Page 31 of Suddenly Entwined

“Hello?”

A woman is on the other end. My first thought is my mother, but it sounds nothing like her.

“Good morning, Joan in the office here!”

I frown. Who at the what?

“The office?” I repeat.

“Unfortunately, I’ve got Louisa with me.”

Louisa? Crap.

I pull the phone away from my ear, recognizing how weird it feels in my hand. This isn’t even mine. I piece it all together, recalling the way Berg slid his phone across my counter last night to illustrate how busy he was. I’d had my phone out on the counter too, so we must have mixed them up. I guess that’s pretty easy to do when you’re focused on not making googly eyes at the hot guy that just saw you naked.

“Oh, there’s actually been a mixup. Let me call her Dad–”

“Lou is pretty feverish, so she’s here in the office ready for pickup.”

A fever? I press the back of my hand to my head, assessing my own temperature.

“Wait, but–”

Joan’s voice is bright and unbothered by my attempts to interject. “See you shortly!”

“Um…” I’m frozen in my kitchen.

If I have Berg’s phone, he has to have mine. I dial my number, tapping my foot as I wait forever for an answer.

“Hello?” Berg’s voice sounds tinny and far away. Laced with the same tone of confusion I had a minute ago.

“Hi, it’s Carolina. We mixed up our phones last night, I guess.”

In the background, a truck beeps, and I wonder if he can even hear me.

“Do you know the looks I got for having a Save A Horse ringtone?”

I press my lips together. “At least your eardrums are intact. Why the hell is yours set to geriatric mode?”

I know I hear him laugh, and the gruff sound almost makes me forget why I’m calling.

“The girls' school called. Lou is sick and needs to be picked up.”

“Now?”

When the hell else would she need to be picked up?

“Um. Yes? The secretary said she was in the office.”

He groans in frustration.

“Fuck. Caro, I’m a good hour out of town at a job site. It will take me,” he pauses, “at least an hour and half to get things wrapped up and across town to the school.”

I know exactly where this is going.

“Berg.No! I cannot take care of a sick child!”

I pace through my kitchen, examining the bandage I couldn’t even apply on my own.

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