The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,35
CLENCHED AND unclenched his fists as he sat in the upscale waiting room of the medical office in downtown Raleigh.
“She shouldn’t be too much longer,” the receptionist offered with an apologetic smile. “Are you sure I can’t get you a bottle of water?”
“I’m fine, Tammy. Thanks.” Tammy Brooks had been his ex-wife’s receptionist since Stacy started her practice. Although loyal to her boss, Tammy had always been kind to Gray, even through the tensest moments of the divorce. She was also unfailingly kind to Violet, who often spent time waiting for Stacy to finish with clients.
“It’s Voss, if that makes a difference.”
Gray didn’t bother to hide his confusion. “Should it?”
“She pays a lot of money for it. People say it’s really fresh and clean like...”
“Water?” he prompted.
Tammy grinned. “I guess.”
“I’m partial to tap water,” he admitted.
“Then let me get you a glass of tap water.”
He gritted his teeth, then flashed a smile. “You’re a sweetheart. A glass of plain old tap would be great.”
The slim redhead jumped up like she’d just been handed the Olympic torch. “How about ice?”
“Your call,” he told her and she disappeared down the hall toward the break room.
He leaned back in his chair and studied the photographs that lined the wall on the opposite side of the waiting room. Various portraits of his ex-wife, several of them with clients and two outdoors in a local park with Violet. The images displayed a maternal warmth he was surprised Stacy managed to muster, even for the camera.
No, that wasn’t fair. Stacy could be wonderful when she set her mind to it. Gray had fallen for her fast and hard when they’d first met. He’d been a newly minted firefighter in Raleigh, out celebrating with his buddies and she was part of a bachelorette party at the same bar. With her dark hair, pale skin and luminescent blue eyes, she’d been one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. She’d held herself apart from her friends and the other patrons, and Gray had wanted her instantly, much like a coveted toy just out of reach.
Stacy was seven years older than him, a new doctor in town and intent on becoming the most sought-after dermatologist in North Carolina. Her ambition fascinated him. Although he understood he was just a physical diversion for her, he hadn’t cared. His mom had warned him as a kid not to grasp for a life above his station, and he should have heeded her advice. But within a month, Stacy was pregnant and Gray had been all too happy to marry her and start their future together.
His parents had been married until his dad was killed on the job by a random bullet. From what Gray remembered, his father had loved being a cop, but his devotion to the force had led to a marriage fraught with turmoil. Gray’s parents had fought and manipulated one another, their relationship vacillating between random moments of pure bliss to long spans of flaring tempers. As a young boy, he’d grown used to the feeling of his stomach in knots. His mother had loved his dad, but it was a sort of dysfunctional love that wore at them both. Then, after a tragic altercation during a routine traffic stop, Gray’s father was gone and they never had the chance at any kind of future.
Gray wanted to create something better in his own marriage, even if its start had been unplanned. It soon became clear that he and Violet weren’t the life Stacy wanted. He resisted her pleas to go to work for her father’s insurance firm. His career as a firefighter and passion for the job meant nothing to her. It often felt like being a mother to Violet meant just as little.
He tried to understand. Her dad had given her the capital to start her own practice and she devoted all of her time and energy to building her client base. Well, not all of her time. When Violet was three, Gray discovered Stacy was having an affair with the architect who’d designed her office space. He filed for divorce a week later.