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That surprised her, but also buoyed her up. If Will was putting her so firmly into the equation of this new therapy, he must think there was a good chance of it working,andof them succeeding in moving forward as a couple.
“Can I… Can I meet Will?” Pixie asked tentatively.
If Doug was surprised at the question, the posture of his magnificent back didn’t show it.
“Of course you can,” he answered without hesitation. “Since you’re taking the rest of the week off, why don’t I try to arrange something in the next few days.”
Pixie was touched. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And Pixie?” Doug added, although he sounded like the words were being pulled reluctantly from somewhere around his feet as he stared off into the distance.
“Yeah?”
“You look…damned good in my shirt.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Doug marveled. The balance of the late afternoon was, surprisingly, more than comfortable. The atmosphere was happy, interesting, and warm. He and Pixie had put all controversial conversations on hold, eaten their food, then ended up perched on top of the picnic table watching the sun set.
Doug couldn’t remember the last time he felt so relaxed.
He glanced over at Pixie, still dressed in his shirt, and gave an appreciative sigh. She really was damned cute.
Her dress had been laid out in the late afternoon sun, and probably wouldn’t be completely dry now that the sun was going down, but she’d said the dampness wouldn’t bother her.
That being the case or not, Doug wouldn’t mind bringing her home wearing his shirt. Not that her parents would probably appreciate it, but helikedseeing her in his clothes. How strange was that?
When his phone rang, breaking into his daydreaming, his first thought was that it would be Will, checking up on him. But when he saw it was his LT, he scrambled to answer, but gave Pixie a heads up.
“It’s your sister. Not a call-out, though. It’s her private line,” Doug assured her before he connected. “Yo. LT,” he answered. “What’s up?”
“Are you and my sister still hanging out?” she asked.
“We are,” Doug responded cautiously. He didn’t know where he stood with Talia regarding Pixie. Did she want him to continue seeing her sister, or not? She’d pretty much read him the riot act when he’d ghosted Pix before, so he was clueless as to what she was thinking for the future.
“Put me on speaker, please,” Talia stated, excitement clear in her elevated tone. Doug quickly lost his trepidation. The woman sounded far too joyous to be contemplating busting his sorry ass.
“Okay. You’re on speaker,” he told her after hitting the appropriate button.
“Pixie, how are you doing?” Talia led. Of course, she’d be worried about Pixie’s health. She hadn’t been in touch since they’d left the school.
“I’m okay.” Pixie gave a lopsided grin because of her bruised cheek, even though Talia couldn’t see it. “Doug is taking good care of me. We went to the hospital and they told me it was all contusions. No broken bones.”
“That’s great news,” Talia replied. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call sooner, but I was busy getting Jason checked out and situated. He’s a great kid, and he didn’t want me to leave him.”
“Is he okay?” Pixie asked, and Doug could see the concern in her face.
“It’s been ascertained that he’s experienced some…trauma, but Maria from MECASA assures me he’s going to be fine. With a lot of help and support, of course. The good news is, he has an aunt and uncle in Canada who adore him, and he’s very excited that they’re coming down to get him. Apparently, he spent vacations with them before his mother died, and he has great memories of them.” Talia’s voice grew contemplative. “I’m sorryhe won’t be in your class anymore, but he’s going to a place that will be far better for him.”
“That’s all I want for him, Tallie. Thank you.”
“Okay. Enough of that. What about you?” Tallia turned the tables. “Where are you?”
“Well, Doug was going to drive me home, but I was hungry, so we ended up going to his cottage in Newport. He bought me soup,” she said with another pained grin. “And right now, we’re sitting outside at his picnic table overlooking a lake.”
Doug loved the appreciative look Pixie sent to him. Without knowing it, she was pumping up years’ worth of his diminished ego.
“Good man,” Talia stated, but Doug could tell there was something else on her mind. She sounded…jittery. In a good way.
