When I finish up giving Mrs. Smith’s poodle, Poppy, her vaccination, I decide to go and talk with Mark. I knock before walking into his examination room, even though Stephanie, the receptionist, told me he was alone. Of course his room is three times the size of mine. I swear the broom closet is larger than the pissy little room he’s shoved me in.

It’s his practice I guess, so it’s only fitting he get the best room. But, it annoys the hell out of me sometimes. His parents bought the clinic for him when we graduated. At first I wasn’t too keen about working together, but he practically begged me to, so I agreed. So far it’s worked out pretty good. We get on well. Being in each other’s pockets all day isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We don’t live together, so we still get time away from one another.

“Hey,” I say when I enter the room.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He walks towards me and wraps me in his arms. “Everything okay?”

“Yes,” I reply, encircling his waist and resting the side of my face on his chest. “Carter came over last night after you dropped me off.”

“Who?”

“Carter. My neighbour. The guy from yesterday afternoon.”

“Oh. The thug.” You can clearly hear the disdain in his voice.

“He’s not a thug,” I say in his defence. He does act like one sometimes, but he’s definitely not a thug. Just a little misguided on occasions. Mark doesn’t know him like I do, so I resent him for calling Carter that.

“I beg to differ, but you’re telling me this why?” I can tell by his voice he’s annoyed. I can’t really blame him. I wouldn’t like it if the shoe was on the other foot.

“Because I don’t want to have any secrets from you.” I feel his body stiffen. He pulls back and puts his finger under my chin, lifting my face towards his.

“What kind of secrets? Did something happen between you two?” The uncertainty on his face makes me feel bad.

“What? No. He just wanted to talk, that’s all.”

“What’s the story between you two? I’ve never seen him around before, and you’ve never mentioned him. He seemed awfully protective of you yesterday.” I was hoping I didn’t have to go into this, but I guess I should tell him.

“We got together when we were younger. Ummm … he was my first … you know, sexual encounter. Then he left. I haven’t seen him again, until now.”

“I see,” he says, letting me go and taking a step back. “I don’t like this situation, Indi. I saw the way he looked at you yesterday. Do you still have feelings for him?”

“No. We’re friends. That’s all. As I said before, I just didn’t want to keep any secrets from you.” I see his face soften as he steps towards me reaching for my hand.

“I’m glad, but I’d prefer it if you stayed away from him from now on. I don’t trust him.”

“That’s a little unreasonable don’t you think? He’s my friend, my neighbour, nothing more.” Even as the words leave my mouth I doubt them. But Mark seems to believe me.

“Okay. I don’t like it, but I trust you. If he gives you a hard time though, please tell me. I’ll have a talk to him.”

“Sure.” I seriously doubt that though. He seemed pretty intimidated by Carter yesterday. I know what Mark’s like. He’s definitely not the confrontational type. You only have to see the way he lets his parents order him around to know that. He leans forward and brushes his lips against mine.

“I love you, Indiana, and I will protect what’s mine.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need. I can handle myself around Carter.” He pulls back from me when there’s a knock on the door. It’s Stephanie.

“There’s a Mr. Reynolds here to see you, Ms. Montgomery.” Fuck. The only Mr. Reynolds I know is Carter. My eyes dart to Mark. He smiles at me. Of course he has no idea who Mr. Reynolds is. I don’t think he’s going to be impressed when he finds out.

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Are you okay?” Mark asks when she closes the door. “You’ve gone a little pale.”

“I’m fine,” I lie giving him a tight smile. I’m far from fine. What does Carter want? Why has he come to my work?

I turn from Mark and head towards the door. Just my luck, he follows. Shit. When he sees Carter standing there, he falters. “Him,” I hear Mark growl from beside me. Carter’s hands are buried in his pockets. He looks nervous, which for some reason on him I find endearing. I love his vulnerable side. It’s a side of him he doesn’t show often. My heart starts to race as I take him in. Why am I still so affected by him after all this time?

“What can we do for you?” Mark asks, draping his arm over my shoulder like a possessive caveman. Carter’s eyes move between Mark and I.

“I need to have a word with Indiana. In private,” Carter says locking eyes with Mark.

“There’s nothing you can’t say to her in front of me,” he snaps. Far out. You could cut the air with a knife. Carter ignores Mark, turning his attention to me.

“Please, Indi. It will only take a minute.”

“I said no,” Mark reaffirms. I reach for his hand, giving it a squeeze. Now is not the time to turn all alpha. Carter will tear him apart.

“I think Indi can make up her own mind,” he sneers with contempt before turning his attention back to me. “I just need to talk to you before I leave. A few minutes, that’s all I ask.” The pleading look on his face tugs at my heart. I can’t believe he’s leaving again, already. He’s only just got here. I thought he’d stick around for a few more days.

“You’re leaving right now?” I try not to sound disappointed, but I fail miserably.

“I’ve got work commitments,” he replies giving me an unsure smile. Mark’s not going to like it, but I have to talk to him. I need to know what he wants.

“Oh.” I turn to Mark. “It’ll only take a few minutes.” He doesn’t say a word, but the anger in his eyes is clearly visible.

“Fine,” he exhales in defeat before turning and storming back into his room. I flinch when he slams the door. He’s seriously overreacting here, but I guess I can’t blame him for being upset. After all, I just finished telling him that Carter and I have a history.

“Outside?” Carter asks flicking his head towards the door. The insistent look on his face has me nodding. My gaze moves to Stephanie. Her eyes are firmly fixed on Carter as she eyes him up and down. Why that annoys me, I can’t say. Actually, yes I can. I hate that women just fall all over him. Don’t they realise how pathetic they look? I’ve seen her giving Mark that same look on occasions, but surprisingly that didn’t seem to bother me as much as it does right now, with Carter.

I follow him out into the street. He’s quiet for the longest time. I watch on as he paces the sidewalk. His hands are threaded through his hair. I presume his trying to calm himself down first. When he finally stops, he turns to face me.

“Remind me again, what do you see in that guy?”

“Excuse me? Is that why you came here?” I give him a look of disbelief. He better not have come all this way just to tell me that.

“No,” he says exhaling. His big brown eyes search out mine.

“Then why? What do you want, Carter?”

“You can do so much better.”

“Really?” Again with this bullshit.

“Yes. Can’t you see how wrong he is for you, Indi?” He steps forward and reaches for my hand. He met him for all of a minute. How would he know if he’s right for me or not?

“That’s not for you to decide, Carter,” I snap, pulling my hand from his. He doesn’t even know Mark. He has no right to judge.

“Indi, please.” His hands fist in his hair again. He’s definitely struggling with something. I have no idea what. Surely he didn’t come all the way here to tell me Mark was the wrong guy for me. He already made that quite clear last night. “If you stay with this guy, you’ll regret it. Trust me. There’s someone better out there … waiting.” What the hell is he talking about?

“Like who? You? Mr. I-don’t-do-commitment. You’re asking me to throw away a future with Mark, for what? Friends with benefits? Been there done that, remember? The day I gave you my heart was the same day you ripped it out and stomped on it. I’m not stupid enough to go through that again.” His shoulders slump slightly at my verbal assault, but every word I spoke is the truth.