Page 10 of All I Want Is Love
Barkley obviously likes him, too.
“Nice. Your kitchen is pretty well stocked,” he says.
I feel the usual twinge in my chest, remembering how Aspen went out of his way to make me feel welcomed. “Thanks to Aspen,” I admit.
“Oh, right, it was him,” Soren says. “I think Robin helped, too.”
“Really?” I ask, eyeing him curiously. “Did you also?” I am not sure why I am asking. Am I hoping for him to say he did?
“Yes,” he says with a smile, and his face has that serious yet kind expression again that makes it hard to look at him for too long. “I helped with the furniture.”
“You are all so nice.”
“Aspen is our best friend,” he explains with a smile. He takes his glasses off to clean them with a tissue, a thoughtful expression on his face. “And he was over the moon that you decided to move close to him.”
“Is that true?” I ask quietly. I’d hate being a burden to my brother, but I don’t say it out loud. Bad enough that Soren already saw my worst side both yesterday and today. I don’t want to throw a pity party now.
Soren smiles warmly. “He was so happy, and he talked nonstop about you. So, obviously Robin and I almost died of curiosity.”
“He must have been worried,” I mutter, feeling a twinge of guilt.
“He was,” Soren answers honestly.
“Did he tell you what happened?”
“No, and we didn’t ask,” Soren admits, looking at me thoughtfully. “I will not ask now either.”
“Thank you.”
“So...” Soren puts his glasses back on and then takes his business card out of his pocket. “WhenBarkleyneeds something,” he says. “Whatever it is, even if he just wants to talk or hang out, tell him he can call me.”
I look at his card, battling with myself. I hate relying on someone else. It’s bad enough Aspen is constantly worried about me, but bothering other people on top of that is something else. I don’t know Soren much. All I know is that he is handsome, and a vet, which is such a green flag to me.
Both he and Robin are so nice, and I don’t know that I deserve it.
“For Barkley,” I say tentatively.
“If you… Barkley doesn’t want to call Aspen, for whatever reason, he can reach out to me.”
I give myself a metaphorical kick in the butt and accept his card. It would just be impolite not to. “Thank you.”
“So, breakfast now? Finally?” Soren asks, grabbing a pan and some eggs.
“Yes, I am quite hungry. I will give Barkley his food first.”
“You feed Barkley, and I put something together for us,” he tells me.
I do as he told me, focusing on Barkley first, who swallows his huge portion of food within seconds before dropping down again and falling asleep. Seems like as long as food and cuddles are coming, he will be happy.
Soren and I have just started to eat when I hear the creak of the door. Barkley is too lazy to move, but wags his tail. “Aspen?” I call out.
“Yes, it’s me.” My brother peeks into the room, blinking in surprise when he sees Soren. “I didn’t expect you here,” he says.
“Oh, I just helped Leo clean up themess,” he says lightly.
I can’t help but chuckle.
“Is this a joke I am not getting?” Aspen pretends to be upset, but soon just grins. He pats my head before grabbing a plate. “Did Soren already terrorize you with his jokes?”
