Me, too. Love you.
Love you, too.
Essie put the lid on the casserole dish, then packed it into her heat-resistant carrying bag. She’d be better off focusing on the here and now and not worrying about the future.
But that was easier said than done with a stepdaughter like Sophie.
Chapter Nineteen
Maude was enjoying herself a lot more than she’d thought she would. For one thing,Hondowas a pretty entertaining read.
For another, Lester was about the coolest dude she’d ever met. He’d made a little snort-laugh at one line in the book, which had caused her to stop reading and start asking him questions.
She’d made him agree to yes and no answers only, to save his strength. Sometimes he shook his head or gave her a thumbs-up instead. Judging by the wry smile that seemed to have become a permanent fixture on his face, he was enjoying the afternoon as much as she was.
So far, she’d learned he was a military veteran who’d served during the Vietnam War, that Althea was his second wife, that he never thought he’d get married again at his age, and that he had two sons, one of whom was also in the military, the other Maude had yet to determine his occupation.
She was about to ask him if his son was in tech like she was, when a knock at the door interrupted them.
“Hello, Mr. Anderson, how are you doing—Maude.” Ollie stopped short. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
She stared at Ollie. She hadn’t expected to see him, either, but of course he’d be here. He was a cardiologist at this hospital and Lester was here because of his heart. She’d already figured out that Lester was why Ollie had gotten called away from the beach so suddenly. Lester’s gaze was shifting between them. She gave him a little nod. “Ollie.”
She should have answered his note. This was going to be awkward.
Oliver moved closer to Lester’s bedside. “Are you a relative of Lester’s?”
“I’m a friend of his wife’s. We’re in a book club together.” She held up her iPad, which had long ago powered off. “I’m reading to Lester.”
Lester nodded enthusiastically, like he was confirming her story, but that was exactly what she’d been doing. Still, she appreciated Lester’s willingness to back her up in whatever he thought was going on.
“That’s really nice.” He smiled at her then directed his attention to Lester. “Aren’t you a lucky man to have such great company?”
“Yep,” Lester wheezed as he held his thumb up.
Maude took the opportunity to check out Ollie’s left hand. Not surprisingly, his wedding ring was back on, which it hadnotbeen at the beach. She grabbed her bag, shoved her iPad into it, and stood. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
She touched Lester’s arm, thankful for the bed separating her from Ollie. Why did he have to look so good in scrubs and that stupid white coat? “Lester, I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes or so. I’m just going to run down to the cafeteria.”
She did not want to have a conversation with Ollie here about his inappropriateness and her unwillingness to become his side chick. She hoisted the straps of her tote over her shoulder and headed for the door.
“Maude,” Ollie called out. “Just give me a minute.”
She snorted out a breath of air and kept walking. She followed the signs to the cafeteria, where she bought a ham and cheese sandwich, a package of chips, and a Coke. She took a table near the wall and sat.
She left the food on the tray. The sandwich got unwrapped, the chip bag was opened, and the top of her Coke unscrewed. She pulled her phone out and fired up one of her puzzle game apps to entertain herself while she ate.
It was hard not to think about Lester and what he’d gone through in his life. Not just the war and the friends he’d lost but later on losing his first wife, who’d been his high school sweetheart.
She knew what that felt like in a small way. Except it was clear to her now that she’d built Ollie up to be something he wasn’t. As a teenager, and even into her college years, she’d imagined he’d track her down someday and profess his love, telling her that he’d never met anyone who could take her place.
Obviously, he had. And obviously, Maude had made way too much out of her first sort of serious relationship. What an idiot she’d been. She shook her head and took another bite of her sandwich. She’d been a teenage girl, and while she might not have had kids, she knew how teenage girls were.
She’d helped out at a summer computer camp two years in a row. The girls who’d taken part, while bright and motivated, still mooned over the best-looking young men in the program, getting crazy emotional over the littlest things, imagining that even a casual glance in their direction meant love was on the horizon.
A quick bit of research had uncovered that teenage girls were prone to such things due to the high levels of hormones coursing through them at that stage of life. Maude had no reason to think she’d been any different at that age.
That’s all Ollie had been. Her first kiss. Her first real boyfriend. And an overabundance of hormones. Which, if she was being honest, was a little how she felt thinking about him now. He was unnaturally good-looking. Like, no man should be that handsome.
