Page 37 of Hold Me Instead
“Toothless?”
“My cat.” She draped her purse over her raincoat and gave him a look. “You gonna be alright finishing this on your own?”
He scoffed. “I could finish this in my sleep.”
“That’s what we might accuse you of,” she said, heading to the door. He laughed, and she stopped just before disappearing into the hall. “You know, Jasmine has a lot on her plate. We don’t have time to hold your hand, Dr. Lee.”
Zachary dipped his head, grinning. “Understood, Dr. Harris.”
“Hm,” she hummed, a smirk playing.
The room bounced with light, and a clap of thunder sounded, this time closer.
“Yikes. Okay, I should really go,” she said.
“Be careful,” he said. “Um. Of course you will be. It’s just…habit. Dad says that to us all the time.”
“I know,” she said softly.
“Right.” He tapped his desk, brow furrowed at the thought that his dad went around saying that to other people. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time he’d heard his father say it. The habit had been instilled in Zachary since he was little, so it had felt natural to do it with Anna. By the time they were married though, she’d rolled her eyes at the sentiment, getting insulted that he thought she wasn’t a great driver. Embarrassingly, he’d never considered the words from that pointof view before. Saying them now, to Charlie, he felt an entirely different meaning attached. Possibly the one his dad had meant all along.
“Zachary?”
He looked up at her.
“Thanks.”
He swallowed with a small nod.
“Goodnight.” Her smile was small, but the sadness from earlier had lessened.
“Night,” he said, the word soft.
She stepped backward into the hall until she was out of sight.
Though she definitely wasn’t out of mind.
Chapter 11
Charlie
Anotherrestlessnight,thoughthis one wasn’t consumed by concern for Daniel’s health or the practice. Instead, this restless night bulldozed in with the storm.
And thoughts of Zachary.
She couldn’t get comfortable, not when every time she closed her eyes she pictured his, gazing at her with such concern, wanting to help in some way. In his protective embrace, she’d been eager to accept it.
His hugs were better than she remembered.
Toothless had been no help as Charlie had paced, gazing at her through sleepy golden eyes from her curled up spot on the bed. The sleek black cat did offer a snuggle session when she’d finally crawled in beside her. After one too many position adjustments on Charlie’s part, though, Toothless had abandoned her to sleep in the living room. Which left Charlie physically alone, wishing further that those powerful arms and woodsy scent were surrounding her again.
***
She went into Saturday morning determined to be normal—which basically meant not giving off vibes she’d been up all night thinkingabout him. So when she arrived early, confident from her pep talk on the drive over, she was thrown to see a Dorothy’s Bakery pastry bag and coffee on her desk, a small note propped up against them.
It’s never too early for cookies. Z.
Charlie snatched up the bag, releasing a groan of pleasure when she pulled out the snickerdoodle. “Still warmmm,” she muttered, sinking her teeth into the cushiony baked good. Steam billowed from the coffee cup as she removed the lid stopper and took the smallest sip, the smooth nutty coffee mingling with cinnamon on her tongue.
