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“I’m certainly not going to send you out in this mess. Even if the rain lets up, you’ll be sliding in mud all the way home. It’ll be fun. I haven’t had a slumber party since I was in high school.”
“Daisy can have first shower,” I offer. “I’m still waking up.”
Daisy doesn’t argue. In fact, she seems in a hurry to get away from me.
She takes a towel and some clothes from Lennox before disappearing up the stairs, following Lennox’s directions.
Lennox puts the rest of the towels on the couch and sits in an armchair across from mine. “Fake dating, right?”
“What?”
She laughs, a sonorous, bell-like sound that fills the cabin all the way to the cathedral ceiling. “I write romance novels for a living, Dr. Brooks. I’ve been reading them since fourth grade. I can recognize a fake dating situation from a mile away.”
I really don’t want to get into this. “It’s real to me. I’m her boyfriend, even if she isn’t my girlfriend.”
Lennox presses a hand to her heart. “Did you tell her that? With those exact words?”
“She’s not in a place to hear it yet.”
She leaps to her feet, sprints to the kitchen, and comes back with a pen and a notepad. She scribbles for a minute or two before looking up. “I’m totally using that line in a novel.”
I can’t resist smiling at her. “Really? It’s swoon worthy?”
She giggles and points at me. “Look at you being familiar with the terms. You read romance novels?”
“I read everything Daisy edits, so I imagine I’ll be reading romance novels soon.”
“Adorable.” She rests the pad on one knee and gets serious. “So why the fake dating? Got a stalker ex-lover or does Daisy need a boyfriend to convince Lovemore Publishing she can edit books about love?”
“No stalker ex-lover. Just a town full of people who don’t trust the new nomadic doctor is going to stay.”
“Are you?” she asks. “Catalpa Creek is your forever home?”
“That’s the plan. I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a more beautiful place and I like the idea of being able to hike every day if I want to.”
She nods. “Yeah. I’ve lived in a city all my life. I love being able to roll out of bed and go for a hike in the morning.” She leans forward. “So why did Daisy agree to the fake dating and why isn’t she on the same page as you about making it real?”
“That’s Daisy’s story to tell, not mine,” I say, without even having to think about it.
She holds up both hands. “Sorry. Of course. I get caught up in every romance I hear about and forget I can’t just nose my way into all the details.” She hops up from the chair. “How about a game? I haven’t had anyone to play with in eight months and I love board games.”
“Um, sure.” I rub my eyes, trying to wake the rest of the way up.
We’re well into a game of Yahtzee when Daisy walks in, hair wet and loose, in a tiny pair of shorts and an over-sized sweatshirt. My hands ache to pull her into my lap.
Instead, I get to my feet and cross the room to grab a towel. My turn for the shower.
“I don’t have a signal,” Daisy says as I start up the stairs. “Do you have a phone I can use to call my sisters and let them know I’m okay?”
“Sure,” Lennox says.
I don’t have anyone to call, no one who’s going to worry about me or wonder where I am. I can’t remember a time in my life when I needed to call and report in on my whereabouts to a loved one. Even my past relationships never got serious enough that there was anyone waiting for me at home.
Homesickness for that hollows me out. How can I miss something so fiercely if I’ve never had it?
The bathroom is still steamy and warm from Daisy’s shower, the sweet scent of a fruity shampoo overwhelming the space. My brain, like a horny teenager, snaps right to the image of her naked, warm water cascading over her smooth skin.
And my body responds like she’s standing before me. I strip down, trying to think of anything other than Daisy naked and here with me, but my dick will not relax.
