Page 50 of The Exception

He started the engine, trying to keep from imagining Sonya getting ready for bed just inside. Was she thinking the same thing? That she was the one with everything to lose from this mistake he’d made?

He supposed somewhere in this laundry list of things to feel guilty for, he should also consider his dad and how if anyone found out he’d made a pass at his preceptor, it would be the cherry on the “Trav’s a fuck up” sundae.

His dad was an asshole, but he wasn’t completely wrong about the reputation Trav had built for himself. He’d paid a huge penance for it, spending his twenties in a desert instead of a dorm or the bars where people his age partied and acted like they had real cares, and he wasn’t going to get off track this time.

He took another glance at the front door, then put the truck in gear and pulled away. He was going to have to fix this.

Twenty-two

It was still early when Sonya settled in behind her desk Monday morning with a hazelnut latte and chocolate croissant. She’d spent more than enough time on her treadmill yesterday to counteract the carbs, and even if she hadn’t, she needed the extra sugar buzz because she was dragging.

After literally running her ass off, she’d spent her whole Sunday trying to figure out how to deal with Trav post-kiss. She’d decided that the moment between them was just an overflow of everything she’d been dealing with lately, brought on by good times and a little too much vodka. While she could admit that Trav was objectively handsome and he’d grown on her over the last few weeks with his work ethic and his dedication to bringing her home cooked lunches… his jokes and those dimples that made her cheeks warm and her heart race… kissing him was just a blip on the path to friendship. Nothing more.

She’d always been shit at lying, even to herself.

Get it together, girl. It meant nothing.

A quiet knock drew her attention to her doorway, and there he was, like she’d somehow summoned him with her thoughts. Sonya’s nerves flared. Seeing him again had memories flashing in her brain like neon signs, reminding her just how good it had felt to touch him.

He looked like she felt: a little rumpled and tired as he stood there with his shoulder pressed against the doorframe and his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his scrubs. Maybe he was remembering too.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“Good morning,” she greeted with aneverything is normalsmile. “You’re in early today.”

“Yeah… I figured you’d be here. Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

He closed the door behind him before dropping into the chair facing her desk. He was quiet as he rubbed his hands along his thighs like he was trying to figure out how to say it.

She was just about to put them both out of their misery when he finally blurted out, “So the other night… ”

Her heart skipped. Okay, maybe she wasn’t as ready for this as she thought. But she’d better get ready. Letting things like this fester was never a good idea. She pushed her coffee aside and folded her hands. “You’re right, we should talk about it.”

He nodded, clearing his throat before saying, “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Oh.

“For what? I kissed you.”

“And I kissed you back and things got a little… heated.”

That was one way to put it. In fact, her body was heating now just thinking about it. But at least he was being direct. Direct she could handle.

“We were both emotional and got carried away,” she said. “That’s all. It happened, it’s not going to happen again, so it was just a blip and we should just move on.”

“A blip?” A piece of his hair fell onto his forehead and her heart made a different kind of blip.Not good.

She folded her hands on her desk and tipped her chin. “Yep. It didn’t mean anything so we shouldn’t let it get in the way of our working relationship.

“Okay,” he said, nodding as if to convince himself. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his scrubs, shifting in his seat. “But I kinda hoped that it wouldn’t get in the way of us being friends either.”

“Of course not!” A relief she hadn’t even known she was looking for flooded her chest. Her friendship with Trav had been an unexpected beacon in what was, unquestionably, one of the most confusing times of her life. It was really nice to spend time with someone who had never known Marcus. Who had never knownherand Marcus.

She may not have even been able to articulate that need until right now when she’d thought there was a chance he would come in here and act all weird like some playboy afraid she was going to get the wrong impression and accidentally fall in love with him. But she had to give him credit. This was a very mature reaction.

And apparently maturity was her weak spot because an idea popped into her head before she could talk herself out of it. “In fact,” she said, “my friends rented a lake house for the long weekend and since we’re both off, I was wondering if you’d like to come.”

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