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“And how do Nicole and your brother feel about it?”
“They don’t know yet.”
“Are you going to tell them?”
“I tried.” I tug on one of my bangs and push the bridge of my glasses up my nose. “I went to the house. But Nicole wasn’t there. And Alec is…”
Two sharp, short bursts of knuckles against wood bring our conversation to a halt.
Dr. Keller places her notepad and pen on the small circular table beside her chair. She shifts to her feet, smoothing her dress as she does. “I’m sorry for the interruption. I was hoping to speak to you before Dr. West arrived, but he tends to err on the early side of punctual.”
“Dr. West?” I sift through the names of everyone I’ve met at the retreat, but I can’t place him.
“Yes.” She smooths a hand over her sleek brunette bun as she glides across the room. It almost seems like she’s preening. Is she into this Dr. West? She stops at the door and wraps her fingers around the handle, before turning back to me. “I’m going to be taking a vacation, Ivy. My sister is getting married. Destination wedding. Fiji.”
“Oh.”
“I haven’t taken a vacation in years, so I decided to take a few weeks off. Eight, actually.”
“But our sessions.” I gape at her. I see her every two weeks. Eight weeks is a long time. Especially now. My entire world could implode in that time. This can’t be happening.
“Dr. West will be taking over my patients until I come back,” she explains. “And I thought… with your shyness… that it would be best if we did a meet and greet before you had a one-on-one with him. Would that be all right, Ivy?”
I swallow my anxiety, let it ball up in the pit of my stomach like yarn made out of electricity. “Okay.”
She opens the door.
Dr. West pauses in the doorway for a moment. Fills it with his presence.
My lips part on a sharp intake of breath that almost seems like it comes from someone else. He’s younger than I expected. His blue eyes shift over me like they’re examining me under a microscope. Charcoal cigarette pants are paired with a long navy shirt that fits every inch of his torso like it was sewn directly onto his skin.
His eyes crinkle in the corners as he turns his attention to Dr. Keller. “Verity, nice to see you again.”
“You too, West.”
He goes by his last name? Not sure why that surprises me as much as it does.
Dr. Keller motions at me. “This is Ivy Love.”
“I’ve seen you around.” His mouth warps into a genuine smile, but there’s an unwavering density in his gaze that unnerves me.
“You’re a doctor here?” He’s too pretty to be a therapist. I thought…I don’t know, that he was a visitor. I only saw him that one time on the grounds. He was sitting with Rogue’s mom under the tree in the courtyard. And it is a top-notch facility. A lot of people come here. Certainly more than I’ve met during my time here or my visits to Dr. Keller. I guess it makes sense that he works here.
“Yes, I’m a doctor.” He takes Dr. Keller’s seat and plucks at the crease at the knee of his left leg before he clasps his hands together between his knees. “My name is Henry West, but I prefer West if that’s okay with you.”
“West.” I nod. “Got it.”
“Good.” He starts to crack each of his knuckles.
It makes me jump.
“Easy there.” He smiles. “I’m only here to help.”
“I’m fine.” I tuck one long strand of my hair behind my ear and sit up straighter.Bunny ears. Bunny ears. Bunny ears.The familiarity is throwing me, that’s all. “You look a lot like—”
“A Jonas brother?” He winks at me. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“That must be it.” I press my palm to my knee to stop it bouncing. It’s disconcerting. Uncanny. “You must hear it all the time.”
