—When did you say you’d be back? —
Probably too needy, but I was still recovering from a bad bout of the flu. Dr. Raymond said that as soon as I was healthy, I needed to get my flu shot. That, because of the different strains, I might not have immunity for all the crap I might be exposed to.
Getting a flu shot, along with everything else, had been on the list for the next time I was off. Damn virus had caught me first. I’d happily roll up my sleeve for a shot if it meant not going through that again.
And now Ulysses was out of town.Tracking down leads.
—I miss you too, Sunshine. Home soon. —
I didn’t even mind him calling meSunshine. We were kind of like that romance trope—grumpy/sunshine. A few couples I knew were like that. Correction—had been like that.
Maddox the recluse until he met Ravi—the sunshine pediatric nurse.
Recluse Adam until he met sunshine Aussie forester Dean.
Leo the surgeon before he met and married the perpetually happy nurse Quinton.
Except…had Ulysses been grumpy when we’d first met? Aside from nearly being taken out by Rodney Saunders joyriding in his mom’s minivan—and running that red light—Ulysses had seemed chill. Relaxed. Horny.
Kind of like I was now. Being alone was not conducive to getting laid.
Problem was, I didn’t want just anyone. I certainly wasn’t going to do a run into Vancouver or take a look at my app to see if anyone new had suddenly appeared. To the best of my knowledge, Ulysses didn’t have a profile there. When he’d first disappeared—and I hadn’t known who he was—I’d kept my eye out for any new additions.
Then I discovered who he was—and I’d kept my distance. Because I was dumbass hurt when he’d left my bed.
Now? Now I wanted him down to the marrow of my bones—which made no sense. How he’d become so important to me wasn’t clear to me.He brought you soup. He took you to the game—even though you might’ve made him sick. He’s taken you out on dates—even though they weren’t real dates. He’s drilled you into the mattress repeatedly—even though he could be out looking for someone else.
My phone rang. My heart leapt until I checked the screen.
Mom.
“Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“Busy. More than usual. Early flu season and it’s hit hard. Most people haven’t even gotten their shots. You’re getting yours, right?”
“Yeah…but I already got the flu. Was a bastard. Or is that a bitch?”
“You’d have to ask a language that assigns gender to all nouns.” She laughed. “I don’t speak French or German.”
“Neither do I. Well, I did okay in my high school French classes.”
“You’re okay now?”
I sighed. “Yeah. Dr. Raymond said to get the shot anyway. Something about variants—”
“Your doctor is very smart. Make certain you listen to him.”
A chuckle escaped me. “Yes, Mom.”
She snorted. “When do you ever listen to your mother?”
“Hey! All the goddamn time.”
“Like when I admonish you for swearing?”
I laughed again. “I remember—usually after I’ve said the curse word.”
“Are you coming for dinner this weekend?”
