AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I patted his back. “Well, of course.”
When he left, I felt…euphoric. Like the moment right after an orgasm. Well, maybe not that good, but still, I felt light and free. I didn’t know how Grace was feeling about me, but I had to talk to her about it. I wondered if or even when she’d agree to see me again.
I left my office to check on Jacob and was thinking of running down to Grace’s office when Kade stopped me in the hall.
“That therapy of yours seems to be working,” he said.
“Yep.” I’d had a nice heart-to-heart with Chase, but I wasn’t sure Kade had a heart, so I was going to keep my insights from counseling to myself.
“Of course, that sexy prim therapist is probably easy to work with.”
Heat flooded every cell of my body. I clenched my teeth. “I’m not cured yet. You keep your dirty mind off Grace.”
Kade laughed and slapped me on the back. “Whoa there, big bro. I’m just glad you’re doing better. That old Hunter was an asshole.” Then he walked off. I would know I was fully in control of myself the day that I could be around Kade and not want to kick his ass. That day was not today.
20
Grace
Wednesday
Just because I had several years of post-secondary education plus another two years of supervised training in understanding and helping people, didn’t mean I was a perfect person. I was far from it, and I didn’t always have the objectivity to realize my own problems. Hunter’s comments about how I’d essentially tossed my ethics and virginity aside for him, played through my head all night. Added to that was the feelings I’d been having for a while, that private practice work wasn’t fulfilling to me. That led to guilt, because what did it say about me that helping people live better lives through counseling wasn’t my passion?
I forced myself to sift through my feelings, and a couple of things became clear. One, I didn’t want to stop seeing Hunter; and two, it was time to assess what I needed to do professionally to feel more fulfilled.
Making the decision to keep seeing Hunter came with its own set of problems. I believed he was sincere when he said he thought we had something, but that didn’t mean he loved me or that whatever was between us would last. That meant there was a chance, a pretty high one, that I’d get my heart broken. When it happened, it would be worse than what happened with Mike, I was sure. A part of me wanted to protect myself and continue my plan to avoid entanglements with Hunter. My brain reminded me how poorly that was going, since I’d had sex with him twice.
But the therapist side of me urged me to take the chance. The most fulfilled people were those who didn’t cower to risks, and instead, grabbed life by the horns and lived. Hunter might hurt me, or he might be the love of my life, or maybe I’d be the one to hurt him. Gosh, I hoped not. What I knew for sure was that in the short run at least, I’d be happy, and that was worth indulging.
So, the next day, after my final client in the afternoon, I headed up the elevator to Hunter’s office. I was scared to death. What if he changed his mind about me? Or what if he didn’t really feel as strongly as I thought he felt?
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I reminded myself.
The secretary eyed me with disdain, which I thought was strange, but I ignored it since she announced me to Hunter. Luckily, he granted me access to his office right away.
We’d always met in the special office down the hall, so I’d never spent time in his office. Similar to the one we had used for counseling, his office had a couch and chairs, a desk, and a large window overlooking Manhattan. It was masculine without being stark, comfortable without being too feminine.
He smiled wide and had a sparkle in his eyes. He was having a good day. I was so pleased to see it, even though I worried it meant he’d forgotten or didn’t care that I’d kicked him out of my home last night.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. Oh, maybe he was smiling because he was happy to see me. What did it say about me that I was always thinking the worst? He motioned for me to sit on the couch and then sat next to me.
“You seem happy today,” I said.
“Seeing you cheers me up. Plus, I just had a good conversation with Chase.”
“Oh?” The counselor in me was filled with questions. I squashed them down. How would a woman who cared for a man react?
“He notices that I’m calmer,” Hunter said.
