Page 17 of Lovingly Restored

I fan my face. “I’m not cool. I hang out with old people. My favourite game is backgammon. I think prunes are delicious.”

“You could quit,” she says. “Or call the boss man and complain.”

Something doesn’t really seem right about checking up on Isaac like that.

“No. I can do this.” I clap my hands to psych myself up. “He’s only hot because he’s mysterious or whatever. That’ll get old real fast.”

“I cannot agree with you on that last point. Sorry. I have eyes.”

I’m not even doing a good job of convincing my cousin, let alone myself.

“When it comes down to it, we’re all adults here. Three mature adults. Living together.”

She grabs her purse off the counter. “I’ll leave you adults to it and let myself out.”

And then she leaves me with my elderly patient and my unreasonably hot and unwelcome roommate.

Chapter six

Ashlyn

Aftermuchdeliberation,Mrs.Lauri chooses the navy nightgown over the indigo while I turn down her sheets. I want to give her the agency to choose her own clothing, but it’s not always easy to be patient at the end of the day. We sing our way through brushing our teeth and secure her thick hair beneath a silk nightcap. I read aloud a chapter of her murder mystery novel, and she’s snoring softly before I can finish. After tucking an extra quilt around her legs, I sneak from the room, though I’ve learned that even a small aircraft won’t wake her. Talkative the whole day, it’s obvious her mood was elevated by Isaac’s arrival. What grandmother doesn’t love an extended visit from a loved one? If there’s one thing that helps patients that you can’t get in a pharmacy, it’s important people in their lives. That connection and support is priceless. As annoyed as I am about having an unexpected male roomie, this is a net positive for Mrs. Lauri, and that’s what my job is all about.

Isaac made himself scarce all day, maybe due to my less than warm welcome. Whatever he’s been doing in the mystery building kept him occupied, and that’s fine by me. With any luck he and I will orbit around each other with minimal interaction. It’s for the best. I keep a tight ship with his grandmother’s care, and I don’t really need anyone stirring that up. Shuffling into the kitchen to get a snack before turning in for the night, I stop in my tracks, the swinging kitchen door hitting me in the ass. A large male is rummaging in the cupboards. I feel like I’m witnessing a bear crashing a picnic? You know, if I was attracted to bears. Flattening myself against the door, I wonder if a person in a fluffy pink robe and a hair mask will pass as part of the decor. Men aren’tthatobservant.

“What the hell did you do with my cereal?”

Okay, this one is.

He continues his scavenging, moving on to the next cupboard.

“The Lucky Charms? Froot Loops?” I list off some of the children’s cereals I’d found during my kitchen clear out.

“Either. Both.”

“I assumed those were for small children. How many nieces and nephews do you have?”

“None. I’m an only child. Why do you assumeIdon’t have kids?”

He looks over his shoulder at me with those crisp blue eyes, and I wish like hell I wasn’t wearing my bathrobe. I bristle at the thought of Isaac with a whole family and steal a look at his left hand. Bare.

He abandons his search, turning to face me. He’s tall enough that when he leans back and folds his arms, his hips are level with the counter.

“Do you?”

He winks. “Not that I’m aware of.”

I roll my eyes.How endearing.

“The cereal is mine.” He runs his hand through his hair, a move that’s sexier than it should be for a guy who just made a weird joke about illegitimate children.

“Wasyours. I regret to inform you they were well past their expiration.”

Regret to inform you?Was I notifying the cereals’ next of kin?

His face falls, and he places his hands over what are probably rows of visible abs. “You’re killing me. I’m starving.”

On cue, his stomach growls.

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