Chapter Six
The sun was slicing through the blinds in the guest room as Vince got Dom out of bed the next morning. After only a few minutes, he tuned out his brother’s bellyaching about not being able to dress himself and thought instead about Emma.
The woman confused him.
Late last night, she’d stopped by just long enough for a glass of iced tea and to tell him about a last-minute cancellation that’d allowed her to get him an appointment first thing this morning. Her gaze had lingered on him, and what appeared to be regret flashed through her eyes.
What the hell was all that about?
And then there was yesterday’s lunch. He was still trying to figure out what had happened during that time. They were holding a nice conversation, having a little fun, because, damn, the woman was easy to talk to, and then she touched his arm, and bam…a strange current had surged through his body.
He’d only ever felt a connection like that once before. Decades ago. A lifetime ago.
With his soul mate.
Each other’s firsts, they’d been inseparable all through high school. Everything was planned. She wanted to see the world beyond New Jersey, and was supportive when he’d joined the Army in the spring of their senior year. After basic, scheduled for that summer, he’d planned to propose.
He never got the chance.
Connie was everything good in the world—she was his world—until a car accident took her from him.
Ever since, Vince had closed that part of himself off and never had a deep connection with another woman. Never allowed himself to get that close.
To feel a similar zapping with Emma threw him off balance. His first instinct was to run. Get as far away from the woman as possible. But he was a Ranger. He didn’t run. Hell, maybe it wasn’t even real. It could’ve just been his stupid mind playing tricks on him because he’d gotten on so well with her.
He nodded. That had to be it.
“Good. Then let’s go,” his brother said, bringing his mind back to the present.
“Go where?”
Dom frowned. “What the hell do you mean, go where? To Kelley’s for a drink. You just nodded you’d take me.”
“What? No way.” He shook his head. “First of all, you’re not going to a bar at eight in the morning. And definitely not while taking medication. Second, I never agreed. And third,” he said, waving at the floor, “where the hell is your other sock?”
“On the bed where you left it,” Dom replied, narrowing his gaze. “I’ve got a better question. Where the hell are your thoughts?”
Mumbling, he grabbed the sock and carefully put it on his brother’s foot.
“Did your check in with Leo not go so well last night?” Dom asked. “Is everything okay at the ranch? Because if it’s not—”
“Everything’s fine,” Vince said, cutting him off. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’ll have to go through a lot more PT—and not skip out on your sessions early—before I’m satisfied enough with your progress to even consider leaving.”
Dom grumbled as Vince finished helping him get dressed. “Has Leo gotten through to anyone about my friend?”
“Yes,” he replied. “He called me late last night to tell me he finally got word to his contact.”
His brother blew out a breath. “So now we wait.”
“Yeah. He’ll call the minute he hears anything.” He watched Dom grip the dresser and slowly pull himself to his feet.
Knowing better than to try and help, Vince stood back, ready to assist if necessary. The macho idiot preferred to do it himself, claiming it gave his muscles a workout, but Vince knew it was just Dom being pigheaded. With pain erasing the color from his brother’s face, it was obvious the muscle relaxant remained in the bottle that morning.
“So much for keeping your word to Emma.” He shook his head.
Dom frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You take your muscle relaxant, and I pretend to casually date Emma for a few weeks,” he reminded. “Since it’s as obvious as the pain on your face that you didn’t take any today, does that mean I don’t have to date Emma?”
A muffled oath mixed with a grunt as Dom lumbered near to stare him straight in the eye. “I won’t take that poison more than once a day and prefer to take it after PT. So, no, asshole, you still have to play Emma’s boy toy.” His smug expression turned pensive, and he cocked his head. “Why? I thought you two got on well together.”
“We do.” Too well, he thought, motioning for his brother to move out of the room, but the idiot didn’t budge. “I just wanted an answer about the medication.”
Mostly true. Vince did want to know that, but also wasn’t opposed to having a reason to back out; although, in truth, he wouldn’t. Not after giving Emma his word. He’d never leave her in the lurch.
