Page 72 of Something Borrowed

A deep groove creased on Cal’s brow.

Please say yes, Vic thought. Please.

Chapter 34

Vic had asked him on a date! It was taking a bit for it to sink in. Should he say—of course, he was going to say yes. Who was he trying to kid? But what if she changed her mind again, wanted to go back to only friends? Then they would, simple as that. He’d never push for something she wasn’t comfortable with. Okay, then—

He nodded finally.

“I’d like that a lot, Vic. Thank you. What time should I pick you up?”

Vic’s heart-shaped face, which had been so serious, showed her dimples as she broke into a wide grin, looking as transparently happy as he felt. “It’s an afternoon drop-in thing, starting around 1:00 and going until 7:00. I don’t think people stay for the whole time though. Maybe come by around 2:00, so we’re there earlyish but not freakishly so?”

“Sounds good.” He knew he was grinning just as widely as she was. He felt lost in the warm depths of her eyes—and surprised, too, by the desire he saw there. The attraction he’d thought was all one-sided after that first night was still there. Was definitely reciprocal. His insides leapt a little.

But he couldn’t keep staring into her eyes all night. Even if he wanted to.

On a whim, so wanting to touch her, he caught her hand and raised it to his mouth. “Until Boxing Day, then.” He kissed her knuckles. “I look forward to it.”

Vic inhaled when his lips touched her skin, and the sound caused a feeling of pressure low in Cal’s center.

She smiled at him and shook her head. “That was—you are—whew.”

He wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by that, but he had a general enough idea that he wanted to fist pump the air and shout, “Whoo-hoo!”

That urge was enough to get him moseying (Moseying? Really, man?) before he did or said anything super embarrassing. “So . . . see you in three sleeps. I can’t wait. In the meantime, have a good night—and Merry Christmas.”

Cal waited until he turned the corner at the end of Vic’s street to be extra sure she wouldn’t see him from the porch. He didn’t want to risk looking any goofier or more desperate than he probably already did. When he was certain he was out of sight, he fist-pumped the air like the slightly dorky, ever keen and optimistic teenager he’d once been and perhaps had never fully left behind, after all. Vic had asked him on a date. For real this time.

“Yes!” he exclaimed in the chilly cab of the truck. “Yes.”

He was still grinning when he pulled into the driveway of his dark house.

Chapter 35

Christmas Eve finally dawned—if you could call the slate gray sky “dawn.” Vic stretched, relieved that she could finally let herself climb out of bed for the day if she wanted to.

She’d read somewhere that resting was almost as good for a body as sleeping, so she consoled herself with that info when insomnia hit hard. She also let the fact that it was likely a symptom of menopause—thanks for that nugget, Madeline! How on earth hadn’t that occurred to her on her own?—instead of a sign of impending terminal illness ease her worry.

And another upside: the thoughts rabbiting through her brain all night and bouncing her awake just when she thought she might doze off were mostly good.

Cal. Cal! Deep inhale. Hold. Exhale. She felt so nervous—and so simultaneously happy—about their upcoming date. She just didn’t want to screw it up by being . . . herself.

Audra. Mixed bag. She’d been a bit mellower compared to her usual, but that was almost worrying in itself. Still, Vic felt increasingly confident she’d be able to get her to see a doctor in the New Year, so that was something.

Madeline and Gwen. She still couldn’t understand why, but they genuinely seemed to like her!

Michael—okay, thoughts around him were still painful, whether in the lonely dark of middle-night or in the soft gray of approaching day. She still hadn’t received a response to her email, and yet . . . she was still happy she’d sent it. It was, at least, honest—something she’d rarely been in relationships and was going to try her best to be from here on out, especially with herself.

She yawned—of course, feeling tired now that her alarm was about to go off, but she needed to get up and do some breathing and stretching, part of the “regulation tools” she’d been learning about and trying to incorporate into her life. Then she’d need to shake a leg to get to the shop in time.

A final thought hit her. One that made her jump out of bed—then regret the quick movement as her back and knees both complained at the abruptness of her leap into motion. The brief twinge couldn’t hold her back, though.

Cat! She’d totally forgotten there was a little animal friend—well, hopefully a friend, or, at least, not a foe—prowling around the house. She needed to find it, feed it, and alert Audra to its presence lest the woman put out rat poison or something. First things first, though, prepare Audra.

She found her where she’d been the night before—still in her chair, as if she hadn’t moved. That was concerning.

“Good morning, Mom.”