“How did you meet?”
“She was a bridesmaid at my buddy’s wedding, and I was the best man. I remember seeing her walk down the aisle with one of the other groomsmen, and I just knew she was someone I wanted to know.”
“Did you ask her out after that?”
“I didn’t, actually,” he admits, raking his teeth over his bottom lip. “I was too shy. But then, as luck would have it, we both ended up at my friend’s house for a Super Bowl party a few months later. And I wasn’t about to squander my second chance. I asked her to dinner, and the rest was history.” He clears his throat. “I’m sorry. Is it weird that I’m telling you this?”
I shake my head. “Not at all. I asked. We all have a past, Oliver.”
He nods and pauses for a moment before continuing. “We were about to start trying for a family when we found out she had triple-negative breast cancer. But by the time the doctors discovered it, it was too late.”
“I’m so sorry.” I try to think of what to say next, and then I remember what makes me feel better when I miss my father—thinking about how he lived.
“What was she like?” I ask.
He peers at me, a question written in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’d be honored to hear about her.”
He gazes ahead, lost in thought a moment before he answers. “She was a grilled cheese—warm and kind, and she always knew how to make everyone feel comfortable and at ease. And she was loud.”
I chuckle. “Okay, explain.”
His smile returns, making my chest squeeze. “Jess didn’t know how to do anything quietly. Every morning she’d hop out of bed, pots and pans clanging as she made breakfast, singing songs she’d made up about whatever mundane task she was doing. She used to sing to Ace when he was a pup too.”
“That’s absolutely precious,” I say, certain that if I’d known Jess, I would have liked her. But a small part of me does wonder how I could ever hope to live up to such a special person in his life. If we were together, would he always be left disappointed?
“She found joy in the simplest things, you know? And since she died, I’ve tried hard to do that too.”
“I think finding Ace’s lullaby is more important than ever,” I say with a chuckle, and after a beat, I add, “Have you dated anyone since?”
He nods. “About a year after Jess died, I started seeing someone. She wanted something serious, but at the time, I just didn’t want to be alone. We dated for about six months until I broke it off. I was nowhere near ready for a relationship, and it wasn’t right for me to keep going when I didn’t see a future with her. I needed time to find myself again before I could even begin to think about getting back out there.”
“Of course, you did. That’s understandable.”
“Okay, I’ve told you about my last relationship,” he says. “What was yours?”
I watch the raindrops dance along the windshield. Am I really going to get into this? Do Iwantto? He’s willing to be vulnerable, so I should be too.
“His name was Daniel,” I say. “We met at this networking event for young professionals in Nashville, back when I actually did that kind of thing. Honestly, we had a good relationship. He was…” I trail off, unwilling to lie and say he was great, but equally reluctant to tell him the truth. “We were together almost two years, but we, um, broke up a few months after my dad passed.”
He turns to me, his brow creased. “Wait, he left you after you lost your dad?”
“No,” I say quickly. “No, I broke up with him. A relationship was just too much to handle after my dad died. Overnight, I lost my father and inherited the clinic. It was a lot to process at once.”
I leave out the rest of what happened, because it doesn’t matter anyway. It was still my choice, even if he ended up hurting me far more than I could have imagined.
He gives me a solemn nod of understanding. “Are you happy you were able to take over the business?”
“I am,” I say. “That business meant everything to my dad, and he meant everything to me. If I can be even half the vet he was, I’ll have succeeded.”
“You’re an excellent vet.” His lips stretch into a grin as he pulls into my mom’s driveway, parking behind my SUV. “In fact, I’ve heard you’re the best in town.”
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s easy to be the best when you’re the only one.”
“You’d be the best in any town.”
I lock eyes with him, and my heart beats wildly, like an erratic bird flapping its wings.
