Best Dating Rules: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 2) (20 page)

“Do you think she likes me?”

“Ohmygosh! Are all men this dense? Yes, she likes you. Of course she does.” Charlie shook her head. “Now, can you enjoy dinner?”

“Sure.” He felt his spirits lifting… Emily liked him.

An uneasy truce lay between Spencer and Josh for the rest of dinner. Both seemed to acknowledge they didn’t like each other, but they didn’t have any more arguments. At least not overtly.

“What does Emily do?” Josh asked after everyone else at the table had summarized their present school or work occupations.

“So you don’t even know?” He let a little sneer creep into his voice. So great to finally have a one-up on Josh.

“Well, no. While I was attempting to keep her from falling to her death, we didn’t discuss mundane things like work or school.”

Charlie interrupted. “Really, Josh? Falling to her death?”

“Okay, I might be exaggerating a little. But if she’d gotten off the trail and fallen where no one could find her, it could have happened.

“That’s actually true,” Spencer conceded.

Brad jumped in. “The hike wasn’t so bad and she was great. Carried her own backpack the whole way. Refused help most of the time. That’s really why she was so scratched up. She definitely wanted to prove herself.”

“You know,” said Josh, “she tried to explain it. But I never quite understood why she did that. Maybe you can elucidate, Spencer. Why did she go on that hike today? She said she had to prove you were important.”

Spencer felt his face heating up as he struggled to find an answer, but Grace jumped in.

“It was my fault, actually. She wanted to talk to Spencer, and I told her Spencer would be busy on this overnight hike until Monday.”

“And then Becca lied to her about where the hike was going to be,” Charlie added, “so she ended up at Devil’s Path instead of Harriman Loop.”

“Becca?” asked Josh. “Who’s Becca.”

“Becca is this girl who likes Spencer, so she lied to Emily to throw her off,” said Grace.

“Oh.” Josh gave a knowing nod. “Becca likes Spencer. I get it. Emily did this to attract Spencer’s attention away from Becca. He doesn’t seem worth the trouble to me. No offense, man.”

“No,” snarled Spencer. “I’ve never liked Becca, and Emily didn’t need to attract my attention, she already had it.”

“Josh, you’ve got a long way to go before you can understand my sister. Her mind works in complicated ways.” Charlie pointed her finger at him.

“I’ve got nothing but time, and I’m a
patient
man.”

“Cute,” smirked Charlie, “A doctor—a patient man? That’s funny.”

It wasn’t funny at all.

“Oh, and she’s a CPA at Gherring Inc. We never did tell you what she did,” Charlie added.

“Ah,” said Josh. “A CPA. Hmmm, that could be a great combination.”

In his mind, Spencer pictured all the different ways he could kill Josh.

“This is fun, Mom. The two of us can sit here together and feel miserable.” At seven a.m. on Sunday morning, Emily had already limped down to her apartment to shower off and change clothes. She’d been shocked at how many bruises and cuts were on her body, and her ankle was definitely swollen. But her shower had been a moment of ecstasy as she’d scrubbed the dirt and dust from her body until her skin was pink. Her mother was fighting nausea again since removing her IV due to painful irritation of the skin around the needle. She was braving the mounting queasiness, attempting to postpone calling Connie to insert a new IV needle.

“I’m just so happy to have you here in one piece I don’t want to complain. But you may not want to stay up here if I start throwing up again.” Her mother’s smile was a bit shaky.

“Why don’t you let me call Connie?” Steven asked. “You know she won’t mind.”

“But she’s got to have some time off. We can’t always expect her to drop everything and come over here,” Anne protested.

Steven’s answer was cut off by a tentative knock at the door. “I wonder who that could be. I’m betting on Spencer.”

“Me, too. He was dying to talk to you last night,” Anne told Emily.

