Page 448 of Unexpected Ever After

“This guy right here,” Miranda gushes, winking at me. “I’m gonna miss you. Thanks, honey,” she says.

“Thank you,” Mazie says softly. “That was really thoughtful.” She stares at her name on the cup and her eyes are wide when she looks at me after taking a tentative sip. “How did you know?” she asks.

“Oh, he’s the resident snout around here.” Miranda laughs. “This guy’s sniffer has never led us wrong.”

Mazie opens her mouth to say something when Emma crashes into my shoulder.

“Hey, Colgate. Since when did you start drinking coffee?” Emma asks.

“Since never.” I shudder. “Just thought I’d treat Miranda and Mazie as they wrap up their first week of training.”

“I miss the days when I could drink all the caffeine I want,” Emma sighs.

The things you learn at the water cooler.

I know way too much about the number caffeine did on Emma when she was nursing her babies and how caffeine has never treated her the same since.

“Colgate?” Mazie says, her plush lips forming into a smirk.

“Don’t ask,” I mutter, but I’m grinning.

“I’ll fill you in on all that,” Emma says. “Better yet, you need to meet Mya’s husband, Jesse, and he can fill you in on his thoughts on Chompers here.”

Mazie giggles and it goes straight to my dick. Damn.

“Oh, shit.” I turn and stare at Emma. “You just reminded me my dentist appointment is today at 2.”

“This one is always switching things up,” Miranda tells Mazie, while she points at me. “It’s a good thing Kennedy here is so cute because let me tell you, he keeps things hopping.”

Mazie stares at me like she either wants to ask me something or she wants to laugh, I can’t tell which.

“Kennedy?” she repeats.

Emma grips me by the chin and I glance down at Mazie out of the corner of my eye while Emma squeezes.

“We think he’s got Kennedy vibes—do you see it?” Emma asks.

She lets go of my chin and I try to level her with a glare, but it’s impossible to be mad at the girl. She lifts both hands.

“Kennedy vibes without the philandering habits.” Emma turns to Mazie. “This guy is as decent as it gets.”

“I get no respect around here, as you can see,” I tell Mazie. “Try not to scare our new employee too much, okay, ladies? I, for one, would like to keep her around for a long time.” Shit, did my voice go husky when I said that last statement? By the way all three women turn to look at me, yep, I know I’m fucked.

It’s as good a time as any to make my escape, so I do, getting as much work done as I can before my dentist appointment.

When I get to Dr. Rooney’s, Linda the receptionist, takes me directly back to the room where I normally get my teeth cleaned. I’m sad to say I have my first cavity. I thought if I’d made it this long, I’d be golden forever, but nope. I need a filling today. Linda is usually chatty, but she doesn’t have much to say today and is gone before I can turn around to see if she’s okay. I wait for Sarah, the woman who assists Dr. Rooney, to come in, but it’s only the dentist who steps into the office.

“Hey, Dr. Rooney, how are ya?” I say, grinning.

He doesn’t crack a smile and I turn around to see if I somehow missed someone else being in the room, someone that he’s glaring at. Oh, shit. My mom tried to warn me he wasn’t happy about me not seeing his daughter anymore, but I thought he’d still be professional.

“Hortance is a lovely woman, Dr. Rooney. We just weren’t a match,” I begin.

He lifts an eyebrow and gets his tools lined up. I open my mouth when he holds up a long tool. He sticks the device in my mouth and feels around and then takes it out, putting a mask over my nose and mouth.

“What’s this about?” I ask, but it sounds muffled with the mask. “I—” I’m not sure what I was about to say, but I lift an arm and it drops back down on my body, which is stinking funny, I snort out a laugh and then laugh at the snort. Getting a filling is not bad at all. I can totally get on board with this.

“Why weren’t you a match?” Dr. Rooney asks.

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