The Doctor Who Has No Closure - Victoria Quinn Page 0,29

nod. “And Merry Christmas to you too.” I turned to my mom. “This is my mom, Hannah. Mom, this is Dex.”

Mom stared at him blankly for a solid five seconds.

Dex continued to wear his polite smile. “Lovely to meet you.” He extended his hand. “Oh, is that a pie?”

Mom snapped out of it when he addressed her hard work. “Blueberry. Wanted to bring something as a thank-you for the invitation.”

“That’s awesome.” Dex took the pie from her hands. “You know what? Blueberry is my favorite.” He balanced it in a single palm. “Ooh, it’s still warm. I’m gonna have to have a piece of this now.” He shook her hand then moved to my dad. “Merry Christmas, sir.”

Dad shook his hand and studied him with the same surprise. “Merry Christmas to you too. I’m Terry.”

“Great to meet you, Terry.” Dex stepped back, still holding the pie. “I’ll be right back. Can I get you guys anything? How about a couple hot cocoas? My mom has a special recipe.”

“Uh, sure,” Mom said, her eyes watching him as he left the foyer and disappeared, probably into the kitchen. Then she turned back to me, her eyes full of intense accusation. “Is that man…your boss?”

Dad stared at me with the same look as he shed his coat.

“Yes,” I said. “I know he’s probably younger—”

Mom gently held up her hand. “That handsome, young, single man is your boss?”

“How do you even know he’s single?” I asked incredulously.

“He ain’t wearing a ring,” she said with a tsk of her lips. “And if that man is someone’s husband, she’s gonna make him wear a ring.”

I was so relieved that Dex was nowhere in earshot. “Mom, be cool.”

“Be cool?” she hissed. “You’re with that perfect man forty hours a week, and you aren’t dating him?”

“Mom.” I lowered my voice to be extra careful. “He’s my boss. Totally unprofessional.”

“So?” Dad said. “Doctors sleep with their secretaries, so why can’t you be one of those secretaries?”

Dumbfounded, I just stared, unable to believe my dad just said that. “Oh my god…”

Dex put a pause to the conversation, thank fucking god, when he returned with two mugs of hot cocoa for my parents. He also had a plate with a slice of pie, which was half-eaten. “This is, like, the best pie I’ve ever had.” He grabbed his fork and sliced it into the crust, getting a bite into his mouth. “Damn, this is good.” He just stood there and shoveled it into his mouth.

That was all it took for my mom to fall deeply and obsessively in love with him. She had this look in her eyes, like this man would be my husband if it was the last thing she ever did. Then she shifted her look to me and grinned, almost evilly.

Oh fuck.

“You made this?” Dex asked.

“From scratch,” Mom said proudly. “Sicily helped as well.”

Dex turned to me. “So, you’re the best assistant in the world, and you can make pie? What can’t you do?”

That was the sort of thing that made this so difficult for me, to be around a man who was so unbelievably perfect and he legitimately had no idea how perfect he was. He was so down-to-earth, so humble, so…special. “I can’t fix hearts. I know that much.”

He chuckled then put his empty plate on a nearby table. “Come along, I’ll introduce you guys.” He took us around and introduced my parents to his parents, who both had red cheeks from the wine and pure joy in their eyes, surrounded by their family. He moved to his brother and sister next, and his uncle Tucker along with his wife and two kids and grandkids. My parents and his parents ended up talking near the tree, hitting it off even though I was certain they had nothing in common.

“Girl, you look hot.” Daisy came up to me and gave me a big hug. “Where did you get this ensemble?”

“Chanel,” I answered, feeling a lot more confident about myself now that I could afford designer clothing. Sometimes it was exhausting wearing heels all the time, looking impeccable when my appearance shouldn’t matter, but I wanted to represent Dex in the most powerful way possible. I didn’t need to dress that way tonight, but…I wanted to look nice. “Thank you.”

She gently touched a curled strand of hair. “But you could walk in here in sweatpants and still kill it.”

I chuckled. “Thanks. Did you bring Mason?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. We aren’t there yet. Like, not even