Page 103 of Fear of Intimacy

I held the flower between my fingers as I brought it to my nose. He was too good for me.

Remembering Mr. Waltham was waiting for me, I snapped myself out of it. Ignoring the smirk on Sofie’s face, I quickly walked back into my office.

“Sorry about that, Henry,” I apologized as I closed my door behind me. Glancing over, I found him seated in his usual seat, a content smile gracing his face.

He kept grinning at me as I gently placed the flower on my desk and grabbed my notepad. When he didn’t stop by the time I sat down, I sent him a look.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You and Trevor Hall.” He remarked.

“You know who he is?”

“Dear, I may be old, but I don’t live under a rock. Everyone knows who Trevor Hall is.”

“Oh.”

“You two make a good-looking couple.” It became clear he was watching us from my office the entire time. It was a bit embarrassing having a patient know about my love life,but it was bound to happen when my name was posted everywhere.

“These old eyes can spot true love a mile away,” Mr. Waltham continued. My eyes widened at his words. True love? I liked him a lot but that didn’t mean love…right? The growing feeling in my chest hinted at something else, but I couldn’t think about it right now.

Clearing my throat, I veered our conversation back on track.

“Enough about me. How are things?” He was quiet for a moment as I waited for him to talk. I wasn’t the kind of person to push someone to talk when they don’t want to. I had plenty of patients who sat in front of me and barely said two words. Sometimes, it was more about having someone there than them listening.

“I talked to Rosette,” he finally spoke after a minute. The last time he was here he didn’t want to meet his new neighbor, fearing it would mean he was over his late wife’s passing.

“How did it go?” I took note of him fiddling with his wedding ring.

“Good.” He shrugged, the motion making me raise an eyebrow.

“Good?” I gently pried.

“I took your advice and went over to say hi. She invited me to a BBQ the neighbors were having.”

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“It was…nice.” Over the last six months, I had learned to read him and his tales, so I knew he had a good time at this BBQ, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He was definitely holding information back.

“I’m glad you had a good time. And I’m proud of you for finally talking to Rosette.”

I could tell he was struggling to continue as he sat there quietly.

“Henry,” I spoke softly. “Is everything okay?”

“Rosette is even better than I thought.” He heaved a sigh like it was the worst thing to ever happen. “She’s so nice and beautiful. She was a nurse in the military. That’s where she met her late husband. He also passed away three years ago.”

Mr. Waltham started rambling as he told me about Rosette. I leaned back in my seat, smiling softly at the way he talked. It was really cute seeing his eyes light up for the first time since he started seeing me.

He told me about how they had coffee on their front porches every morning this week. From the sound of it, Rosette and him had a lot in common. Both had military experience, both were widowed, and they loved the same genre of books and movies.

“I want to invite her over for dinner tomorrow night, but I don’t want to look like a goon.” Aw, he was nervous about asking a woman out.

“Well, do you have a plan on what you’d want to make?” I asked.

“She told me she loves seafood. So, I was thinking of making salmon.”

“Once you know what you want to make, go over to her house, and just ask if she’d like to spend the evening with you. She’ll say yes, I promise.”

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