Rhys tilted his head with an unreadable look. “I don’t believe that’s their main mission in life. They’ve also the major chain of pharmacies along with their popular clinics which provide loads of patients with easy and affordable access to healthcare.”
“If someone was going to a free clinic and DBCare took over, how is ‘not free’ affordable?” I started to demand. But then I cut myself off.
“See,” I say. “It would be a huge argument between you and my dad. Which would make it even more uncomfortable when he tried to convince you to take over his practice—Rachel’s been on him to retire so that they can travel more. Like she doesn’t have two kids still in school. But anyway, trust me when I say you do not want any of this hometown business. It’s so not worth the aggravation.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but I kissed it closed before he could. And as I did, both my phone and watch vibrated at the same time.
“Sorry.” I gave him an apologetic smile after glancing at my Apple Watch. “I’ve got to go. Let me know if you find my shoe, okay?”
“Will you come back for it if I do?” he asked as I zipped up my bag and rushed toward the door.
“Bye Rhys!” I answered with a light laugh as I opened the door.
“Cynda.”
My name stopped me, just as I was about to head out.
“The Uber’s here,” I reminded him, turning back around.
But he continued to sit there, so upright and regal, that he put me in mind of a king on his throne, even though he was naked and in bed.
And it felt like a decree when he said, “You may go home this weekend, but when you return, come straight back to me.”
Fear banded around my heart. And for some reason, a picture of my mom dying in her hospital bed flashed across my mind.
Which is why it felt like one of the bravest things I’d ever done when I agreed, “Okay. See you Monday.”
“See you Monday,” he answered, his gaze steady on me.
But as it turned out, that was a promise I didn’t keep.
Chapter Ten
You’d think having on masks would make things less awkward. No reason to talk if your mouth is covered.
But somehow we manage a silence so rife and tense, it feels like we’re driving inside a powder keg about to explode.
About an hour in, I decide to just go’on ahead and light a match. “So you’re here with no wedding ring on. Guess you decided not to get back with Ingrid.”
“I didn’t decide anything,” he answers, his voice clipped and tight. “Calling off our engagement so that I could be with you razed that bridge.”
Solid burn. But I feel obligated to point out, “We were only together for a few months. She probably would have taken you back. Did you even try?”
A sour beat. Then: “No.”
I can’t see his mouth, but I’d bet money he’s grinding his teeth beneath that mask.
“You should,” I tell him. “Just say ‘Ingrid, baby, I messed up. I never should have left you for that Cynda. She turned out to be a real bitch.”
Rhys doesn’t answer, but I sense him trying not to smile.
“Do you have a girlfriend at least?” I ask. “Somebody who will be joining you for your Guadalajara house hunt?”
“No,” he answers, his voice tight. “I travel a lot for my job. I didn’t have time for a relationship. I like it by the way…”
“You like traveling so much you don’t have time for relationships?” I ask. “Then why did you settle down here.”
“No, I like your hair. It looks good short like that. It really frames your face.”
Memories of how he used to complain about my long ponytail extension float into my mind. And my body burns, remembering how he used to hold it in a vice grip sometimes. Supposedly so that it wouldn’t whip in his face. But the way he held on to me as he took me had made the sex that much hotter.
I clear my throat and somehow manage a weak, “Thank you.”
I’m going to have to have a little talk with my heart after we get back home. With just a few months until I’ll be moving to the East Coast, there’s no reason at all it should be beating faster. Especially considering that this guy fired me. From my own father’s practice!
But something inside won’t let me not ask, “So you used to travel a lot for your job and now you’ve settled down in boring Guadalajara, Missouri. Why though?”
“You made it sound rather bucolic, didn’t you? Friendly neighbors. Little crime. Perfect place to raise a family. Isn’t that what you said your father would have told me?”
That is what I said. Exactly what I said.
“Is that what you want now? To settle down and raise a family?” My heart tightens at the thought of him doing just that. But with somebody else.