“Well, I don’t look very good.” Emily wished she’d worn long pants to cover her extensive injuries. She couldn’t quite see around Steven when he opened the door.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yes, sir. I hope you don’t mind. I was hoping to see my patient before I do rounds at the hospital.” Josh smiled broadly as he entered the apartment. “Hey, Emily.”

She was so confused. “Hi, Josh. What’re you doing here?”

“Well, I got called in to work this morning, so I was hoping you’d be awake. I wanted to check on you.”

She felt her cheeks burning as he approached her, studying her legs and her foot with a distinct frown. “I’m just fine.” She tucked her legs underneath her on the couch.

“Can I check your ankle?”

“Check it? Why? I mean, it’s sprained I guess. But I’m sure it will get better.”

“I want to make sure we don’t need to get it x-rayed.”

“Well, if it doesn’t get better, I’ll go see a doctor.”

Anne laughed, “Emily, you don’t know? Josh is a doctor. And so is Brad.”

“What?” Her face grew even hotter.

“Yes, I forgot you didn’t know. We talked about it last night, but you were sleeping.” Suddenly a look of consternation passed across his face. “By the way, what were you doing accepting a pill from me yesterday when you didn’t know I was a doctor? That was really dangerous. I could have given you something unsafe.” His voice was slightly scolding.

Emily bristled at his admonishing tone. “I usually have pretty good judgment about people. I’d been forced to trust you all day, so I saw no reason not to trust you at the end of the day. However, now I’m having second thoughts. You’re not my father—”

“Ouch!” Josh held up his hands in mock distress. “Mrs. Gherring, I see what you mean about no one telling her what to do.”

The Gherrings smiled at his discomfort. Anne said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I’m sorry, Emily. I only meant to express concern for your well-being. I would never presume to order you around. And I certainly don’t aspire to be your father or anything of the sort.”

“Okay. Apology accepted. As long as we understand each other.”

“I’d like to reach the point where I really understand you, but I think I’m going to need more time. So, seriously... I really do want to check your ankle.”

Reluctantly, she unfolded her legs and stuck her right foot out. He pressed around the swollen area experimentally and then moved her foot around to flex the ankle, watching her reaction. She winced, but refused to make a sound at the pain.

“I’m sorry—I know that hurts. I still don’t think anything is broken. But it is a serious sprain.” He began to inspect the cuts on her legs, which she’d left mostly unbandaged, not having anything large enough to cover them. “Nothing looks too deep. Can I see your arms?”

Sighing, she stuck her arms out at him and he looked until he seemed satisfied. “Don’t you have a gash on your back?”

“Yes, but you can’t see that one.”

He rolled his eyes. “Brad and I cleaned that one off with water yesterday and put gauze on it. Why can’t I see it today? It’s not in a private place.”

“I don’t know, but you can’t see it.” She pressed her lips together in a tight line.

He grinned at her. “Okay. You’re the boss. I think you need to be taking anti-inflammatories for your sprained ankle. O.T.C. NSAID’s ought to be fine. That’s ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen sodium. Unless it’s hurting badly enough you need more hydrocodone?”

“No, thank you. I’d rather hurt a little than get knocked out again. I’ve been unconscious a bit too much lately.”

“I agree,” said Steven. “Let’s keep you off the heavy stuff.”

Josh frowned at Anne. “Are you all right, Mrs. Gherring? You seem like you’re about to pass out.”

“Oh, I’m okay. Just a little queasy.”

“Actually, you could really help us out. Anne needs a new IV port,” said Steven.

“What?” asked Josh, reaching to examine the proffered arm. “Oh, I see. Yes, this area’s really inflamed. So you removed an IV port from this spot?”

“Yes, this morning. It was really hurting,” Anne explained.

“And why do you need an IV?”

“She’s got hyperemesis gravidarum. They have her on IV fluids for nutrition support and antiemetics,” said Steven.

“Really? You’re pregnant? How far along?”

“We’re not sure. Maybe ten weeks,” said Anne.

