break up with Zach. I wasn’t lying when I said I loved him, and yet my mind kept drifting back to the few blissful hours John and I had spent together . But c rush or no crush , I didn’t know him . Not like I knew Zach. So what if there’ d been a spark between us? So what if his kiss had made my knees wobble? That didn’t change how I felt about Zach deep down in my gut.
But that kiss . . .
I groaned and lobbed the pillow against the opposite wall.
That darn kiss !
I licked my lips, my entire body buzzing with the memory of it. I brought my hand to my mouth and, closing my eyes, recalled John’s face in perfect detail—the mossy green eyes, the sharp slope of his nose and high cheekbones, the perfect Cupid’s bow of his mouth. Unfortunately, the side of my hand felt and tasted nothing like John’s lips, and I let my arm flop back at my side.
“What is wrong with me?” I yelled out loud.
I had yet to call Olivia, so I picked up the phone and dialed her number. “How’s Eleanor?” I said when she answered , stalling before I got to the heart of the matter .
“Three stitches. Not too bad. Mom’s got a migraine. She’s threatening to take away their big-kid beds and reassemble their cribs.” She laughed and then added, “Mom says I never got into so much trouble when I was their age . S he can’t handle the stress of always worrying about what they’ll do next.”
I opened a bottle of pearl-pink nail polish and be gan touching up my toes . “What does she expect? They’re toddlers. And there are two of them.”
“Mom says she’s definitely too old for twins. Sometimes she wonders why she ever let Dad talk her in to having more kids. I heard her yelling at him once that the in vitro cost them their savings and her sanity.”
I recapped the polish and wiggled my toes to dry them . “Ouch. I see her point, though. Y our dad isn’t the one who’s stuck home taking care of them all day long. To him, children are this abstract concept that’s good in theory only. He has no clinical knowledge of how to raise kids.”
Olivia laughed. “Okay, Dr. Ehlert. I wonder what my mom would say if she heard that ? Maybe you should give her free therapy.”
I laughed, too. “ D on’t ever let me get involved with a guy who compromises my mental well-being .”
“ Deal. Speaking of guys,” Olivia said, “What was up with you and John Kelly this afternoon? That was weird. I’ve never seen you say more than two words to the guy. S hould Zach be worried?”
“Nothing is up with me and John Kelly . ”
“Hmm. Well, don’t go doing anything stupid like break up with Zach.”
My silence must have spoken volumes because Olivia gasped and said, “You didn’t, Blake! Please tell me you didn’t break up with him.”
“I did,” I said in a horrified whisper of admission. “I just got off the phone with him.”
“But why ? No. Hold that thought. I’m coming over.”
The line went dead with a click . I plucked a tissue from the box and blew my nose, which had started to run like a faucet with my fresh tears .
My door swung open a few minutes later and Olivia planted herself in the middle of my bed. “Lay it on me,” she said. “Tell me everything.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Libby. Everything was fine between Zach and me when I woke up this morning . And now it’s not! ”
Olivia scowled and pointed a finger at me. “This is all John’s fault. I should never have left you alone with him at that party. Hot bod plus shrouded in mystery equals smarmy. ”
I rolled my eyes and sniffed. “He’s not smarmy . He’s actually very nice. He bought me lunch at The Market.”
“Not chili and cornbread.”
I blotted the corners of my eyes with the tissue. “Yeah. Why does that matter?”
Olivia let out a deep, agitated breath as though I had used up all of her patience. “That chili and cornbread is your kryptonite, Blake. It’s your weakness! You can’t be held
But that kiss . . .
I groaned and lobbed the pillow against the opposite wall.
That darn kiss !
I licked my lips, my entire body buzzing with the memory of it. I brought my hand to my mouth and, closing my eyes, recalled John’s face in perfect detail—the mossy green eyes, the sharp slope of his nose and high cheekbones, the perfect Cupid’s bow of his mouth. Unfortunately, the side of my hand felt and tasted nothing like John’s lips, and I let my arm flop back at my side.
“What is wrong with me?” I yelled out loud.
I had yet to call Olivia, so I picked up the phone and dialed her number. “How’s Eleanor?” I said when she answered , stalling before I got to the heart of the matter .
“Three stitches. Not too bad. Mom’s got a migraine. She’s threatening to take away their big-kid beds and reassemble their cribs.” She laughed and then added, “Mom says I never got into so much trouble when I was their age . S he can’t handle the stress of always worrying about what they’ll do next.”
I opened a bottle of pearl-pink nail polish and be gan touching up my toes . “What does she expect? They’re toddlers. And there are two of them.”
“Mom says she’s definitely too old for twins. Sometimes she wonders why she ever let Dad talk her in to having more kids. I heard her yelling at him once that the in vitro cost them their savings and her sanity.”
I recapped the polish and wiggled my toes to dry them . “Ouch. I see her point, though. Y our dad isn’t the one who’s stuck home taking care of them all day long. To him, children are this abstract concept that’s good in theory only. He has no clinical knowledge of how to raise kids.”
Olivia laughed. “Okay, Dr. Ehlert. I wonder what my mom would say if she heard that ? Maybe you should give her free therapy.”
I laughed, too. “ D on’t ever let me get involved with a guy who compromises my mental well-being .”
“ Deal. Speaking of guys,” Olivia said, “What was up with you and John Kelly this afternoon? That was weird. I’ve never seen you say more than two words to the guy. S hould Zach be worried?”
“Nothing is up with me and John Kelly . ”
“Hmm. Well, don’t go doing anything stupid like break up with Zach.”
My silence must have spoken volumes because Olivia gasped and said, “You didn’t, Blake! Please tell me you didn’t break up with him.”
“I did,” I said in a horrified whisper of admission. “I just got off the phone with him.”
“But why ? No. Hold that thought. I’m coming over.”
The line went dead with a click . I plucked a tissue from the box and blew my nose, which had started to run like a faucet with my fresh tears .
My door swung open a few minutes later and Olivia planted herself in the middle of my bed. “Lay it on me,” she said. “Tell me everything.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Libby. Everything was fine between Zach and me when I woke up this morning . And now it’s not! ”
Olivia scowled and pointed a finger at me. “This is all John’s fault. I should never have left you alone with him at that party. Hot bod plus shrouded in mystery equals smarmy. ”
I rolled my eyes and sniffed. “He’s not smarmy . He’s actually very nice. He bought me lunch at The Market.”
“Not chili and cornbread.”
I blotted the corners of my eyes with the tissue. “Yeah. Why does that matter?”
Olivia let out a deep, agitated breath as though I had used up all of her patience. “That chili and cornbread is your kryptonite, Blake. It’s your weakness! You can’t be held
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