Page 47 of Anything for You
I took it, hand grazing his as I gripped the folded-down edge. “I will never say no to breakfast.”
Seemingly pleased, he nodded. “Good. You need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”
A bubbly warm glow started at the soles of my feet and fizzed its way up through my entire body.
“Thank you. I had yesterday off, actually, but I didn’t see you around.” Like I’d ever been that casual in my entire life.
“I went into Saint for a shift. Sorry I missed you.”
My, my, my. The way he didn’t take his eyes from mine might’ve felt odd in a different situation—like too much. But right now? It simply made me feel like someone had dumped champagne into my blood stream.
“Me, too,” was all I could manage to say before my watch beeped, alerting me to the hour. I frowned down at it. “I’m sorry. I need to go.”
“Don’t be late,” he said, and took a step back.
And then, because I was me and couldn’t let a chance to be awkward pass me by, I whirled around and lunged for his hand, clasping it for a second, then releasing him. “Thanks for breakfast. See you soon?”
Without waiting for his reply or daring to look back at him, I slammed my car door and turned the engine on, flustered and messy but oddly pleased with myself. As I backed out, I could feel him watching, and when I gave one final wave, he tipped his chin my way.
During my shift, I amazed myself by keeping my focus on my patients and not on the man who was single-handedly keeping me fed. The breakfast burrito he’d made had been absolutely delicious with scrambled eggs, bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese in a toasty flour tortilla. He’d also included a little baggy of apple slices and a square napkin with the words “Have a good day, DQ” scribbled on one side in black ink.
Basically, he was wooing me and he didn’t even realize it. In some ways, that was tragic. How could I be fallingfor someone who didn’t evenmeanto make me fall? But it was happening, despite my very real knowledge that he likely wasn’t looking for anything with me. He might not want anything with anyone. He didn’t sound like anything had changed in terms of what he thought or what he wanted.
I wrote him a letter of thanks and wished I had something to offer him. My culinary skills were serviceable, but I was barely keeping myself fed and only enjoying things he brought so generously. What else did he need? As far as I could tell, he had everything he seemed to want.
By Friday afternoon, I was more than ready for a night out at Craic. I slipped into one of my favorite blue dresses with a flowy skirt and fitted bodice with sleeves. Nothing fancy, but it felt good to be out of scrubs, and I’d have quality time with my sweatpants soon since I didn’t have any shifts this weekend.
I knocked on my landlord’s door, anxious energy surging through me at the thought of seeing him again. Sure enough, when he opened up, my stomach did backflips.
“Hey, happy Friday,” I said, waving as though I wasn’t standing directly in front of him. “Um, I was wondering if you were going to happy hour tonight?”
Then I took him in—apron over his clothes and hands covered in flour.
“No, I’m not going.”
My hopes sank. “Darn. I was hoping we could hang for a while, maybe have a drink.”
His brow furrowed and his eyes shifted past me for a moment before landing back on mine. “It’s usually a little much for me there.”
I nodded. “Thought that could be a possibility. Totally get it. Just thought I’d ask.”Say it. say it, say it, say itttt.“Somaybe we could, you know, do something? Else? Another time?”
“Yes.”
The answer came so quickly, soinstantly, I beamed. “Okay, great. Let’s figure it out tomorrow, if you’re around.”
“I’m around.”
“Great.” I bit my lip to try to stifle my ridiculous smile because it was absolutely eating my face, but then I laughed because… well, I was too happy not to. “See you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dove
Thirty minutes in, I was formulating a plan to change Craic materially enough to accommodate Dorian.
Step one, did they have a party room? If so, maybe the Saint folks and us girls could tuck in there and eliminate some of the cacophony and sheer number of people surrounding us. Step two, if he was comfortable, maybe he’d try some low-key headphones or ear buds if noise levels were a trigger for him. Step three?—
“Earth to Dove. Where are you tonight?”
