Raising the Bar (2 page)

Harper pursed his lips. “Hmm. Later, huh? Over dinner?”

“Sure. Yes. Dinner.” Whatever he wanted. Dylan had to go.

“Give me your number.” Harper pulled out his cell phone.

Dylan rattled off his phone number and Harper punched in the numbers.

“I’ll text you directions to the place,” Harper murmured. “It’s on the Hill, a nice place I think you’ll like…Doctor Warren.”

“Hell. You know who I am.” Great. Dylan could envision his clients, who came to him to help them solve their problems, learning that he’d swapped places with his brother to fool the city planner. What a wonderful note to put on his résumé. Immature? Check. Idiotic? Double check.

“I always look into the people Natalie hires. We’re all about avoiding scandal.”

Dylan suddenly recalled the last mayor’s abrupt exit from office, when several unapproved drains on the city’s budget had come under fire. Rumors of escort services and questionable use of government funds came to mind.

Harper added, “You Warrens are pretty popular in social circles and especially with this administration since you’ve done so much work for the city. Your brothers have a reputation. Gage is almost as bad as the, and I quote, ‘sexy Warren twins’.”

Dylan sighed. “Text me the directions and I’ll be there. Six okay?”

“Fine. See you then, Doc.” Harper left whistling, and Dylan decided that, bet or no bet, he planned on punching his brother as soon as the moron returned from his weekend away.

Conscious of losing valuable time, Dylan hurried into his brother’s SUV, now wondering why they’d bothered to swap their vehicles in the first place. He pulled out of the lot and drove in a hurry to his office. There, he changed into true business casual—khaki slacks, a button-down shirt, dress shoes, and his favorite cologne. He grabbed a sports coat from the coat rack, donned it, and hastened back into the SUV, now confident in his professional armor.

Twenty minutes later, after scrounging for a parking spot, he entered The Green Man, his mother’s favorite restaurant, and allowed the host to escort him to her table, expecting to find her alone.

“Dylan.” James Kincaid, his mother’s partner and the reason for Dylan’s constant headache, smiled up at him.

“You’re right on time.” His mother smiled as well and accepted his kiss on her cheek.

“James. Mom.” He should have known better than to think she’d make the meeting easy on him. Then again, perhaps with James present, she wouldn’t pester Dylan about his lack of a social life. “Although, this
is
a working lunch. Should I say Doctors Kincaid and Warren?”

“Now, Dylan. This is a friendly lunch.” James shook his head.

Who the hell had asked him to speak? Dylan cocked a brow. “Friendly?”
How friendly are you with my mother, asshole?
Dylan had been dreading this meeting for weeks, pretty sure the vibe he’d been getting from James and his mother meant more than business.

“Dylan.” His mother shot him a warning frown, then eased her lips into a smile when she looked at James. A man several years her junior. Her partner, for God’s sake. “Well, James? Should we tell him?”

Oh no. Please. Anything but that he’d have to call James “
Dad”
.

James cleared his throat. It annoyed Dylan that the guy looked closer to Dylan’s age than his mother’s, though he knew James to be in his early fifties. Bright blue eyes, black hair that had only recently begun to gray, and a muscular frame held James in good stead with the ladies, or so his mother’s secretary seemed to think. Diane knew everything about everything, and she loved dishing to Dylan during his visits.

James nodded to Dylan’s mother, and she said, “We’d love for you to join us, Dylan. James and I have been talking. We want to cut back on the work we have. Time to start enjoying retirement.”

Dylan frowned. He hadn’t expected that. The relief he should have felt, that his mother wasn’t going to profess her undying love for James, slid under worry. “Retirement? You’re ready to quit the practice?” He knew his mother had money, but not enough that she’d leave a lucrative job so soon. He thought she enjoyed her work.

“No.” James shook his head. Then, to Dylan’s dismay, the other shoe dropped. James covered Barbara’s hand. In front of Dylan. “Your mother and I are seeing each other. We want to start enjoying ourselves more, and we thought you’d be the perfect man to step in. We’ve been talking about bringing someone in for a while, to free up our hours.”

“You’re stellar with your patients, and there’s no one we’d trust more,” his mother said kindly.

What was all this
we
nonsense? Dylan didn’t often swear, but between his brother and mother, he felt more than ready to curse a blue streak. He deliberately clamped down on his emotions, conscious of the way his mother and James were watching him.

Considering he’d known this was coming, he should have been better prepared to handle the news. He’d analyzed his growing hostility toward James, knew he had issues concerning his own relationship with his mother that he transferred to James, but he hadn’t yet resolved his feelings. Though his father had been dead for over ten years, he still seemed like such a large presence in Barbara’s life.

Dylan cleared his throat and forced a smile. “I’ll have to take some time to consider joining you. I do appreciate the offer, I hope you know.” He swallowed a large mouthful of water and decided to ignore their being a couple for now. “I have my own patients at the hospital, but I’ve been toying with the idea of branching out on my own.”

He couldn’t look away from their joined hands. Especially when James stroked Barbara’s with his thumb.

Jealousy ate at Dylan like a cancer, shocking in its ferocity.
Jealousy?
Was that it? He didn’t like another man taking the role he’d assumed when his father had passed? Dylan did his best to keep a calm expression and took another large sip of water.

“Dylan?” his mother asked softly.

Saved by an arriving waiter, he brought himself back under control while everyone ordered. The waiter left, and he spoke before he could reconsider his answer, separating business from personal concerns. “Joining you would be a smart move for my career. You already have an established clientele. Many of whom would view me as an extension of you, Mom, to ease the transfer of cases. I’ll also have several who will follow me into the practice, I’d think. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer. But I’ll think on it, if you don’t mind.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Barbara’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Terrific.” James slapped him on the back, and Dylan smiled through gritted teeth.

