The drive passes quickly as we were lucky to miss the normal Asheville downtown rush-hour traffic. I help Lia from the car, settling my hand into the small of her back as we walk toward the modern structure that houses Dr. Patricia Kay’s practice. She has been my physician since I was a child, although I rarely see her more than once per year at my physical. As we approach the reception desk, the bored-looking attendant hands Lia a stack of forms on a clipboard that looks like they will take hours to complete. She seems overwhelmed, but determined, as she takes a seat and squares her shoulders. I see her pen pause when she reaches the section on insurance. I calmly take the pen from her fingers and cross the section out, writing ‘cash’ below it. “Maybe I should have gone somewhere…cheaper,” she mumbles as she looks at the expensive décor surrounding us.

I chuckle as I tweak her nose. “It’s fine, baby. Don’t worry about it.” She’ll be trying to clean the damned toilets in the apartment again to pay for the appointment. I’m going to have to hire a housekeeper before she gets any ideas. She is so fucking adorable sometimes that I wonder how I ever lived before her. The answer there is simple: I didn’t; I existed. Each day for the last ten years of my life was a repeat of the day before. The only thing that really changed on a regular basis was the woman I was screwing. The thought has no more than left my mind when a perfectly-manicured hand lands on my shoulder, causing both Lia and I to look up.

“Luc! How wonderful to see you… at a doctor’s office of all places.” I inwardly wince as my past collides once again with my present. I get politely to my feet and kiss Laurie’s proffered cheek before quickly pulling away. Her blonde hair is carefully styled in the usual sleek bob. She is immaculately dressed in tailored cream slacks and a silk top. Her jewelry is understated but expensive. I recognize the diamond bracelet encircling her wrist and am surprised she hasn’t managed to solicit a new one from someone else by now.

“Laurie, you’re looking well,” I say as I attempt to block her view of Lia. Like most of the women I’ve dated or slept with in recent years, Laurie is a jealous and petty person, and I don’t want her anywhere around Lia.

“Thank you, darling,” she gushes as her nails curl into my arm. I’d love nothing better than to tell her to fuck off. I abhor small talk, especially when it’s with someone who I’d be happy to never see again. She is doing her best to dart her eyes behind me at Lia. The office is almost empty, so it seems obvious that she and I are here together. “I hope everything is okay,” she says in a voice full of false concern. I feel the crazy urge to tell her that I’m here about my genital herpes but figure instead of having a little fun at her expense, she’d go screaming it in the streets at the top of her lungs. Damn, it would be fun to see her go off the rails for a bit, though.

With a perfectly blank expression that doesn’t encourage questions, I say, “I’m fine.” The irony of that answer isn’t lost on me. Of course, she didn’t specifically ask me if I was messed up in the head or snorting coke like fucking Pez lately, so it’s not technically a lie. She has now given up all pretense of being discrete and has moved to the side to look directly at Lia, who I see as I turn around is also looking at her with rapt curiosity. No doubt, she remembers Laurie’s name as the person I last dated before I met her. When Lia starts smoothing her hands over her ponytail and looking down at the stack of papers on her lap, I know I’ve hurt her feelings by not making the introductions. She thinks that I’m ashamed of her, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The expensively coifed woman on my other side could never hold a candle to the beauty who owns me body and soul. Therefore, I try to control my protective instincts as I extend a hand to Lia and pull her to her feet. I drop my arm around her shoulders and pull her possessively into my body, wanting Laurie to have no question as to our relationship.

“Laurie, this is my girlfriend, Lia.” I see the other woman’s eyes bulge at the title before she manages to get herself under control. Again, I hate the fucking juvenile word ‘girlfriend,’ but if nothing else, it scores a direct hit to Laurie because she knows she was never anything close to that, nor did I address her as such. “Lia, this is an old friend, Laurie.” As Laurie draws up even further, I decide that I’m just an evil bastard today. Maybe Lia’s right, and I have been in the apartment for too long, which is very unfortunate for Laurie.

Lia extends a polite hand to Laurie, who just looks at it as if it’s a snake while sputtering, “Girlfriend? Since when?”

Ah, the fake veneer is off now, and she’s insulted to have been replaced. As she takes in Lia’s appearance, I know the fact that she is younger is the real kick in the ass here. Before I can answer, the door to our right opens and a voice calls out, “Lia Adams.”

I turn my back on Laurie and grab Lia’s purse for her. “I’ll walk you back, baby,” I say before turning back to Laurie briefly. “Take care.” I don’t bother telling her it was nice to see her because we both know it would be a lie. I do get a small bit of satisfaction from seeing her still standing where I left her, looking like someone who just found out her trust fund was empty. Wait…wasn’t this almost a replay of our first date? And they say there is no justice in the world.

Chapter Ten

Lia

Shit, why didn’t I dress better today? How could I have possibly known, though, that we would run into Lucian’s ex-whatever at my doctor’s appointment? The woman looks like she belongs on a runway, and I look just a touch above a homeless person. I almost dropped my pen when he said her name. After seeing both Monique, who he had admitted to having sex with, and now Laurie, I see a definite trend in the type of women Lucian prefers—or used to prefer. Looking down at my jeans and flip-flops, I wonder how he can’t help but find me lacking compared to the woman fawning all over him. Dammit, even my toenail polish is chipped! I haven’t exactly been thinking of stuff like that since…

She is doing her best to check me out over his shoulder. I waver between wanting to slide down a few seats and hope that she’ll think we aren’t together and kicking him in the shin for not bothering to introduce me. I’m leaning toward being pissed off at him when I feel eyes burning into me. Looking up, I find her staring at me in puzzlement. I decide I’m skipping the shins and going straight for a kick to his balls if he doesn’t speak up. Before I can finish with my plan to maim him, he takes my hand and pulls me gently to my feet before wrapping his arm tightly around me. When he introduces me as his girlfriend, I feel the childish urge to stick my tongue out at the now shocked other woman. That’s right, sister; Lucian is now slumming. Stick that in your Botox mouth and smoke it. Oh, my God, Rose is rubbing off on me. When I extend my hand to her, she looks like she is on the verge of a fit or a seizure of some kind. I can only imagine what she would have done had he called me his wife. Crap, I would have paid every penny in my bank account to see that.