Chapter 271
Latham leaned against the wall outside the private room and pulled out his phone to call Pearson.
“Hey Pearson, you busy p>
Pearson sounded a little surprised to hear from him. “Not really. Just finished a meeting at city hall. What’s up? You got something going on tonight p>
Latham let out a low chuckle, his voice full of mischief. “Actually, I’m having dinner with your blind date. Carmen, my wife’s best friend, just happened to mention you and… well, I heard her say you have an old man smell p>
Pearson froze for a second, then burst out laughing. “So this is what you called for? To mess with me p>
“Come on, I’m just being a good friend,” Latham replied, putting on his best innocent act. “Just thought I’d give you a heads up. Maybe try a little cologne next time, you know p>
Pearson clearly wasn’t in the mood to keep chatting. “Yeah, I’m hanging up p>
Latham slipped his phone into his pocket, feeling pretty damn satisfied. Why should he be the only one who gets teased? If nothing else, warning Pearson was the least he could do. That counted as being a good friend, right?
Suddenly, a soft voice called out. “Latham p>
He looked up and saw a woman in a long purple dress walking over. For a second, he seemed surprised. “Beatty p>
Beatty smiled and came closer. “I thought that was you. I almost didn’t believe it p>
Beatty had been his doctor overseas. She was the one who designed his rehab plan, the person who knew every inch of his struggle. She’d seen firsthand how hard it was for him to even stand again. Latham had always felt grateful to her. Back when he wanted to give up-more times than he could count-Beatty would sit with him, calm as ever, and say, “Don’t you want to see the person you love again p>
He’d gritted his teeth and pushed through, mostly for that one hope. At the time, Beatty was the only person he could really talk to.
“Beatty, you’re back? What a coincidence,” Latham said. His tone was polite, almost distant.
Beatty’s smile faltered just a little. She definitely heard that distance in his voice. She’d been on the fence about reaching out to him after coming home. Running into him like this wasn’t something she expected.
“Yeah, I’ll be here for a while,” she replied softly.
“You p>
Before she could finish, Carmen brushed past them, her eyes darting between the two.
“Oh, sorry, just squeezing through p>
Carmen’s sharp little gaze flicked from Beatty to Latham and back.
Latham’s eye twitched. He quickly explained, “This is my rehab doctor from abroad. And this is my wife’s best friend p>
Beatty had been about to ask if he’d ever confessed to the person he liked, but now she realized he was married.
Carmen made a couple of
understanding noises and slipped back into the private room. She immediately leaned in close to Dorothea, whispering, “Hey, there’s woman outside talking to your husband. She’s pretty, too. Says she was his doctor abroad of
something p>
Dorothea paused for a second, thinking. Was it the doctor Latham mentioned once?
The one who helped him walk again?
“Oh, I know who that is. She’s really good at what she does,” Dorothea said.
Carmen rolled her eyes. “You need to pay more attention. The way that doctor looks at your husband it’s not just professional p>
As soon as she finished talking, Latham walked in and Carmen snapped her mouth shut.
Latham glanced at them, eyes a little narrowed, pretty sure they’d been gossiping about him.
“I just ran into a friend I told you about before, Beatty. Turns out she’s back in town for a bit p>