Swear to God, he calls me “Son” and I’ll lose it.

Thankfully, his mother turned the conversation toward his younger brother’s pending nuptials. Gage and Hailey made a terrific couple, and his heart lightened at the thought of being an uncle someday. At the rate those two went at it, he figured he didn’t have long to wait. The waiter brought their food, and they ate while discussing Derrick as well.

“And Sydney. I am so grateful that your brother finally brought home someone I like.” Barbara blew out a breath.

James nodded. “Beautiful girl. Good thing she’s not like her mother.”

Barbara frowned. “Isabel Fields has a lot of issues. I’ve seen her since that last time she was in town, and she’s been calling regularly. But I don’t mind saying I’d like for you to talk to her the next time, Dylan. Tell me what you think.”

“Hell no.” He snorted. “Sydney’s mom is a handful. She tried to seduce Derrick and James the last time we all got together. I think I’m next on her hit list.” He stifled a smirk when his mother scowled at James.

“Not my fault.” James held up his hands in surrender. “I tried to steer clear of her, Barb. But you saw her.”

“True. Isabel equates sex with love and thinks the more men she has fawning all over her, the better her self-worth. You could see that within minutes of meeting her.”

Dylan’s poor brother had one hell of a mother-in-law coming his way. But Sydney didn’t seem to like her mother that much. He figured they might see her once a year. Holidays, maybe. He flashed a side glance at James.

He liked James well enough. The guy had been his mother’s partner for a good fifteen years, and the two had known each other for even longer. He was a decent man, a terrific psychiatrist and had great business sense. He and Dylan often sniped at each other, but with mutual respect, and even admiration on Dylan’s part. But really, James Kincaid—Barbara’s new
boyfriend
? The woman was nearing sixty. She shouldn’t have the time or energy for a new man in her life. What the hell did she need James for when she had three sons who loved her like crazy?

“What about you, Dylan?” Barbara asked.

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“When will you be bringing someone home?”

James had the audacity to chime in. “Someone you’ve dated for longer than a month?”

Before Dylan could give the man the set-down he deserved, the waiter returned to clear some plates. Dylan glanced at his watch, and when the waiter left, pushed out his chair and stood. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back to work. We ran later than I’d anticipated.” He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table. “This should cover lunch and a tip. I’ll talk to you later, Mom.” He gritted his teeth but delivered a professional-sounding, “James.” He nodded and left before he could show himself for the immature, unprofessional fraud he’d turned out to be. “Physician, heal thyself” came to mind.
If only I friggin’ could.

“Well, that didn’t go well.” James sighed.

Barbara worried. “I knew he’d have a problem with us. Maybe we should have waited until we brought him on board with the business before springing our relationship on him. Dylan’s always been about the practice first and foremost, and he’s not great with change.”

She loved all her sons, but Barbara had always had a special relationship with Dylan. The oldest and still her baby. He’d always wanted to help, always stayed by her side while Derrick and Gage played with their father, mimicking Andrew. Dylan had been her little man, her constant shadow.

And now, not so little. She fretted about his lack of commitment. He flitted from woman to man, not settling on anyone, always seeming a breath away from happiness.

“He’s not a kid, Barb. Dylan’s thirty-seven now. He should be able to handle his mother dating.” James kissed her cheek. “God knows it’s taken me a lifetime to work up the courage to ask you out.”

She smiled at him. “I’m glad you did.” Their relationship was still so new, a rare affection blossoming into the love she’d unknowingly nurtured for James through the years. After experiencing such a pure and lasting relationship with Andrew, she’d never thought to find love again, content to take care of her sons, to occasionally date and to work at her practice until she had grandchildren to play with.

And then James, the man she’d worked side by side with for years, had forced her to look at him in a new light. As a man, not just a friend. A special person to spend evenings with. To kiss. To make love with.

She sighed and gripped his hand tighter. “I don’t want this to end.”

“It won’t.” He sounded so confident. “I’ve loved you for far too long to let your little boy get in our way.”

She snorted with laughter. “My little boy looked like he wanted to knock you on your ass, James Kincaid.”

“And don’t I know it.” James grimaced. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him later. Man to man. He loves you and wants you happy, Barb.”

“You make me happy.” She sighed. “I just wish all my sons could feel this. Gage has Hailey. Derrick has Sydney. But I worry about Dylan. He’s too much like me. It’s hard for us stubborn Warrens to open ourselves to love, sometimes. The risk of getting hurt can be overwhelming.”

“Don’t I know it.” James refused to let go of her hand. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to stop comparing myself to Andrew. Hell, even I loved the guy. He was larger than life and had such a big heart.”

“And he’d love the fact that you and I are together.” Barbara smiled through tears. “I do love you, James.”

“Oh, honey. I love you too.” He kissed her, and she was so full of affection she didn’t know what to do with it. “Don’t worry about Dylan. I’m sure once he’s had time to adjust to us, as well as coming to the practice, he’ll love the idea as much as we do. Besides, he
is
your son. Giving him the majority of the business should appeal to his need to control.”

She laughed. “Are you saying I’m bossy?”

“Hell yeah.” He smiled, satisfaction clear in his sky-blue eyes. “But I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Chapter Two

Harper sat in his truck, wondering if the sexy doctor would stand him up. He didn’t think he’d ever forget that look Dylan had first shot him. That same speculative glance Harper had once wasted on Derrick, before he’d understood the man to be unavailable. Unfortunate, because everything about Derrick appealed to Harper.

The guy liked sports, had a great sense of humor and the greenest eyes that Harper had ever seen. Harper didn’t go for muscle-bound jocks, though he liked manly men. Derrick had looks, personality and a good head on his shoulders. The guy was a gifted architect.

And he liked women.