A smile spread across Chandra’s face when she reviewed the contact information Julian had typed into her phone.
Julian “Baby Doctor” Brandon.
The man had a self-deprecating sense of humor that made him even more adorable. It was a refreshing change from the pompous, self-important assholes she was accustomed to dealing with.
Chandra was about to tiptoe up to bed, but there was a slamming sound, followed by a woot and raucous laughter.
She followed the voices to the game room.
“Hey there, sis. So... How was your night?” Naya asked in a singsong voice as she Groucho Marxed her perfectly arched eyebrows up and down.
“Don’t answer that.” Sebastian held up a hand. “I don’t think any of us really want to hear the answer.”
Her father and brothers agreed.
“Speak for yourselves. I want all the tea. The dirtier, the better.” Her sister giggled. “You can tell me all about Dr. Brandon’s bedside manner later.” She winked.
“You’re a mess.” Chandra poked her sister’s arm.
The room settled into an uncomfortable silence.
Chandra didn’t miss this part of not being around her father and brothers as much anymore. She was a grown woman. Yet she felt like a teenager who’d been busted making out in a parked car with her boyfriend.
“What are you all still doing up? Please tell me you weren’t waiting up for me,” Chandra said.
“Not me,” Nyles offered quickly. “Me and my partner here are whipping that collective ass.” He tipped his chin toward Alonzo, who responded with a cocky grin and a head nod. “We’re playing rise and fly Bid Whist and none of these chumps have been able to unseat us all night.”
“That baby brother of yours has been talking shit for the past two hours.” Her father went to the sideboard and poured himself a glass of King’s Finest Bourbon and added a splash of soda. “I want someone else to win just to shut him up.”
Chandra couldn’t help thinking how surreal it was that her father had been drinking King’s Finest Bourbon for decades, not realizing the company was owned by his half brother.
“He wasn’t talking that mess when you and I ran through the lot of them a few years ago.” Her father flashed a warm smile at Chandra and draped an arm over her shoulder.
The memory elicited a smile. It was the last time they’d all been together like this before coming to Magnolia Lake. After spending the past few days with her family, she realized how much she missed them. Even trash-talking Nyles.
Chandra leaned her head on her dad’s shoulder. He didn’t seem quite as tall as he once had. “Good memories.”
They watched Alonzo and Nyles, who were well on their way to running a Boston on Nolan and Sebastian.
“Everything good, kiddo?” Her father’s brows knitted with concern.
“Of course.” Chandra ran her fingers through her hair, wondering if it looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed with the hot young doctor. “I’m an adult, Dad. And sometimes I do adult things.”
“I realize that, sweetheart, and I’m not arguing. I just want to make sure my baby girl is okay. Been worried about you since you called off your engagement and took off for San Diego.”
“That’s a generous way to put it, Dad.” Her father knew very well that Edward had been the one who’d ended things, taking her completely by surprise. She’d been foolish enough to think they were happy. Despite the signs that indicated otherwise. “Besides, I’m thirty-nine. I’d think you’d be over worrying about me.”
“Never. You will always be my baby girl. I can still remember the first time I held you in my arms. And the way you used to love it when I lifted you onto my shoulders and trotted through our backyard. Those memories will always live here.” He tapped the half-empty glass against his chest. “And worrying about your kids...that’s something a parent does till the day they die.”
“Maybe that’s what good parents do.” Chandra’s eyes stung.
Her mother had walked away more than thirty years ago. Her stepmother—Nyles and Naya’s mother—had walked away when the twins were just three years old. Chandra should be over the pain and anger of both women—whom she’d loved and adored—abandoning them. So why did discussing her mother’s leaving still feel like a crushing weight on her chest?
“Not everyone is cut out to be a parent, sweetheart. Problem is, most folks don’t figure that out until they actually have children.” Her father drained the remainder of his bourbon, then turned to her. “I’m under no illusion that I was father-of-the-year material. But I loved you kids...and your mothers.”
“So you weren’t perfect. Who is?” Chandra shrugged. “But you were there for us then, and you’re here for us now. We appreciate everything you’ve done and everything you’re trying to do.”
Her father’s face brightened, and he pulled her into a bear hug. “I just need to know you’re safe and that you’re happy. That’s all I want for all of you.”
“That’s what we want for you, too, Dad. So if buying this place and building your own empire is what makes you happy, I’ll do whatever I can to support that. But I just can’t—”
“I understand.” He gave her a pained smile. “But the dream isn’t just building an empire, sweetheart. It’s building it together. With all of you by my side. I know you can’t see my vision yet. But I’m not giving up.” He winked.
“Well, I’m exhausted,” Chandra said.
“I’ll bet you are,” Naya chimed in, her mouth twisted in a mischievous grin.
Chandra narrowed her gaze at her younger sister in a silent behave. A look Chandra had honed when she was young and had often been left in charge of her younger siblings.
Naya giggled, undaunted, and munched on a handful of tortilla chips.
“I’m going to bed. We’ve got a lot to do around here before I return to San Diego.” Chandra kissed her father on the cheek and bade her siblings good-night. Then she showered and got ready for bed. But she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing night she’d had with Julian and how much she liked him.
Her skin tingled as her mind replayed the visceral memory of how Julian had trailed kisses over her skin.
The sex had been phenomenal. But there was so much more to Dr. Julian Brandon.
He was caring and insightful. He’d known just what to say to calm and reassure her. He’d swooped in and extracted her from her car, turned over in that ditch, like a modern-day knight in shining armor. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him long before she’d encountered him in that doctor’s office.
Chandra couldn’t deny that she really, really liked Julian. But the young doctor was an indulgence Chandra couldn’t afford.
He didn’t fit into her plan for a big promotion and a corner office back in San Diego. And the past few days had reminded her she needed to be a more engaged daughter and a better sister. Because despite what they all claimed, it was obvious that the kids weren’t all right. Something was going on with each and every one of them, and as the family fixer, she couldn’t let that go. So she didn’t have time for a relationship with the pretty-boy, small-town doctor who lived two thousand miles from the place she called home.
Still, she couldn’t help smiling whenever she thought about Julian. And she hadn’t laughed this much in years.
A relationship was out of the question. But perhaps a tension-relieving, no-strings fling before she returned to the stress of her real life was exactly what the doctor ordered.