Blake came to a halt at the sight of Krista, Aidan, and another woman who looked vaguely familiar. His breath caught when she looked up and, with tears in her eyes, asked the others a string of questions. Only one woman in his acquaintance had brilliant-blue eyes that contrasted vividly against dark skin—Summer Maguire, Aidan’s ex-girlfriend, Blake’s first lover.
What the hell is she doing here? And why is Krista so chummy with her? With his eyes on his girlfriend, Blake approached the group. He stopped in front of Krista and kissed her on the lips, wanting to put on a united front.
He passed the coffee tray to Krista and faced the blast from his and Aidan’s past. “Hello, Summer. Long time no see.”
“Blake Ryan. All grown up.” She held out both arms to him. “Can I get a hug?”
The look he threw his brother’s way was met with an indifferent shrug. Asshole was having a laugh at his expense.
“Uh, sure,” he said, standing still while the tiny beauty attempted to wrap her arms around him without success. She finally quit trying and just patted his sides.
“So, Blake. Uhm ... Can we please sit? I’m getting a crick in my neck looking up at all of you giants.”
Blake allowed Summer to pull him down, and he took a seat beside her. He accepted his coffee from Krista, who had sat down to eat her breakfast the moment he handed it to her. She’s starving. A twinge of guilt pierced him. He’d been doing a piss-poor job of taking care of her in his hometown.
“I’m sorry,” Summer blurted out beside him, bringing his attention back to her.
“For what?” As soon as he said it, he knew. Before he could stop her, Summer was already babbling out her apologies.
“For using you to get back at Aidan. For seducing you when you were so young.”
Fuuuuck!
Krista stared at them, slack-jawed, her sandwich perched on her lap, half-eaten. “You two were lovers?” she choked out. She glanced between Summer and Aidan with dawning horror, putting two and two together and arriving at the right answer.
Blake winced. He realized how sordid it all seemed—two brothers, one girl—especially to someone who had held onto her virginity until the age of thirty.
Summer practically pushed Blake to the floor in her rush to get to Krista. “Oh, babe. It wasn’t their fault. Especially Blake. I was to blame,” she explained to his astonished girlfriend. “Aidan wouldn’t do what I wanted, so I used his brother to get back at him. I sneaked into Blake’s bedroom and made sure Aidan would find us together.”
Blake felt his face turn crimson. “Summer, it’s okay. Apology accepted. No need to get into details.”
Summer waved an imperious hand and continued her story. “I didn’t plan on anything to happen, but, well ... one thing led to another and ...”
“And?” Krista urged.
“And nothing. That’s enough, Summer. This is neither the time nor the place to rehash ancient personal history.” Aidan’s steely command brooked no argument.
Chastened, Summer slapped a hand over her mouth. Krista moved one seat away, separating herself physically from the three Americans.
Blake scanned the hallway for unusual interest in their odd little group but found others preoccupied with their own business. The bunch of partygoers to his right were sprawled on the floor, playing cards. Nurses and hospital staff went about their work, oblivious to their drama on this side of the waiting room.
Whew. God bless indifferent New Yorkers. He didn’t care to be featured on YouTube with a salacious version of something that hormonal teenagers went through every day, all over America. Possibly not in the Philippines, where the Catholics practiced their faith zealously, but it was perfectly normal in the US. He hoped Krista understood that.
Blake snuck a glance at her. She sat hunched on the chair with her chin resting on a closed right fist, elbow braced on knee, teeth biting down on her bottom lip.
Just as he thought of going to her, Krista dropped her arm to her lap and straightened her spine. She glanced at him before raising her gaze to Aidan. “What did you find out about the blood donation?”
“The hospital has stored blood for emergencies. If they run out, they’ll call the Red Cross. But, if there are family members present, willing to give blood, they will accept the donation, even outside office hours. The operative word is ‘family.’ We consider Uncle Jack family, but we’re not actually related. We’ll have to wait until the blood bank opens at eight. I apologize for not telling you sooner.”
Krista’s mouth turned down in disappointment. “Thanks for checking.”
“Uncle Jack? Jack O’Connor? From the pub? He’s why you’re all here?” Summer piped up.
Blake had forgotten that Summer’s father was Irish, too. The Ryan O’Connor Pub and Restaurant was a favorite haunt among their parents’ generation. Along with her beauty, their shared heritage had made her attractive to Aidan and him when they were younger. “Yes. He was stabbed outside the pub in a thwarted robbery earlier this morning.”
“Wait. My partner operated on a stabbing victim a few hours ago,” Summer announced. “That’s why I’m here. To drag Sam home.” She turned to Krista. “I was about to do that when I saw you and got distracted. Maybe a surgeon will be able to facilitate the process for you. I’ll have Sam paged now. Be right back.” Without waiting for a response, she got to her feet and took off for the nurse’s station.
No one spoke. They all watched Summer’s disappearing form. When she was out of sight, Krista finally turned around to face the brothers. She huffed out a rueful breath. “Well.”
“Yeah, our Summer is a force of nature.” Aidan sat beside Blake and dropped a bombshell in a quiet voice. “I never slept with her.”
The fuck? Blake squinted at his brother. Aidan never lied. He would keep his mouth shut rather than say something untrue. “You guys were together all through high school. You were always kissing and touching in public.”
“All for show. We were each other’s cover. I wanted to concentrate on my studies, graduate early. I didn’t need the distraction of girls to derail my plans. She needed me to keep the boys away from her.”
“Are you saying that night was her first time, too?”
“Maybe. Possibly. I didn’t want to be her experiment, so she turned to you.”
“That’s messed up, Aidan. I didn’t know what I was doing. I could have hurt her.”
“She could have hurt you. Why do you think I split from her?”
“Because you’re an ass?” Blake teased.
“True. But also, because you had a crush on her. And she would have only broken your heart.”
“How did you know that, Oh Wise One? You have superpowers I don’t know about?”
“That’s how,” Aidan replied, inclining his head to the left.
To Summer returning to them with her arm around the waist of a white-coated doctor.
Both men got to their feet to meet the newcomer. Krista was slower to rise. Blake briefly saw her gape at the pair before composing her features.
“Guys! I didn’t have to page her. She was already coming out. This is Dr. Samantha Vasquez, my wife. Sam, meet the lovely Krista. Aaand, the Ryan brothers, Aidan and Blake,” Summer said, introducing them with a flourish.
With twinkling eyes, Dr. Vasquez shook their proffered hands. “The Ryan brothers from high school?” she teased her wife.
“Yes. All is forgiven and forgotten. We’re all fine.” She waved her hands in the air, dismissing the topic. “Krista here needs your help. Tell her, babe.”
“I want to donate blood to Jack O’Connor. I was informed we have the same type.”
“Are you related to the patient?”
Krista reached for Blake’s hand. “Uhm, there’s a slim possibility.”
The doctor stared at Krista without speaking for a few seconds. Krista’s grip on her boyfriend’s hand tightened while they waited for Sam’s decision.
“All right. I’ll get a nurse to assist you. The process may take a couple of hours. We need to screen you for HIV, hep B, etcetera. Follow me.”
“I’m going with you,” Blake asserted.
“I’ll stay here. Make sure Tita Belen has company,” Aidan said.
Blake nodded to his girlfriend, wordlessly telling her to go ahead.
“Don’t mention to Tita Belen that Krista is donating blood for Uncle Jack,” he told his brother.
“Okay. If I’m not here when you’re finished, I’ll see you at the pub.”
“Yup. All hands on deck tonight. Bye.”