Page 28 of Embracing Easy

“Welcome aboard,” she says, standing to shake my hand. “Rebecca will show you the ropes today. We've got a busy schedule—four surgeries this morning and a full afternoon of appointments.”

As if on cue, a petite redhead pokes her head in. “Ready for the new girl?”

“All yours,” Andrea says with a smile.

Rebecca takes me on a quick tour of the facility. “Treatment room here, surgery suite there, kennels in the back. We've got state-of-the-art equipment and a great team. You'll love it here.”

By mid-morning, I'm elbow-deep in work, helping prep a German Shepherd for surgery. The routine of it all calms me, letting me focus on anything other than Shawn and his declaration of ownership.

“So,” Rebecca says as we’re cleaning up, “that guy who dropped you off... he your boyfriend?”

I pause in the middle of restocking the gauze. “It’s… complicated.”

She grins. “The hot ones usually are. But girl, the way he was watching you walk in here? Your man has it bad.”

I think about Shawn's words—you're mine—and suppress a shiver. “Yeah, maybe a little too much.”

The rest of the day passes in a blur of appointments, procedures, and getting to know my new coworkers. Ben turns out to have a wicked sense of humor, and Rebecca, who is quite a bit younger than me, is man-crazy. All day long, she’s been rating the men who’ve come through the door.

By five o'clock, I'm exhausted but satisfied. It feels good to be working again.

“See you all tomorrow,” I say, waving over my shoulder.

Shawn's waiting for me on his bike at the curb when I walk out. The sight of his thick thighs straddling the Harley, with his sunglasses on, looking every inch the dangerous biker he is, makes my heart do a little flip despite my still-simmering anger.

“Good first day?” he asks as I approach.

“Yeah.” I take the helmet he hands to me and fasten the strap under my chin. “The team's great.”

He nods, helping me on behind him and pulling my arms around his waist. “Listen, Lex, about this morning?—”

“Can we not?” I close my eyes. “I just... I need time to process everything.”

“Okay.” His hand finds mine, and despite myself, I let him lace our fingers together. “But we need to talk about it eventually.”

“I know.” I squeeze his hand. “Just... not tonight.”

Without another word about property patches, the fight we’re having, or anything else, he brings the bike to life and pulls out into traffic. The ride back to his house is nice and blessedly feels less tense than things were this morning.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m too tired to hold onto my snit or if it’s Shawn’s presence, but whatever it is, there's something about this man that makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.

And maybe that’s what scares me the most.

Chapter Twelve

Easy

I cut the engine as we roll up the driveway, and the heavy silence from this morning settles right back between us.

Lexi’s arms loosen around my waist, and I can feel the tension radiating off her. I fucking hate it and know that I have to do something to fix things.

“Thanks for the ride,” she says, her voice soft, almost a whisper.

“I—” She slides off the seat from behind me before I can even grunt a reply.

“Fuck,” I growl, watching her storm up to the house with a determined set to her shoulders.

Like a fucking love-struck fool, I watch her go, her ponytail swinging and her plump ass swishing.

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