My phone rings, and I automatically reach for it and answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hello. Glad I finally have your attention.” It’s Thea.
I glance up sharply to see her holding her phone up to her ear, looking at me with concern.
“Are you all right?” she asks as we both hang up our phones.
“I’m sorry, Thea. I didn’t mean to zone out there.” I rub a hand over my face.
“It’s okay. I know it happens sometimes, but you seem to be doing that a lot lately.”
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“Does the thing on your mind live with you?” she asks with a little smirk.
That startles a grunt out of me. “Yes. But don’t tell anyone.”
Thea shakes her head. “As long as you’re still being nice to her, I don’t see how your guys’ relationship is anyone else’s business.”
I nod as I lean forward to whisper, “I think Ilikeher.”
Thea grins. “I would honestly be concerned if you lived with her and didn’t develop a crush. Lucy is special.”
“You keep saying that.”
Thea’s eyebrows shoot up. “You mean to tell me you don’t see it? The woman is one of the kindest, most welcoming people you’ll ever meet…but there’s a layer of strength there. I know she’s had some hard stuff in her life.”
It’s not my place to share things with Thea, but I nod in agreement. “She has.”
“Then I don’t see why it’s shocking that you would start to fall for her.” Thea takes a long sip from her coffee cup. “You really should come to me for relationship advice more often. I can solve anything.”
Well, there’s the tiny problem where I married her and promised it wouldn’t get complicated.
TWENTY-ONE
Lucy
TWO WEEKS SINCE THE WEDDING DAY
I walk up the sidewalk, around the car parked in the driveway, and stop short when I see a woman standing on the front porch. This is starting to become a habit. Coming home to strange women.
She’s wearing a white blazer, white pants, a large gold bracelet on her right wrist, and a gold necklace with an emerald pendant. Her red hair is dyed, and the bright red nails clutch the handle of a square leather purse.
I’m woefully underdressed in my jeans and rubber boots. I made a visit to a dairy farm on the way home…and I currently have cow poop covering me from head to toe. I think I even feel some in my ear. Preg-checking cows puts you on the wrong end of business.
“Hi there,” I greet tentatively.
She turns to look at me. Her eyes travel up and down, then back up me, stopping at the top of my hair. Yes, I’m sure there’s manure up there too.
“Are you all right?” she asks in a concerned voice.
I glance down at my jeans, which are smeared with green and brown. “Oh, this little mess? I’m a veterinarian, and I think the cows won the last round. I assume you’re here for Miles?”
The woman’s face cracks into a smile. “Yes, I am. Why don’t you clean up, and I’ll make us dinner?” She holds up a large bag in her other hand that I can only assume holds foodstuffs.
“Umm, okay? But you’re a guest, and we should be making you dinner.”
She waves a hand through the air. “I’m the one surprising both of you. It’s only fair I brought dinner.”
