When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark 2)

I chuckle and wrap a piece of her damp hair around my finger. “Funny, I was going to say the same about you. I guess we’ll just do each other in.”

She smiles widely and her eyes squint at me. That’s something I’ve always loved about Thea; when she’s truly happy and gives you a genuine smile her eyes all but disappear. “I guess we’ll go together then.” One arm wraps around my neck and her other hand lies palm flat against my chest over my heart.

My hands settle on her hips and I lift her off the dresser, setting her on the floor. She blinks up at me with wide eyes and says, “You make me happy. You should already know that, but in case you don’t, I’m telling you.”

I do know I make her happy, it’s evident from all the time we spend together talking and laughing, but regardless, it feels good to hear her say it.

I don’t know how to respond so I simply nod and smile and bend down to pick my sweatshirt off the floor. I slip it on over my head and tug it down.

“Maybe we should bring your laptop,” I suggest. “If we’re there for a while we can watch more Charmed.”

She laughs and goes to grab her laptop off her nightstand, putting it in her backpack. “You really like that show, don’t you? And you were so reluctant to watch it,” she tsks.

“Yeah, yeah.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “You were right, and I was wrong. It’s a good fucking show and I’m addicted, okay? I need to know what happens next.”

I follow her to her door and when she swings it open, Rae is standing on the other side. Thea jolts back and into my chest. I grab her elbow to steady her and she quickly jerks away. I know I shouldn’t be offended, but I am. I don’t let it show, though.

“Interesting,” is all Rae says before heading down the hall to the room she shares with Cade.

Thea looks up at me with worried eyes and I shrug.

There’s nothing we can do about it now.

We fall asleep in the waiting room of the vet’s office watching Charmed, and when I wake up, my body is stiff and hurting. It doesn’t help that I had one hell of a practice yesterday, but I blame most of the pain on sleeping on the wooden bench sitting up. Thea’s stretched out with her head on my lap, sleeping peacefully. I run my fingers through her hair, rubbing the soft strands against my thumb and forefinger.

“Sir?” A hushed whisper sounds somewhere behind me and I turn my head. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” A different woman from yesterday comes over and sits down in the chair in front of me. Instantly, my heart seizes with worry that she’s going to tell me the dog didn’t make it. “I wanted to let you know that the surgery was successful and your dog will be fine. She’s going to need to rest for a while, and be watched carefully, but she’s doing well.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Thea stirs in my lap and sits up, rubbing at her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“She came to tell me the dog’s going to be okay.”

“Oh.” Thea brightens. “That’s great.”

The woman nods. “Does she have a name yet? I’m aware you only put in the adoption papers last night.” She laughs lightly. “So if you haven’t picked one yet, that’s fine, but we’d prefer to call her by her name if you’ve decided.”

I look at Thea and she looks at me. “Prue?”

I grin. “Prue,” I repeat. “It’s perfect.”

The woman smiles and stands. “Prue it is. She won’t be able to go home with you for at least a day—we typically monitor them for twenty-four hours following surgery. So I suggest you guys get on out of here and prepare for your new addition to come home with you.”

“Thank you,” I tell the woman. “And can you tell the vet and nurses thank you too?”

She nods with a warm smile. “Absolutely.” She rounds the receptionist table. “We can finish your payment and then when you pick her up you won’t have to do anything but get her.”

“Perfect,” I say, pulling my wallet out of the pocket of my sweatpa

nts. I hand Thea the keys. “You wanna go on out to the car?”

She nods and takes them from my hands, heading for the automatic glass doors. I can’t help but stare at her slender legs and the way her shorts hug her curves just right.

I step up the desk and make the payment, sign the receipt, and hand it back.

“You look familiar,” the woman says, staring up at me.

I shrug. “Must have one of those faces.”