“You remember my friend Wyatt from the wedding, right?” Jason says.
“Sure do. Good to see you again, Wyatt.”
I shake his hand. “Likewise. Congrats on signing with the Marlins.”
“Thanks. It’s good to have it settled.”
I read about him signing for eighty million for four years so he could stay in Miami with Maria, when he could’ve gotten much more from another team. I have to give him credit for having his priorities straight when most people would’ve followed the money, no matter what.
A little girl comes running into the massive family room, her hair wet and her feet bare. She’s wearing a pink nightgown, and her cheeks are rosy. “Dada! Don’t wanna go to bed!”
Austin scoops her up into his arms and kisses her cheek. “You never want to go to bed. If it was up to you, you’d never sleep.”
“No sleep.”
“Yes sleep.”
“Wyatt, I think you met my daughter, Everly, when you were here for the wedding. Ev, this is Uncle Jason’s friend Wyatt.”
When I waggle my fingers at her, Everly gives me a shy smile before burrowing into her daddy’s chest.
Maria comes into the family room with Carmen and Dee. Maria’s shirt is wet, probably from giving the little one a bath. My gaze is immediately drawn to Dee, and the first thing I notice is that she looks pale and tired. Is that because her ex is harassing her and staging a suicide attempt to try to get her back?
I don’t joke about suicide. I’ve seen far too much of it in my career for it to be anything other than tragic. I heard just enough about her ex in the car to suspect he staged the attempt as a desperate cry for her attention. I want to tell her to stay strong, to not give in by going to see him, but if I did that, I’d have to confess that I know about him and what he’s put her through.
I’d rather she tell me that herself.
Wait, what happened to five minutes ago in the car when we were going to take a step back because she’s already had enough heartache?
That was then and this is now. Dee is in the same room with me, and it takes every ounce of willpower I can muster not to go to her, put my arms around her and tell her she has no reason to feel guilty about what her ex did. I force myself to stand still, even when her dark-eyed gaze connects with mine, and I feel like I’ve been hit with defibrillation paddles. And yes, I know what that feels like, and this is just like that—a shock to my entire system.
“Good to see you again, Wyatt,” Maria says.
“You, too. Hey, Dee.”
“Hi, Wyatt.”
“Drinks,” Austin says. “We need drinks.”
“I’ll do that while you tuck in the monkey,” Maria says, kissing Everly.
The little girl’s head is resting on her dad’s shoulder, where I suspect she makes herself at home quite often. Everly appears to be a perfectly healthy three- or four-year-old, which must be a relief to her dad and everyone who loves her after the ordeal of her illness. I love how Maria met Austin after donating the bone marrow that saved Everly’s life. What an amazing story that is.
After Austin takes Everly off to bed, Maria whispers something to Dee as she looks at me.
Dee shrugs in response to whatever her sister said. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
The sisters share an intense look before Maria goes to make the drinks. We take them outside to a huge patio that has a fenced-off pool and hot tub surrounded by palm trees, flowering bushes, potted plants and subtle lighting. What a setup they’ve got right on the Intracoastal Waterway.
“This is beautiful,” I tell Maria when she joins us, bringing chips, salsa and guacamole.
“I wish we could take credit, but it was like this when Austin bought it.”
I’m happy to see the fence around the pool. I’ll never forget the child who drowned in a backyard pool during my ER rotation, how hard we tried to save him and his parents’ anguish when we were unsuccessful. I still think about that child and his parents.
“Where’d you go, Wyatt?” Jay asks, grinning at me as I realize all eyes are on me.
“I’m thinking about pool fences and how wise it is to have one with a child in the house.”
“That was nonnegotiable for us,” Maria says.
“I was also thinking about a child we were unable to save during my ER rotation. You never forget those cases.”
“I had one of those, too,” Jay says, frowning. “A two-year-old girl. Dreadful.”
“You hear about it far too often around here,” Maria says.
“In Phoenix, too.” I notice Dee is looking at me, which makes me feel like a fifth-grade boy about to kiss the girl he likes during a game of spin the bottle. Yeah, seriously. I’m in major crush mode where she’s concerned. She’s wearing a black shirt with the shoulders cut out, tight jeans that hug her delicious curves and high-heeled wedge sandals that show off a coral-colored pedicure.
She’s wearing her shiny, curly dark hair down around her shoulders, and her brown eyes are fringed with extravagant lashes. I remember thinking at the wedding that her eyes were stunning, but tonight, they convey sadness and stress. Probably because of what her ex did and the guilt that has to be eating her up, even if it’s not her fault.
I wish so badly I could tell her that, but I abide by her wishes to keep our secrets from the others. If I say something, I’ll give away that we know each other better than we’ve let on. We were paired up at the wedding, but that wasn’t any big deal. Until it was.
We talk about Mexican takeout, and when Carmen and Jason go with Maria to get more drinks and use the bathroom, I take advantage of the moment alone with Dee. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You, too,” she says with a shy smile.
She wasn’t shy after the wedding. Not even a little bit. Is she embarrassed by that now? I really hope not.
“Are you okay? You’re quiet.”
“I’ve had a rough day.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I want to tell her I know what happened, but more than that, I want her to tell me about it herself. “Anything I can do?”
“No, but thank you for asking.”
“You want to hang out later?”
“I, um, I’m not sure I can do that. I’m staying here.”
I cock a brow at her. “Do you have a curfew?”
“No,” she says, smiling.
“Come pick me up at Jason’s. We’ll go for a ride.”
She glances toward the window, where we can see the others inside, gathered around Maria.
“Live dangerously.” I send her a goofy smile that I hope she’ll find charming or adorable or maybe both. “Pick me up.”
“Text me when you get back to their place.”
The words are no sooner out of her mouth than Maria returns with Austin and her phone, which she passes to Dee to pick what she wants from the restaurant. “Their enchiladas are to die for.”
“Sold,” I say when Dee has the phone. “Will you add chicken enchiladas for me?”
“Yep.” She orders for both of us and then hands the phone back to her sister.
“What’d you get?” I ask her.
“Same thing. Their enchiladas are so good.”