Page 28 of Trial Run

It’s nothing.

I told you to stop saying that.

She smiled at her phone before typing her reply.

OK. It’s not nothing. It is definitely something.

Better. Goodnight, Nell. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Goodnight.

She set down the phone and pressed a hand to her sternum, where her pulse raced. Not nothing. Definitely something. The words repeated on a loop in her mind the rest of the evening.

Chapter 8

Ben lifted the blinds and squinted out the window onto his front porch, checking for Nell’s car again. He’d asked her to come here again, and drive him on yet another errand, because he hadn’t been able to stop himself. And to the clinic, where he hadn’t set foot in a month.

There was no need for this impromptu field trip. He was all set to go back to work on Monday, starting with half days. He could handle it now, after this week’s outings. Probably.

But he’d had to see her one more time. It hadn’t been enough to say goodbye in front of her son, when he couldn’t say everything on his mind. Maybe if she saw the clinic, saw how much it meant to him, and how she’d helped bring him back to his work, she’d understand the magnitude of what she’d done for him.

That had been the thought when he’d texted her last night. Now, nerves blasted through him when her battered silver sedan pulled up at the curb. She slid out of the driver’s seat and he dropped the blinds.

He checked his suit, smoothing a hand over the vest. Nothing out of place, except his stupid heart, which knocked around his ribcage at the sight of her coming up the drive.

He made himself wait a few beats before opening the door. His brain stopped like it always did around her as she smiled, looking genuinely happy to see him.

He cleared his throat. “Thank you again for coming.”

“I’m glad to take you. I have to admit I’m curious about your clinic, now that I’ve met all your patients.”

“I hadn’t thought of it, but you have, haven’t you?”

She nodded. “And they had nothing but good things to say about you. They all said you’re the best.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he murmured. She’d replaced her usual outfit with black jeans and a blue polo shirt with a coffee shop logo. “Your other job is at a coffee shop?”

“One day on the weekend, sometimes Saturday and sometimes Sunday. My neighbor watches Marco. I didn’t have time to change before I came, and okay, that is definitely a coffee stain.” She brushed a self-conscious hand over her shirt.

“It’s not a problem.” He’d made her come all the way out to his house after working a six-day week, and she was worried about her shirt. “But you must be tired. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather do this another day?”

She shook her head with a little smile. “I’m here already, anyway. Should we get going? My maps app says it’s twenty minutes to downtown. Less traffic on Saturday.”

“That sounds about right. I’m ready if you are.”

Anxiety didn’t even strike him on the short walk to the car, a huge difference from a week ago. Inside the car was another matter, because there were a couple of factors he hadn’t anticipated. The car was much smaller than the van, and he was a tall man. He sat much closer to her than he’d been before, their shoulders almost brushing in the small space.

He could smell the coffee shop on her—bitter and toasty, with a sweet hint of caramel or hazelnut syrup layered on top. He shut his eyes and tried not to inhale too deeply.

“Doing okay?” she asked, buckling her seatbelt.

“Yes. Fine.”

“Do you want to tell me the address?”

Ben told her, and she programmed it into her phone. “And we’re off. I only have an hour or so. I have to go pick up Marco soon.”

“Understood.” He gripped the door handle, as if that would keep him safe from looking at her too much.

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