging me to grab hold. I am happy for the escape, and I’m keen to oblige.

We head for the stairs to start our
private tour. Barney says, “You’ve made my son so happy. He’s been talking nonstop
about you and what you did here.”

“Has he? I was just doing my job.
Usually that entails making people very happy with their surroundings. For me,
that’s the most rewarding part.”

“It’s great that you love what you
do. I did too, but after my last bout with cancer, I realized that I had to
start taking it easy.”

“I didn’t know that. What did you
do?”

“I used to be in the Navy. My
lovely wife Consuela was the doctor. Both our kids followed her footsteps.”

I take him on a tour upstairs then
downstairs where we finally sit in the library. He looks a little tired.

“Are you okay, Barney? Can I get
you anything?”

“I’m a little drained. Can you see
if Morgan has some apple or prune juice?”

“Sure. Just relax. I’ll be right
back.”

When I enter the kitchen, Morgan is
standing in front of the island, facing the view. The
little hussy
stands
right next to him, facing him. Everything about her body language says fuck me
to Morgan. For a second I feel a tinge of jealousy, but I refused to let that
woman get the better of me for the second time in my life. Or at least that’s
what I keep telling myself.

I walk to Morgan and completely
disregard her as if she’s not there. “Hey, your dad asked for some apple or
prune juice. Do you have any?”

“Yes, I do,” he replies. “I made
sure I got some especially for him. You okay?”

“I’m great. It’s in the
refrigerator?”

He gets it out and hands it to me
while I get a glass.

“We’re in the library. He’s telling
me all your deep dark secrets,” I say, walking away.

In the background, I hear him
chuckle behind me.

As I sit with Barney, I listen to
him talk about his wife, Consuela.

“It’s too bad she’s gone. She was
taken too soon.”

My heart aches at the sound of his
words. For some reason, I’m afraid to ask how she died. It becomes evident to
me how lonely he is.

 “She would have loved your work,”
Barney says, looking around the room. “She always loved decorating for the
seasons. It was her way to relax. She would decorate every opportunity she
could throughout the year.”

“Sounds like she and I would have
gotten along. I like decorating so much, I made it my life.”

“It would have been so wonderful if
she could have met you. Her brother, Juan, my best friend, introduced us. Every
Christmas, she’d send us out with the kids to get the most beautiful tree. When
we returned home, she’d have eggnog and cookies ready, and we would all
decorate the tree together.”

“Sounds like fun. Will he be coming
by later?”

His eyes become hollow and glassy.
He shakes his head. “One year after I lost my Consuela, Juan fell sick and
pneumonia took him away. It’s been rough ever since.”

There seems to be so much pain in
his voice as he speaks about his loss. I feel for him. I understand that kind
of loss. Gently taking his hands, I hold onto them tightly in mine. “You had
time, you had memories and no one could ever take that away from you. I know
how you feel. You want more.”

His grip tightens on my hand. “We
always want more with the ones we love. You lost someone special, Zoë. Who was
it?”

Sadly, I smile at him, “My brother and
I lost both our parents when we were five.”

“I’m so sorry,” he says, tightly
holding my hand. “You don’t ever get over something like that, do you?”

Shaking my head, I fight the tears
that seem so determined to come. Eventually, I lose the battle.

I get rid of my tears and try to
lighten the mood. “Let’s go mingle a little, there’s a party going on outside.”
I hold out my hand and before we leave the room, he takes both my hands in his.
After a tight squeeze, he kisses them gently.

“My son and I are very lucky to
have met you. You’re very kind.”

“So are you, Barney. It’s great
getting to know you.”

When we return to the patio, I’m
surprised at how many people are here, probably seventy or eighty guests. Barney
immediately sees a doctor he knows, and after an introduction and some small talk,
I leave him to have some time with his friend.

I am thankful when I see Jada,
Jonathan and her brother Bobby nearby.

“Hello peoples,” I say, exchanging
hugs and kisses.

“I was wondering where you were,”
Jada says. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks, doll. You, too. I was just
spending some time with Morgan’s dad.”

“You outdid yourself, as usual,”
Jonathan says. “This looks remarkable.”

“I think so, too,” Morgan says from
behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder. Jada looks at me and a sinister
smirk briefly crosses her lips. I have not had the time to give her any updates
since she abandoned me this morning, but I suppose our body language is giving away
this little thing that has been going on between us.

Morgan holds my hand. “You don’t
mind if I steal Zoë for a second, do you?”

Everyone smiles in reply, and he leads
me toward the library.

“Is something wrong?” he asks,
after he closes the pocket doors behind him. “I thought you said you knew Jodi,
but something wasn’t right on both occasions when you saw her.”

“That’s because Jodi was the woman
I caught Todd fucking red handed.”

“No…” he blurts out, his hazel eyes
expanding in surprise.

Mimicking his tone, I nod and respond,
“Yes. I’ll be polite in the presence of everyone else, but don’t expect me to
extend any courtesies to her. She may be your sister’s family, but she’s a slut.
Mark my words, by the end of tonight she’ll make a pass at you.”

“Are you jealous?” He asks,
grinning.

To him this may be funny, but to me
it’s not. I promised myself I’d never let another woman screw with my mind the
way that bitch did.

“I’m not playing this game with you,
Morgan,” I say turning on my heels and heading toward the door.

Grabbing my hand from behind, he
says softly, “Zoë, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to seem insensitive. You don’t need
to worry about her. She works at the clinic with Robin, and she just wanted to
get acquainted.”

