SOMETHING HAD CHANGED at that bistro and Adeline knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was her. When Elias had talked about his ex—the woman who had broken his heart—she had had a momentary flash of jealousy.
Even though she didn’t want anything from him.
Or she had gone into this whole thing saying that she didn’t want anything, but now...now she didn’t know what she wanted. She was confused.
She tried to brush it off, tried to act like she didn’t care, but that seemed to make it worse and she was angry with herself for that.
The closer they got to his family’s estate, the more she could see he was visibly tensing. This was going to be a long day or two and now she was regretting agreeing to come.
“Do you want me to drive? You look like you’re about to snap that steering wheel in half,” she teased, hoping that it would break some of the tension.
He smiled and relaxed a little. “Sorry. They just...it’s been a while, and my father is a bit stubborn.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“Don’t be so certain.” He sighed. “Although he might be more mellow with you around. He was always a sucker for a pretty face.”
She blushed. “It’ll just be the moments the two of you are alone, then.”
“That’s doubtful. Aidan has never let Dad and me talk alone since he took over the estate. It’s like he thinks that I’m coming to take it back...” He trailed off and cleared his throat. “I have no desire to ever take over the vineyard. Wine is not my passion.”
“Medicine is. I get that.”
“You never told me what your family does.”
“My dad works in IT and my mother was a teacher. Not really a family business you can take over. Although my brother, Kyle, did become an IT guy too.”
“And you went into medicine?”
She nodded. “I’ve always wanted to save the most fragile lives. Dr. Wilder can help me with that.”
“You have to stop putting Dr. Wilder on a pedestal,” he said quickly.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’re just as talented as Dr. Wilder. You’re a good surgeon. You’ve been studying and learning your specialty for a long time. You’ve been so focused on this course.”
“I’m not as good as Dr. Wilder,” she muttered.
“Dr. Spiner thinks you are. He thinks highly of you.”
Her eyes widened. She was completely shocked. “What’re you talking about?”
“Dr. Spiner offered me a job and said that he would be more than happy to take us both on as attendings.”
She was floored. Adeline hadn’t been offered many positions before, not that she had gone out seeking one either. The only goal she had had since her days as an undergraduate was to work with Dr. Wilder. She had wanted to learn.
Everything.
“You seemed surprised.”
“I am,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. You’re talented, Adeline, and you deserve job offers.”
“Well, he hasn’t actually offered me a job yet.”
“And when he does?” Elias asked. “I know he will.”
“Well, no. I want a fellowship with Dr. Wilder. That’s been my goal since I started medical school.”
“Because she’s one of the best?”
“Yes. She wrote a paper on TTP and it was brilliant. Everything I’ve been working toward has been about that and I’m so close.”
“Well, I just wanted you to know that you have options, Adeline. You’re more talented than you give yourself credit for. You handled that first surgery, that vasa previa, with expertise, and those babies are alive because of you. And I was watching your surgery on the uterine rupture. It was you who was leading. It wasn’t Dr. Wilder.”
They turned off the main road and then headed down a gravel road that was lined with trees, but she couldn’t focus on the beautiful scenery. All she could think about was that he was watching her and his encouraging words.
She wanted to believe what he was saying was true, but that self-doubt part of her was telling her that he was lying. Elias was just telling her these things because he wanted her to drop out of the competition. She shook that thought away. Elias might have been her competition once, but now they were friends.
She trusted him.
He hadn’t accepted Dr. Spiner’s offer either.
Was he trying to push her to accept so that he could obtain the fellowship position?
That’s not it.
Elias wasn’t like that. Elias was not Gregory. He cared for her. He’d been a friend and looked out for her.
Elias made her feel safe.
Elias made her think that anything could happen.
Only, she was having a hard time reconciling that with her fears. She was having a hard time daring to dream. She was having a hard time trusting her gut instinct, which upset her greatly.
Her gut instinct was something she relied on, and she was so angry that her thoughts were all scrambled and she couldn’t think straight.
It’s pregnancy hormones.
That seemed to rationalize it all in her head. If she weren’t pregnant, then she wouldn’t be so confused.
Elias slowed the SUV as they approached a stone gate. It had an ironwork sign overhead that stated they were entering Garcia Estates Winery.
“We’re here,” Elias said through clenched teeth.
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” Although now she was feeling a bit worried too. She was here on a ruse. She was here pretending to be Elias’s fiancée. She didn’t usually like deceiving people. She didn’t like lying.
They drove down the tree-lined road, which eventually opened up to a beautiful valley where there were rows and rows of vines over the rolling hills of green. To the west were foothills that led to the Mayacama Mountain Range of the Northern Inner Coast Mountains.
It was absolutely stunning.
“Elias, it’s beautiful here,” she gasped.
“Yes. It is, but it’s hard work. My father won’t let you forget that,” he teased.
