Forgot To Tell You Something: An Angsty, Later in Life Romance

I watch that tasty morsel disappear into the crowd, confident that I heard her wrong.

Tally doesn’t date doctors?

“On the house.” Dan sets a refill in front of me, but I can tell by his intense gaze that he wants to have the discussion.

I get it. He’s friends with Tally and wants to ensure she’s safe. I admire anyone who wants to protect that adorable woman, although I plan to take over the position full-time.

“Appreciate it.”

“Did you tell Tallulah that you came back here last night?”

I nod, glancing in the direction of the bathroom. I know Dan wants to interrogate me, but I have a question of my own. “Can I ask you something?”

Dan nods, filling a glass from the tap. “Yes, she really is that kick-ass of a woman.”

I smile. That much he didn’t need to tell me. “I knew that the second I saw Tally.”

“What’s your story? Tallulah said you just moved here from San Francisco. That’s a big change.”

“I needed a big change. Besides, they offered me a position at Memorial.”

Dan pauses, the pint glass only half-filled. “You work at the hospital?”

“Well, not yet. I start in a couple of weeks.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m an interventional cardiologist.”

“You’re a doctor?”

Okay, buddy. You can pick your jaw up off the floor. Just because I’m inked doesn’t mean I’m a moron. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean it that way, but does Tallulah know?”

I do not like his tone with that question. “That I’m a physician? No, it hasn’t come up. I was about to tell her, celebrate my new gig.”

“Shit,” Dan huffs, grasping the edge of the bar.

That’s never a good response. “Let me guess. Tally doesn’t date cardiologists.” It’s a ridiculous statement, one I expect Dan to rebuke.

Only…he doesn’t.

“Tally doesn’t date any doctor. Ever. That’s her one unbreakable, unshakable rule.”

My stomach flips at Dan’s statement. I did hear her correctly. Focus, Owen, there has to be a reasonable explanation. “She’s sworn off all doctors? Forever? That doesn’t make any sense. Nurses date doctors all the time.”

Dan nods, wiping an invisible spot on the bar. Again and again. Apparently, he doesn’t like this conversation any more than I do. “I’m not saying that it’s fair, I’m just telling you the way it is with Tallulah. She had a real traumatic experience dating a doctor several years ago, and now, she won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.”

“Great. So, I’m fucked, basically.”

Dan shrugs, topping off my drink. Keep them coming, please. “I don’t know. I know she doesn’t date doctors, but then again, she also doesn’t date. The way she’s opened up to you is surprising.”

I’ll cling to that sliver of hope with both hands. “So, there’s a chance?”

“I hope so. You seem like a nice guy, but Tallulah is a tough nut to crack. She’s stubborn as hell.”

Actually, she’s soft as hell, I bemuse, recalling the feel of her ass beneath my palms. “Can we keep quiet about my job, just until I figure out how to broach it? I’ve never encountered this scenario before.”

“You’ve never encountered someone like Tallulah before.”

Understatement of a lifetime. “She’s amazing, which is why I don’t want to mess this up.”

“The woman is gold. Seriously.” Dan rubs his chin, his gaze bouncing between me and the bar. “I’ll keep quiet. For now. But understand that my loyalty lies with her. If she asks, I won’t lie. And don’t make me be the one to tell her.”

I hold up my hands in mock surrender. “Understood. Let me earn Tally’s trust, and hopefully, I can convince her to give one more doctor a chance.”

“It’s a big hospital, so there’s a possibility you’ll never see her. What kind of doctor are you again?”

“Interventional cardiologist.” I smile at his confused expression. “I work in the cath lab.” More confusion. “I work with heart patients.”

“Ah, why didn’t you say so?” Dan smirks before his face clouds. “Shit, I’m pretty sure Tallulah works in the cardiac unit.”

Well, shit. I release a groan, downing another swallow of my drink. What are the chances? “That figures.”

Dan leans on the bar, his face earnest. “Since you’re a heart doc, can I ask your opinion?”

I chuckle, although it’s tinged with nerves at Dan’s revelation. “You can ask, but I’m not sure I can answer it.” I’m used to being questioned on all manner of medical topics—everything from dermatology to brain surgery. You would think it would act as a deterrent when I mention my area of expertise. It doesn’t.

“My mom, she needs her valve replaced. I’m not sure which one. Begins with an A, I think—”

“Aortic valve?”

Dan snaps his fingers, smiling at me. “Yes. But she is terrified of open-heart surgery. Her friend died on the table, and no amount of prodding on my part can change her mind. So, she’s refusing the procedure, which Tallulah highly advised against. But Tally also mentioned that Memorial is expanding, creating some hybrid operating room for high-risk heart patients. Hell, she mentioned that there will even be robots involved. It sounds like science fiction to me, but since you’re a heart doctor, I thought you might have heard of it.”

