AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You bet.”
At lunchtime, I took her to one of my favorite delis. Brooke ordered a steak panini while I stuck to a salad. “How is it so far?”
“The sandwich or the day?”
“Both.” I tried unsuccessfully not to stare at her sexy mouth.
“Sandwich is delicious although I can see why you went with a salad. If I eat this way every day, I’ll have to up my cardio, which I really don’t want to do.”
I forced myself not to think of all the ways I’d like to help her burn those calories.
“As far as the day, it’s going well but is much more exhausting than a normal office day, at least from a socialization aspect. You definitely couldn’t do this job as an introvert.”
“No, you couldn’t.”
She regarded me for a moment. “You love it though, don’t you? The personal touch.”
“I do.” It made me happy to be out of the office and on the road, giving patients more attention. Especially my elderly patients, who were welcoming and kind. “Obviously, I don’t enjoy all of my patients, like Chad”— or some of the other, entitled new clients like the pro athletes or A-listers—“but I love the work.”
“You ever take time off?”
“Yeah, usually Sundays and Mondays. Last week I was off attending a conference for a few days.” Too late, I realized I’d inadvertently brought up our Saturday night.
She crunched a chip, a smirk on her face. “Was it fun?”
Two could play this game. “It wasn’t until I met this crazy girl at the bar.”
A smile played around her mouth. “Mm, you like crazy, huh?”
“It appears I do, especially in the bedroom.” It came out before I could filter the thought. “I took it too far.”
“It’s okay. I started it. And as far as one-night stands go, it was my favorite.”
Understatement of the year. Meanwhile, I found myself frowning at the thought she had others to compare it to. I sighed, deciding to be truthful. “It was my favorite too.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to lie to me, Lucas.”
“I have no reason to.” Shit. Our gazes locked, and we were gripped by the same tension from earlier. But sleeping together again would make things way too complicated.
She must’ve felt the same as she looked away and gathered up her tray.
By five o’clock and after meeting four other expectant mothers, I was counting the minutes until the day was over. Not because I hadn’t enjoyed my time with Brooke, but because I had enjoyed it too much. She’d proposed we be friends, and I’d agreed without believing it was possible, but realized I’d been wrong. I could easily become her friend. She was a pleasure to talk to, funny, smart, and comfortable to be around. But there was no way I could turn off my attraction to her and delete last Saturday night from my mind.
Time to refocus. “Ready to head over to Meredith’s house?”
“Yes. I’m anxious to meet her. How long have you worked together?”
“Three years. She’s terrific. She and her husband were high school sweethearts.”
“You don’t hear about high school sweethearts staying together much these days, do you?”
“No, you don’t. They have a three-year-old girl and are expecting a baby boy in six weeks.”
“Where does she live?”
“Studio City. Not far from your brother’s house, actually.”
“Oh, since I’m staying with him, would it be easier for us to take separate cars?”
