Lia extends a polite hand to Laurie, who just looks at it as if it’s a snake while sputtering, “Girlfriend? Since when?”
Ah, the fake veneer is off now, and she’s insulted to have been replaced. As she takes in Lia’s appearance, I know the fact that she is younger is the real kick in the ass here. Before I can answer, the door to our right opens and a voice calls out, “Lia Adams.”
I turn my back on Laurie and grab Lia’s purse for her. “I’ll walk you back, baby,” I say before turning back to Laurie briefly. “Take care.” I don’t bother telling her it was nice to see her because we both know it would be a lie. I do get a small bit of satisfaction from seeing her still standing where I left her, looking like someone who just found out her trust fund was empty. Wait…wasn’t this almost a replay of our first date? And they say there is no justice in the world.
Chapter Ten
Lia
Shit, why didn’t I dress better today? How could I have possibly known, though, that we would run into Lucian’s ex-whatever at my doctor’s appointment? The woman looks like she belongs on a runway, and I look just a touch above a homeless person. I almost dropped my pen when he said her name. After seeing both Monique, who he had admitted to having sex with, and now Laurie, I see a definite trend in the type of women Lucian prefers—or used to prefer. Looking down at my jeans and flip-flops, I wonder how he can’t help but find me lacking compared to the woman fawning all over him. Dammit, even my toenail polish is chipped! I haven’t exactly been thinking of stuff like that since…
She is doing her best to check me out over his shoulder. I waver between wanting to slide down a few seats and hope that she’ll think we aren’t together and kicking him in the shin for not bothering to introduce me. I’m leaning toward being pissed off at him when I feel eyes burning into me. Looking up, I find her staring at me in puzzlement. I decide I’m skipping the shins and going straight for a kick to his balls if he doesn’t speak up. Before I can finish with my plan to maim him, he takes my hand and pulls me gently to my feet before wrapping his arm tightly around me. When he introduces me as his girlfriend, I feel the childish urge to stick my tongue out at the now shocked other woman. That’s right, sister; Lucian is now slumming. Stick that in your Botox mouth and smoke it. Oh, my God, Rose is rubbing off on me. When I extend my hand to her, she looks like she is on the verge of a fit or a seizure of some kind. I can only imagine what she would have done had he called me his wife. Crap, I would have paid every penny in my bank account to see that.
When the nurse calls my name, I gladly gather my ton of paperwork, which I’m not even halfway finished with, and turn to find that Lucian has already picked up my purse and seems determined to go back with me. I would rather see the doctor alone, but I don’t want to leave him out here with Botox Barbie. From the speed he’s rushing me through the doorway, he must feel the same way. He holds my clipboard while the nurse ushers me to the scales and takes my weight. He is smart enough to turn away until the nurse is finished. I don’t know many women who would gladly have a man know her weight, regardless of the number. Some things in life just need to remain a mystery.
When we reach the exam room, the nurse motions for me to step up onto the table and says the doctor will be in soon. Lucian sets my stuff on the countertop next to the sink before walking over to me. He raises a brow at the stirrups on either side of my legs. “This table has a lot of possibilities. I wonder if they sell to individuals.”
“You’re sick,” I giggle, feeling lighter than I have in days. Even meeting his perfect ex hasn’t shaken me…too much. Well, it does make me wonder why his taste in women has changed so dramatically. I’m nothing at all like the stick-thin, haughty woman I just met. Since he is so relaxed, I decide to put the question before him. “So…Laurie, huh?”
Instead of looking uncomfortable, he actually smirks. “Yeah, sorry to put you through that. We both got off pretty easy, though.”
I smile in return. “I think it was the whole ‘girlfriend’ thing that had her so tongue-tied. I couldn’t decide if she was going to faint or throw up.”
“I’d have paid good money to see the first one,” Lucian admits. “I’ve only seen her rattled a few times.”
I shake my head saying, “Let me guess, the last time before today was when you broke up with her?”
He cringes dramatically. “That was just ugly. When she figured out that she wasn’t going to be able to talk me out of it, she threw a fucking vase at my head.”
I begin laughing, unable to imagine the woman in the waiting room doing something so…normal, at least for a teenager. “No! Did she hit her target?”
“Hell no,” he says, looking offended. “I move a little faster than that, and she throws like a girl.”
We are both laughing over his comment when the door opens and someone I presume is the doctor steps in. She appears to be in her fifties, with shoulder-length brown hair, heavily tinged with gray. I like her immediately when she puts her hands on her hips and looks at Lucian with a resigned huff. “What are you doing in here with my patient, Lucian Quinn?”
He grins in return, looking a tad sheepish. “We’re together,” he says, taking my hand. “I’m Lia’s boyfriend.”
She takes his sleeve and starts ushering him toward the door. “I don’t care if you’re her God, you’ll have to go back to the waiting area. I have to adhere to all of these privacy policies they have floating around now.” I almost laugh when I see him holding onto the doorframe, clearly torn about leaving. Dr. Kay gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, saying, “I’ll take care of her, Luc.” He reluctantly walks out into the hallway and she shuts the door behind him. She turns back to me, shaking her head. “I swear that boy is just as stubborn today as he was when he was a child.”
I smile in answer, feeling myself relax. I’m secretly glad she made Lucian leave the room, although I hope Laurie has already gone. “So, you knew the boy before the man?” I ask, dying of curiosity. I wonder if she knew Lucian’s parents before they passed away.
She walks to the sink to wash her hands, looking back over her shoulder as she says, “Oh, yes, his mother and I were childhood friends. I still miss her,” she adds quietly, seeming lost in thought for a moment. As she dries her hands, she looks me over before sitting on a stool next to the exam table. “Luc told me what happened to you when he called to make your appointment. I’m very sorry that you had to endure something like that, Lia.”