Page 28 of Falling for the Veterinarian

My face burns. He caught me. Maggie gets up and comes to sit next to me. “Um.”

“Sarah, you can be honest with me.”

I take a deep breath. “I saw you with Whitney on my way out of the bathroom. You were caressing her face and if you weren’t interested in me, I wish you would’ve—”

“Sarah,” he cuts my confession off. He rises from the sofa, softly taps Maggie to move, and sits next to me on the loveseat.

“Iaminterested in you,” he says. “A gnat flew in Whitney’s eye. I was making sure I had gotten it out.”

“Oh,” I say lamely. I feel foolish and really want to be invisible. My confession, the immature jumping to conclusions… Ugh, he must think I am such a child.

“Listen, I haven’t been in any kind of relationship since my wife died. I’m a bit rusty on the whole dating thing, but I’d like to try . . . with you." He grabs my hand, "I know you just ended a relationship and might not be ready, but don’t worry. I am in no rush. I can wait for you.”

Twenty

Sarah

“Iapparentlyhavesomeinsecurities I need to work through.” I look away from him. “I would hate for that to get in the way of something really great.”

“Like I said, no rushing into it. Just meet me at the pie competition. I need to support Jen, my assistant. Then we can go to the hard apple cider-tasting event. Ok?”

He touches my chin and gently lifts it upward until I meet his searching eyes. After some hesitation, I answer with an okay.

“Perfect!” He stands. “I need to run some errands, but I’ll see you later.” He pauses, squats down to Maggie’s level, and gives her a good pet.

“Oh, by the way,” he stands up, “you don’t need to come to that appointment on Tuesday. Maggie is in great health; I was just using it as an excuse to see you again.”

And with that, he walks out the door leaving me feeling exposed. After cleaning up, I walk Maggie off leash and head towards the restaurant at the inn. I hear singing from in the kitchen when I enter the lobby. Michelle sits in her favorite spot by the window. Maggie strolls over to her, tail wagging.

“Why hello there, sweetie!” She nuzzles Maggie.

“She sure is loveable, right?” I say to Aunt Michelle. I greet her with a big hug. She and Uncle Nate never had children, but they make me feel like I am their own kid.

“Is that Cookie singing Aretha Franklin?” I giggle.

“Yup,” Michelle joins in the laugh. “‘Respect is her pie competition song. She only sings it on contest day.”

“She’s kind of fun once you get past her intimidating façade.” I chuckle, and Michelle nods in agreement.

“Good morning, Sarah. What can I get for you?” the sweet coffee murderess, Kate, asks.

“Oh, just some water today, thanks.” She quickly wanders off.

“Good choice,” Michelle whispers with a wink. “Good to know you’re still a quick study.”

“So, what time is the pie competition?” I ask since I forgot to verify the time with Zach.

“Five-thirty p.m., but Cookie has to drop the pies off by four,” she says.

“Pies?” I question with a blatant tone of confusion.

“Yes, sixteen pies to be exact.”

“What? Why so many?”

Michelle chortles. “I forget you haven’t been to the festival before. This is the main event of the festival; only 120 tickets are sold. Don’t worry, I bought you a ticket already. There is no way I am letting you miss this.”

“I had no idea.”

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