I do, and I can’t help but revel at the sight of my hand in his. Liam Wheaton is here, holding my hand, gliding his thumb along the back of my knuckles in a soft, almost reverent caress just like he used to.
Only the moment is a little soiled. Probably because I just spent that last hour or more reliving that terrible event from my past. There’s a tightness in my chest, that physical fight-or-flight sensation that makes it hard to hold still. I don’t know what I’m suddenly so afraid of.
Yet, as we drive on, the unpleasant sensation starts to wane, shifting into a dull ache with a weakening pulse. With each passing beat, snarky quip, or sweet sentiment, it fades further away.Going, going…
Liam pulls our joined hands up to his mouth, presses a kiss to mine, then rests them back on my lap like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Going, going, gone.
I exhale, assured that all is well. The memory got to me, is all, which is why it’s best to just leave the past in the past and focus on the future.
“When I’m ready to move back to Virginia Beach—” I start to say.
“I like where this is going,” Liam inserts.
I laugh. “Do you think I should get a house or a condo? Or maybe rent for a while? What do you think is best?”
“I can find you anything you’re looking for—rent or own. It just depends on whatyouthink is best.”
He goes on to probe me like he would any potential client—questions about my finances, how long I plan to stick around, and things related to personal preference. Inwardly, I realize he’s doing this because he trusts that I can make a decision like this on my own.
Sure, no big deal in most worlds, but in mine, it’s everything.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ashley
Just as I suspected he would, Ross gives me the lecture of a lifetime. One for the ages, really. A diatribe he delivers with extra relish because, of course, he's talking to me. Someone he’s used to having more…for lack of a better word, control over.
Lucky for me, I'm not even listening. I tune him out right in the beginning as my thoughts get pulled with magnetic force to the memory of Liam’s incredible, sensational, spellbinding kiss.
It feels mean to think it, but I can't stop the voice in my head that says I’ve been missing out on make-outs like that for far too many years.
Kissing outside of intimacy was never something Ross could get into, which took me a while to accept. I almost forgot how beautiful time spent in a playful, passionate tease could be.
These aren't thoughts I lingered on while we were married, but the marriage is over, and since Liam has so valiantly reintroduced me to the joys of kissing and kissing and kissing, I'm reflecting on them now with a fair amount of relish myself.
"Okay,” Ross says as he removes the polishing burr from his dental drill and sets it on the tray. "Brenda, why don't you get an after picture of Ashley's repair job for her chart.”
Brenda pops up from her chair with the excitement of a teacher’s pet in the classroom. "You got it, Dr. Brynn," she says with cheery adoration and lashes fluttering fast enough to fan her blushing face.
Yeesh.No wonder he has such an inflated ego.
“Thanks, Ross. Err, Dr. Brynn,” I say because Iamgrateful. He’s a great dentist, and it’s always good to have one you can trust.
I go back to my musings as Brenda gets the after shots Ross requested, but Ross doesn’t leave just yet. Instead, he stands in the walkway and proceeds to lecture me one more time for the road.
“Youreallyneed to just listen to me in the first place so you can avoid this type of damage altogether,” he says.
But apparently, that’s still not enough forBrynny boy.“I’ll never understand why some patients don’t seem to…”Blah, blah, blah.
I clench my fist and inwardly will him to shut up, already. Talk about unprofessional; my next patient, who’s just been seated, by the way, is right next door.
When Martin was a toddler, I once warned him about a troublesome scab he kept picking, telling him he’d be left with a giant scar if he didn't stop. Suddenly, he interrupted me mid-sentence with the words, “doesn't care.’”
He was young and still learning proper grammar, but the comment earned a laugh from Lucy and me both.
"Who doesn't care?"Lucy asked, to which Martin jammed a thumb into his chest.
