Instant Gratification

Sick, Emma turned her back on Missy and closed her eyes. Her father had paid for her education.

“Dr. Sinclair? You okay?”

Emma drew a deep breath. He’d never once asked for a thank you, or thrown it in her face, or even so much as mentioned it.

In return, what had she done?

She’d griped about being here, thrown it in his face at every turn, and had mentioned, oh a million or so times, how much she wanted to get back to her own life.

She’d thought Serena was the bitch. Ha! Serena had nothing on her.

“Dr. Sinclair?”

Emma closed her eyes. Dr. Sinclair. All those weeks she’d been wanting a sign of respect, some sort of verification that the people in Wishful knew how important she was, and she’d just gotten it.

Yet it was she who owed the respect. “I’m okay, yes.”

“I debated about telling you the truth.”

“Why did you?”

“For him. So that before you leave you know what kind of a man he is.”

“You know I’m leaving?”

“When will you learn? I know everything.”

Emma could do nothing but laugh. After she gave Missy the dish, they walked out to the reception area together, where Missy pulled out her checkbook and asked for a pen. “For my last two visits. I know how you like your money.”

Emma gently pushed the woman’s checkbook away and offered a smile she hadn’t known she had. “I’d rather have another Thai dish if you don’t mind.”

Later Emma walked upstairs, took a good long look at her mom’s picture on the mantel and sighed. “You should have told me.”

What does it matter where the money came from?

“It matters to me.” She knew it mattered to her father as well—oh not that he’d given the money to her, but that she’d followed in his footsteps. That she’d become a doctor like him. “You should have told me,” she said again to Sandy’s face, and then lifted her gaze to the mirror and looked at her own reflection. She had one foot out the door now, the freedom in sight.

For the first time, she hesitated. She’d come for her father. This is what she’d been telling herself for two and a half months now. She was in Wishful for him.

Except she’d just realized that it wasn’t one hundred percent true.

She’d also come here for herself. For her lonely restlessness. For the part of her that said she was missing something.

Someone.

She thought maybe she’d found it, found him.

Chapter 23

Emma and her dad met at the clinic that afternoon. They went over the offers on the place, and picked the one they planned on accepting. It’d been made by a South Shore investor who owned fifteen other properties in the area. He was well-known and respected, the numbers were fantastic, and it was an easy decision to sign on the dotted line.

Relatively speaking.

Spence was giving her father a check up before Spence left for the airport so that Emma would feel better about following in a few days.

Or as okay as she could manage.

In the meantime, she was updating the records while keeping one eye on the examination door, and thinking of a certain expedition guide with a certain amazing mouth and who knew how to use it—a guy who was taking her out tonight.

On a training session to relax.

The front door opened and the cowbells jangled together. They no longer drove her crazy, Emma realized as Serena walked in with a black and white bag. “My specialty good-bye chocolates. For the doctor.”

“Wow, thanks.” Emma reached for them, but Serena held the bag up with a laugh that brought Emma back to first grade so fast her head spun.

“The other doctor,” Serena said with a sweet smile. “The one I want to have sex with. Not that you’re not sexy. If I swung that way, I’d totally do you.”

“Um, thanks. I think. Spencer’s busy right now.”

“No problem, I’ll just wait.” Serena looked uncharacteristically unsure of herself. “So…”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. No.” Serena leaned in. “Spencer wouldn’t sleep with me this afternoon. I mean we were having a great time. We went out to lunch and talked and laughed for hours. We played with the kittens, which certainly closed the deal for him, but then he took me home.”

“Sounds like a nice day.”

“Okay, you’re not listening. He didn’t sleep with me. Is there something wrong with him?”

“Of course not. He’s leaving is all. He was being a gentleman.”

“Him leaving is what makes it perfect. No ties.”

Emma had no business judging anyone, especially when at the moment, Serena’s philosophy seemed appealing. Casual sex; no pain or messy emotions…seemed better than her way.

“I’m going to try one more time,” Serena said, sounding determined as she applied some lip gloss while looking at herself in her own cell phone’s camera lens.

“Now?”

“No, tomorrow when he’s gone. Yes, now.”

“He’s with my dad.”

“I can wait.” She crossed her legs, and picked up a magazine.

Emma tried go to back to the books but her mind wandered to Stone. And tonight. And whether they’d be having casual sex.

God, she hoped so. “Serena?”

“Yeah?”

“What do people in Wishful do on dates?” Not that it was a date, because it wasn’t.