It was my turn to laugh. He hit the nail on the head. There was no way I was saying anything to Tal about saving all his stuff, she’d rip me to shreds. Our first fight living together was not going to be over stained bibs and sippy cups. Instead I kept my mouth shut and rented another storage space in my building for everything ‘sentimental.’ Nominal price to pay when it meant she was officially a Bostonian … with my address.
After twelve long weeks of dealing with almost twenty years of stuff, the moving truck arrived yesterday and my once fairly empty bachelor pad was getting a feminine touch. Fine by me, as long as it was Tal’s touch. We just needed to tackle the fifty plus boxes sitting on and around our billiard table—which by the way, she didn’t want changed out for a dining room table. Sweet, especially since it was getting plenty of use and not from shooting pool.
Turned out that packing was the easy part for Tal. She had enough complicated decisions to contend with regarding her practice and her house that discarding and donating didn’t make the cut. Obviously.
In the end she decided to keep her place in San Diego and rent it out. There was no reason not to. It was a great investment and she wanted Tack to have the option of going back if he ever wanted. I had her number; it was sentimental. As for her practice, she had no problem finding a buyer. One of her junior partners jumped all over it. She was sitting on a goldmine, one she worked her ass off to build—as a single mother, no less. She deserved every pretty penny she got and I couldn’t have been prouder. So that only left her with deciding which job to accept here. Yup, she had multiple offers. Of course she did, she was brilliant and successful. After weeks of negotiations, she bucked the elite private groups and signed with the hospitaclass="underline" Dermatology Residency Director. Impressive. Turned me on.
Tal was extremely self-sufficient and handled all her transactions sans me. Every so often she’d throw me a bone and ask for my two cents, but it was obvious she was being sweet and stroking my ego. She knew it wasn’t in my nature to not get involved or not assume some sort of control. Turned out, we’re much the same. And if it was even possible, that independence and confidence made her that much more sexy. So while Tal was out strutting in her chic business suits, I had some time to get to know her son. And I was feeling pretty damn lucky to have another afternoon with him.
“Um, have you met her? I’m scared shitless.”
Tack laughed again. We both knew you never messed with a woman on a mission.
“So how’s it feel to have another year under your belt? Just that much closer to the goal.”
Tack finished his sophomore year last month in the top of his class. No surprises there. And he was continuing with his research straight through the summer. I was pretty sure his new girlfriend who landed a spot on his research team only played a small role in the motivation factor. We’d luckily—according to Tal who said Tack was very secretive when it came to introducing her to any of his girlfriends—gotten to meet her twice. Tal liked her, commenting on her intelligence and manners. I agreed, she was smart and polite, but I also saw what Tack saw and she seemed to fill all those features out very nicely too. So after a couple of high fives and several fist bumps, Tack knew I approved.
“Pretty awesome, looking forward to some time off.”
“I’ll have to get you and your girl out on the boat with us. My brother-in-law just dropped a fifty-footer in the water. Promised I could take it for a spin.”
“Sweet. I haven’t done much sailing, but Paige has. She grew up on the water.”
“Good to hear, she’s a beauty and it would be nice to have another set of hands that know what they’re doing. We sailed as kids, but your mom’s got to be pretty rusty,” I teased. “Let me know a couple weekends you’re free, we’ll pick a date. So besides your research, do you have any other plans for the summer?”
“MCAT prep starts in two weeks. Other than that, not too much.”
“Isn’t it early for that?”
“Not really. I’ve already taken all the pre-reqs. If I secure a solid score then I get it out of the way and it leaves next summer open to figure out where I want to go.”
And I thought Chase was hardcore. Damn.
“Intense much?”
“Oh, cause you’re one to talk. Slackers all have a top five firm by the time they’re thirty. Just saying.”
I crossed my arms and leaned my back against the chair with a shit-eating smirk plastered to my face. I guess smartass was hereditary. And his delivery of “just saying” killed mine.
“Touché. So where are you thinking?”
“Not sure. East coast preferably, especially now that Mom’s out here. Would rather stay close, in case she needs anything.”
“What am I, chopped liver?”
This time he leaned back, his grin mirroring my own. “No disrespect, but she’s my mom.”
Point made. The kid was not only loyal to a fault and overprotective, but he had a set a balls. I liked him. In fact, I couldn’t have handpicked a more perfect stepson. Who would have thought those words would ever leave my mouth? Kids were never a glimpse on my radar, yet here I was watching him, listening to him, and shit, I’d be lying if I didn’t wish he was mine.
I lifted my chin, acknowledging his not-so-subtle message. “None taken. You know you’d make her day if you stayed in Boston? Besides, sounds like you’ve already set yourself up pretty well, not to mention your mother was just appointed a faculty position. Sure you’d be a shoo-in.”
“True, but I want to be accepted on my own accord, not family connections.”
“I hear ya, but you really should speak to Chase.” He brought up family, so I went there. “He might have gone to med school here, but he trained in New York and worked in Philly for a while, too. I’m sure he has some good insight on the med schools there. Pick his brain a little. He’s not getting you into med school, but he’s a great guy to bounce some ideas off of. Not to mention both those cities keep you close to home.”
He didn’t flinch when I referred to Boston as his home, but he definitely flinched when I mentioned Chase’s name. Having a half-brother twice his age was the part of his plate he was having the hardest time digesting. They still hadn’t met. And not from a lack of trying on Tal’s part. Tack was conveniently always busy or had exams to study for. Shockingly, Chase read between the lines and respected his need for space. It had to be tough though, since the kid spent a good amount of time only two flights down in his hospital. When the semester ended and Tack was out of excuses, it seemed like it was finally going to happen, but Chase got stuck in the OR and missed dinner. Not surprising, Lil and Tack hit it off effortlessly that night.
“Yeah, maybe.” Not an overwhelming response, but he didn’t shoot the idea down either. Progress.
“Your brother’s actually got a sick place on the Upper West Side, sitting there empty. Just another perk to keep in mind. You’d just have to hint at wanting to go to med school in Manhattan and Lil would have a set of keys in your hand that day.”
Tack tipped his head, raised his brows and glared. Fine, I let it go.
Our waiter dropped off our lunch and refilled our waters.
“Gotta love the loaded burger, nothing better really.” I shifted to small talk, giving him a break—last thing I wanted was him shutting down. But I wasn’t lying, a good burger did wonders. One whiff and I flashed back to my own college days, the healthier ones obviously. Burgers, beers, and chicks. Hell, what was I talking about? Up until eight months ago I was still living under that heading. “Paige eat burgers?”
“Yeah, she’s cool like that.” His response made me laugh, reminding me of my own bacon eating girl. Yeah, he picked a good one. “So I’ve been thinking...” So much for a potential shutdown.