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Another knockout punch.
“Go.”
He had to. I couldn’t take another hit like that.
I remained rooted in place as he disappeared from the living room. I collapsed onto the sofa and pulled my knees to my chest.
Lincoln Hollingsworth didn’t say things he didn’t mean.
But did his words mean the same thing I thought they did? Because if he only cared about being considerate to me and his home was mine and he wanted to spend time with Eric . . . I rested my forehead on my knees, ignoring the pain in my head at the sudden movement.
All of those things sounded like a new and much better normal.
For so many years, I’d been alone. With Eric, of course. But emotionally, alone. I didn’t really have any friends other than Beau. I’d ignored the thought of dating, because quite simply, I hadn’t had time. Life had been full. I was okay. Eric was both stable and happy. But then Lincoln entered my orbit, and all that security—contentment—was slowly being unraveled. I now depended on Lincoln to get me through the next seven days. My head was sore, but my heart was aching as well.
Because I had a problem.
It wasn’t that I might fall for Lincoln.
I already had.
Chapter Twelve
Lincoln
“Can Muffyand Millie come with us every day?”
Muffy jerked me forward, excited about the park ahead.
“I’m . . . not sure.”
I hadn’t asked Lexie, and if I were perfectly honest, handling two dogs while delivering dog food had been . . . a circus.
Eric, Muffy, and Millie were having the time of their lives. I swore Muffy had barked along to the tune of that Bobby McGee song after it had played a few times.
Did they choose to listen to that on repeat? Or was the tape stuck in the deck?
My coat had a paw print on it. My suit pants had the remains of a dog treat and drool streaked across my thigh.
And I didn’t care.
Because that song had become kind of catchy. The two dogs who had sniffed every inch of the van, torn a few boxes, and demanded treats as if that’s what they were bred to do kept things interesting. And Eric had convinced me to stop for donuts because Lexie would love them.
I didnotnormally buy donuts.
We were incredibly behind schedule. I wasn’t sure we’d made all the deliveries we were supposed to. And the oh-so-well-behaved dogs nearly turned the van over when we passed by a park.
So we stopped.
And I allowed them to drag Eric and me toward a patch of grass.
It was chaos.
Completely out of control.
I had no idea how Lexie managed it all and made it look easy. Give me high-stake real estate all day long. If the woman ever made a career change to that, she’d run circles around me on pencil-thin heels.
Before I’d cranked the van this morning, I hadn’t thought she could earn any more of my respect because there was none left to give.
