“You’re not. Not in the least.” She sighed, propping herself on her elbow and smiling at him. “Do I smell an office romance in the works?”
He frowned.
“Graham, she’s gorgeous.” Her gaze searched his. “Veronica. Don’t tell me you hadn’t noticed.”
“She was by far the most qualified.” His frown grew.
“Yes, I heard all about her credentials over dinner tonight.” Her nose wrinkled. “Qualified and gorgeous.”
He shrugged. Whether or not his new hire was attractive hadn’t factored into his decision to hire her. “Her résumé was all that mattered. And her references. Besides, my only competition in town is an all-female clinic. Hiring a woman was a smart move.”
“Graham.” Felicity sighed. “What is wrong with us?”
“What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with us.” He paused. “With me, anyway.”
“Ha ha.” She glanced at the door. “Rob’s a nice guy. Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of men to choose from for a woman my age. So what’s wrong with him? Rather, what’s wrong with me?”
You have standards? Shit. She was right. Rob might be a little pushy and not in the least bit intuitive, but he was decent. “If it makes you feel any better, the same thing happened to me.”
She burst out laughing. “Rob Klein tricked you into going on a date with him?”
“Now who’s the comedian?” He grinned. “Two words: Widow Rainey.”
“Ooh.” She leaned forward, waiting. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
He snorted. “She gave my cell number to Romi Takahashi—told her I was too nervous to call and ask her out for coffee.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out under the table.
“Are you?” Felicity studied him.
“No.” He met her gaze. “I’ve never thought about getting coffee with her.” To be completely honest, he hadn’t thought about going out with any woman. And, until now, he hadn’t stopped to ask himself why.
“Is there something wrong with this Romi Takahashi?”
“Aside from the fact that she expelled Diana from St. Thomas?” Not that she had a choice. When a student was caught with marijuana at school, action was required. But, besides her name, he didn’t remember a thing about her. Maybe he’d been too preoccupied with Diana. Or maybe he wasn’t interested in the woman.
Hell, in dating. How could he be when every one of Adelaide Keanon’s warnings were burned into his brain. His daughter was a danger to herself. She needed help.
“Maybe… Maybe we should go.” She wrinkled her nose again, looking young and uncertain. “You take Romi for coffee, and I’ll, maybe, try this date thing with Rob. If he calls.”
Oh, he’ll call. And it bothered him. That she was considering officially dating Rob bothered him. He swallowed. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life. And I don’t think you do, either. I’m not saying you’ll wind up with Romi or I’ll elope with Rob—it doesn’t even have to be Romi. What about Dr. Luna? Or ask Widow Rainey, she’d love to help. I’m just saying we have to start somewhere. We have to put ourselves out there, right?”
From first dates to eloping? Where the hell had that come from? That was some leap. One he wasn’t ready to contemplate.
“Right?” she pushed.
“Right.” What the hell was the question?
Chapter Eight
Charity sat on the front porch, sipping her peppermint tea. Felicity was all about the peppermint tea being great for nausea and indigestion. Charity was more than happy to give it a try, since she had serious “indigestion”—an assumption Felicity had come up with that Charity saw no reason to correct. For the time being, anyway. From her seat on the porch swing, she could see the large inflatable being set up at the end of the street. Tonight was the annual Welcome Summer Nights for their neighborhood—Old Town. Cake walks, dunking booths, face painting, karaoke, and a whole slew of other booths and activities the whole family could enjoy.
In true Otto family fashion, her mother had signed them each up for volunteer hours.
Honor helped with face painting.
Nick worked the karaoke machine.