Dr Di Angelo's Baby Bombshell

“That doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I had some good friends back in school.”

“So good that you’re bringing a fake date to impress them?”

She didn’t meet his eyes, took a sip of her water. “You should be flattered, since you get to be the impressive fake date.”

“There is that,” he mused, studying her, trying to get a feel for whatever it was she was hiding.

And Darby was hiding something.

He couldn’t put his finger on what, but something had her buzzing about the prospect of returning to Armadillo Lake.

“Tell me about your hometown.”

Her face pinched into a scowl. “Not much to tell.”

Right.

“I’m going to your reunion this weekend. Don’t you think I should know a little about your past?”

“Not really.” Her nose curled, as if she’d taken a sniff of something vile. “We’ve known each other for what—four years? What you don’t already know, you don’t need to know.”

“I disagree.” What did he know about her past? Not much. Just that she’d grown up in a small town in Alabama, gone to medical school in Knoxville, on full scholarship, and had decided to stay in Tennessee after he’d jokingly suggested opening a practice together. Surprisingly, since he hadn’t made up his mind on where he’d end up, when Darby had said yes, he’d known practicing with her was exactly what he wanted to do. Not once had he regretted that decision, and for the first time since his grandfather’s death he had roots.

“Oh?” She might have meant the word to be nonchalant, but the slight squeak gave away her anxiety.

A good person might have let the subject go, not put her on the spot, but Blake had never claimed to be good. Not in that sense, at any rate.

He zeroed in on the one name she’d let slip on the day the invitation had arrived. “I want to know more about Mandy Coulson.”

Darby sighed, rolling her eyes toward the hospital cafeteria’s ceiling. “You would want to know more about her, wouldn’t you?”

He shrugged. “She’s the only non-related person from your hometown I’ve ever heard you mention by name.”

Her eyes flashed blue fire and her chin lifted. “Trey Nix.”

Blake paused, fry midway to his mouth, dangling from his fingers. Trey Nix? “Who’s he?”

Why did he instantly dislike him?

Face full-bloom pink, Darby pretended fascination with her chicken salad, raking her fork through the half-eaten entree. “No one.”

Clearly she regretted having mentioned the name.

“No one?” He wasn’t buying that. “Then why bring him up?”

“You insisted upon another name, and I knew you wouldn’t quit until I gave you one.”

“And Trey Nix—” what kind of name was Trey Nix, anyway? “—was the person who popped into your head?”

“It’s just a name.”

Uh-huh.

“Interesting.”

Her gaze lifted to his. “What’s so interesting?”

“That you mention a sworn enemy and then a guy.” Pink blotches spread across her throat and Blake’s suspicions rose. “Were you in a love triangle with Mandy and what’s-his-name?”

“A love triangle?” She laughed. “You’re crazy.”

But the half-strangled way she said the words hinted that he’d hit the nail over the head.

“Besides I never said Mandy was my sworn enemy.”

“No?” Good thing Darby had wanted to go into medicine and not acting. Not even the most gullible bloke would buy the bull she was attempting to feed him. Not liking how his fries weighed heavily in his stomach, he waited until her gaze met his. “Who was she?”

Better still, who was Trey Nix, and what had he meant to Darby?

Setting her fork next to her plate, she arranged the utensil on the tray. “For the first fifteen years of my life Mandy was my best friend.”

Best friend? Now, there was a twist Blake hadn’t seen coming.

The cafeteria wasn’t crowded, or particularly noisy, but he had to strain to hear her next words.

“But that was before.”

“Before what?”

She shook her head. “Let’s change the subject. I’ve had enough of the past for one night, and no amount of poking or prodding from you is going to get me to say more, so let it go.”

She dug into her salad with gusto. She’d been playing with her food all evening. He doubted she was even hungry. But apparently she didn’t want to talk about Mandy and was sending a loud message for him to back off.

Her tone had switched to Darby bossy. The tone she used when he’d pushed as far as she would allow him to push.

Fine—he’d let the topic of Mandy go. For now.

“At least tell me what you expect of me this weekend.”

She paused mid-bite. Startled eyes lifted to his. “What do you mean? I told you what I expected. Just pretend you’re madly in love with me—as if I’m the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you and you can’t live without me.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, taking measure of the panic in her eyes and wondering at his own rising panic at her words. “I can do that.”

In many ways, meeting Darby was the best thing to ever happen to him.

“How long have we been dating?”

She blinked at him, as if he’d spoken in an alien tongue. “Pardon?”