Chapter Thirteen
Josh
“Are you feeling alright?” Lady Jane reached across the table and felt Josh’s head with the back of her hand.
Josh took his grandmother’s hand, gave it a quick kiss, and returned it to the table. “Just starving. Between class and studying, I forgot to eat lunch.” Josh watched Lady Jane digest his lie. Like a coward, he picked up the menu and pretended to scan the specials for the evening.
“Starving because you forgot to eat or because you can’t afford to eat?”
He and Lady Jane had argued about his finances on more than one occasion. In short, she wanted to fund his remaining years in medical school. Which wasn’t going to happen. No matter how tempting the thought of a zero Sallie Mae loan balance, Josh preferred not to mooch off his grandmother and would continue to pay his own way.
Josh didn’t want to fight about this. School and work took up most of his time these days, making it difficult to get away and see his grandmother. He wasn’t going to waste a minute tonight talking about money. Josh smiled at her. “Well, if you must know, I lied. I didn’t forget to eat. I’ve been saving myself for this particular meal all day.” Josh took a sip of water from the goblet in front of him. Lady Jane could smell bullshit a mile away, but thankfully she dropped the subject and picked up her menu.
Josh took that opportunity to search his surroundings. He could sense her…she was close. “Good evening. Welcome to Lucrezia. Can I start this evening with our house vintage?” His view of the restaurant suddenly became limited and he looked at their waiter.
“Lady Jane, may I order for you?” Josh asked.
“Please do. I don’t know the first thing about wine, other than it goes well with cheese.”
Josh ordered a bottle of the Lucrezia Merlot, which appeared to be homegrown at Carina’s brother’s winery, and waited for the waiter to leave before allowing his eyes to roam once again.
“How are your classes going?”
“Challenging.” Josh took another sip of his water, wishing that it was something much stronger.
As he returned his glass to the table, movement to his right caused him to look up and suddenly his eyes were locked on hers. Carina stared at him for a moment before turning abruptly…and smashing into their waiter. The sound of glass breaking echoed through the restaurant. Carina bent over and started to pick up the pieces of two wine glasses when he heard a rogue expletive escape her beautiful lips. Josh leaped to his feet and closed the fifteen-foot gap between them. Carina looked up at him with what appeared to be embarrassment and annoyance. But it wasn’t her eyes for once that he was lost in. His gaze shifted to the stream of blood coming from her left hand. Josh reached for her right hand and pulled her against him.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?” Josh asked, whisking her toward the back of the restaurant. Josh intercepted another member of the wait staff and asked him to point him to the employee restroom. Once inside the vacant room, Josh flipped on the faucet and watched the water pour over the open wound.
Although she didn’t make a sound, he detected a wince as he analyzed the depth of the cut. With the blood washed away, he could now tell that it wouldn’t require stitches. With some applied pressure, a good cleaning, and a butterfly bandage she would be as good as new. Josh was attempting to stop the blood flow when a man suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“Carina, what happened?” His voice was consumed with concern. He stared at Carina’s hand and gasped.
“She cut herself on a broken wine glass.” Josh shifted his attention back to Carina’s hand. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
The man disappeared for a moment and then returned with kit in hand. “How bad is it?”
“I’m fine, Brennan. It was my turn, after all.”
Josh opened the bottle of peroxide and proceeded to flush out the wound. He knew it had to sting, but the only response his medical treatment invoked was a slight bite of her lower lip. “Your turn?” Josh asked.
“Yes, it’s become a ritual of some sort. Without fail, without notice, either Carina or her friend drop at least one tray on this particular weekend.” Brennan walked over and peered at her hand. “But seriously, will she be alright? Does she need stitches?”
Josh had worked quickly and already had the bleeding stopped and the wound cleaned. He had been searching for a bandage when Carina’s brother asked about her injury. “No stitches. And if you need it, Mr. McGinnis, she has the green light to continue working.” Carina stared at Josh with what seemed like intrigue. “But I would limit her to light activity, no heavy lifting.”
“What are you? A doctor?” she asked, looking at her now bandaged hand.
“In two years, if all goes well.” Josh examined his handiwork and then looked at the woman he had dreamt of every night since their first meeting.
“Well, this is a lucky break, isn’t it, Carina?” Brennan appeared more relaxed, the panic slowly receding.
“Yes, and quite a coincidence,” she said with a raised eyebrow. Carina’s pain and embarrassment became overshadowed by what seemed like suspicion.
“Well, if you’re okay, I’m going to check out the aftermath,” Brennan said, leaning in and giving his sister a quick kiss on the forehead.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute,” Carina said, never taking her eyes off of Josh. Brennan left to tend to his customers and the mess Carina had made.
A woman dressed in the wait staff uniform burst through the door seconds later. “Brennan just told me what happened. Good God! Let me see,” she said, reaching for Carina’s hand and inspecting it thoroughly.
“I’ll live, Morgan,” Carina said. “And before you start to panic, we’re still going out tonight. No cut or abrasion will stand in our way.”
“I wasn’t panicking,” Morgan said. “As a matter of fact, I was just about to offer that we stop off at the grocery store, stock up on junk and take over Gabe’s couch instead of hitting Bishop’s tonight.”
“Not a chance. Loafing around is for tomorrow morning. Tonight we dance, injured hand and all,” Carina said, waving her bandaged hand in the air as if proving a point.
