She was. She was a damn good doctor and that would have to be enough. Maybe someday she could be a better lover, a better person, but that wasn’t today.

She wasn’t ready. Not yet. Maybe not ever. And Diesel Kennedy was too nice a man to have to settle for anything less than a woman who could love him completely. And not “maybe someday,” but now.

“Meredith’s very good for him,” Dani agreed quietly. “She’s exactly what he needs.” And I’m not what you need, even though you think I am.

Diesel’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as he reached for the teapot and filled their mugs. He just watched her, his gaze steady and unyielding.

Kind of like the man himself.

“So your uncle and aunt want you to quit?” he finally asked.

“Yes.” She nodded, grateful that he’d pulled back to the topic at hand. “They’ve never gotten over my diagnosis. You know, my status.”

He didn’t blink. “That you’re HIV positive,” he said, putting it right there on the table between them.

She fought the urge to flinch, although just barely. After nearly four years of living with HIV, she still hated to hear the words spoken so baldly. Some days she almost managed to forget she had it.

Almost.

She nodded briskly. “Right. Tammy and Jim are convinced that I’m hiding information about my condition, that I’m sicker than I claim.” She rolled her eyes. “Or that I’ll give it to a patient or to one of them. That’s mostly Jim. It doesn’t matter that my levels are undetectable and have been for years. It doesn’t matter that I’m diligent about protective wear. They’re constantly reminding me that my clock is ticking and that life is too short to slave in a free clinic for people who ‘don’t deserve it.’ Every so often they ask me if I’ve got AIDS yet. Aunt Tammy’s even found long-term care for me, you know, for when I ‘succumb.’”

Diesel grimaced. “God.”

“Yeah,” Dani agreed bitterly. “They treat me like spun glass. Like my life is already over. I’ve gone as far as showing them my latest lab results. Always undetectable. But they don’t believe me.”

His brows drew together. “Why would they mistrust you?”

She sighed. “Because I didn’t tell them about my status. They had to hear about it on the news when I was outed.” When a kid at Greg’s school had somehow found out and spread the word, two and a half years ago.

Diesel’s mouth tightened. “I read about that.”

She chuckled bitterly. “In the Ledger?”

He nodded once. “Not at the time it happened. Marcus and Stone were in the hospital and we were all busy keeping the paper running.”