She lets out a short laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with him. If anything, it’s probably the other way around,” she mutters the last part to herself.
“Eh, I call bullshit,” I say, pretending I’m not all that invested in her answer. “If he were perfect, he’d be married by now, wouldn’t he?”
“I suppose Rowan isn’t perfect, and maybe I’m a little biased, but he’s pretty darn close,” she muses.
I shake my head, not because I disagree with Daisy, but to rid my mind of the image of Rowan’s nearly flawless body. “It’s not possible,” I tell her after a while. “You don’t just stumble upon a hot doctor who’s still available at his age, much less one that … adorable.”
Daisy grins. “I mean, I did.”
I snort. “Yeah, but Landry was a take-home project. It took a little elbow grease to bring him around.”
“All I did was dust him off and shine him up,” she says with a wave of her hand and a mischievous glint in her eyes. “But I’d like to revisit your previous statement. Do you really think Rowan is adorable?”
Dead freaking sexy would be more accurate, I almost reply. But I figure I should spare her on this one, since it is her brother we’re talking about here.
“Who wouldn’t?” I retort instead. “Which brings me back to my original point—how is he still single?”
Daisy shakes her head and pulls her long hair over her shoulder. “I honestly don’t know, but I imagine it has something to do with the high standards he holds for himself. Women must find it intimidating,” she says thoughtfully as she twists her hair into a braid.
“What kind of standards?” I ask, my stomach clenching at the reminder.
She hesitates before answering. “Morals, I guess.”
My brow furrows, and I think back to our last few conversations. “He’s religious, like you.”
“Yes, and, well, we were raised in a different environment. Our parents made it a point to protect us from the ways of the world, at least until we were mature and firm enough in our beliefs to make good decisions on our own. And even though Rowan acclimated pretty well in college, he’s always been very strict on himself, probably more so than the rest of us.”
“Oh.” I think about his honesty on the night we met, how refreshing it was to interact with someone so genuine, and now that I consider it, a little naive for his age.
“Most of us assumed he’d become a priest after practically living like one for the past couple decades, but I know he wants a family so badly. It’s a shame he can’t seem to find anyone who appreciates his self-discipline,” she explains wistfully. “I hate seeing him so lonely.”
I blink at her a few times while I process what she’s telling me. But something’s not adding up here. “And when you say he lives like a priest, you mean …”
“He hasn’t taken a legitimate vow of poverty or celibacy as far as I know, but he likes to live more simply so he can give to charities and the less fortunate. And, you know …” She lifts a shoulder in a shrug. But before I can fill in the blanks, the front door flies open.
Daisy immediately jumps to her feet and squeals with delight when Landry waltzes in. Leaving me on the couch, she bounds over to him with Juniper barking at her heels, and his shoulders relax as soon as he wraps her up in a hug.
“Miss me, Blondie?” he pulls back and asks with a smirk before he lifts her up onto his hips and kisses her, and my heart melts just a little.
Landry notices me after a while and leans around Daisy to shoot me a polite smile. “Hey, Claire,” he greets me with much less enthusiasm.
“Hey,” I return. “Long day, Doc?”
He sighs and sets Daisy back down onto her bare feet. “No, but Iwaslooking forward to some alone time with my wife.” She gasps and reaches up to swat at his chest, and he frowns, presumably because he didn’t intend to sound so rude. I’m not offended, though. I’d probably be the same way if I found someone I liked coming home to.
“No worries. I’m on my way out,” I say as I stand, freezing in place once I realize it wasn’t my presence Landry was grumbling about.
“Hi,” Rowan greets me from the open door, his expression unreadable. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“My car is in the driveway,” I point out dumbly as Daisy and Landry exchange a look.
“The blue Bronco, right?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Yeah. That’s the one.”
Rowan nods. “I’m seeing patients at the clinic in the morning,” he explains, as if I wouldn’t be able to surmise his reasons for being here. But the silence stretches after that, and it suddenly feels like I’ve worn out my welcome.
“Well, I was just leaving,” I announce, scanning the floor for my boots. Of course, they’re behind Rowan, so I gesture politely for him to move over. He stands firmly, though, his eyes running over me in a way that makes me feel warm and lightheaded.
