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“Heal.” I kissed her cheek and sat back in my seat. “I hope you have a good rest of your day, Pasha.”
“Y-you t-too,” she stammered.
She quickly climbed out of the truck and sprinted inside, looking back momentarily at me before closing the door.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Pasha
“I can’t miss this air of happiness surrounding you,” Dr. Thomas said with a light smile.
Today, I had a therapy session before I headed in to work. I’d mentioned it to Callum while we were at lunch yesterday, and much to my surprise this morning, I woke up to a message from him, letting me know that a car would be waiting to take me to my appointment, so I didn’t have to bother Avyn. Not only that, but the driver was also available to me all day—that man.
He made me smile more than I had in years, and all he was doing was being himself. I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t like him because I did. Way more than I should have. That was the part that scared me. Here I was a few weeks shy of being a free, single woman, and I was already attracted to another man. It terrified me too.
“I, um... I met someone,” I said quietly.
“Oh! Well, tell me about him.”
“You remember the driver I told you about? The one that picked me up the night Raymond put me out?”
“The one that paid for your hotel stay... Yes, I remember.”
“Well, Avyn and I ran into him at Walmart a few weeks ago. He offered to help me move into my apartment, and we’ve been building a friendship.”
“How does that make you feel?”
“Nervous. I’ve had the same friends for as long as I can remember. And then the part of me that’s afraid is screaming at me to cut him off before I fall, and he hurts me too. The thing is... I don’t think he’s like that. He’s been so genuine, so sweet, patient, and caring. I just... I feel like it’s too soon.”
“How does this gentleman make you feel?”
I pondered the question. “Seen... heard... beautiful. He calls me ‘beautiful’ every time I talk to him. He compliments me. He just... He looks at me like I’m the most beautiful thing in the world to him. I feel like I can just be myself when I’m with him. I can be vulnerable, and he doesn’t judge me for having a moment. It’s... nice.”
She smiled. “He sounds like a wonderful addition to your circle.”
“He is.”
“How are divorce proceedings going?”
I sighed. “Well, I’ll be a single woman again in a few weeks. I’m excited about the next chapter in my life. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet. I don’t want to work at the hotel and grocery store forever. I was thinking about going back to school.”
A smile spread across her face. “That’s great! Have you been looking at any programs? Areas of study?”
“Last night, I was looking up this phlebotomy program. Of all the ones I looked at, that one was the most interesting to me.”
“That’s a quick program, and you can get hired pretty easily.”
“I’m a little nervous about stepping out there. I’m sure I’ll be one of the oldest people in class.”
“You’re never too old to learn something new. My mother earned her bachelor’s degree at forty-five. I’m sure she never imagined becoming friends with a bunch of twenty-somethings, but they loved her. To this day, they still come to her home for dinner, and she’s well into her sixties. Sometimes, you just click with people.”
That was an understatement, and the thought brought me back to Callum. We clicked, and at times, it scared me. But every time I talk to him, every time I’m in his presence, every time he touched me, whether it was a hug, or a forehead kiss, or whatever... I felt a chill crawl up my spine. Comfort and more spread throughout my body. And when I looked into his beautiful brown eyes, I saw nothing but genuineness and sincerity.
We were set to go out this weekend, and I was a little nervous about that. My girls kept telling me that this was a date date, and I kept trying to convince them it was not. They weren’t having that, though. They liked him, and they liked him for me. I was trying to figure out how they came to that conclusion when they hadn’t really been around him. They said that they could see the difference in me since he and I became friends. I couldn’t see where I was different, but who was I to say they didn’t see something in me that I couldn’t see in myself?
I continued to talk with Dr. Thomas for another forty-five minutes before our time ended. After scheduling my next appointment, I headed out front. The driver that picked me up was waiting beside the SUV. I smiled and thanked him as I climbed into the truck. When I spoke to Callum last night, I told him about the therapy appointment I had today. The last thing I was expecting was for him to send a car to make sure I got to work afterward.
