AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brooke
Since we both had Sunday off, we drove back up to Los Angeles after brunch and hung out at Lucas’ house. I kept waiting for him to freak out, but he seemed to have embraced our arrangement, content to know it was clearly defined and had an expiration date. Currently, I was on his balcony watching him surf the afternoon waves.
Was there anything the man did that he wasn’t good at?
Yeah, relationships.
I thought back to the conversation during the car ride down to Orange County and the hurt in his voice when talking about the fun memories of his stepmom. One of many who had entered his life and subsequently left him over the years. Was it any wonder Lucas had a fear of abandonment? Didn’t it make sense he’d deploy impressive defensive shields?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have feelings for him. Of course I did. In some ways, these next two weeks would be a form of torture. While the short time frame eased his mind, it was starting to make me anxious. If I went and spent all my free time with him, wouldn’t I end up missing him more?
I returned his wave, tracking his agile movements as he paddled out to catch another breaker. It was too easy to picture a future of lazy Sunday afternoons spent watching him surf.
The sound of the doorbell pulled me from my thoughts.
Dinner had arrived.
Only instead of the delivery person with a take-out bag on his doorstep, there was a beautiful, heavily pregnant brunette holding a casserole dish. Her eyes widened at the sight of me.
“Oh, hi. I’m Kendall, the neighbor.”
I smiled. “Hi, Kendall. I’m Brooke.”
“Nice to meet you.” She appeared as if she was expecting an invitation inside, and it felt rude not to extend one.
“Lucas is out surfing, but you’re welcome to come in.” I did know him well enough to presume he’d be neighborly.
“Thanks, I was dropping off a chicken pot pie because I made extra, and my husband insisted he won’t be the only one spending extra hours in the gym after eating my food.”
I let out a chuckle. “I bet Lucas will appreciate it.”
She put it into his freezer as if she’d done it before and then surveyed his counters. They held a variety of baked goods. “The man will never go hungry, that’s for sure.”
“Agreed. Can I offer you something to drink?” Knowing his secret of dropping off extra baked goods at the shelter on Monday mornings, I was amused with all the carbs on the counter.
“Water would be great?”
I poured a glass and handed it to her just as the doorbell rang again. “Excuse me one moment.” This time it was the Cobb salads from a nearby deli I’d been expecting.
“Oooh, you got Gia’s Deli salads? Those are the best,” Kendall said when I brought the bag into the kitchen.
“Yeah, Lucas mentioned they were good. Did you want to sit down?”
She patted her cute preggo belly. “No, thank you. These days getting up is too hard and makes me dizzy. It’s actually why I brought over dinner since Lucas won’t let us pay him in anything but food for medical advice.”
“Dizzy? Like lightheaded? Or more nauseous feeling?” I realized how intrusive my question sounded when she didn’t know I was a doctor. “Apologies. I’m an obstetrician, so I tend to be nosy with pregnant women.”
She laughed it off. “No apologies necessary. Rather, it’s my lucky day you’re here. It’s more lightheaded.”
The sound of the garage door distracted me, but not as much as Lucas then walking in wearing only his board shorts and a towel thrown over his broad shoulders. It took a moment for me to realize I was staring at him.
He winked as if well aware of the effect he had on me. “Hi, Kendall.”
She turned and greeted him. “Hi, Lucas. Didn’t mean to interrupt your Sunday evening, but I brought over chicken pot pie and thought I’d ease my worrywart husband’s mind by talking to you about the dizziness I experience when I stand up.”
“Never an interruption when it comes to you and Liam. And you’re in luck. You got a twofer tonight. And since Brooke’s the expert when it comes to pregnancy, she should go first.”
My mouth hung open. Never had I had another doctor refer to me as the expert or check their ego long enough to confer with me first. Clearly, I’d been surrounding myself with the wrong doctors. “I was thinking low blood pressure or blood sugar. Could also be iron.”
