Page 86 of Holiday Love
About my one-night stand.
She’s going to laugh at me.
Abort! Abort!
My heart slams in my chest, fight or flight endorphins flood my bloodstream, and I half-turn ready to flee, but then…Teddy’s voice. Calm. Steady.
Just listen.
I picture his lazy smile, the way his eyes light up when I walk out of my bedroom in the morning. How he listens, like what I say is the most important thing in the world.
Do that, I tell myself.Be like Teddy.
Maybe if I avoid the topic of work, I’ll be okay. She’ll follow my lead. That’s a good plan. A safe plan. I silently congratulate myself on being so socially savvy.
“How’s work going?” I ask her.
Oh my god.
Why did I just say that?
I briefly consider running out the door and never coming back.
She lights up. “Good! We’ve missed you.”
Is she lying? Just being nice?
I search her expression, looking for clues, but she just smiles at me, open and unguarded. I wonder if she knows why I’ve been gone. Deciding to gently probe, I ask, “Did, uh, Dr. Reynolds say anything about me?”
“No. Just that you would be out for a couple of months.” Her eyes drop, and her cheeks tinge pink.She knows something, but how to find out what?I tap my fingers on my lip, thinking.
She glances up and then away. “I thought at first maybe you were sick or something, but then I saw you here and you seemed fine, healthy.”
“So you asked around?” I say, using logic to guess what she did next. That’s what I would’ve done, if our situations were reversed.
She shifts from foot to foot, unable to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“But you were curious?” I ask gently.
“It’s just, you’re one of my favorite doctors—”
“I am?” I ask, genuinely shocked. I didn’t think I was anyone’s favoriteanything.
“Yeah, and I was a little worried.” Lindsey looks up from under her lashes. “Larry told me what happened.”
Larry.
“He’s a butt nugget.” The words shoot out before I can stop them.
Lindsey’s head jerks up, her mouth dropping open.
I slap my hand over my face. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It was weird.”
I peek through my fingers to find her laughing.Laughing! So hard she bends over with her hands on her knees.
“Butt nugget,” she wheezes between breaths. “Oh my god, he totally is.”
My cheeks lift with a smile, and soon I’m giggling too.
