He hoped this came off as just a friendly invitation so that she wasn’t home alone.

There was part of him that didn’t want her overworked and decided this was too much for her on the island.

She’d been here about two months now and if she was saying she didn’t have any friends, that meant she didn’t go out to eat or do anything fun.

He at least had his family to do things with. Though most of his relatives were married or in relationships, there were still plenty around his age that were single he could grab a beer with.

“Sure,” she said. “I’ve got nothing else going on. Sad, I know. I’m positive you’re asking me because of Spencer.”

“What?” he asked innocently. “What does that have to do with anything?”

She pointed her finger at him. “Caught,” she said. “I know it. He’s been on my case to get out and do things and I’m sure he’s feeding you the same in order to watch out for me.”

No reason to lie. “Guilty,” he said.

She shrugged. “I should be annoyed, but maybe I’m lonely and wouldn’t mind the company.”

Which made him feel like shit. “Then come over. Tell me what you want on your pizza and I’ll order and then we’ll figure out a movie. I don’t want you to feel like you made a bad decision moving here. I know it’s hard living on the island.”

Geez. Why did it hurt his chest when she said she was lonely?

He didn’t want to feel like a babysitter, but a small part of him did.

The other part he couldn’t put his finger on.

He knew it was no hardship to spend a few hours with her though.

When they were here at night working after everyone left, he enjoyed their banter.

They were always laughing and joking.

He felt he could be himself with her almost as much as when he was with Spencer.

That was a rare thing for him around a woman.

“Don’t think anything of it being on the island,” she said. “I had no plans on staying close to home for a job. Anywhere I went I was going to be in this position. At least living here I have close proximity to the beach. Which I do walk down to all the time.”

“That’s good to hear,” he said. “I spend a lot of time on the deck looking out at the water. When I’ve got company, I like going down on my small beach and lighting a fire.”

“Maybe we can do that after the movie,” she said. “Since you’ll have company.”

“Sure,” he said. “I’ve got wine in the house too.”

“Then I might have a glass. I’m going to run home and shower and change. What time do you want me to come over?”

They both had black scrubs on. Their tops said Bond Dental in the right top corner and their names on the left side. He gave her five of them so that she didn’t have to do laundry during the week if she didn’t want to since he knew she didn’t have in-house laundry.

“Just come over when you’re done,” he said. “We can lock up now.”

He grabbed his laptop and put it in his bag; she did the same.

They walked out together while he set the alarms. He noticed it was just past five thirty.

He was getting out much earlier than he used to since he had more time to do his notes during the day with his patients.

“I’ll see you in about thirty minutes or so,” she said. “I won’t be long.”

“That works,” he said. She lived closer to the office than he did, but still not a big deal.