“Trust me, she wants a lot more than
that. Just keep her out of my way, and we won’t have any problems.”

I turn to leave again, but he pulls
me to him and folds me in his arms. “Are you mad at me?”

“No. I’m not mad. Maybe a little
irritated. I’ll be fine.” I hate that I have to be in that woman’s company at
all, and the fact that to a certain extent she’s considered family and will be
spending time with him on and off, at work and now at play, aggravates me more.

He circles my face in his hands and
looks me in the eyes.

“Baby, please don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad.”

“Well don’t be irritated… s’il vous
plaît.”

I succumb to his charm and relax a
little. “So you’ve been practicing your French.”

“Yes. I’m trying to impress you.”

I smile, looking into his eyes.

“Thank you for being here, and for
spending some time with Dad.”

“He’s a sweet man, and he’s very lonely.
He just wants someone to talk to.”

“I’m thankful you did. You weren’t obligated
to do that.”

Kissing me lightly on my lips, he
teases me with his tongue. I love kissing him and can’t resist. Pinning my body
against the wall of bookshelves, he fills his palms with my ass, caressing me,
sinking his fingers into my cheeks. Pressing his body into mine, I feel his
arousal. He raises me in his arms. I tie my legs around his body as he leans
into me against the bookshelves.

“I want to have you right here,
right now.”

“And abandon all your guests?” I
ask between kisses.

“Maybe they won’t miss us.”

“Yeah, right—”

Screaming and a loud thump
interrupts us, follow by the sounds of a crying child.

“Shit!” Quickly setting me down, he
leads the way out of the room.

Kellan and Katie are the culprits.
After running around the nearby dining table, Katie fell and grazed her knee on
the floor. Some consoling and reassurance from Uncle Morgan and all is well.

The sun sets and the party is now
in full swing. Morgan introduces me to a few of his colleagues. His dad seems
to have settled in. While he mingles, I sit at a table with Jada and her
family.

I notice Morgan heading inside.
Seconds later, Jodi follows. I can’t believe this is happening all over again. I’m
so insecure right now, and maintaining a calm demeanor is even more difficult.

Why am I letting her into my head?
Am I even sure I can trust him? At this point, he really is free to do as he
wishes. Apart from me being his
date,
he can screw whomever he wants. The
thought leaves my stomach tied in knots.

Maybe I should leave while I have
the chance. Maybe I should not allow this to go any further. I’ll only end up
getting hurt again. I was doing fine with my life five weeks ago. Now he has
walked into it and complicated everything.

I wish I could talk to Zach right
now. However, he is taking a different journey in his life. While I’m happy for
him, I know it will mean I have to readjust because I’ll be seeing less of him.
Just as I have that thought, my cell phone pings and his face appears on the
screen.

Zachery Jenkins:
She said yes.

Just three words, but I read the
excitement in them. I’m a little overwhelmed. I excuse myself from the table
for some much-needed privacy and head out the front door. Sitting on a bench
nestled in some bushes against the house, I take a few deep breaths. I hate
that two and a half years later, I still let Jodi get to me.

After five minutes of mantras, I convince
myself that I’m overreacting and walk toward the entrance. As I make my
approach, I hear Morgan’s voice.

“It’s time for you to leave,” he
says. “I told you twice that Zoë’s here with me. Since you can’t respect that,
get the hell out.”

I walk into the middle of a very
uncomfortable exchange. Everyone else is on the deck out back, so it’s mostly
private.

Morgan looks up and sees me. Jodi follows
his gaze. Now, she’s glaring at me. I stare at them both. I’m so tempted to
tell that bitch off.

When I walked in on her and Todd, I
never said a word to her or him at that moment or since. I cried on Zach’s
shoulder, packed my things, and moved in with him while I looked for a house. Right
now, it’s taking every inch of self-control for me not to slap that slut in the
face.

“Excuse me,” I walk past them and
head toward the deck. Midstride, I change my mind. I turn and march up to her.
My heart pounds viciously in my chest.

“You know something? You were
supposed to be my friend, and you betrayed me by sleeping with my husband. I
never said a word to you. Not this time… Don’t you have any self-respect? How
many relationships do you have to ruin? How many people do you have to hurt?
Does none of that matter to you?”

Leaning toward me, she says, “Todd was
a willing party. I didn’t force him to do anything.”

At her lackadaisical response, I
feel like I’m going to explode. “You are one hundred percent right, and that
makes him a complete asshole. But what does it make you? You, too, were a
married woman. One of these days, you’ll bark up the wrong tree and you’ll get
what’s coming to you. Whether it be in the form of the wife who kicks your ass,
the husband who degrades you, or some nasty STD that contaminates your you-know-what.
For once in your life, do yourself a favor and keep your hands to yourself and
your legs closed.” With those words, I turn on my heels and walk off. Once
again, I hear Morgan tell her to leave.

Just as I’m about to step onto the
patio, Morgan grabs my wrist from behind.

“Zoë, stop. Are you okay?”

I nod as the adrenaline from that
exchange dissipates from my body. “I’m okay. Let’s try to enjoy your party.”

The rest of the night goes by free
of further incident.

I stand at the edge of the railing,
overlooking the view, while enjoying a glass of wine. The party begins to wind
down. Now that it’s almost fall, the nights are cooler.

“Enjoying the view?” the male voice
asks from behind.

I turn to see a man who looks like Lamman
Rucker—tall and dark with a kind smile. I saw him around earlier, but we hadn’t
been introduced.