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But paperwork was the perfect time for the distraction I couldn’t seem to rid my mind of. Teddy. The woman occupied too much of my thoughts lately. She was a tough nut to crack, and I knew now that a lot of that was my own fault. She hadn’t forgotten that Autumn Harvest dance that never happened for her, and that was why I’d made exactly zero progress with her. My mind went from wondering if I should just give up and move on as Teddy suggested, or if I needed to confront our past head on so I could move forward with her.
The problem was, what did moving forward mean? She’d already told me what she wanted, and it was the exact opposite of what I wanted. All signs pointed to the fact that I should leave her alone. Except, I couldn’t.
Dammit.
My office door flung open, startling me, but that shock quickly turned into pleasure when I saw it was Rosie wearing a bright smile and a bright pink dress.
“Uncle Cal, there you are!” She barreled into my office and ran straight toward me. “I looked all over for you.”
I pushed back from my desk and swiveled to accept her exuberant hug. “Well, you found me. Now what?”
Rosie flung herself into my arms and squeezed tight. “Hi, Uncle Cal.”
“Hey, Princess. What are you doing here and where’s your dad?”
It wasn’t unusual to see Rosie and Antonio around the hospital; they were what we called frequent fliers thanks to the little girl’s severe asthma.
“Aunt Teddy brought me for an ‘pointment ‘cause Daddy has a meeting.” She rolled her eyes at that statement and sighed like a kid much older than her five years.
Teddy was here? “Yeah? Where is she?”
“She’s right here.” Teddy’s words sounded from across the office where she stood, arms crossed over her chest and one leg crossed at the ankle. “I told you not to run out of my sight, little girl.”
Rosie sighed at the reproach in Teddy’s voice and tightened her arms around me. “I just wanted to say hi to Uncle Cal.” Teddy’s expression didn’t change, and Rosie dropped her head. “Sorry, Aunt Teddy.”
“It’s all right, kiddo. I found you and that’s what matters.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Teddy. I’d never seen her in a dress before and the yellow sundress she wore highlighted all of her good parts. Her sun-kissed skin looked tanned and smooth, almost like melted caramel against the bright yellow fabric that skimmed her knees, showing off toned arms and legs. She was stunning in general, but dressed up the way she was turned my mouth dry. And she wore strappy wedge sandals that wrapped around her ankles. She was tantalizing and utterly feminine.
“You’re staring,” she growled at me.
I blinked at her words and a slow smile spread from one ear to the other. “I can’t help it, you look incredible.”
She rolled her eyes at the compliment and with so much time spent in the sun, I couldn’t make out the blush I was certain was there. “Rosie promised to be a good girl if we both dressed up like beach princesses—her words, not mine.” Her sardonic smile faded as she shot a knowing look at her niece. “Then she ran off.”
“Well, I think you both look very pretty. Beautiful, in fact.” I couldn’t remember seeing her in a dress, ever. Sometimes I caught a glimpse of her legs in summer when she broke out tattered cutoffs, but usually they were walking away moments after I showed up.
Rosie preened at my compliment, smoothing her hair and blushing like crazy, while her aunt stood stoic and impatient.
“Ready to head out, Rosie?”
The little girl nodded and turned to Teddy with an angelic smile. “Can Uncle Cal come to lunch with us?” She turned to me with wide eyes. “We’re having a big girl’s lunch.”
I looked to Teddy for an explanation and her lips pulled into a half-smile. “We’re going to the Old Wooden Pasta House because Rosie loves that they serve pasta with a spoon and a fork.” Her gaze fell on Rosie’s expectant expression. “If Cal is free to join us, I have no problem with that. Even though he isn’t dressed for a big girl’s lunch.”
That was what her mouth said, but her gaze ate me up in my faded scrubs.
While the scrubs were clean, they didn’t exactly fit with the beautiful females I would accompany.
“I can remedy that. Meet you there in fifteen minutes?”
“Yay!” Rosie wiggled on my lap before sliding down my legs and twirling in the middle of my office.
“Come on, kiddo. Let’s go so your uncle can change.” Teddy’s gaze lingered for a few more seconds before she took Rosie’s hand and left me staring at her long legs even after they disappeared from view.
A moment later I shot to my feet and headed to the locker room where I kept a change of clothes for after work meetings or appointments. I had learned my lesson after a few too many instances of showing up in scrubs. I paired dark jeans with a white button-up and added a tie because I knew Rosie would appreciate the effort.
