A slight smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Wait. All you did was fall asleep? Why didn’t you tell me that instead of making up some story about an emergency? I would have understood.”
“I know it was ridiculous,” I admit. “I should have come clean right away, but I felt terrible because I was the one who asked you to do something big for your birthday, and then I let you down.”
He squeezes my fingers. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t have been upset. In fact, I’d have been happy taking a nap with you for my birthday.”
I chuckle. “A nap isn’t exciting or special.”
“But the girl I’d have been napping with is.”
The last layer of ice around my heart starts to melt.
“Lindsey, the reason I got so upset yesterday is because the only person who ever made a big deal out of my birthday was Jess. I didn’t grow up with the kind of family you did. There weren’t birthday parties or presents. I was lucky if my parents remembered to get me a cupcake. I grew to dread my birthdays because it was just a day that reminded me of what I didn’t have.” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Then Jess came along. She never said as much, but I think she was always trying to make up for what my family lacked. After I lost her…I ignored my birthday because there was no one I wanted to share it with.”
I blink back tears.
“Until I met you,” he says, his voice hoarse.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you, Oliver,” I say.
He touches my arm with his other hand. “I forgive you. I just…please be honest with me from now on, okay? Maybe I haven’t been clear enough about my feelings, but I’m crazy about you. I’m in this.”
I swallow hard. “I’m in this too, and I want to make it up to you, if you’ll let me. Any chance you’re free tomorrow night?”
A grin spreads over his face. “I think I can free up my schedule.”
I laugh. “I’ll set my alarm now. And a back up alarm. You know, just in case.”
“Good idea,” he says, taking a sip of his drink. “Anyway, tell me about your day. How was work?”
“It was good,” I say, and I tell him all about every detail.
Well, all but perhaps the most important one—the real reason I slept straight through our date.
“I’mglad to see you’re in better spirits. Must be because you’re seeing Oliver tonight,” Kayla says in my office late the next afternoon. Everyone else has gone home for the day, so the clinic is quiet. “Was that you humming ‘White Christmas’ earlier or a very off-key ghost?”
“Listen, not all of us can be Mariah,” I tease.
“But with the help of tequila, all of us can try.” She sighs and eases into the chair across from me. “Anyway, are you feeling better?”
I rub my palm over my forehead. “A bit. Taking it easy the last couple of nights helped.”
She feigns shock. “It’s almost like I was right.”
“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.”
She laughs, her eyes falling on the picture of my father and me on the wall. “He was always good at knocking some sense into you and talking you off the ledge.” Her lips tug into a faint smile. “I know it’s not the same, but you know you have me, right? I’m always in your corner.”
I nod. “I know. Thank you.”
“I’m pretty sure Oliver’s in your corner too,” she says. “When you talked to him last night, did you tell him about your fibromyalgia?”
I twist my lips to the corner of my mouth. “Not exactly.”
She drops her head back and huffs out a breath. “Seriously?”
“Kayla, you know what happened with Daniel, and that was after we’d been together a while. I’m just being cautious.”
She leans forward, her elbows poised on her knees. “There’s a fine line between being cautious and straining yourself through a filter, leaving only the bright and happy parts. Why bother if you can’t be yourself with the guy?”
