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

“Let me get this straight. You don’t want me to mention that you’re a doctor?”

I nod at my mother, unsure why this is so difficult for her to comprehend. “Just don’t say anything about my work. There are tons of topics we can discuss.”

My mother scoffs, shaking her head in dismay. She is not a proponent of half-truths. Come to think of it, neither am I, but Tally is a special case. “Darling, Tally is going to find out, eventually. You said you’re working in the same hospital.”

“In the same unit,” I mutter, running a hand over my brow.

The clock is near zero on the big reveal, and my stomach has been tied in knots for days. Every time Tally mentions the new interventionist at Memorial, I slide on my poker face. Dr. Watts, the chief of staff, is keeping my identity under wraps. She wants to surprise the employees.

Let’s just say one of them will be more shocked than most.

On the bright side, Tally seems to be softening to the whole idea of dating a doctor. She’s mentioned me attending medical school a few times, insistent that I follow my dreams. Maybe, just maybe, the fact that I completed medical school twelve years ago won’t be unwelcome news.

I admit that I’m a chickenshit. But I’m also in love with her, and I think she’s in love with me.

Yes, it’s fast. No, I don’t give a crap. I dated Charlotte for years and never felt one iota of what I felt for Tally within the first hour.

Now, if I can just drum up the courage to let the woman I love know my full truth, I’ll be set.

Provided Tally doesn’t run screaming in the opposite direction.

“You’ve fallen hard for Tally, haven’t you?” My mother gives my arm a reassuring squeeze.

“That’s an understatement. What Tally and I have together is so good. I don’t want to mess it up.”

“Then don’t. But might I suggest you start by telling Tally the truth before any more time passes? Sweetie, you start work tomorrow. Tick tock.”

I get it, Mom. No need to twist the knife, even if she’s spot-on accurate with her statement.

Tally opts to meet us at the restaurant, and I see the trepidation on her face as she approaches the table. I sprung this dinner on her only a few hours earlier, which I know was a dick move, but I need my mother to meet the woman who has turned my world upside down.

Besides, Tally is a rock star. My mother is going to adore her as much as I do.

“Hi, Mrs. Stevens. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Tally extends her hand in greeting, but my mother pops up, pulling her into a hug.

I melt when I see my tiny vixen relax into the embrace. Her own mother died several years earlier, but she still feels the loss acutely.

The first few minutes sail by, exchanging pleasantries about the weather, beach, and restaurant. Just as I’m relaxing, my mother decides to dive into the deep end of the conversation pool.

I had one request—don’t mention that I’m a doctor. Well, she doesn’t. She does one worse.

“Owen tells me you have an interesting rule.”

Tally’s eyes widen as they swing between us. “I do?”

“You don’t date doctors.”

I put my head in my hands, the muscle in my jaw jumping. What part of my simple request was too difficult for my mother to follow?

“How in the world did that come up in your conversation?” Tally chokes back a nervous chuckle, sipping from her water glass. No doubt she wishes it was vodka. I know I do. “I guess it is weird, considering I work with doctors every day. But I have my reasons.”

My mother waves her hand, dismissing Tally’s anxiety. “I understand that, dear. In fact, I dated a doctor when I was in college. The man ripped my heart apart.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I had more than my heart ripped apart, hence, my rule.”

“It’s never easy to overcome a broken heart or will. But, as luck would have it, I met a delightful man only a few weeks later. Owen’s father.”

Tally smiles, reaching across the table to squeeze my mother’s hand. “It all worked out, just as it was meant to. You didn’t need that silly old doctor, anyway. His loss.”

Christ. Mom, for the love of everything, please stop.

“It was his loss, but the man I married was also a doctor.”

Now those huge, luminous eyes focus squarely on me. “Your father was a doctor?”

Oh, boy, this is going to get interesting.

“He was a pediatrician for thirty-five years,” I reply, guzzling down my drink and motioning for a refill.

I’m glad my tiny vixen is sitting. She might fall down otherwise. “No wonder you dreamed of being a doctor. It makes sense now.”

She’s not wrong. My father instilled his love of medicine in me from the time I could walk, but I never had the slightest interest in pediatrics. For me, it was always cardiac medicine. I’m glad that my father got to see my dream come true, even if he’d kick my ass right now if he heard the half-truths I’m spouting to the woman I love.

“My point,” my mother continues, accepting her own wine refill, “is that if I had sworn off all doctors forever, then I would have missed out on the man of my dreams. A man who treated me like a queen until the day he died.”

Tally laughs, but it’s tinged with nerves. “What am I missing here? Are you two trying to set me up with a doctor?”

That is my segue. My mother, intent on getting the truth onto the proverbial and literal table, set it all up.

Now it’s my turn. With a deep breath, I grasp Tally’s hand. “Funny you should mention that—”

I don’t get any further, as our server interrupts the conversation. Honestly? I’ve never been more grateful. I know I have to tell Tally, but I have my own set-up in mind. One with far less clothing.

I don’t know if it’s the darts I’m shooting at my mother or her own desire to ease any brewing discord, but she steers clear of medical conversations. The three of us fall into an easy banter, and it’s clear that Tally has earned my mother’s seal of approval by the end of the night.

