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Lucas
It was all I could do not to follow Brooke out and ask exactly what they’d actually said about me. But to do so would show my inner panic.
Forcing a smile, I focused on Meredith. “How are you, Momma? How’s Noah?”
“I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered. Noah is getting light therapy, and Andy is over there watching. I’ll head over in a bit. How are you?” She was watching me in a way that made me uncomfortable.
“Fine.”
“Uh-huh.” She looked unconvinced. “You like her. Don’t you?”
“What? No. We’re friends.” The type of friend I’d had incredible sex with last night, but I wasn’t about to admit anything to Meredith. Although I knew she meant well, she’d turn into an instant matchmaker if she got a sniff of potential.
She sighed in disappointment. “That’s what she said too. And hey, maybe it’s good for you to hang out with a woman you’re not actively trying to ditch within twenty-four hours.”
Ouch. Following my divorce, I’d vowed to keep sex casual and without any sort of ties. But with Brooke, I’d broken every rule I’d ever made. Yet I couldn’t regret last night. Not at all.
After my visit with Meredith, I went about my day, seeing five scheduled patients. But while work typically kept me focused, it wasn’t happening today.
It didn’t help when I arrived home, and everywhere I glanced made me think of Brooke. The kitchen table, the bed with tangled sheets, the entry where I’d dived into her pussy. This was why I shouldn’t have brought her into my space.
And of course there was the pesky outstanding issue of boundaries. We hadn’t established those last night. She’d shut me up in spectacular form by walking out so casually, but I had a nagging feeling she might believe a second night, in my house no less, could mean more than it did.
At nine o’clock that evening I dialed her number, bracing myself for the suggestion she come over tonight. I might desire her in my bed again, but I wouldn’t send mixed messages by inviting her over. I’d already broken my rules and wasn’t about to do it again.
“Hello?” Loud music nearly drowned out her voice.
“Hi. It’s Lucas.”
“Hold on. I can’t hear you,” she shouted into the phone.
Where the hell was she? In a nightclub? So much for my assumption she was at home, thinking about me.
“Hey, sorry, I can hear you better out here.”
“Where are you?”
“In Vegas. Everything okay with Meredith and the baby?”
“Yeah. They’re great. How are you in Vegas?” Sure, it was a short flight or a four-hour drive, but she hadn’t said a word about going there.
“My best friend moved here, and I decided to visit.”
“Sounds like you’re at a club?”
“Yeah, a dance club.”
The vision of her showcasing her body on the dance floor for the benefit of other men sent a shot of jealousy through me. “Sounds fun. I won’t keep you. I called to ensure things were good between us. I didn’t mean for you to have to Uber this morning. I would’ve driven you home.”
“I didn’t mind.”
“So we’re good? Back to friends?”
“Yep, we’re good. And back to friends.”
Now that I had my answer and knew she wasn’t at home waiting on my call, I should have hung up, but instead I found myself grasping at straws to prolong the conversation. “You still have my favorite coffee cup?”
“I do indeed.”