They continued on their drive toward the large, sprawling ranch house that had a Spanish influence with its red tiled roof and whitewashed clay walls.
The main drive in front of the house was made of terra-cotta stones, and large box elder trees blew in the wind.
“We’re here.” Elias was still gripping the wheel. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“What? Pretending to be your fiancée...no, but I’ll be okay. That’s what friends are for.” And she tried to smile encouragingly at him.
“Right.” Only he didn’t look so encouraged. His lips were pressed together in a thin line. That sparkle, that twinkle of mischievousness that was usually in his eyes, was gone.
This was serious Elias.
He parked the SUV and got out to open the door for her.
“Well, at least I did teach you some manners,” a deep voice boomed out.
Adeline spun around to see a big tall man who was about sixty-five, maybe older, given the worn leather look to his skin, which she attributed to his working outside probably most of his life. His eyes were the same as Elias’s, though, and his jawline.
He was a very handsome man.
“Dad,” Elias said tightly. “May I introduce you to my fiancée, Dr. Adeline Turner.”
The old man’s piercing gaze fell on her and she tried to keep calm and collected.
Elias’s pulse was thundering in his ears as he stared at his father.
He slipped his arm around Adeline, who was trying very hard to go along with it all. She had an extra-wide smile on her face, grinning a little bit too much as Elias held her.
“Fiancée?” his father asked, cocking one of his silver eyebrows.
“Yes.” Elias nodded. “Dr. Turner is an OB-GYN and she, like me, is training under Dr. Wilder in San Diego.”
“Yes. Rosa told us you had moved back to California from Texas.” His father turned his gaze to Adeline. Instantly the hard expression that had been focused on Elias softened, and he smiled.
“Welcome to our home, Adeline. I’m Jimeno Garcia. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”
“Same,” Adeline said, taking his hand.
His father held her hand. “I don’t see a ring?”
“That’s because it’s fairly new—the engagement—and we haven’t picked it out yet. Also, it’s hard for me to wear rings in my line of work. I’m always in and out of the operating room.”
His dad’s eyes tracked between Elias and Adeline. “Well, we’re glad you’re here. Your mother is waiting for you in the kitchen. I have to meet Aidan in the fields. Some of the vines are sick, but I know that’s not the kind of doctoring you two do.”
And without further words, his father ambled off towards the hill at the side of the house to make his way down to the barns.
Elias was fuming.
No welcome home, son. Nothing.
At least he was kind to Adeline.
Adeline hit him in the arm. “You had me so worried. He was nice.”
“I’m sorry. Ow! Don’t hit me.” He rubbed his arm. “Besides, he is nice to strangers and beautiful women.”
Adeline sighed and then smiled. “Well, just make sure you don’t actually tell them the truth of our situation.”
“They’re eventually going to know.”
“I know.” Adeline rubbed her temples. “I know.”
“Come on, let’s go see my mom before my dad comes back and chastises me for lingering too long in the driveway or something.”
Adeline chuckled.
He opened the front door and kicked off his shoes. Adeline kicked off her sandals, and he led her through the open concept house that he knew so well and headed to the large kitchen at the back. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and a large deck that overlooked the vineyard.
“Mom,” Elias said.
His mother was a small woman, with the same dark curly hair as Elias and his sister, Rosa. Her eyes widened and she smiled, her arms open.
“Elias! Finally, you’re home!” She embraced her son and then hit him in the arm. “Two years, and you have been back in California for a few months, I hear, and yet you haven’t come to see me.”
“San Diego is not an hour away,” Elias said. “And I’m a surgeon. I’ve been busy.”
His mother’s gaze turned to Adeline and she smiled politely. “Hello?”
“This is my fiancée, Dr. Adeline Turner.”
His mother’s eyes widened further. “Fiancée?”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Garcia.” Adeline took the woman’s hand in hers.
“Call me Flora. And it’s lovely to meet you too. You’re a doctor as well?” Flora asked.
“I am. I’m an OB-GYN and I’m specializing in maternal-fetal surgery.”
Flora smiled. “No wonder you two are together. You’re both interested in the same thing. That makes sense and it explains why you haven’t been home, but where’s the ring?”
“It’s a new engagement, Mom. We haven’t had a chance to pick one out yet. We will,” he said quickly, opting for the same excuse that Adeline had given his dad.
Flora nodded, her eyes still wide, and Elias knew that he had completely shocked his mother.
“Well, I’m so happy.” Flora smiled again. “Welcome to the family, Adeline. Now I can show you upstairs to your room so you can freshen up.”
“Mom, how did you know we were going to stay?”
Flora laughed. “I was going to make sure of it. Some nice wine...a lot of food. You’d have no choice.”
Elias rolled his eyes but laughed as his mother cleaned her hands and then led them out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and down a long hall. She opened the door to the big guest room at the end.
“You two should be comfortable here. Are your bags in the car? Shall I send Manny to get them?”
