The Parallel Series, Books 1-3 by Elizabeth O'Roark

Author:Elizabeth O'Roark [O'Roark, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

24

QUINN

I promised Nick that while he was gone I’d stay with my mother or Caroline. I also promised if I went to my mother’s I would not drive myself, but I feel so healthy it’s hard to take the whole thing seriously right now.

When I arrive the morning after Nick leaves town, my mother’s eyes sweep me over, head-to-toe. “You’re glowing,” she says.

I’m guessing it’s related to the sheer number of earth-shattering orgasms I’ve had over the past day, but my mother and I don’t have the kind of relationship where I’d share that with her. “Yes, I…feel good.”

I sit at the kitchen table while she moves around the room. “You want to explain why you’re glowing?” she asks, her mouth pinched.

I heave a sigh. “It would seem Jeff’s already told you.”

She glances at me from the counter, where she’s pouring me sweet tea, though I didn’t ask for it. “You’re dating your doctor, apparently.” She returns her gaze to the glass. I get the feeling she’s struggling to control her words. “I’m surprised at you, Quinn,” she finally says. Her surprised at sounds an awful lot like disappointed in, but instead of feeling guilty, I’m irritated. Nick and I did nothing wrong, but we are getting endless shit for the decision to be together, a decision that truly has only hurt two people and will ultimately be in their best interest.

“I didn’t cheat on Jeff.”

She sets the tea down in front of me, so heavily it sloshes over the sides. “Even if you didn’t, you need to realize that love means staying focused on the commitment you’ve made, not grasping like a child at the first shiny thing you see.”

A thin seam of rage spikes in my chest. “That is not what happened, and you need to start remembering that I’m the one you’re related to.”

“Of course I remember,” she says. “But you can’t expect me not to say anything when I hear you were cheating on your fiancé.”

“I wasn’t cheating. And he’s my ex-fiancé now. Who’s been stalking me since we broke up, waiting in the lobby of Caroline’s building, following me when I won’t talk to him, forcing his way into my hospital room when I’m unconscious.”

“Hospital room?” she repeats. “You were in the hospital? Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I flush. I didn’t tell her because I was a little occupied once Nick and I left. “I had another blackout. Anyway, a woman came in, wearing a nurse’s uniform, and replaced my saline with something. Nick stopped the IV in time.”

Her hand flutters to her chest. “My God. That’s… insane. Why?”

My shoulders sag. “That’s part of the reason I’m here. They didn’t catch her but they did find a receipt she left behind and they were able to trace it.” I look up. “Her name is Sarah Stewart.”

I watch my mother’s face, waiting for it to sink in. It does, first as confusion and then astonishment and finally denial. “Oh. But that’s…no. You think it’s your

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