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I ignored the sting of pain that went through me. No fucking way was I letting him get to me again. I tightened my jaw and strode out into the room with my aching head held high.
“I can’t thank you enough for taking me in for the evening, Jake,” I said. “You’re a genuine knight in shining armor. The town of Haven is lucky to have you,” I announced, barely managing to keep the sneer from my voice as I searched out my boots where they were lying on the floor by the couch. “Xander, is there a church in town because I want to talk to the priest about nominating Jake for sainthood. Doctor, wilderness guide extraordinaire, rescuer of damsels and gay guys in distress alike, I mean, is there nothing this man can’t do?” I asked as I stamped my feet into my boots.
I saw Jake pale slightly and Xander looked at him in surprise, but I didn’t stop long enough to wonder what the exchange meant.
“But don’t worry,” I amended. “This kid will find different accommodations in the future. I wouldn’t want to impose even a moment longer than is absolutely necessary. Oh, I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” I said as I put my hand up to my mouth like I was letting out a big secret. “But Nadia has had her eye on you for a quite a while, so you can totally tap that if you want.” I kept my expression confused as I looked at Xander, even though jealousy was eating me up inside.
“Is that the right expression? Tap that? Because I, unfortunately, don’t speak straight guy. Which is why,” –I jammed my hat onto my head– “I’m going to go find the attractive gay guy who made me a lovely offer yesterday and see about taking him up on it. I mean, waking up warm every morning and not getting dumped on my ass…” I tilted my head and gave Jake a wink. “That’s definitely something I’d tap,” I suggested.
There was no reason to let him know the very attractive gay man was Bennett and the offer had been to stay at the lodge. No need for him to know any of that or that I had no plans to actually take Bennett up on it, but at least the asshole would stop viewing me as his problem.
I grabbed my coat and the small bag of Boo’s things before walking out the door. Fucking asshole sexy neighbor.
The door hadn’t completely closed when I heard Xander snap at Jake, “What in the hell’s your problem?”
Good question.
Apparently, the answer was me.
Thankfully, after he’d left Jake’s place, Xander had stopped by and offered to keep Boo with him at the lodge in town so I wouldn’t have to leave her in the freezing cabin.
I was grateful since I wanted to spend the day at the clinic. My goal was to distract myself from both the mother of all hangovers and the fact that I was homeless until Xander fixed the furnace.
Once I arrived and greeted Nancy at the reception counter, I grabbed my sketchpad and got to work.
After coming up with my initial design ideas, I chatted up several of the patients who came in. I asked them how long wait times were, and I was happy to discover they were usually fairly short. I watched the kids play with the existing bin of toys and noticed most of them were well-behaved and respectful of the items they played with. But some of the toys were terribly outdated, so I made a mental note to see if there were any toy stores in the area. Wouldn’t hurt to just toss a few new ones into the bin.
At one point, I noticed Jake show up and tried my best to ignore him. Becky had told me the night before that he helped with the clinic compliance paperwork and played a big part in getting extra funding for the clinic through grants. Oh, and he didn’t get paid for any of it. It didn’t make me think he was a generous sweetheart who cared about others.
It didn’t.
Halfway through the day, I wandered down the main road to a sandwich shop I’d noticed earlier. There was a man behind the counter who looked a lot like the bartender from the tavern the night before. Tall, dark, and stacked with muscles.
“Are you by any chance related to—”
The man cracked a wide grin as he cut me off. “He’s my brother. We’re not twins but might as well be. What can I get you, gorgeous?”
I brightened under the compliment and decided to dust off my flirt a little. We chatted while he made the sandwich, and I found out that he and his brother lived in Haven and knew most of the people in town.
