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“No. No way.” I made a face. “But he left it there in the kitchen. It’s growing mold.”
“Uh, so throw it away?”
“He put it there, he can throw it away.” I set the oxygen canister down with a clink. “I can’t stand being home with him. That’s why I go to Daniel’s a lot. It just gets me out of the house. I’m not falling for him.”
She looked unconvinced. “Uh-huh.”
“What? I know this can’t go anywhere.”
She cocked her head. “Well, maybe you should stop it then.”
I blinked at her. “What?”
“Stop seeing him.”
I paused for a moment. “Why?”
“Because I know you, Ali. And no matter what you’re telling yourself, I see what’s happening. You’re just setting yourself up to be hurt. You’re setting him up to be hurt.”
“I’ve already told him I don’t want a boyfriend. He’s okay with it. We’re just having fun.”
She looked almost sorry for me. “Ali, I know Neil messed you up, so this is hard for you to believe, but you are an amazing woman. And there’s no way this guy can’t have feelings for you, because he’s going to see that. So either you’re gonna tell your family and Royaume Northwestern to go screw themselves while you move to the middle of nowhere to be with him, or you’re going to get your heart broken.”
I paused. “I’m not moving. I can’t.”
“Can he move here?” she asked.
I shook my head. “His whole life is that town. And he’s trying to buy his family’s house.”
She nodded. “Okay. So let’s talk through this. This dating goes on. You two fall in love. He can’t move here, and even if he did, your dad would never accept him, and your mom never disagrees with your dad. Derek would have been nice to him, but he’s not here. Neil would take a jab at him every chance he gets. You think Gabby and Jessica and their uptight husbands are gonna welcome him into the fold? They’re not. So he stays where he is, and you, what? See him once a week for the rest of your life? You can’t live with him. Can’t commute four hours a day, can’t change hospitals. So what happens when he wants to get married? Or have kids? You gonna do that with him? What’s the plan?”
I licked my lips. “I don’t know.”
She nodded. “Right. You don’t know. See, this is what I mean. You keep seeing him and you’re gonna end up more messed up than after Neil. This was supposed to be a fling. No feelings. You hooked up with this guy because he was someone you couldn’t catch feelings for. And now you are, and you need to call it off before you can’t anymore.”
I swallowed. The thought of breaking things off with Daniel felt…it felt like the only thing that was making me happy was about to end.
But I guess it didn’t matter, because I wasn’t going to have time for him much longer. Because this morning I’d officially put in my bid for the chief position.
I sighed. “It’s going to have to end soon anyway. I’m running for chief.”
“Seriously?”
“Gibson is leaving in August. It hasn’t been announced yet, Dad told me.”
She grinned. “That’s awesome! You get to be my boss! I’ll get all the days off I want!”
I laughed a little.
“Man, you’d be perfect for that job,” she said. “That’s a lot of work though.”
“I know. But I’m excited. I think it’s going to be good for me. I’ll have more influence with the board. I can get more done.”
“Your dad might finally shut up.”
I snorted. “God, I hope so.”
That alone might actually make it worth it.
