Chapter 14
For the first time in several days, David had no patients spending the night at the clinic. The worst of the stomach flu seemed to be over, thank goodness. It had been quite a siege, the worst he’d experienced since taking over the island’s medical practice from Cal Maitland.
Even though every muscle in his body ached from days of nonstop work, he wasn’t tired and had no desire to go home alone.
Hearing about Laura McCarthy’s unplanned pregnancy had reminded David once again of where he should’ve been in his own life—married to Laura’s cousin Janey with a child on the way.
Except Janey was married to Joe Cantrell and expecting his baby, not David’s. Lately, David had realized he was tired of thinking about Janey and all the ways he’d screwed things up with her. He was tired of dwelling on what should’ve been and ready to focus on the future.
And more and more, he found himself thinking of Daisy.
He wasn’t sure he was ready for another full-blown relationship, but maybe it was time to start dating again.
Nowhere was it written that a date had to lead to forever.
So if he asked Daisy to dinner—a real dinner at a restaurant—it didn’t mean he was making promises to her that he might not be able to keep, did it?
She’d been so nice to him at a time when her own life was in disarray.
If he took her to dinner to say thank you, he wouldn’t be starting something he couldn’t finish, would he?
After spending his entire adult life with the same woman, he’d never done the casual-dating thing before, so the rules were somewhat of a mystery to him.
One thing was patently clear, however—he was definitely overthinking this. It was a meal, not a marriage, for crying out loud. Disgusted with himself, he got into his car and headed for Daisy’s place in town.
By the time he parked in front of her house, he’d nearly talked himself out of the whole thing.
But he soldiered on, took the rickety steps to her porch two at a time and rapped on the door, half hoping she wasn’t there.
Then he wouldn’t have to follow through and could have a stress-free, relaxing night at home.
He was about to give up when the door swung open, and there she was. Her hair was in a ponytail and her clothes were covered in various colors of paint.
She seemed pleased but surprised to see him. “David. I wasn’t expecting you, as you can tell,” she said with a delicate, sweet laugh. “I’m doing some painting.”
“So I can see. I’m sorry to bother you. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d see if you were interested in dinner, but you’re busy.”
“Not that busy.”
She had a way of making him feel better about himself. He didn’t know what she did or how she did it, but he always felt better when he was with her.
“Do you want some help with the painting?”
“You don’t feel like doing that after how many days at the clinic?”
“Four or five. I lost count.”
“Give me fifteen minutes to clean up, and we’ll have dinner.
” She stepped back from the door and gestured for him to follow her inside where the odor of fresh paint was pervasive.
“I was fixing the hole Truck put in the wall, and once I got going, I decided to change the color.” She took a measuring look at the dark orange wall. “What do you think?”
“It’s not one you see every day.”
“I know,” she said with a laugh. “You probably think I’m crazy.”
“Not at all. I like it.”
“You don’t have to say that. I’m not sure I like it. I’d hoped it would be warm and welcoming, but it’s just kinda…orange.”
He laughed. “That it is, but you might like it better when you finish.”
“Maybe. What do you feel like eating? Pizza?”
Watching her talk about the paint had him oddly captivated, which gave him the courage to take a gamble. “I had something a little nicer in mind. Maybe Stephanie’s?”
“Oh.”
“That doesn’t sound good to you?”
“It sounds expensive. I don’t need that if you don’t.”
“It’s not that I need it. I thought it would be fun, and you might enjoy it. After all the nights you’ve fed me lately, I wanted to return the favor.”
“Pizza would be fine.”
“I’ve heard such raves about Stephanie’s, but I haven’t had time to try it yet,” he said, hoping to cajole her.
“I don’t have anything to wear there.”
David wanted to shoot himself for not thinking of that. “No problem. We can go there another time.” Great, he thought, commit to a second date when this one was starting off so well.
“I might have one thing that would work.”
“We can go wherever you want. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable.”
She shocked the hell out of him when she went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I know, and you didn’t. I’ll be quick.”
After she dashed upstairs to change, he stood rooted to the spot where she’d left him, his cheek still tingling from her impulsive kiss. If she could unman him with a simple kiss to the cheek, what would a real kiss with her be like?
He’d never kissed anyone but Janey. And the woman he’d cheated on her with, of course.
