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Lucas
Iwent home, cleaned up, and bought two bouquets of flowers on my way to Caleb and Daisy’s house. One for the hostess and the other for Brooke, the latter simply because it was a nice thing to do, but also because I needed to apologize. Again.
I should’ve done it in the parking lot earlier, but there’d been patients about, and I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I’d say something stupid about how incredibly hot our kiss had been. Hell, I was still reeling from it. Or I’d blurt out that her compliments about the level of care I gave my patients had moved me to my core.
“Hi, Lucas.” Wearing a vibrant dress in yellows and blues, her blond hair up in a twist, Daisy greeted me at the front door. If ever a human being embodied beauty both in and outside, it was her. “Nice to see you.”
I leaned in to give her a hug and hand her one of the bouquets. “I brought the other one for Brooke.”
“Sweet of you. I’ll put them in a vase, so she can enjoy them once she gets back.”
“She’s not here?”
Judging by the way Daisy arched a brow, I must have failed miserably in hiding my disappointment.
“I just meant I’d expected her.”
Daisy gave me a soft smile. “She went down to Newport to get more of her things and help a friend of hers pack up for a move. She thought it would be easier to get things sorted before she had to start on-call hours.”
It made sense she’d need the time. She’d jumped into the deep end of a new job before she’d had a chance to do so. Yet I couldn’t help feeling our kiss was why she’d decided to skip dinner this evening. Guilt nagged me.
“How’s it going?” Caleb came into the room from the kitchen, carrying baby Henry.
If you’d asked me if Caleb was the daddy type a few months ago, I would’ve said no way. But now he looked incredibly natural with the baby in his arms.
“It’s going well. How’s Henry doing?” He’d been born with a cleft lip and palate making his feeding challenging in the beginning. He’d had his first surgery to correct the problem but would require at least one more when he got older.
“He’s great. Last checkup showed his weight up where it needs to be, and he’s starting to sleep for longer stretches.”
“May I?” I took the cuddly baby from him, smiling at the ducks covering his onesie. Although I’d held dozens of babies and even delivered a couple, the sensation of this one today hit me with a pang. Perhaps it was because of my newfound realization I’d unconsciously sabotaged my marriage. My ex-wife had wanted to start a family, but I’d found one excuse after another to put it off. She’d accused me of making bullshit excuses while I secretly worried about how much harder it would be to divorce once we had children. She’d turned to my best friend for emotional support and had ultimately left me for him.
My voice was thick. “Henry couldn’t ask for better parents. When is the adoption final?”
“Another few weeks. The birth mother signed everything, so now we’re just waiting on the court date to make it official.”
“I’m happy for the two of you.” My jaded view of marriage had helped sabotage my own, and I could only hope with a better outlook for a future together, the two of them could make theirs work.
“How are things with work?” Caleb led the way outside.
There Daisy had steaks on the grill and chilled beer waiting.
“Better now with your sister on board.” I grabbed one of the beers. “Her filling in has been a lifesaver.”
“It’s a small world for her to end up at your practice, of all places.”
It was a small world, but not in the way he knew. “Yeah, quite the coincidence. How’s work for you?” Since Caleb had left his firm focusing on highly contentious divorces and gone into private practice to focus on adoptions and other happier life events, he seemed much happier with his career.
We settled into a comfortable evening, but I missed Brooke and found myself wishing she’d been there.
On Tuesday morning, I should’ve felt relief at getting back to my normal routine and seeing only my own patients, but instead I found myself distracted and hoping Brooke’s first day solo was smooth.
Unable to stand it any longer, I called her cell number when it got close to lunchtime.
“Hello?”
“Hi. I wanted to check in, make sure your first day was going all right.”
“Yeah. Other than a few minor hiccups, it’s fine.”
“Good.” As much as I hoped house calls would be a successful part of the practice, I also wanted her to feel comfortable. “You’re doing house visits today and tomorrow and then working in the office on Thursday and Friday?” She had this upcoming Saturday off, but would start to work them the following weekend.
“Yeah, except for the C-section scheduled for Friday morning. I’ll be at the hospital then.”
“Sounds like you’re hitting the ground running.”
“Definitely. I’m at my next appointment, so I need to go.”
So much for apologizing. Then again, some apologies were better done in person.
