Besides, Skylar had bowled him over without even trying, and fuck if all he could think about was her now. And the fact that Lopez wanted him to check out her operation for their Dallas clinic. If she was hired to care for their therapeutic center, he’d work alongside her. With animals. Kind of like we once dreamed of doing…
An ellipsis wavered.
Toby:What happened? I thought she was into you.
He shook his head and tapped a response. No way was he going to mention the slap. Toby’d probably laugh his butt off.
Travis:She gave me her number today. But
Should he say it? Mention Skylar? Toby would take it as a sign that Skylar had shown up in his ED, start bitching at him to go grab her by the waist and ride off into the sunset with her. His family had never understood why he’d let her go, but thankfully over the years they’d stopped pressuring him about it. Like he needed Toby riding his ass again about the one he let get away.
I met someone else today.
He sent the text. Why not play with fire? He was on a roll today, all things considered.
Toby:PLAYER.
Travis barked a laugh. Yeah, after his dry spell, he probably sounded like Casanova.
Toby:Who is she, what’s she like? She pretty?
F-ing gorgeous.He exhaled. Wide blue eyes, perfect lips, perfect hair, legs for days, sexy ropers…
Travis:Still too soon to tell.
It wasn’t a lie.
Toby:Well it’s good to see you’re finally back in the saddle. Was worried you didn’t inherit the Dixon stamina.
Toby the shit talker. Of course Toby was worried, and he’d worried their oldest bro, Tyler, in the process today.
Travis:Naw, don’t worry about me.
Another speech bubble began to waver right away.
Toby:Seven texts in a row today when normally I get the silent treatment.
Another one popped in.
Toby:If I calculated the thousand texts you’ve left unanswered by the times like now when you haven’t blown me off… .001. That’s better than your batting average.
Travis laughed out loud. “Oh man.”
Travis:I was always a better pitcher, shithead.
Toby:You ain’t told me who she is or what she’s like??
Travis:Gorgeous. Smart. Successful. Four letter word: legs. Outta my league.
Toby:Damn, don’t sell yourself short. You’re a surgeon, a DO, and about to be an MD in PT. A freaking acronym personified. Pretty sure you’re a league above most.
Toby:You gonna chicken out or go for her?
What was he going to do? Discovering her had been a revelation and a curse. Could he continue life on his own, now that he knew she lived nearby? No. And after the way his whole body had felt like fire when he’d held her, a simple platonic friendship was out of the question, too.
The truck idled in the driveway, but his mind was a jumble. Doolittle was such a sweet, fitting nickname. But she seemed hardened. Callused. Even bitter. What had gone wrong to kill that light in her eyes? Dull the sparkle and steal the sunshine? Even with Rhett as her father, she’d clung to a spark of hope he’d admired. Surely by now she’d be over him letting her go…wouldn’t she? Didn’t she know why he’d left her? Why he’d left his whole family behind? So he wouldn’t hurt them anymore, too?
Maybe that was why her rejection today stung. He’d earned it, he supposed. But he hadn’t expected it. And dammit, now that he’d seen her again and that rush of euphoria was flooding his blood at the remembrances of her body against his, he couldn’t get her off his mind.