Page 78 of Doctorshipped
I’m guessing there won’t even be another dance with him. Not that I should chance that at all. Being held by him just became dangerous. Who knows, I could lose my senses completely, grip his cheeks and force him to bend down and then I’d claim him instead.
Yeah. No. Not happening.
Grant and me? In the moment, it could have been something we both enjoyed. Looking beyond the moment, it’s obvious we wouldn’t go anywhere long term. The last thing we need to do is jeopardize my role in Fiona’s life.
I chug the last of my mineral water and look up when Shannon calls my name.
“Jayme!”
“Yeah?”
“Come dance with us!”
The song just changed to an oldie by Sister Sledge. I run out to the dance floor just in time to jump around, and shimmy with my friends toWe Are Family.
Just like the song says, I’ve got all of them. I don’t need anything more—even if for a brief moment I really wanted it.
* * *
“Is that everything?”Trevor shouts from the front porch.
“Everything but the cats and Groucho,” I answer. “Hairball’s in the carrier. But, I can’t find Oddball.”
Cats hate change. Both of them have been freaking out for over a week—ever since I began packing boxes of my stuff, and Shannon and I started moving things out to get her settled at Duke’s for when they come home from their honeymoon.
Shannon and Duke took off for Antigua yesterday. I can’t even find it in me to be jealous. They’re so happy together, and they deserve all the goodness life has to offer them. Okay. I’m a little jealous. Have you ever seen photos of Antigua? It’s on my bucket list now. I’ll go there right after I start a 401K. That should be before I’m eighty, right?
Who knows, with my social media in Ella Mae’s hands, I may land this publishing deal and things could take a turn. One can hope. Although, Ella Mae’s latest thoughts for a series of posts have me more than nervous. Her saying,trust me,repeatedly hasn’t helped calm my anxiety in the least.
I spot Oddball hunkered behind the bottom of one of the living room curtains. Poor boy, we moved all his normal hiding places out of the house yesterday. I’m stashing all my furniture in a storage unit for now, until I figure out where I’ll be staying long term.
“Come on, Oddball,” I cajole. “Let’s go see your new home.”
He lets out this combination mewl and yowling sound that basically translates to a cat version of a toddler tantrum. He’s staging a protest, minus the picket signs and news cameras.
I slowly reach for him and scoop him into my arms. Then I deposit his unhappy self into the crate next to Hairball, who simply looks up from licking himself and gives Oddball a look that says,Get over it buddy. You’re still getting fed.
I grab Groucho’s leash and clip it to his collar, then, picking up the carrier and looping the leash around my arm, I take one last look around this house that holds so many sentimental memories. It hasn’t merely been a house, it was our home.
I breathe out a full sigh and kick open the screen door.
“Here. Let me get that for you,” Trevor says, grabbing for the cat carrier.
I let him, because I’m starting to realize how good it feels to allow others to lead—like when Grant led me in that dance. Which I’m totally not thinking about anymore. Pickles … red balloons … clowns in small cars. I try to focus on anything but the feeling of Grant tugging me ever so slightly nearer to him so that our bodies aligned. All his hard muscles bunched and relaxed as we swayed together.
Not helping.
My mind circles like a merry-go-round returning to thoughts of that dance over and over ever since the night of the wedding.
Trevor sets the car carrier in the back seat, and I heft Groucho up onto the opposite seat. Then I follow Trevor over to the house he and Lexi bought right after they got married. We all still call it the old Finch place. Maybe in decades to come it will be known as the MacIntyre place, after Trevor and Lexi’s last name.
Lexi’s out on the porch. Their almost-three-year-old, Poppy, runs around in the grass at the bottom of the steps, spinning in circles and plopping down on the ground. She’s so adorable. I instantly feel better seeing the two of them.
We get the animals settled and I start unpacking in my new room. Then my phone rings. It’s four o’clock on a Monday. I’d normally be tutoring Fiona, but with the move, I pushed things over a day so I could get settled into my new space. Trevor actually took the day off to help me.
I can’t imagine who would be calling me.
When I pick my phone up, it’s an unknown number.
