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He had to be gentle. He couldn’t order her not to do that again. Slow and steady.
“Come on, Duchess. We won’t bite.”
She raised her eyebrows at that. He wondered what she was thinking. Leading her forward, he hastily pulled out her chair, pushing her in. Right in. Until she was squashed against the table.
“She might want to breathe, man,” Elias said dryly.
“Shit, sorry.” He drew her chair back slightly.
She smiled at him nervously while his two best friends gaped at him like he was an alien. He might be possessed. He’d never been this nervous.
But he didn’t want to mess this up.
Reaching for the platter of meat, he held it out to her, frowning when she refused it.
Again, he quelled the urge to just fill her plate.
Instead, he grabbed the potatoes. She took one and some salad, then smiled as Sterling started talking about his shopping trip today and how he’d had his ass pinched by some blue-haired woman with her hair in rollers. By the time he was finished, she was giggling.
Damn, he loved that. Loved the sound of her happiness.
“You’ve got it so bad,” Elias whispered to him as they washed the dishes.
“Yeah. I do.”
Elias’ eyebrows rose. “Maybe you should be sleeping in the big house then.”
“Not sure if she’d be comfortable with that.” He looked out the double doors to the porch where she sat with Sterling. She seemed uncomfortable with just him. Her gaze met his and she started to relax.
“I think she’d be okay with it,” Elias commented. “I’ll go grab my stuff. Didn’t unpack anyway. Why don’t you ask her to watch a movie or something?”
He took a deep breath. He could try that, right? What was the worst that could happen? She’d reject him?
Where was that biopsy result?
He’d been here for days, waiting. Maybe he should have gone into the appointment with his mother, but he hadn’t wanted to embarrass her. He couldn’t stay much longer. His missed Wishingbone, his friends, Juliet.
Sitting on the side of his bed, he knew he should get ready for dinner. His mother always insisted on formal dress and abhorred lateness. But he felt exhausted.
It wasn’t just from being here with his parents and their relentless badgering about his job, although that was a big part of it. He worked long hours at the hospital, longer than any of his colleagues. An attempt to atone for past sins, but it was wearing on him.
He was lonely. And tired of it.
Grabbing his phone, he started flicking through the photos. And he realized most of them were of her. Juliet, smiling shyly into the camera. Juliet, at Wishingbone’s annual fair holding a giant teddy bear he’d won for her.
Call her. She’ll cheer you up.
Just as he was about to bring up her contact, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. He sighed as he saw who it was. It was getting harder and harder to hold onto his anger towards Reuben. He guessed it was easier to blame him for everything that happened two years ago than it was to actually deal with his guilt.
“Where are you?” Reuben asked as soon as he answered.
“Hello to you too, asshole.”
“Xavier, I’m dealing with a lot at the moment, I don’t have time for pleasantries. Juliet said your mother is ill?”
“She found a lump. I took her to the doctor on Monday.”
“What did he say?”