“She was interviewed about it on the news last week,” said Emily.

He shook his head. “I never get to watch television. Saturday was the first day I’ve had off in weeks. I was supposed to be off today, but I got called in.”

He turned back to Anne. “Wow, you’re really thin. I’ve studied about this, but I’ve never seen a real case. It’s pretty rare. Well, except some of them go undiagnosed. Do you have a severe case? Have they talked to you about TPN?”

“We’re hoping to avoid it—so many complications. But I need to eat so I can gain some weight.”

“I’ll be glad to put in a new needle for you. Do you want it in the same place on the other arm? Or some place different?” He opened up the sterile IV kit they handed him.

“Yes, please. On the other arm. I really appreciate this, Josh.”

“My pleasure,” he said, as he quickly inserted the IV needle. “Just a pinch. How’s that?” He taped the new port in place and took off his gloves. “I’m hoping to ingratiate myself with your whole family,” he said with a conspiratorial grin.

“Thank you, Josh,” said Steven. “If there’s anything I can ever do to help you, let me know.”

“I will. Do you need help starting a new fluid bag?”

“No, we’ve got it down,” said Anne, as she and Steven headed toward the bedroom.

Emily felt her palms sweating when her parents left them alone together. He really made her nervous. Time to give him the boot. “Okay… Thanks for dropping by.”

He sat down on the couch next to her. “Can I drop by another time? I’d like to see you again.”

Her stomach turned a somersault. “You would?”

“Yes, I would. I don’t have a lot of spare time right now because of the residency program, but I’d like to spend it with you.”

“Why? I told you I had a boyfriend.”

“Well, that’s not exactly what you said, but I’ll let it pass. Let me explain. When I see something really great, something I want, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it. I’m not the type of man who gives up if it’s not easy. I’m willing to work at it and wait a long time if I have to. I’m in no hurry. I sense you and Spencer are on unsure footing here. I don’t think he’s the right man for you. If and when you change your mind, I’ll be right here waiting to prove to you I’m the right guy.”

The smile never left his face as he stood. After a moment she thought to close her mouth.

“No pressure. Just think about it.” He walked to the door to let himself out. “I’ll see you later.” Before she could protest his promise, he slipped through the door, and clicked it shut behind him.

Spencer checked the time again as he paced in the lobby of the Gherring’s apartment building. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. He didn’t want to go upstairs too early, but he didn’t think he could wait much longer. He’d hardly slept the night before. He realized Charlie was right. He no longer felt any anger about Asher Denning. He was only aware of the fear and agony he’d felt when he’d almost lost her. Twice. He knew he was in love with her. Both times he would gladly have given his life to save hers. He had to let her know how he felt, but he couldn’t say words like “love” too soon. He had to be careful. She liked to be in control, and he didn’t want to scare her away.

The elevator doors opened, and he felt instant rage at the sight of the man exiting. “What are you doing here, Josh?” He ground the words out between his teeth.

“Hello, Spencer. How are you?” Josh smiled, his voice filled with unequivocal delight. “I was simply taking care of my patients. I don’t usually make house calls. But in special cases I’m willing to make an exception.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And this is definitely a special case.”

Spencer felt a clear understanding of the term justifiable homicide. “Get out!”

“I’m leaving, but only because I have to go to work. Certainly not because you think you commanded it. Have a good day.”

Spencer watched him exit through the lobby door, breathing deeply to calm himself. It was obviously not too early to see the Gherrings. So he punched in the code that allowed him to take the elevator up to the penthouse and knocked on the door, pacing nervously until it opened.

“Hi, Spencer,” said Gherring. “This time it really is you. A little earlier—“

“I know,” Spencer snapped. “Josh was here. I saw him downstairs.”

“Yes, he just knocked on the door. He must have learned the code from Charlie last night. It was a total surprise.”

“An unpleasant one as far as I’m concerned. Is Emily available?”