Page 166 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“What? I’m just trying to be informed.”

“He’s got a kid. Drop it.”

“Wow, a beard for the babies and defensiveness for the child of the third mysterious doctor of The Doctor Is In. Are kids a weakness for you, Scott?”

“Yes. They are. And quite frankly, they should be for everyone.”

Her face softened ever so slightly. Not enough to change the shape, and not enough to make me step closer, but enough to know she didn’t have a heart of stone locked in there behind all that armor.

“Shall we?” I asked, offering her my elbow as the band music softened and they instructed everyone to make their way to their seats.

She looked at my arm closely for several moments before taking it, and I noticed for the first time that my mother had moved on to Bill. I’d completely forgotten about her. Does that make me a shitty son?

“So what’s the deal with your parents?” Harlow asked as we walked, securing my full attention once again. “I told you about mine.”

I nodded and pulled her in closer so I could whisper. God, she smells good.

“Ah, yes. Nicole and Tanner Shepard divorced when I was seventeen years old after nearly twenty years of unhappy marriage. They both knew they weren’t meant for each other probably five years in, but I was a toddler. And while my mom is the stubbornest woman on the planet, my dad is the nicest man. No way he was going to leave her and me during those formidable years. When they finally separated, my mom held a grudge. Still does, quite frankly. But not because she actually loves him or anything.”

“Kind of like a kid with a toy?”

“Exactly like that,” I agreed. “Anyway, he met Linda a couple years later, and they married nearly immediately. Now, they are soul mates. The real, written-in-the-stars kind. Somehow, they manage passion without disagreement. I hadn’t even thought that was possible until the two of them.”

“Wow.”

I nodded, pulling out her chair for her. Her eyes followed me over her shoulder. I was nearly lost in them again when my dad’s voice rang out through the microphone. “Scott, could you sit down, son?”

The whole audience of partygoers laughed as I gave him a wave, shook off the lusty power of Harlow’s eyes, and tucked myself into my seat.

“Thanks, Dr. Erotic,” my dad commented. Once again, the crowd laughed. Even Harlow.

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled with a shake of my head. I never lost my smile, though. Only parents like mine could find ways to tease about something like this rather than criticize. They were both my biggest supporters—no matter what.

“My son, everyone,” my dad boasted proudly.

See?

“Linda, honey,” he called, shielding his eyes from the light so he could find her. “Can you come up here?” The spotlight found her greeting guests at a table across the room and followed her as she made her way to my dad with a sweet blush on her face.

As soon as she was within touching distance, he pulled her close with an arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her cheek. The room let out a collective sigh as they looked on. Normally, my mom would have had some kind of smart comment, so I turned briefly to get a read on her, but she was too busy whispering quiet words with Bill in their seats across the table.

I smiled. Maybe the time Nicole Shepard let it all go had finally come.

I returned my attention back to the front to listen as my dad spoke. “I just want to thank everyone for coming tonight.” He turned to his wife to address her directly. “Linda, we’ve only been married for fifteen short years, and they’ve absolutely flown by. Every year, I think maybe I’ll finally feel like it’s enough, like I’ve had a satisfying amount of time with you, but every year I get hungrier. It’ll never be enough. Even at sixty years, I’ll be wishing for sixty more. I love you.”

“Good God,” Harlow muttered, drawing my attention. She was pulling a tissue from her purse and dabbing her eyes.

I nodded and she scoffed. “They’re the real deal,” I confirmed.

She shook her head. “I didn’t believe you.”

I smiled. “No one ever does until they see it for themselves.”

I tuned back in to the room around me as everyone else was raising their glass. Harlow and I jumped to do the same, clinking our glasses together.

“To love!” everyone shouted at once. Harlow’s eyes widened like she’d just been cursed, and I laughed.

“Don’t worry, Low.” A tiny crease formed between her eyebrows at my use of her nickname. “I don’t think a cheers is the same as a contract in blood.”