Her mood swings were relentless, but he was getting what he wanted so he wasn’t going to argue. Any attempt to engage in further conversation ended when she plugged into her earbuds. He let it go, driving through the rain, hoping the visit wouldn’t be a colossal disaster. The last thing he wanted to do was add to Felicity’s stress level—or her family’s.
In the last few days, his admiration for Felicity Buchanan had only increased. He’d run into her at the hospital a few times, various members of her family in tow. Felicity was a powerhouse, a gentle, caring powerhouse. She steered her family seamlessly, smoothed feathers, offered support, with a smile.
Sitting with her at Jack’s bedside, he’d been struck by a memory. A past vacation, his family and Matt’s had been at the beach. The kids were building a sandcastle and Felicity was strolling along the beach, hunting the ever-elusive sand dollar. Julia had pointed out how beautiful Felicity was to both men. She’d been right, as Julia normally was. And when Matt had whistled at his wife, she’d covered her cheeks and smiled—embarrassed and awkward and charming. He’d never been jealous of Matt. He had Julia. But he’d always thought Matt had been damn lucky.
The day Amber Strauss walked into their practice with her pharmaceutical sample case, mile-long legs, and megawatt smile, he’d felt the air ripple between her and Matt. Still, he’d held on to the belief that Matt loved his family too much to do anything stupid. Attraction was tempting, but what Matt and Felicity had was real and special.
Then Matt had given his family up and left Felicity alone to pick up the pieces.
While he was losing Julia.
When Julia got sick, Felicity helped out. Her funeral? Felicity had taken care of so much. After, he’d been useless—ignoring her calls and avoiding her drop-ins.
In his grief, he’d deserted a dear friend. He realized that now. And felt like an ass. If he could do something to make this easier, he would. Because having a workaholic whose kid is on the verge of being institutionalized around is just what Felicity and her family need. Maybe this was a bad idea. He parked his car and stared at the Otto-Buchanan house.
“It’s not raining,” Diana said, looking out the window. “Soo…are we going in?”
He nodded, regretting that he’d forced the issue.
Diana was out the door and hurrying up the stone walkway, glaring at him when he didn’t pick up the pace.
“Dad?” Diana stared at him, oozing impatience.
“What?”
“Are you going to knock?” she asked, sighing.
He knocked.
Charity Otto opened the door. “Graham, I thought you’d passed the point of needing to knock on the door years ago. Hi, Diana? Look at you, rocking the goth-smolder thing. Nice to see you guys.” She frowned. “God, is it okay to say that? Considering the circumstances?” She shrugged. “Come in, eat, please. Seriously.”
Graham followed Diana inside, closing the door behind them. “Guess we are running late?” The house was empty.
“Sort of.” Charity smiled. “The funeral was this morning, everyone just cleared out, and my folks are at the hospital with Jack. I’d say your timing is perfect.”
Graham smiled. Charity’s sarcasm was surprising—and amusing. “We’d meant to make the service but—”
“Dad was birthing babies,” Diana offered.
“A far preferable experience, I’m sure.” Charity smiled. “All healthy?”
Graham nodded.
“That’s way happier than hanging out in black, trying to come up with nice things to say about…him.” Charity shrugged. “Did I mention you should eat? A lot. We could feed the town for a wee
k. Seriously. Follow me.”
Graham did, smiling when they found Felicity, Nick, and Honor gathered around several tubs of ice cream. “If this is dinner, Diana and I might stay.”
“Yeah, we have like two celery stalks and something growing mold in Tupperware. I vote ice cream.” Diana took the spoon Honor offered.
“Bowls are optional,” Felicity said, squeezing around the table and offering him a bowl. “So is real food, Graham. We have real food, lots and lots of it, if you want me to make you something more substantial.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” he murmured, trying not to let Diana’s comment about Felicity get to him. But it was there, impossible to ignore. Felicity was attractive. No, she was beautiful—radiating a sort of warmth that was impossible to ignore. Everything about her said “woman” in a way that made a man sit up and take notice. And yes, he noticed. He wasn’t dead. But that had nothing to do with why he was here.
Her green eyes met his. “Gives me something to do,” she explained. “So, please, let me cook for you.”
“Especially since you haven’t eaten all day,” Diana added.