Connor was sprawled in his easy chair, reading a medical textbook, when Mia walked in. He looked up with a slightly distracted smile. “Is she asleep?”
“If not, she’s almost there. Her eyes were closing when I left her.”
He set his book aside and stretched. “I told myself I was going to take an evening off from studying, but it’s hard to make myself do so. I keep remembering that I still have three more classes to complete this semester.”
“You deserve a few hours just to unwind after that test. Can I get you anything?”
He groaned and waved her toward the couch. “Sit down. I’ve had plenty to eat and drink. Let’s just relax for now, okay?”
Sinking into the cushions, she nodded. “I have a little paperwork to do for school tomorrow, but it’ll only take me twenty minutes or so. I can chat a while.”
A fleeting frown crossed his face, as if chatting wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind, but he nodded equably. “I’ve heard all about Alexis’s weekend. How about you? Did you have a nice time with your family?”
“Very nice, thanks. We played lots of board games, took some walks, had a birthday party for Dad. Ate a lot,” she added with a slight grimace.
“It sounds nice.”
“It was.”
“Alexis is crazy about your family. She’s obviously adopted them for her own.”
“They feel the same way about her. Nicklaus and Caroline love spending time with her, and my parents think she’s adorable. Probably because she is,” she added with a little laugh.
“She hasn’t had any more nightmares lately?”
“No. I hope that phase is over.”
“Yeah, so do I.”
Mia twisted her fingers in her lap, knowing the small talk was about to end. She tried to delay the inevitable just a bit longer. “How do you think your study group did on the exam?”
“James pretty much aced it, I’m sure, as did Anne, though she’ll probably fret about it until the grades are posted. Haley seemed well prepared, so I’m sure she did okay. Ron—”
He shrugged. “It’s hard to tell with Ron. He works hard, but he doesn’t seem to take anything too seriously. Even if he blew it, I’m not sure the rest of us would ever know.”
“You’ve become quite close with them, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess I have. They’re great people.”
“You don’t get to see your old friends much these days.”
“I know,” he admitted with a wince. “I hate that, but I’ve just had so little extra time. Besides which, we don’t seem to have as much in common these days. It was playing sports that drew us together mostly, and I don’t have as much opportunity for that these days, especially since Alexis arrived. And they like to hang out in the bars afterward, drinking beer and picking up women, and that’s not really my thing anymore. Again, part of that is due to Alexis—I mean, I’m a father now, you know? I should act like one.”
In other words, his life was changing. He was slowly leaving his old life behind. His new friends had more in common with him, knew exactly what it was like to go through medical school, and the shared experiences drew them closer together. Whatever energy he had left was rightly given to his daughter.
So what did that leave for her? A few moments of attention on the odd evening away from his studies, like tonight?
She moistened her lips and clenched her hands more tightly together.
After a moment, Connor pushed a hand through his hair and leaned forward in his chair, his eyes focused on her face. “We seem to be going out of our way to avoid the one topic we should probably be discussing.”
She glanced down at her white-knuckled fingers. “I know.”
“What happened between us the other night—”
“—was amazing,” she cut in quickly. “I don’t regret it.”
After a slight pause, he prodded, “But…?”