“Well, if you insist.” Carina’s friend smiled and then gave her a hug. These two women had to be close. Morgan didn’t seem to hesitate when she offered to forego a night out. But what captivated him was the way Morgan completely disregarded Josh’s presence. Carina seemed to be her sole focus and no matter how much he hated to admit it, he too suffered from that same affliction.
“Well, it looks like you’re off the hook, Mor, at least for this year, anyway. It was definitely my turn to make a fool of myself,” Carina said.
Josh cleared his throat, which prompted Morgan to look over at him and finally realize that she and Carina weren’t the only two people in the restroom. “I’m sorry, and you are?” Morgan asked.
But before Josh could answer, Carina interceded. “Well, if you’re going to be a klutz, best to do so in the presence of a med student.”
“Josh Graham,” he said, shaking Morgan’s hand. “Guess I was in the right place at the right time.”
Morgan stared at him. He felt her studying him and it left him unnerved. “Yeah, it’s fortunate you’re here.” Morgan looked at Carina, but Carina’s face was one of stone, not giving anything away.
“Must be crazy out there. Mind checking on my tables, Morgan?” Carina asked.
“Not a problem.” Morgan shifted her attention to Josh. “It was nice meeting you, Josh. Thanks for helping Carina and sparing us a night in the ER.”
“Of course.”
Morgan smiled and left to take over two sections of the restaurant.
“What are you doing here?” Carina asked, getting right to the point.
“Having dinner.” Josh took notice of her subtle intake of breath and her clenched right hand. “With a beautiful woman.” She flashed him the look of death, one that he enjoyed entirely too much. Her jealous nature was shining through, and shame on him for wanting to coax it on.
“You brought your date here?” Her eyes grew wide, which he adored. He could get entranced by her all-encompassing glare.
“Yes. Would you like to meet her?”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
Carina turned her back to him and began to put the first aid kit back together again. She was twisting the cap onto the bottle of peroxide when he suddenly grabbed her non-injured hand, placed the peroxide back on the sink and dragged her out to the dining room.
“What the…” Carina didn’t finish her sentence, as Josh walked Carina over to his table where his date waited patiently.
***
Carina
Josh may have patched up her hand in record time, but it didn’t give him a free pass. This guy was a class one asshole. There was no way in hell his showing up tonight at Brennan’s restaurant was an accident. And now he wanted her to meet his girlfriend? This bastard was a player. But worst of all, his girlfriend was most likely in the dark. Carina’s anger mounted.
But why did his hand, which protectively encased hers, feel so good? How could he make her feel so special, so wanted, even now…just feet away from his girlfriend?
Josh stopped in front of a table set for two. A gray-haired woman with warm eyes stared up at her. “Lady Jane, this is Carina, a friend of mine from Philly.” Josh looked back at Carina. “Carina, this is my grandmother…and my date for this evening.”
The combination of being called a “friend” and the realization that Josh’s date was an elderly woman sent her emotions into overdrive.
“How are you, honey? Did my boy fix you all up?” the kind woman asked. Josh’s Lady Jane stared at him lovingly. It was easy to detect how proud she was of her grandson and how much she adored him.
Carina relaxed for a moment and allowed herself to forget that the man who was still holding her hand could set her mind and body reeling. “All better, now. Your grandson is going to make a wonderful doctor.” Carina gently tugged her hand loose from Josh’s and gave her bandaged hand a pat. Josh’s hand found the small of Carina’s back.
Lady Jane beamed with pride. “I’m certain of it. It’s been his dream as long as I can remember.”
Josh was full of surprises. But what shocked her the most was that until tonight, she hadn’t known what he did for a living and that she had never bothered to ask. The attraction between them seemed to curb the need to find out minor details such as what the other wanted to do with the rest of their life. The revelation that Josh had aspirations, that he had set his sights on a career that required years of study and long rotations all for the good of helping others, made her take pause.
“Well, Lady, I apologize for leaving you stranded. Have you ordered for us?” Josh asked.
Lady Jane scowled. “No. Everything looked so good. I couldn’t make a decision.”
“Not a problem. I’ll have my brother make you something special. It’s the least I can do. My clumsiness did impose on your date,” Carina said.
“Your brother is Brennan McGinnis? Chef Brennan McGinnis?” Lady Jane was awestruck.
“The one and only.” This time it was Carina who was filled with pride. Her hardworking brother deserved the kudos.
“My friends are going to be so jealous!” Lady Jane clapped her hands like a little girl, which brought a smile to Carina’s face.
But her smile faded as she looked out at the busy restaurant. Morgan and the rest of Brennan’s staff were working double time because of her. “I need to get going. I’ll make sure Brennan knows that he has two very special guests. It was so nice to meet you, Ms…”
“Just Jane, honey.”
Carina nodded and started to make her way to the kitchen. She felt his gaze upon her, that familiar heat that washed over her whenever he was around. She was at the bar when it finally dawned on her that not only had she not thanked him for cleaning and dressing her hand, but she had jumped to conclusions and acted like a total brat. She couldn’t remember a time when she was so rude, appearing so ungrateful.
Carina glanced back at him, hoping to see the sexy playboy, the man who oozed sex, the man who she suspected knew how to pleasure many, many women. Because then it would be easy. She could write him off and finally trust her judgement when it came to men. But instead, she saw the aspiring doctor and the loving grandson who had traveled over an hour to take his Lady Jane out on the town. Frustrated, she shook her head, and was thankful that Morgan was going to get her shitfaced tonight.