“Thank you for today, Arthur. For dinner, for this.” Her smile is small, but it’s content.
“Anytime,” I say honestly.
“Goodnight.” She gives me a little wave before turning around to walk inside, and Luther loses his shit. Attempting to get up, he barks, and the way Alice jumps and tenses at the sound has me mumbling a few swear words at my dog.
She looks back, putting on a brave face. But as she walks away, her arms wrap around her middle like the other day when she stepped out of her Jeep, and I decide right then and there I’m gonna make this better for her. Because after sharing one dinner with Alice, I don’t like the idea of her having a roommate who isn’t me.
FOURTEEN
i can’t wait for my lesson
Alice
One dinner. We had one dinner together, and it feels like we went back to the two people who met at the bar. Before I barfed up everything in my stomach, that is.
I wanted to dislike him after the way he accused me of being drunk or on drugs. I wanted to never look at his judgy face again when I walked away with every intention of leaving. But there was something so honest and earnest about his apology. And I saw that again last night when he explained he’s been cooking since he was a kid. I made such a big deal out of something that’s so simple to him, but the thing is, he doesn’t understand how something insignificant to him can be monumental to me.
It’s clear Arthur is a man of actions, but not necessarily words. Though I’m sure he could be good with those, too, if he wanted to. I’m sure he’s good with a lot of things, if the way my body reacted to his closeness while putting dishes away is anything to go by. Geez, I need to put some distance between us. I need boundaries here, because wework together, and I’m not staying in Ojai, and it’s… a bad idea.
I go to bed with every intention of not thinking about Arthur, but as I fall asleep, he’s the only thing on my mind.
Owen and Maeveare joining our meeting today, so I know I can’t cancel again, even if the urge is strong, because the thought of being in such proximity to Arthur in any setting has my stomach in knots. Delicious, warm, and fuzzy knots I don’t exactly hate.
Despite my feelings, logically I know I need to keep my distance, especially when we’re at work. And I’ve been good at that.
I see him for the first time all day at two o’clock when he walks into my office, taking off that damn baseball hat and running his fingers through his hair. I wonder what that feels like.
Hard no, Alice.
I clear my throat, determined to stay as far away from him as possible and to separate our responsibilities with the horses in every way I can think of.
“Hey there, roomie,” he says in that casual way of his.
“Hi, Arthur.” Pulling my notebook closer to me, I fidget with my pen, waiting for him to sit down. He opens his mouth to say something else when Owen and Maeve walk in, whispering something to one another. Rosemary is a few steps behind them.
“Hello, lovelies,” Maeve says brightly. “So nice for us all to be together, finally.” They take their seats at the table, and Owen, ever the efficient one, opens his laptop. “Arthur,I take it you’ve been a wonderful roommate to our delightful Alice?” The way she calls me ‘our Alice’ makes me feel warm inside. I’ve spoken with Maeve several times since I arrived, and she’s always been kind.
“I’m doing my best. She’s easy to be around,” Arthur answers easily. Well, crap, this is awkward. I don’t handle compliments well, and surely it’s written all over my face because Owen quickly pulls us back to our reason for being here.
“Glad it’s going well. Maevey and I want to discuss the new horses we’ll need for the therapy program.” He clicks on something, squinting at his screen. “Alice, I know you agree Scout will be a good fit, but we’d like at least a couple more. Rosemary and Arthur have been working on a shortlist, but ultimately, we feel like it’s something you should all agree on.”
“Oh, well, I’d be happy to give my input, sure.” I’ve never been asked to do this before, but I’ve worked with horses in a therapeutic setting long enough to know pretty quickly when they have the right temperament.
“Great. Art, can you set up a trip for you three to go back and see some of the horses you liked? You’re the experts, so I’m confident you’ll bring back the perfect additions to the roster.” Owen types something, likely notes he’ll add to the software we use to keep meetings and tasks organized. He’s insanely techy. It’s awesome. But I’m stuck on what he said.
“A trip?” I keep my features as schooled as I can, but darn it, it’s hard.
“Yes. We think you should spend some time with these horses to make sure you’re comfortable with them.” Rosemary nods, unfazed by my surprise.
“Plus, it’ll be fun! You’re going to be cooped up here, setting things up a little while longer, so this ought to be anice little break. And a chance for the two of you to bond, too.” Maeve swings a finger between me and Arthur and smiles innocently, but Owen sighs, throwing her a sideways glance.
“Um. Okay.” I think about what this means professionally rather than personally because personal feelings have no place here. “Thank you for asking me to be a part of this. It means a lot that you trust me to be the one starting this program alongside you, you both know that.” I’ve told them before, but it bears repeating.
“Thank you, Alice. We couldn’t do this without you.” Maeve reaches out and squeezes my forearm.
“Kid, I don’t know how many ways I can tell you that you were by far the best candidate for this job, and we had been looking formonths.” Rosemary stresses the last word, reminding me what she’s told me every single day since I started here, which is thattheyfeel so luckyIaccepted this job. Every time she says it, I think someone is going to come around the corner with a camera and say, “Gotcha! Just kidding!” because it honestly doesn’t seem plausible they would be the lucky ones.
Owen nods in agreement before adding, “Other than this, I think everything else is running smoothly, but are there any questions or concerns either of you has so far?”
