Cameron came striding down the hallway, sliding his cell back into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned down, placed a very innocent peck on Nora’s cheek, and Eli had to take another bite of his burger to keep from reacting.
This was a widow, for crying out loud. Not only did his brothers have no room to wink or give kisses, he sure as hell had no business getting jealous.
“Thanks for the food,” Cameron said, grabbing the last burger. “You’re an angel.”
“Your standards are low if you’re that impressed over a cheeseburger.”
The banter between his brothers and Nora took Eli back to when they were all teens, before life intervened...before he’d grown strong feelings for her and watched her marry another man.
She’d fit into his family beautifully. Everyone had thought he and Nora would end up together. Their ultimate dreams and the bigger picture just didn’t match up. But that didn’t mean he’d ever stopped caring for her...or loving her.
“I’m going to head to the clinic and check things out.” Eli came to his feet and tossed his trash in the wastebasket beside his chair. “I’d like to glance at the schedule for next week and look at some charts.”
“Don’t mess too much up in the office area,” Drake warned. “If you do, Lulu will have your head.”
Eli groaned. His father’s receptionist, real name unknown, was not a typical receptionist. In fact, she was flat-out weird and if she hadn’t been at his dad’s office for the past twenty years, he’d suggest his father hire someone else. But she knew the place inside and out and could answer any questions he had.
Eli only hoped she’d keep the flask at home, the nail files put away and her cleavage covered while she assisted him for the next few months.
“I promise not to bother any of Lulu’s things,” he stated.
Bev stood, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “You don’t know what it means that you’re here, Eli.”
Easing back, Eli looked her in the eye and smiled. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, Mom.”
After making sure one of his brothers would be there for their mom until he returned, he said a quick goodbye to Nora, who had also come to her feet.
“I’ll walk out with you,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
Eli nodded. This was going to be a long three months if he didn’t get over these emotions that kept sliding up and choking him. He’d managed to dodge such strong feelings before when he’d visit because the occasional “hi” as they passed in the yard didn’t resurrect too much. The thought of spending actual time with her, probably learning more about her personal life, had Eli’s mind all in a jumbled mess.
Nora walked by his side toward the double sliding glass doors leading outside. They’d passed the concrete fountain in the middle of the circular drive-up area and visitor benches before she finally broke the uncomfortable silence.
“You don’t seem happy to be back.”
Eli squinted against the afternoon sun glistening off the light dusting of snow on the grass and guided her down the sidewalk toward the visitor parking. “I’ve been nervous with Dad’s surgery. And to be honest, I’m anxious about his practice. I hope the people in town will accept me as their doctor while dad’s recovering.”
Nora’s delicate hand came up to his forearm as she stopped walking. Eli turned to look at her. The unusually bright winter sun almost created a halo effect around her colorful hat. When he noticed her squinting against the sun, too, Eli shifted his stance to cast a shadow over her.
“What I meant to say was, you seem uneasy with me,” she said, holding his gaze as if she dared him to look away.
Inwardly he smiled. He’d forgotten how she’d always been a take-charge type, never one to back down even if a topic was uncomfortable or awkward.
“I am,” he told her honestly. “I didn’t get to make it back for Todd’s funeral and I’m not quite sure what to say to you now that I’m here.”
Okay, that wasn’t a total lie, but it was just another layer to his unsettled mood.
Her hand slid from his as she pulled her coat tighter over her chest, crossing her arms. The slight breeze picked up strands of her low ponytail and sent pieces dancing around her shoulder.
“You don’t have to say anything, Eli. No words will bring him back and I won’t fall apart if you mention his name. He died doing what he loved, but I’m getting along.” She offered a tender smile. “You and I used to be so close.”
She inched closer, still holding his eyes with her own. Eli swallowed, but held her gaze. Nothing could make him turn away from such beauty. She’d always been able to captivate him with no effort on her part.
“All I need right now are friends,” she told him, her bright blue eyes searching his. “Can you handle that?”
Could he handle being her friend? He could, but there would be that secret silently settling between them, forming an invisible wedge.
Her pleading eyes tugged at his heart and he couldn’t deny her.
“I can handle that,” he told her with a brief nod.
She cupped her gloved hand over his cheek and the warmth spread throughout him. “I’m glad you’re back, even if it is for a short time.” She flashed him a knockout smile, then dropped her hand and pulled her coat back around her as if to shield herself against the chilly breeze.
Nora may act like everything was fine, but Eli’s body was still reeling from her innocent touch. Everything about her gesture had been harmless. And yet he could still feel her softness as her hand slid against his cheek—even though he hadn’t felt her bare skin.
“I’m so relieved the surgery was a success,” she told him, turning to walk again. “I’ve been a nervous wreck since we found out he’d have to have it.”
Eli kept his pace slow so she could remain by his side and in case there was a skiff of snow on the walk. He didn’t mind the cold; he would’ve walked anywhere she wanted to go if she’d just keep talking to him. He’d missed spending time with her. Because even though they’d parted ways, she’d always been so easy to talk to, so understanding and compassionate. They’d been best friends at one time and he’d yet to find anyone else he shared such a strong bond with outside of his family.
“I honestly was, too,” Eli told her. “I knew he was in good hands here, but you never know when something can go wrong.”
“How did you manage to get off work for so long?” she asked, stopping beside a small silver SUV. “That wasn’t much notice considering they told him yesterday he’d be having surgery.”
“I requested an emergency FMLA.” When she gave him a questioning look he clarified. “A family leave of absence. It’s for twelve weeks. If Dad is better before then, I can return, but that’s the limit I can be gone.”
“You like it in Atlanta?” she asked.
“I