Dom set a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Sorry. Deal still stands. Just promise me you won’t hurt her. Emma’s a gem.”
He frowned. “Of course I’m not going to hurt her. I think you know me better than that.”
Expelling a breath, Dom released him and shook his head. “Look, I know you don’t go around hurting women. It’s just that Emma is like a kid sister to me, and I don’t want to see her upset.”
“She’ll be fine.”
“And I’m not blind,” Dom said. “I know she’s beautiful, so just promise me you won’t get carried away and sleep with her.”
He reeled back. “Jesus, Dom. I’m not really dating her, so there will be no need for me to be anywhere near her bedroom.” He rubbed his suddenly throbbing temple. “Besides, for me to be able to hurt her, she’d have to have feelings for me, and we both know all her feelings are tied up with Stephan.”
Dom nodded. “Fair enough. And despite what you think, I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”
His brows shot up. First his brother throws him under the bus, then in the next breath, he was worried about him. Vince held back a snort. Typical Dom. Never predictable. “Again, it’s fake. We’re just friends. And it’s only a little more than two weeks.”
Dom hesitated. “So, what are your plans to help her today?”
“I had her get me an appointment with the guy,” he said. “This way I can extract information from her doctor without stalking.”
Dom’s eyes widened. “You’re going to see her doctor?”
“Yeah.”
“For an exam?”
“Yeah.” He frowned, unsure what the big deal was. “Why?”
Dom released him and stepped back to lean against the doorframe. “No reason.” His lips twitched as he scratched the bridge of his nose with his thumb. “Smart thinking.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I thought so, too. This way, I can play the new-in-the-area card and ask him to recommend places he frequents.”
“That’s a good way to get to know him.”
He nodded.
“Intimately,” his brother added, still fighting a stupid grin.
Vince wrinkled his nose. “What the hell’s your problem? I wouldn’t go that far.”
“But he might.” Dom snickered.
Irritation prickled Vince’s spine. “Why do I bother?” Fighting the urge to shoulder-check the idiot, he pushed past and muttered, “Asshole,” on his way out the door.
For some reason that increased his brother’s amusement. Bastard’s laughter followed him down the hall, along with a hissed breath and several curses.
Good. He hoped the exertion hurt like hell.
Dom was acting odd that morning. Then it hit him. What if his brother had taken his medication—despite his claim he only took it after PT—then forgot? Vince’s heart dropped to his knees. That would definitely explain the strange behavior.
“You going to be okay while I’m gone?” he asked.
Dom scowled. “Yes. I’m not helpless. I’ll survive the hour while Stephan gets to know you.”
“Don’t you mean while I get to know him?” he asked.
“Ah, yeah, right. That, too.” His brother nodded with a grin, and was still smiling when Vince left for his appointment.
All the while he drove, and even while filling out paperwork, Vince kept thinking about his brother. Damn. If Dom really had taken his pain pills and forgotten about it, then Vince was going to have to take over administering the medication.
Christ. He ran a hand through his hair. That wouldn’t go over well with his control-freak brother. But he couldn’t have the guy doubling up on doses.
“Vince?” Standing in front of an open door, a sour-faced nurse called his name while glancing around the waiting room.
Showtime.
He pushed thoughts of his brother aside and approached the woman with a grin. “Good morning, ma’am.”
Her eyes widened, and an answering smile erased the grouchy from her face. “Morning.”
As he followed her down a hall, he passed a section in the middle where Emma and her friend Macy sat behind a rounded counter. He winked at them on his way to an examining room where, once inside, he sat while the nurse took his vitals. Her shoulders were less rigid, and her features were much softer by the time she left.
A twinge of guilt flickered through him for wasting her and the doctor’s time. An actual patient could’ve used his slot. But, his mind reasoned, although he wasn’t having issues, Vince hadn’t seen a doctor in a while, so technically, it wasn’t a waste.
