CHAPTER 20
Lila
A nxiety wakes me up on Sunday. I’m disoriented and alone on Reed’s couch, and it takes me a few seconds to spot him reading across the room.
“What time is it?” I mumble, stealing a look at Ginny’s playpen. She’s still snoring in her fluffy bed, a squeaky toy lying next to her. Did Reed place it there?
He sets his book on the coffee table. “Lunchtime.”
My eyes widen. “I slept that long?”
He gives me a small smile. “Sure did.” His gaze shifts toward Ginny, and I don’t miss the worry in his face.
It’s hard for me to reconcile this insecure side of him with his usual self-confidence. He said he has no experience taking care of dogs, but for a man like Reed—a problem solver by nature, as I’ve come to realize—that shouldn’t be an issue.
There must be something else to it, something he isn’t telling me. Not that he has to, of course. We may be growing closer, but we aren’t…friends. At least, I don’t think we should be, given the power dynamic between us, no matter how right it feels to be with him.
When we got home last night, I couldn’t decide which sight was more adorable—Ginny gliding across the hallway or Reed being a helicopter puppy dad. And then I went and fell asleep on his lap because I love torturing myself.
Groaning, I sit up. My pulse jumps when I glance at my phone, suddenly remembering I never went home last night.
“ Shit ,” I mutter, quickly grabbing it to text my mom. “I’m so dumb. I didn’t tell my parents I was staying somewhere else. They must be worried sick.”
“Your mom called last night,” Reed says then, making my stomach sink for a completely different reason.
My parents know I stayed the night with Reed. Awesome.
Can this whole situation get any more mortifying?
“You’re good,” he reassures me, not looking one bit freaked out. Okay, then. “Are you hungry? I can order something in.”
I swallow back my nerves. “I should probably go home. I need to work on my thesis.”
Because that thought isn’t depressing.
“All right.” He looks back at Ginny, the exhaustion on his face mirroring mine. “What the hell am I supposed to do with her tomorrow?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I have to stop by my lab for a couple hours,” he says. “I could probably get away with working at home the rest of the day, but then I’d have to leave her to go to the youth center.”
I don’t even think about it before I cross yet another invisible line between us. “I could watch her tomorrow while you’re at the lab,” I offer. He opens his mouth, but I beat him to it. “I was going to stay home anyway or go to the library. I’ll watch her while I work.”
But he’s already shaking his head. “You won’t be able to concentrate.”
“My thesis is almost done. I just have to review the whole thing. It’ll do me good to get out of the house. Plus, I’ll work faster knowing I have limited time before she wakes up or needs something. Let’s just try it out.”
“I can’t let you do that, Lila.”
“If you don’t want me to stay at your house while you’re not here, I get it.”
“It’s not that.” He lets out a deep sigh, raking his hand through his hair. “But what happens the day after tomorrow? And every day after that? I adopted her. She isn’t your puppy to take care of.”
“Okay, how about this? I work here tomorrow while I watch her, and in the afternoon, we take her to the youth center. We can set up her playpen in your office.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I keep going. “And tomorrow, we’ll look into doggy care.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s basically like daycare for kids but for dogs,” I explain. “She will spend a few hours with other dogs—and supervised by professional trainers, obviously—while you work. You can pick her up whenever you want. I think it’s quite flexible. We can call a few dog daycare centers in the area. We’ll figure it out.”
When Reed doesn’t say anything to that, I send my dad a text, asking if he can pick me up. He replies immediately.
“My dad is coming,” I tell Reed.
“Here?”
“No, to the neighbors’ house. Yes, here.”
“Smart-ass.”
“I thought I was a criminal?”
“You’re both.”
I shake my head in amusement, reaching for the shoes I took off before we collapsed on his couch last night. “Do you have any puppy questions before I go? I mean, you can text me, but it’s always easier to explain things in person.”
“I’ll be fine.” He doesn’t sound that fine to me. Alas, if he doesn’t want to talk, I won’t force him.
We watch Ginny in silence as I think about what’s happened between us in the last twenty-four hours. He kissed the top of my head, then let me sleep on his lap while he played with my hair. And I’ve never been more confused.
Maybe he only feels somewhat responsible for my well-being because I’m his friends’ daughter, but the hopeful side of me can’t help but wonder if it’s something else.
If his heart beats a little faster than usual when he looks at me, just like mine does when I look at him.
A few moments later, my phone pings. “My dad is outside.”
He stands right after me. “Let me walk you to the door.”
We’re both careful not to wake Ginny, but the poor thing is so tired she doesn’t stop snoring.
I’m about to open the front door when Reed’s huge hand moves around me and shuts it again.
My breathing stops.
“Reed?”
The heat of his body behind mine seeps into my bones. With his arm above my head, cocooning me between his massive body and the door, my heart leaps with surprise and excitement.
His eyes resemble a raging storm when I glance back at him. His jaw ticks, and suddenly there’s not enough air in this house for me to breathe normally.
I’m very aware that my dad is right outside. I’m also very aware that Reed is still my supervisor for another month and a half.
But mostly?
I’m aware of the way my body responds to him. Of how my lips tingle, how the butterflies in my stomach flutter, how the fog in my head clears out until all I can see is him.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without you,” he rasps out, the intensity in his eyes almost unbearable. I don’t know what it means, but I like it. “Thank you, Lila. For everything.”
“It was nothing.” Why am I whispering? “Do you want me to watch her tomorrow?”
His nod is small, unsure. “Please.”
“Okay.”
Lila, stop whispering.
He pulls away slowly, and I take it as my cue to burst this weird, alluring bubble we keep finding ourselves in.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, giving him a smile he doesn’t return.
He dips his chin once. “Text me when you get home.”
Then he opens the door for me, letting in the cold afternoon air. I try not to die inside as I make my way to my dad’s car, but I do a little when he waves at Reed behind me.
They have been friends long before I exchanged a single word with Reed. It’s not weird that they acknowledge each other.
Considering what happened just now, I’d argue it is.
It doesn’t help that the first thing my dad tells me when I get in his car is, “You seem to be spending a lot of time with Reed lately.”
I’m officially dead inside.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I can’t bring myself to look at him as I buckle myself in and he drives away.
“Just an observation.”
“Are you mad at me?”
He doesn’t sound angry—my dad rarely gets angry in the first place—but there’s a weird edge to his voice I don’t like.
“I’m not mad at you, little sunshine,” he reassures me. “Just worried. I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
His unspoken warning makes the butterflies in my stomach die at once. Because he’s right.
Because if someone finds out I’m spending time with my internship supervisor outside of the youth center, at his house , my worst nightmare will come true.
But Ginny.
“We found an injured puppy at the park yesterday. Reed adopted her,” I explain. “I was just helping him adjust because he’s never had a dog before and was kind of freaking out about the whole thing.”
My dad looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “You know I don’t have a problem with Reed. He’s a friend. It’s the fact that he’s your superior that worries me. You know what kind of trouble I’m talking about.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, wondering if I’d be okay if I jumped out of the car right now. Probably not. “I’ll be careful.”
The fact that my dad has voiced his concern should probably deter me from wanting to spend any more time with Reed outside of our academic obligations, but I suddenly realize I do want to.
I want to see Ginny, and I want to spend time with Reed.
I have avoided him for too long, and I’ve finally realized my mistake. I was missing out not only on an amazing professional who can teach me endless knowledge, but also on a good man who cares about me. Maybe not in the same way I’m starting to care about him, but he makes me feel comfortable and capable.
I like being around him.
For once in my life, the only voice that matters is mine—and it’s telling me that getting close to Reed is worth every risk.