“No, Mom. We’ll get them in a bit. We’ll freshen up and we’ll come back down.”
Flora nodded and then kissed him on the cheek. “So glad you’re home.”
Elias shut the door as she left.
“Your mother is going to wonder why I can’t drink wine tonight,” Adeline stated.
“We’ll tell her you’re on call. That will do it.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket and set it on the bed.
“So, we’re supposed to spend the night here. Together?”
“We are engaged,” he said.
“No, we’re not!” she hissed.
“We’ve been together before, Adeline. It won’t be that bad.”
Her pulse thundered in her ears and all she could see was that bed.
An image of him kissing her neck flashed through her mind.
It fired her blood with the promised pleasure she knew could be found in his arms.
Get a hold of yourself.
She needed to change the subject fast.
Her eyes narrowed, but she was smiling beneath that frown. “You keep your pants on, mister. I know you sleep naked.”
“And how do you know that?” he asked, smiling.
She blushed. “I just do.”
He grinned lazily. “No promises.”
Adeline sat on the bed. “So, are you going out to the SUV to get the bags?”
“Why the rush?” he asked.
“I’m tired. I’m hoping I can take a nap, trying to get over this nausea if I’m going to play fiancée tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll go get the bags. You put your feet up. You’re going to need the rest.”
Elias left the room and shut the door. He made his way down the hall and slipped on his shoes, then went straight to the SUV and pulled the two bags out of the back.
“I didn’t know that you were planning to stay the weekend.”
The voice made him freeze, made his heart skip a beat, but this time in fear. Other times that voice had been like the voice of an angel. It had made his heart skip a beat in happiness, but now it was just a reminder of past pain. How they had grown apart.
Now it didn’t mean anything to him.
It just made him numb.
He turned around to see Shea standing there. It was like nothing had changed. Still that gorgeous brown hair, olive skin, lithe figure. Except now there was a visible bump that reminded him of what he had always hoped for.
Only it was his brother’s baby.
Not his. And he didn’t care because Adeline was pregnant with his baby.
And he smiled, thinking of Adeline and his child.
Seeing Shea wasn’t as painful as he’d thought it would be.
“We weren’t sure, but Mom insisted.” He didn’t say any more, and he looked at her, remembering when she had left him.
We’ve grown apart, Elias. You’ve been at school and Aidan’s been here for me. When my parents died, you didn’t come home because you had exams. Aidan was there. I love him.
You don’t love me?
I do, but I love Aidan more. He was here for me. You never were. I’m sorry it has to be this way, Elias. I’m sorry.
She’d handed back the ring, placing it in his palm.
You have big dreams, but I don’t have those dreams. I belong here.
That memory had haunted him, but now it didn’t matter.
It didn’t hurt as much.
“We?” Shea asked, intrigued.
“My fiancée. Dr. Adeline Turner, one of the best OB-GYNs on the West Coast.”
Shea cocked an eyebrow. “I think I read about her in the newspaper. She saved a baby and is taking consults with Dr. Wilder.”
“Yes. I was there during it. She saved the mother. I saved the baby.”
Shea smiled sweetly. “I look forward to meeting her.”
Elias nodded quickly. He needed to put some space between him and Shea. He didn’t want to be around her, but surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as he had pictured it. It didn’t sting as much as he had thought it would.
That’s because of Adeline and your baby.
Even if Adeline didn’t want him, he wanted her.
And his parents seemed to like Adeline.
Certainly more than they had liked Shea at first.
He knew his parents hadn’t been happy with Aidan and Shea, but two years ago they had made amends when Aidan took over the bulk of the vineyard work, and that’s when Elias had stopped coming home.
“Well, I’m going to bring her her bag. She’s a bit tired. Double surgeries yesterday and the traffic on the bridge was terrible. That’s why we were so delayed.”
Shea nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you both at dinner.”
Elias turned back to the house.
He was hoping that Shea and Aidan would stay at their own house on the other side of the property, but by the sound of his mother’s plan, she was going to have the whole family for dinner.
Like a reunion.
And he was in no mood for a reunion after having run into both his father and Shea.
Now all that was left was running into Aidan again.
And Elias knew that he would need a few glasses of wine before he had the patience and the strength to stand up to his brother.
The man who had to have everything he did.
Well, he couldn’t have Adeline.
And he knew then that Adeline was all that mattered. For one brief second, he wished that their ruse wasn’t fake.
He wished that they were actually engaged.
That she was really his. But he knew how she felt. And Elias wasn’t about to put his heart at risk again.
He couldn’t stand another dream being taken away, because the dream he wanted more than anything to come true was him, Adeline and the baby.
Together.
Forever.
But he knew that wasn’t possible. That wasn’t going to happen. One of them would get the fellowship. One of them had to walk away from it, and the sooner he got over that silly flight of fancy, the better.
Though he wasn’t sure he could.