Remembering that incident jarred him out of his thoughts about kissing Daisy, and he wandered over to plop down on the old sofa she’d once delightedly told him she found abandoned by the side of the road outside of town. He recalled her pleasure in telling him about the find.
At some point, if this went anywhere, he’d have to tell her he’d cheated on Janey. After what she’d been through with her abusive ex-boyfriend, she deserved to know the truth about what she’d be getting with him.
“Let’s see how dinner goes before you worry about emptying your closet of skeletons,” he muttered.
True to her word, fifteen minutes later she came skipping down the stairs wearing a pretty summer dress and carrying a sweater. “I hope this is okay.”
He stood to greet her. “You look lovely, as always.” Extending his arm to her, he said, “Shall we?”
She looked up at him with big, trusting eyes and curled her hand around his arm. “Yes, please.”
Grace gave Evan seven days and seven nights to bury himself in his work before she went to bring him home. Driving to the studio, she was nervous about what she might find there. In all the months she’d spent with Evan, she’d never once been nervous about seeing him.
Until now.
She cringed as the overgrown brush scraped against the side of her car, adding to the scratches from the last time she’d been here a couple of weeks ago, before the accident that had changed everything.
He hadn’t been the same since then, and she was determined to bring him home for at least one night so they could reconnect.
She hoped he’d be happy to see her.
The old motorcycle of Mac’s that Evan had been using was parked in the driveway, if you could call it that. While the building had been fully refurbished and was ready for business, the grounds needed some major work.
Grace stepped inside and gave her eyes a minute to adjust to the near darkness. She followed a light to the back of the studio where she found Evan in his office bent over a laptop. She knew a moment of relief when she realized he was here alone.
“Hey, stranger,” she said.
“Grace? What’re you doing here?”
His eyes were red and rimmed with fatigue, his hair was standing on end, and it had been days since he last shaved. The poor guy was working himself to death. “Looking for you.”
He sat back and gestured for her to come in. Rather than take one of the visitor chairs, however, she went around his desk and slid onto his lap. His arms encircled her waist, and Grace snuggled up to him, breathing in his comforting, familiar scent.
“Missed you,” she said.
“I’ve missed you, too. I’m sorry I’ve been spending so much time here. There’s an endless amount of stuff that has to get done before we officially open next week.”
“I know, but I wondered if I might be able to lure you home just for tonight.”
“I don’t think I can, babe. I’ve got all these invoices—”
Grace kissed the words right off his lips, going for broke with a kiss designed to remind him of what would be waiting for him at home. “Please?”
“Aww, baby, what am I supposed to say when you ask me like that?”
“How about, ‘Yes, Grace, I’d love to go home and sleep with you tonight.’”
He smiled and kissed the end of her nose. “Yes, Grace, I’d love to go home and sleep with you tonight.”
“Excellent.”
He squeezed her tight before he released her. “You’re full of beans tonight.”
“I’m lonely for you.”
When they were both standing, he embraced her again, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to neglect you.”
“Have you been hiding out here?”
Perplexed by the question, he said, “Hiding from you?”
“Not from me, but from something else maybe?”
“I’m not hiding, Grace. I’m working. I promise.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
She waited while he shut down all the equipment and locked everything up. Outside, she watched him glance at the motorcycle with a bit of trepidation. “How about I drive?” she asked. “I can bring you back in the morning before work.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’re exhausted, Ev. Let me drive you home.”
“I won’t say no to that.”
“You need to do something about this landscaping.”
“I’ve got my friend Alex Martinez coming tomorrow.”
“Is he related to the Martinez Garden people?”
“One of their sons. I went to school with him and his brother Paul. Alex is a master gardener. He worked for a time for the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington. He came back to the island after his mother got sick, because Paul needed help running the business.”
“Is his mom Marion Martinez?”
“Yes, I think that’s her name. Do you know her?”
“I haven’t met her, but her sons come into the pharmacy. Nice-looking guys.”
“So now you’re checking out the customers, Ms. Ryan?”
Grace smiled at his proprietary tone. “I might be madly in love with my sexy boyfriend, but I’m not blind or dead.”
He leaned across the console to nibble on her neck. “Madly in love, huh? That boyfriend of yours is one lucky bastard.”
“I keep telling him that, but sometimes I wonder if he knows it.”