I could lie. But I want so badly to tell someone my feelings, and something tells me I can trust Willa.
“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life after I take the test.”
“So the grooming business is temporary?”
I shrug. “I don’t want it to be, but I can’t say Kellan will appreciate me sticking around forever.”
“If he allowed you to open a grooming business inside his clinic, I’m sure he’ll want you to stick around.”
“He only let me open it because I demanded to contribute in exchange for his help. Allowing me the use of the room cost him nothing, and gave me an illusion of helpfulness.”
“Or, he could genuinely appreciate your contribution to his business. I’ve heard he offered grooming services before, but it got in the way of his patients that needed care.”
I look down at the table and suck in a breath. “Yeah, but when he offered me the room, it was before certain…complications.” My shoulders slump. “I complicated things.”
“Oh, trust me. I understand complications, and what it’s like to cause them.” She pops another bite of pie into her mouth.
“He says that the only thing I should be focusing on is my studies and getting my life together, and once I’ve accomplished that, we can discuss…other matters.”
“And let me guess: you think he’s kicking the can down the road?”
I frown. “The thought has definitely crossed my mind. He was a bachelor before I met him, and with as handsome as he is, that had to have been by choice.”
“Talk to him. The only person who knows what Kellan wants is him.”
The waitress delivers the extra pies, and we settle the bill before leaving, hugging like old friends before we part.
I have to admit, after meeting with her, I don’t feel as helpless as I had before. Maybe I have a chance.
I enter the clinic, finding a note at the receptionist’s desk.
Wrangling a runaway cow.
Be back soon.
Kellan
There’s always something.
I start decorating the new grooming room, putting stick-on puppy prints along the walls. But try as I might to bury myself in my work, a nagging thought won’t leave my mind.
Kellan fled. And I don’t know why.
He probably realized long ago that commitment wasn’t his thing, and I can’t help but worry that once the subject of us is on the table, it’ll change everything between us. Not that what we have is anything substantial—lustful nights and days full of eyebrow waggles and lip bites. Still, it’s far from nothing.
I head into his office to grab some equipment, but as I pass Kellan’s desk, a note written in thick, black ink on a yellow sticky pad catches my attention.
Don’t think with your dick.
You deserve better.
She ain’t worth it.
I step back, heart hammering in my chest.
It all makes sense.
The hot; the cold.
