"Yeah. I have a cat coming in for vaccinations in twenty minutes." But she doesn't move either.
"Tomorrow at nine for Butterscotch's check?"
"I'll be there. And Emma can give me the unicorn picture."
"Yes! I should have shown you that today. Oh, and also, fair warning, she's also planning to interrogate you about whether you prefer horses or cats."
Marley laughs. "I'll make sure I have the right answer prepared."
"It's horses, by the way. Any other answer fails the test."
"Good to know."
I force myself to turn toward the door, to actually leave before I do something really stupid like kiss her in her clinic in the middle of the workday.
"Tucker?"
I turn back. Marley's standing behind the reception desk now, her hands resting on the counter, that lovely smile still on her face.
"I'm glad you came by," she says. "I'm glad you didn't chicken out."
"Me too."
I walk out to my truck feeling lighter than I have in years. My hands aren't shaking anymore, my heart rate is almost normal, and I'm grinning like an idiot but I don't even care.
Wade was right. Love is worth trying.
And tomorrow night, I'm taking Marley Williams to dinner.
Not as Butterscotch's owner. Not as a client. Just as Tucker, a man who's interested in a woman with cute glasses and dimples and a way of making him believe that maybe, just maybe, he deserves something good.
I climb into my truck and pull out my phone.
*Dinner tomorrow night. She said yes.*
Wade's response comes immediately: *Told you so. Now don't fuck it up.*
*Thanks for the vote of confidence.*
*Anytime. And Tucker? I'm happy for you.*
I set my phone down and start the truck, and as I drive back toward the ranch, I catch myself humming. Actually humming, like some character in one of Emma's cartoons.
When I get home, Emma's bus is just pulling up to the driveway. She climbs off with her backpack bouncing against her shoulders, her pigtails lopsided from the ride, and when she sees me waiting she runs over.
"Daddy! Can we go see Butterscotch?"
"In a minute, Bug. First I need to tell you something."
Her eyes go wide. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. Better than fine." I crouch down to her eye level. "But Dr. Marley is coming back tomorrow morning to make sure he's completely recovered, and she really wants to see that unicorn picture you drew for her."
"Really?" Emma's face lights up. "She really wants to see it?"
"Really. And..." I take a breath. "And then tomorrow night, Dr. Marley and I are going to have dinner together."
Emma's quiet for a moment, staring at my face with those hazel eyes that are too wise for seven years old. Then she grins, a huge, gap-toothed grin that makes my heart swell.
