That Summer With Me - Julie Prestsater Page 0,7

went to his kitchen, and was back in a flash with a glass of ice and the bottle of whiskey. She filled her glass and then filled Jordan’s again, too. “Now. Go.”

Jordan slowly filled her in on the details.

“So, you just accosted your patient’s daughter right there in your office?” Millie yelled at him.

“No, Mills. I didn’t accost her. I gave her a hug. And she hugged me back, might I add.” Jordan thought back to that embrace again. He could still smell Melody on his clothes—sweet, flowery, and sexy. He had eyed her from head to toe, dragging his eyes along her long tan legs. She had exchanged her favorite Doc Martens for a pair of strappy sandals. He chuckled at that thought. It made him remember that summer they’d shared. It was hotter than hell in Baltimore in July, but she didn’t go anywhere without those combat boots. Even when it was time to get dressed up for their final dinner of the summer program, she wore them with a short dress that showed off her ridiculously sexy thighs—another memory that had him squirming in his seat in front of his best friend. He laughed again, this time at his young self who had gotten all hot and bothered at the sight of an inch of skin between the hem of Melody’s dress and her knees.

“You know you need to pass her mom off to another doctor, right?” Millie snapped him from his memories.

“I know.”

“You know you probably shouldn’t see her again either.”

Jordan knew that, too.

“Really, Jay. You can’t do this to yourself again.” She took a swig of her drink and inched closer to him. “I know it hurts. It’s been twenty years, and I know you haven’t gotten over it yet, but she hurt you. You were all in, Jordan, when all of your friends were out banging every chick they could. You turned down your share of offers, too. Every time a girl threw herself at you, you walked away because you loved Melody too much to even consider anyone else.”

“I know.” He told her. She didn’t need to remind him.

“You were all in, Jordan,” she repeated. “And she wasn’t. While you were committed to her, she was committed to someone else.”

“Damnit, Millie.” He slammed his glass down on the table. “I know. I know she didn’t want me. I know I loved her with all my heart, and she didn’t love me back. I don’t need you to throw it in my face.”

“I’m not trying to throw it in your face. I just don’t want you to forget.”

That was laughable. If only he could forget. If only he could have forgotten even a piece of it in the last twenty years. Then maybe he could have moved on with his life.

Instead, he was alone. And he intended to keep it that way.

Chapter 5

JORDAN

Jordan debated on letting his staff handle the rescheduling of Annie’s appointments with another doctor or calling her himself to break the news. He was really leaning toward doing the cowardly thing by walking away without another word, but, ultimately, he knew he couldn’t do that. He’d never done that before, so why would he start now? At the very least, he’d do a soft handoff by calling her to let her know another doctor would be handling her case, and then introduce them when she came in for the biopsy. He couldn’t treat her poorly because of his history with her daughter. It had nothing to do with her, and he couldn’t let that cloud his judgment.

Maybe he was getting worked up for nothing. Who’s to say that Melody would accompany her mother to all her appointments? If he was lucky, maybe he wouldn’t have to see the heartbreaker. Any more displays of affection like last time would surely be the death of him. He really hoped luck would be on his side.

After staring at Annie’s chart for a good twenty minutes, Jordan finally picked up his office phone and dialed her number.

“Hello.” He remembered the kind voice that had greeted him the first time he met her.

“Good morning, Ms. Valdez, this is Dr. Aria calling. Do you have a moment to speak to me?”

“Well, good morning, doc. I sure do,” she said.

“I’m calling because I wanted to let you know Dr. Ambrose will be handling your care moving forward. We have had some time to collaborate, and he’s on the same page with everything we discussed at your consultation. I