“Not like this. I don’t see much about Krem or Traig here.”
“They’re not as interesting.”
He found me interesting?
His jaw worked. “You’re right, though. I don’t write about them like this.”
I turned the page and found yesterday’s date.
Sofia remained with Laina all day. At the end of the day, I told her it was alright. It was the right thing to say. I don’t know if it was the true thing. I miss having her on my shoulder.
I found it difficult to swallow the lump in my throat. I closed the notebook and held it out.
He took it, our fingers connecting.
“You’re wonderful with them,” I said. My voice sounded strange.
“With the creatures.”
“With everyone.”
His face darkened, and he tucked the notebook back into his pocket.
We walked back to the medical bay, Sofia purring against my neck. When we reached the worktable, Brovish pulled out intake files and spread them across the surface.
“I wanted to review these with you,” he said. “Make sure we’re aligned on protocols.”
I sat in the chair across from him and immediately regretted it. The table was too wide, the chairs too far apart. I leaned forward, squinting at the notes he’d written in the margins.
He glanced at me, then at the space between us.
Reaching over, he dragged my chair closer. The legs scraped across the floor, and I suddenly found myself close enough to see the details in his handwriting without straining.
I tried to focus on the files. Really, I did. But I was aware of every time he reached across me for a pen or another piece of paper, his thigh when he shifted his weight, and the heat of him that seemed to fill the space between us even when we weren’t touching.
He smelled like pine and fresh-cut grass.
“This one,” he said, tapping a file.
I leaned over to read and realized too late that he’d done the same thing. Our heads collided. I jerked back and he did too, and we stared at each other, too close and not close enough.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Me too.”
Sofia peeped, and I swore it sounded like laughter.
We went back to the files, but something had changed between us. Every time I reached for something, I was aware of where his hands were. Every time he moved, I tracked it.
By the time we’d finished, my heart raced at twice its normal speed, and I couldn’t remember half of what we’d reviewed.
“We should check on Abagail before you leave,” he croaked, his gaze on my mouth.
If he leaned closer…
No! We were at work. He was more or less my boss.
Telling myself all this did nothing to hold back my longing. I liked him. He was sweet and endearing and incredibly attractive.
