river and fishes a lot.”
“He doesn’t practice medicine anymore at all?”
“He comes into the hospital every Wednesday, walks around, pokes his nose in here and there, wants to know about any new gadget I’m using. But he’s eighty-six now, his eyesight isn’t great and if I’m seeing one of his former patients he likes to sit in. Sometimes even with lousy vision he still picks up on things I miss.”
“Do you like being a doctor?”
“Yeah, especially here. I get to do a little of everything and sort of take over the surrogate dad role old Doc Seymour played—even though I’m too young for it,” he added with a laugh.
Reid as a dad—surrogate or otherwise. Not a subject she wanted to get anywhere near.
As if he’d thought the same thing after making that comment, he glanced at his watch and said, “I should go.”
Chloe didn’t dispute it. But she did say, “No more pizza?” And she said it with a touch too much hopefulness in her tone.
“I think I’ve had my limit,” he answered, closing the lid on the box. “Besides, the leftovers will give you something to eat around here. Didn’t you always claim that was your favorite breakfast?”
“Mmm, cold pizza—it’s a treat,” she confirmed.
He got to his feet then and so did she, keeping her distance as he put on his coat. But she did follow behind as he headed for the door so she could lock it after him.
He didn’t go out, though. He stopped there, and with one hand on the knob, he met her gaze.
“This was okay,” he seemed to conclude.
Not an accolade but under the circumstances Chloe took it as high praise.
“It was okay,” she agreed.
“So do you think we can do this? Let bygones be bygones or something?”
“What do you think?” she asked. “I mean, do you think you can let bygones be bygones? Or something?”
He studied her for a long moment with those brilliant green eyes. And while they still didn’t look at her the way they had fourteen years ago, they also didn’t look at her the way they had the night before or that morning. And that was a relief. Even if she did still yearn a little for more.
“I can give it a try,” he said when he finally did answer.
“I’d like that,” Chloe responded quietly.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. How early can I start without disturbing you?”
“Anytime. Just use the key Betty gave you and come in. Even if it’s before I’m awake I can’t hear much of anything upstairs and I’ll probably sleep through it.”
“Okay, but I’ll be especially quiet until I know you’re up.”
She nodded.
“Good night, then.”
“Get home safely,” she joked, making him smile a little again.
For another moment they remained standing there, not too far apart, just looking at each other.
As they did, Chloe couldn’t help recalling so many other times when they’d said good-night at her door much like that. Only then he would have kissed her.
He would have kissed her in a way that would have filled her with a special kind of heat. That would have made her feel like his and his alone…
And of course that didn’t happen tonight.
Instead Reid broke the glance first, looking at the handle as he turned it to open the door.
“Thanks for the pizza,” she said belatedly.
“Sure,” he answered as he went out into the clear autumn night.
Then he closed the door behind him and Chloe stepped up to lock it.
When she did she could feel the warmth of his hand lingering on the knob and all on their own her eyes closed and she absorbed that sensation, picturing those other nights, those kisses that had sent her to bed with a smile on her face.
Those kisses…
She couldn’t help wondering if those kisses were anything like Reid’s kisses now. Or if, as had happened with his looks, his kisses had changed and matured, too.
And even though it was completely uncalled for, even though it was its own kind of torture for her, she also couldn’t help—in a secret, forbidden place deep inside of her—wishing she’d gotten a taste of his kiss, old or new, tonight.
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