It took my tiny vixen two hours for my mother to love her; Charlotte never managed it in several years of dating. Hell, it’s hard to warm to an iceberg.

But now it’s time—the big discussion with Tally.

God help me. I’m going to need it.

“I like your Mom, even if she is trying to set me up with a doctor.” Tally shimmies out of her dress, and my dick springs to life. I’d be happy being inside her 24/7. It’s insatiable, my appetite for this woman.

“She’s crazy about you.”

“I’m surprised you wanted me to meet her. We’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks.”

“When you know, you know.” And just like that, I say it.

I stand there as the words hover between the two of us. I pray Tally doesn’t run screaming from the apartment. Granted, it is her place. She’ll likely chase me out with a paring knife and a rolling pin.

Lucky for me, she does neither. Tally pushes me back on the bed, her luscious curves straddling my waist. Her dark eyes hold my gaze, daring me to look away. “Why won’t you tell me anything about your work? Is it illegal? Are you an assassin?”

I know she’s joking, but I see the hesitancy lining her face. At this point, she doesn’t know what to think.

I stroke my hands along her legs. The woman has the smoothest damn skin. “No, it’s definitely not illegal.”

“You are a doctor, aren’t you, Owen?”

I want to tell her. The searching look on her face is killing me. “If I was a doctor, you wouldn’t be here. Remember?”

“Two weeks ago, that would be true. But the way I feel is making it harder and harder to stand by that statement.”

What is wrong with me? She’s given me an in, I just have to tell her…followed up with the fact that I’ll be heading up her unit tomorrow.

Therein lies the issue. If I was working in a hospital across town, I could tell her. If she worked labor and delivery and I worked in the cath lab, I could spill the beans.

I’m not only in the one field she claims to never date, but I’ll also be her boss…in a loose manner of speaking.

Can it get any more complicated?

Instead of coming clean, I play ostrich. I’m not even a chickenshit anymore. I’m an ostrich shit. And I hate myself for it.

“I’ll show you something hard,” I murmur against her lips, sliding my tongue along the roof of her mouth, teasing her. Her mouth—like the rest of her body—fits mine perfectly. It’s as if she was created with me in mind.

I break the kiss, running my finger along her lower lip, my gaze locked with hers. “I’m in love with you, Tally. You know that, don’t you, Darlin?”

I want to freeze the smile that lights up her face. “You are?”

“Without a doubt.”

She nuzzles my nose, that husky chuckle firing up my insides. “That’s good, because I’m in love with you, too.”

We lay curled together, but my hands can’t keep still. It’s Tally, for God’s sake. This woman’s body was created for my pleasure. I don’t want anything to break this moment.

Can’t we stay here forever and forget reality?

My fingers play along her side and lower back. One of her larger pieces decorates the area, but I know scar tissue when I feel it. Tracing the line, I can only surmise it was from a car accident or from the piece of shit that turned her against doctors. “What happened here?”

“Accident,” Tally stumbles out a bit too quickly.

Okay, she’s not telling the whole truth.

“Car accident or some other type of accident?”

“An ‘I don’t want to talk about it right now’ type accident.”

I press a kiss to her shoulder, squeezing her tighter. “You’ll tell me one day?”

“One day,” she murmurs, stretching as a tiny moan escapes her lips. I love that I wear her out, although she gives me a run for my money, too. “I need to sleep tonight. It’s a big day tomorrow. The new interventionist arrives.”

Those words tank my high as reality creeps in. I’m on empty, without a gas station in sight. “Should I worry?”

“Why would you worry?”

“What if he steals you away from me?”

Tally giggles, burrowing her face in my chest. “Not a chance. I don’t date doctors, remember?”

I run my fingers through her hair, my heart racing. “What if you meet the perfect man, and he happens to be a doctor?”

She props her chin on my chest, offering me a smile. “That won’t happen. I’ve already met the perfect man. You.”

“You mean that, Darlin?”

“I do. I love you, Owen.”

With a deep breath, I fling open the door to my soul. “Move in with me. I know that it’s fast, but I don’t care. I know what I want. I want you. I want us.”

Tally’s eyes widen like saucers, and I’m not sure if I should keep going or start backpedaling.

“I’m not saying we have to get married right away, although I want marriage and kids and the whole white picket fence scenario. But I don’t want to wait six months or a year to move forward with you. I already know. I knew it the second I laid eyes on you.”

Her jaw slackens, but she has yet to utter a single word.

“Can you say something, please?”

With an excited squeal, my tiny vixen flings her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine.

I roll on top of her, never breaking contact with that delicious mouth. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes, to all of it. In whatever order it comes.”

My Tally is always beautiful. But at that moment, she radiates an ethereal glow.

My initial plan was to spill the truth about my occupation after I spilled my heart. But, as I look down at her, joy emanating from her entire being, I can’t do it. I can’t douse that happiness.

Call me a bastard, but I’m basking in the glow from our love. I only pray that come tomorrow morning, it will be enough.