Page 55 of Family Bonds: Coy & Angel

He laughed. “That he was nervous that you wanted to put drills and tools in your hands because you cut yourself more than anyone else he knew with a knife while cooking.”

She sighed. “I do have to practice more in the kitchen.”

He took the knife out of her hand. “Then let me do it. Your boss gets a little cranky if you’ve got cuts on your hands.”

She handed over the knife. “Only if I get a kiss first.”

“Deal,” he said, leaning down to give her a quick one.

It wasn’t what she wanted, but she’d get to that later.

16

ONE EMPLOYEE

Two weeks later, Coy was in his office grabbing a granola bar. He turned when he heard a throat clear behind him.

“What are you sneaking in here?” Angel asked. “Do you have chocolate?”

He laughed. “Just a granola bar from your stash. I’m hungry for some reason.”

“You didn’t ask,” she said.

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” he’d said.

Things were going much better than he could have expected.

He’d cooked dinner for them on what he considered their first official date. They talked and cleared the air about the important things and then relaxed and played pool and darts again. It was too cold and windy to go down by the beach and start a fire, so he’d had one going in the family room while they watched TV and made out like teens for thirty minutes.

He’d had a hard time keeping his body under control, but somehow he managed it.

The next day, she’d asked him to her place and she cooked dinner. Burgers that were a bit crispy and she’d gotten embarrassed, but he found it sweet that she’d tried.

Last weekend, they’d spent Friday night and Saturday at his place. They cooked together. Maybe he was teaching her there too. She’d accused him of being romantic and he was.

Or always tried to be. He found women liked it and there was part of him that wanted to impress Angel and let her see a side of him she’d never known he’d had.

If he was struggling to keep their dates PG, that was his problem since she’d shown no sign of wanting to go much further and he didn’t want to press.

He still struggled to get it out of his head that it was Spencer’s baby sister and when he talked to his best friend last Saturday and Angel was in his house crossing her eyes at him, it’d been hard to keep the laughter out of his voice and be asked what was so funny.

It’s not as if he could have said it.

“I don’t mind if you eat my snacks,” she said, moving into the office and almost brushing against him before she said quietly, “As long as you feed me when I’m hungry.”

“I don’t mind doing that,” he said.

Angel moved past him and opened her drawer and pulled out a stick of gum.

“Dr. Bond,” Mandy said. “Your next patient is in the room.”

“Thanks, Mandy,” he said, shoving the last bite in his mouth. “Just needed a snack.”

Angel walked out with Mandy and didn’t say a word to him. They’d been good, in his eyes, keeping this separate.

She turned when she was alone in the hall and then winked at him. “You’re lucky you didn’t take the last one out of my desk,” she said.

“Is Coy stealing your food?” Abby said from the room she was in with a patient. “He likes to steal people’s food.”

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