AllFreeNovel
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GIF of Pepe Le Pew with heart eyes
Aiden
You like her asshole
Theo
You do
You guys are no help
I put my phone on the desk and ignored the chimes of incoming texts. So what if I liked Rowan? It wouldn’t change the fact she’s my patient or that she’s leaving Peace Falls as soon as possible. She wasn’t even my usual type. My body might disagree, but I wasn’t a hormonal teenager anymore. I could control myself. I was a professional, damn it.
I left the phone buzzing across my desk and returned to Rowan just as the treadmill finished. “Good job,” I said. “Let’s cool off with more stretches.”
“Is everything ok, Caleb?” she asked.
She would stop calling me Dr. Cardoso when I needed the professional distance the most. The fact she’d called me Caleb instead of Cal felt even more intimate. Since I share a first name with my dad, I’ve used a nickname my whole life. Caleb sounded like a pet name, at least when Rowan said it.
“Yeah. You’re doing great.”
And she was. I was the problem.
“Feel free to play with Skye in the house if you walk her later. It’s going to be really hot. I don’t want either of you overheating.”
“Ok,” she said and gave me a small smile powerful enough to knock me over.
Chapter ten
Rowan
I pulled into thegrocery store parking lot and found a spot near the cart return. After two weeks at home, I’d finally weaned myself off the pain medications. Being able to drive myself felt like a gift, but I still wasn’t as independent as I wanted. Brad and I had shared a Honda Civic, and rather than fight him, I’d left it in DC for the lawyers to work out. Mom had graciously offered me her station wagon, but I only drove it on the days I had physical therapy. Otherwise, Poppy or Chris had to drop whatever they were doing to fetch me since they refused to let me catch an Uber like a normal person. Chris quoted an online article he’d read about sexual predators and rideshares. Poppy just reminded me I was broke and should save money where I could. Mom had been working late into the evenings and caught a ride with her assistant manager when I had the station wagon. I felt like a burden. They were all so busy, and I wanted to scratch something off their to-do lists. With the Sullivan Street 4thof July block party in two days, the least I could do wasstock up on the groceries we’d need for our contribution to the potluck.
I kept the air conditioner running and dialed Red Blossoms. Mom answered on the third ring, slightly out of breath like she’d just run across the shop.
“Hey, Mom. Sorry to bother you,” I said.
“Is everything ok?”
“I’m fine. I’m at the grocery store. What are we making for the block party?”
“Oh, sweetie, don’t worry about that. I have plenty of time to run to the store tomorrow. No, the Carson Wedding delivery is tomorrow. I’ll have time the day after.”
“On the 4thof July?”
“Shoot,” Mom said rustling some papers. “That’s the Silverman wedding delivery. I suppose you should grab a few things. I usually supply the dessert.”
“A dessert or all the desserts?”
Mom blew out a breath into the phone and the tinny sound made my ears ache. “All.”
“Why on earth did you volunteer to make dessert for sixty people at the height of wedding season?”
“You know I bake when I’m nervous. It seemed practical at the time, but I’ve got so many events, I’m too busy to worry. The pandemic delayed weddings, and more people than ever want summer receptions.”
Mom couldn’t bake that many desserts without pulling an all-nighter or two. “I’ll do it. I bake when I’m nervous too.”
Mom snapped into her mother hen cluck, as Poppy called it, since it was both higher pitched than Mom’s usual voice and ran without interruption. “Are you nervous about your job search? Don’t be. You know you can stay with us as long as you need. I love having you home. Or is it Brad? Don’t waste a second worrying about that man or what people think. I’m so sorry,Rowan. I haven’t been there for you like I should. The summer is such a busy time and—”