It’s uncanny. I’ve never felt both pride and nausea in the same breath. The robotic procedure and hybrid lab to which Dan is referring, I helped to spearhead. I’m damn proud of my works, and it’s a big reason Memorial was champing at the bit to hire me. The downside? If Tally is keen on the details of the hybrid lab, she’s not only a cardiac nurse, she’s a cath lab nurse. She works in the same unit I’m about to head up.

Life is so damn unfair.

“So…have you heard of it?” Dan presses, and I clear my throat, downing the rest of my drink.

“Actually, that robot is why I’m here.” At his narrowed stare, I explain. “I was part of the original team of interventionists who brought the idea to life.”

“Holy shit. You’re a genius.”

“No, far from. I work my ass off, and I love what I do.”

Dan hands me another drink, waving away my credit card. “No way. You’re a hero, man. Your money is no good here.”

“Tally, as a nurse, is a far bigger hero than I could ever be.” I lay the card on the bar. “Take the money.”

He relents with a sigh, chewing my ear for the next few minutes with questions about the procedure’s side effects and efficacy. From his viewpoint, I’m a godsend. “You’re a wealth of information. Now I can talk to my mother about the damn surgery.”

I jump when a hand settles on my arm, turning to see Tally behind me, a curious look on her face. “Shit. You startled me, Darlin.”

I slide an arm around her waist, pulling her close and tucking my head against her neck. She’s got the most intoxicating scent on the planet. God, I could eat her for days.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Tally states, putting a bit of space between us. “I overheard your conversation with Dan. That’s some impressive medical knowledge.”

Crap, here we go. “Yes, I guess it is.”

Her lower lip trembles, her gaze focused on the far wall. “Please tell me you’re not a doctor.”

And there it is. I catch Dan’s eye over Tally’s head, his expression sympathetic. He knows I’m screwed. We both do. Maybe, just maybe, if I play it off with a wink and smile, we can move past this topic of conversation. At least for the present. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone hope I’m not a doctor. I thought doctors were quite the catch.”

The smile slides from Tally’s face. “Are you?”

I chuckle, determined to get to the bottom of her rule. I run my fingers along her jaw, trailing them down her neck, willing the tension down. “What if I am? What if I’m a doctor at your hospital? What then?”

But Tally is more than happy to hold on to every ounce of tension in her body. She stays my hand, her eyes hardening. “It would suck.”

“You were serious about that rule?”

“I don’t date doctors. Or co-workers.”

Christ, I hope my poker face doesn’t fail me now. “Never?” I press, unwilling to let the topic drop. “I would think a doctor would be a natural fit for a nurse.”

“Maybe some nurses, but not me. I dated a doctor—once—and he burned me. Burned is an understatement. Torched is more accurate a term. He got me fired, out of spite, from a job I worked my ass off for…among other things.” Tally focuses those big eyes on me, but her gaze is unflinching. She’s not kidding. “I only have three rules, Owen, and I’m more willing to overlook the other two than this one. So, if you’re a doctor, you might as well tell me now. Why prolong the torture?”

I have two choices, and I can’t believe the one I’m about to make.

I stare into those deep pools and lie. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Darlin.”

“You’re not a doctor?”

I shake my head, ignoring Dan’s incredulous stare. I get it, man; I get it.

“How do you have so much medical knowledge?” Tally is like a bloodhound, sensing my falsehood.

“Same way that you have so much musical knowledge. It’s a topic that interests me.”

“You probably think I’m crazy, huh? I know it might not make sense to you, but my rules keep me safe.”

At that moment, I see it flash in her eyes. Fear. Not toward me, but the memory of what that son-of-a-bitch did to her. It was far beyond the loss of a job. One thing is certain, I never want to see that look cross her face again. But it gives me hope, too. I just have to prove I’m not the monster who hurt her.

I reach over, grasping her fingertips. “You don’t have to explain wanting to be safe.”

She giggles, taking a sip of her drink. “Don’t you wish you’d never asked that question now? My rules likely would never have come up, and we wouldn’t have wound up down this rabbit hole.”

You have no idea, Darlin. “I want to know everything about you. Besides, I asked.”

“I want to know everything about you, too.”

That’s the problem. She can’t, at least not right now.

Tally steps closer and palms my cheek, before pressing her lips to mine. I want to resist her—I should resist her—especially since she wants nothing to do with doctors, but it’s a lost cause. The moment her tongue teases my mouth, it’s all over. I pull her against me, tangling my hands in her hair and taking control of the kiss.

I hate that I lied to Tally, and I’m sure Dan wants to kick my ass straight to the street corner. But he has to understand. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

If Tally was like every other woman, she would have squealed with excitement at the idea of dating a doctor. Spilling the beans would have earned me a blowjob, not a blow-off. But Tally is unlike any other woman I’ve ever met—in every way.

I’ve waited my entire life for this woman. Thirty-eight years for her to cross my path. Now, she’s here, and I refuse to release her just because she doesn’t date doctors.

Instead, I withhold the full truth because I know that truth will make her run away. I want to know this woman. I need to know this woman.

I only pray that she’s as crazy about me as I am about her by the time she learns about my profession.

It’s a chance I’m willing to take.