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❛ 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 . . . ❜ 019.GORGEOUS! by taylor swift ━━━━━━━━━━━
NEW YORK
A moment of complete and utter honesty:
Dating Mark Sloan is the best decision Beth Montgomery has ever made. She has never, not once in her life, never ever, been happier.
...
(Yeah, Right.)
It was a preloaded line on the tip of her tongue, just like all the others. They came prewritten, like the script of a television show that was fed line-by-line to a cast over a table-read. Beth was particularly good at deadpanning it with a glass of Prosecco in her hand:
We both work in surgery.
Yes, we're both very busy.
Of course, we're happy!
Yes, we've been dating for a while now!
We met through my sister, Addison Montgomery-Shepherd–– maybe you've heard of her?
Yes, we're both so very happy.
Did I mention Mark's research proposal?
Yes, we're fully committed to each other!
Did I mention I'll be looking for surgical placements in the fall?
No, no, no long term plans quite yet––
Have I mentioned how very happy we are?
She told it to anyone who would listen; which, admittedly, was half of Manhattan. Heads turned, eyes leapt and attentions lingered on the woman who had dared to let his arm slide around her waist and stay there.
(Nice and tight like a noose.)
Mark had a firm grasp; it was the sort that Beth knew could pull a suture tight, seal the skin and fight off a brutal scar. It was the type that could stop tragedy in its path, alongside all of those other cliches that made her roll her eyes–– but the type, too, that could swing and tap against her hip bone, as if to remind her how fragile her sanity really was.
With him in place, Beth cleared a gala room with her arm wrapped around his, hair pinned carefully and smile pre-polished. It seemed that Mark appearing at any social event, no matter how big or small, was the reason for a scandal. Eyes followed him from the door to the floor and she had to ignore the blatant whispers that came with them.
