I rub behind her ear and then sit up.
“Come, how about a walk?” I ask her, but she doesn’t react. It’s as if she’s calling me out on my bullshit. I tell myself I’ll call the surgery later, after our walk, the same shit I’ve been telling myself for weeks now—knowing I’m only lying to myself.
“Fuck it.” Reaching out for my laptop on the coffee table, I sit it on my lap and bring it to life. I bring up my doctor’s surgery and book an appointment online. For some reason, that seems less intimidating than making a phone call. That would make this all far too real.
Once I’m done, I add the date to my calendar and book out the day.
Aspen pushes against my leg as though she’s satisfied, but she’ll take that walk now.
Closing my laptop, I leave it on the coffee table and retrieve her lead from the hook by the back door.
I don’t know how long we’ve been walking, being overwhelmed and consumed by my thoughts. I only notice Caleb’s car when Aspen and I go back inside, which means he and Jessica are both home.
Unclipping Aspen’s lead, I nudge my chin towards her water bowl.
“Go get a drink, girl.” She does as I say, causing my lips to twitch.
“Hey, handsome,” Caleb says as Jessica hops down from the stool at the breakfast bar.
“There you are,” she says, stepping up to me, her arms draping over my shoulders. She goes up onto her tiptoes to kiss me.
Kissing her never gets old, her lips soft and supple against mine. For a few lingering moments, I can escape my inner turmoil, until her hands move over my chest, and the action is like a dose of cold water. Breaking me from the moment of calm, I pull out of the kiss and gently take hold of her wrists, hoping like hell she can’t feel my inner turmoil.
“Did you miss me?” I ask, cocking a brow.
“Always,” she replies as she studies my face. “Are you okay?”she asks, her voice tinged with concern.
I swallow hard and nod. “Of course, I’m fine,” I reply, the worst word you can use when it’s the furthest thing from the truth. My gaze moves to Caleb over her shoulder.
He’s pulling some stuff from the fridge, but I don’t miss how his gaze flicks to mine at my answer.
Thankfully, the sound of her phone ringing cuts off any response she might have had as she pulls out of my grasp.
“Sorry, I just need to take that,” she says, moving to the breakfast bar and pulling it from her bag.
I let out a relieved sigh and try to cool my features as I hang up Aspen’s lead and then turn back to find Caleb still looking through the fridge.
“How did it go?” I ask. “Was everything okay with the restaurant?”
He peeks around the door and nods.
“Yeah, just a mix-up with a wholesale order, but it’s all sorted now.”
He pulls out a carton of fresh orange juice and holds it up to me.
I nod and watch his biceps flex against the long-sleeved top he’s wearing as he reaches into the cupboard for some glasses.
“How was your meeting?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder before filling the glasses.
“Yeah, it was fine.” I almost roll my eyes at how many times I’ve said fine recently.
He turns to face me, frowning as he hands me the orange juice. I glance away before draining my glass, the cool tart juice refreshing and just what I needed. It’s only now I realise the last time I had anything was after working out this morning.
Licking my lips, I let out a satisfied hum.
“Thirsty?” he asks, cocking a brow.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I probably should have taken water with me when I walked Aspen.”
