Not in front of his son. Get it together, Willa.
“Well, your dad is very brave,” I say to Ben, finishing up the bandage. “And this looks great. You’re all set.”
“Do you like cookies?” Ben asks suddenly.
“I... yes? Of course I like cookies.”
“Daddy makes the best cookies in the whole world. Even better than Grandma,” Ben leans in conspiratorially, “but don’t tell her I said that. There’s a Valentine’s Day thing at the bakery in three days. You should come! Daddy’s going to be there and I’m going to help him. There will be so many cookies and cakes and stuff to try!”
I glance at Henry, who’s trying very hard to look casual and failing completely.
“Ben invited you,” he says. “I had no idea he was going to do that. But... if you want to come, you’d be welcome. It’s a fundraiser for Ben’s school. Totally casual. No pressure.”
There’s pressure in his eyes though. The good kind. The kind that saysPlease say yes,I want to see you again, I want you there.
Every instinct I have screams to say no. To protect myself. To not let anyone get close enough to hurt me again.
But Ben is looking at me with those hopeful brown eyes, and Henry is looking at me like I hung the moon, and I hear myself say, “I’d love to come.”
Ben whoops and throws his arms around my neck, and I hug him back, this sweet little boy who smells like sugar and sunshine.
When I look over his shoulder, Henry’s watching me with an expression that makes my heart forget how to beat properly.
Shit. I’m in trouble. Big, big trouble.
Chapter 6
Henry
I’ve never seenWilla smile like this. She’s on the floor with Ben, and he’s telling her about his favorite dinosaurs —because of course dinosaurs came up— and she’s listening like it’s the most important information she’s ever received.
“The T-Rex had tiny arms but they were actually super strong,” Ben explains, demonstrating a muscle pose with his own arms and receiving a small chuckle from both of us. “And Dr. Willa, did you know that doctors are kind of like dinosaur doctors? Because you have to be detectives and figure out what’s wrong? Because humans are like dinosaurs because we’ve been here for thousands of years.”
“That’s exactly right and that’s what we do,” Willa says, and her whole face lights up. “We’re medical detectives. We look for clues in how you feel and what your body is telling us.”
“That’s so cool!” Ben looks at me. “Daddy, Dr. Willa is cool.”
“I know, buddy.” I can’t take my eyes off her. “She really is.”
Willa’s cheeks flush that perfect shade of pink, and I want to tell her everything. That I’ve been hoping to meet her past her order for three months. That her smile is the best part of my day. That I fall asleep thinking about what it would be like to knowher, really know her, and wake up disappointed that it was just a dream.
But Ben is here, and there are boundaries, and I need to not scare her off by coming on too strong.
“We should let Dr. Monroe get back to work,” I say reluctantly. “Come on, Ben.”
“But I want to stay and talk ‘bout dinosaurs!”
“She has other patients, buddy. Maybe another time?”
“Can we come back tomorrow?” Ben asks Willa hopefully. “I could get another scrape. It’s not hard.”
Willa laughs, and the sound is music. “I’d love to see you again, Ben. But maybe let’s hope you don’t get scraped up, okay? Scrapes hurt.”
“This one didn’t hurt, ’cause you made it not hurt.” Ben carefully picks up the box he’d set down. “These cupcakes are for you! Daddy made them special.”
He hands her the box, and Willa opens it to reveal six perfect chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
“Henry, you didn’t have?—”