The door opened a few minutes later, and his thoughts zeroed in on his task—extracting information to help Emma secure a date with the Brad Pitt clone walking into the room.
“Hello, Mr. Acardi.” The man held out his hand and cracked a smile full of perfect white teeth in his perfect face. “I’m Dr. Greenwald.”
Vince was already on his feet, shaking the man’s hand before the last name registered in his brain. “Greenwald?” He cocked his head. “I went through basic with a Brian Greenwald. Any relation?”
The doctor’s smile widened. “He’s my older brother.”
“I’ll be damned.” Vince snickered, releasing the man’s hand. “What’s he up to? I lost track after I joined the Rangers.”
Leaning back against the exam table, the doctor folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “Lucky bastard’s stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu.”
Vince whistled. “Sweet draw.”
“Yeah. I plan to take our parents there this Christmas.” He motioned for Vince to take a seat alongside the small corner desk, then sat in the chair in front of it. “So, you’re a Ranger?”
He nodded. “I left the military two years ago, though.”
“Really?” Doc Greewald glanced at Vince’s stats the nurse had keyed into the computer. “What do you do now?”
“I’m part owner of a Texas ranch and construction company where veterans live and work.” No need to get into specifics. He was there to ask the questions.
“Texas? What are you doing in Georgia?”
He exhaled. “My brother. He’s stationed here and was recently injured on a mission. Dislocated a hip.”
The doc winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. I’ll be in town until he’s done with physical therapy or can drive himself there. Right now, though, he can barely get out of bed on his own.” With personal stuff out of the way, Vince was ready to start grilling. “It’s been a while since I lived here, so tell me, Doc—what do you do for fun? I’m already going stir-crazy.”
The guy laughed. “First off, call me Stephan. And I doubt the area’s changed much, but me personally, I like to hike at Flat Rock Park on the weekends, and often join the Tuesday night bike ride.”
“At the river walk?”
“Yeah,” Stephan replied. “And when I can, I head to Kelley’s. Great food. Live bands. Dancing. It’s always a good time. Tonight, I’m bowling with a few friends over at The Peach Bowl. They have open lanes after the leagues.”
Perfect.
Vince knew the place well. In fact, he knew all the places. Showing up at The Peach Bowl with Emma tonight would get the ball rolling, pun intended.
“So, Vince, you don’t seem to be in any pain.” The guy switched back to doctor mode. “Are you having issues, or is this just a routine exam?”
Pushing back another stab of guilt, he shrugged. “Just routine.”
“All right.” The doc rose to his feet. “Let’s get started. Drop your pants.”
Drop my…
Vince frowned. What the hell for?
He watched the guy walk to the counter and pull two gloves from a box. Alarm trickled down his spine.
What kind of doctors did Emma work for?
He’d assumed it was a general practitioners’ office, but one glance at the diagram of lower anatomy on the far wall explained the whole thing.
Literally.
Dr. Stephan Greenwald was a goddamn proctologist.
A great many things became clear. Emma’s astonishment over his offer to let Stephan examine him, for one thing. The woman had looked at him as if he were crazy, and right now, he was having crazy thoughts—like leaving before Stephan snapped on that last damn glove.
As Vince eyed the door, an image of his brother’s smirking face came to mind, along with the bastard’s laughter.
That son of a bitch.
Dom’s strange behavior had nothing at all to do with double dosing medicine, and everything to do with being an asshole.
Jerk knew and said nothing. Bastard also knew Vince would go through with it once he found out, because to tell the doc it was a mistake would ruin his credibility as someone interested in Emma. No man worth his salt would date a woman without knowing what she did for a living, or who she worked for. And even though he didn’t really know the woman, he’d given his word to help.
So Vince couldn’t leave, and was about to pay a big price for assuming. But he wasn’t the only one who was going to pay.
Hell no.
Reaching for the button on his jeans, he began to formulate a plan. His brother seemed to have forgotten one very important thing.
Vince didn’t get mad, he got even.