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“Totally cool. As a matter of fact, you know her.” Dhara smiled slyly. “Or at least, you know her brother really well. I’m seeing Lanie Miller.”
Lauren felt her jaw go slack. It took her a few seconds to recover. “That’s…great! Um, you do know she can be pretty intense, right?”
“You mean like the day she came in here and practically threatened you if you stood up her brother? Oh, yeah, I was listening to some of that. That’s the day we met, actually.”
Lauren laughed. “Okay.” Then she sobered. Talking about Lanie made her think of Nate, and she’d been trying really hard not to think of him. Because whenever she did, her eyes would become mysteriously misty.
“What?” Dhara asked, sensing Lauren’s sudden change in mood.
Lauren told her all about Jessica and her return to Whispering Bay.
“Lanie can’t stand her,” Dhara said. “But honestly, you have nothing to worry about. Lanie says she’s never seen Nate happier in his entire life since he’s been with you.”
“She said that?” Lauren asked hopefully.
Dhara nodded. “You’ll see. Everything will work out just the way it’s supposed to in the end. And if it doesn’t, then it’s not the end.”
Lauren narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Isn’t that a quote from a movie or something?”
“Busted.” They laughed and then Dhara picked up her coffee mug and held it up in the air. “To skanky ex-girlfriends who get what’s coming to them!”
Lauren picked up hers as well and they clinked mugs.
“To Baby Got Bump!” Lauren said.
“To getting rich!” Dhara shot back.
Well, yes, there was always that, too.
*~*~*
The first thing Nate did Monday morning after Jessica left his house for her “new job” was find a locksmith. He’d wanted to change out the locks yesterday, but Jessica had refused to leave. He’d gone down to the police station to see what his options were, but according to Zeke, if Nate wanted Jessica physically removed from the premises, he’d have to press trespassing charges.
He’d been tempted. It would serve her right, and he’d been mad enough to do it, but Lanie had cautioned him against doing something so drastic. “As much as I’d like to see her scrawny ass in the clink, you’ll regret it later.” So he’d ended up spending the weekend at his sister’s. He hadn’t called Lauren. Or tried to see her. Staying away from her had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. But she was right. Until he could look her in the eye and tell her that Jessica was no longer in his life, he didn’t deserve her. Hopefully, changing the locks on his house would be the big clue Jessica needed to understand things were over between them for good.
He gave the locksmith directions and instructed him under no circumstances, was he to give a key to anyone except Nate himself.
The whole thing made him late for work.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Lola said.
Nate put Hector in his cage then picked up his patient schedule. He was startled to see Maureen Handy listed as his first patient of the day. “I can’t see her.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Funny thing is, she requested you,” Lola said.
“Maureen Handy requested me? I thought she only saw Doc.”
“Apparently not. At least not today. And that was before she even knew he’d called in sick.”
“What? Again? Shit,” he muttered. He pulled out his cell. “Has he seen a doctor? I’m going over to—”
Lola grabbed the phone from his hand. “You’re doing nothing of the kind. If you must know, Doc is in Destin today. Golfing.”
“He’s golfing?” Nate said, stunned. “I don’t understand.”
“Lord, when they passed out the brains you must have thought they said trains and asked for a slow one. Doc hasn’t been sick, you idiot, he’s been calling out sick to force the patients to see you.”
Nate slowly shook his head. “What?”
