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“Can you, uh.” Hunter waggled her finger up and down at Rebecca. “You look great in that mask, but I’m not used to seeing you like this. May I talk to Rebecca?”

“Oh!” Rebecca removed her mask. “Better? It’s such a habit to wear it while I’m here that I don’t even realize it’s on.”

“Better. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to jeopardize your privacy.”

“It won’t matter anymore soon. I’m selling the place.”

Hunter’s eyes widened. “Whoa. I know I’ve been preoccupied lately, but this is big news. Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Precisely for that reason, Hunter. You’re dealing with getting over Susan, dealing with some tough times at work, and trying to figure out if the woman you have the hots for is a lesbian.” Rebecca gestured around her. “Me selling this place isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things.”

“How does Cass feel about it?”

“She’s fine with it. Hunter? You’re stalling. I don’t like it.”

“Geez, maybe you should put the mask back on, Mistress.” Hunter sighed heavily. “Okay. I’m getting nervous.”

“About?”

“Ellie.” Hunter sprang up. “I’m not good enough for someone like her, Becca.”

Rebecca got up, walked around her desk, and caught Hunter’s arm as she paced by her. “I should have warned you that talking to my aunt has side-effects.”

“She’s so good.”

“My aunt? Yeah, I think so.”

“No. I mean, yeah, but no. Ellie. Did I tell you she got Dani to talk? Not to me. At least not yet, but she’s talking. Ellie did that. She did what trained doctors couldn’t do.”

“That’s truly impressive, Hunter. But that doesn’t mean you’re not good enough for her.” Rebecca took Hunter’s hand and guided her friend back to the guest chair. She kept the large, soft hand in hers as she sat next to Hunter. “I’ve never pressured you into telling me more about Susan. And I’m not doing that now. From what I know, she’s married, she seduced you when you were younger, and she has some sort of hold on you that you finally broke free from. None of that makes you a bad person.”

“You said it yourself, she’s married.”

“You made a bad choice. Jesus, Hunter, you’ve more than made up for naïve foolishness. You’re a trauma surgeon. You’ve saved countless lives. You’re charitable. You’re one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known.”

“You’re biased,” Hunter muttered.

“I’m sure you think that. Truth is, I made my own decision about you after considering everything I know about you, Hunter. I think Ellie deserves the same opportunity, don’t you?”

“I guess you’re right.” Hunter studied Rebecca for a second. “Is everything okay with you? Not that you’re not being completely supportive, but you seem a little, um, distracted. You and Cass?”

“We’re great.” Rebecca attempted a smile but didn’t quite pull it off. “That’s true, we are great. She’s great. There’s just a small hitch right now.”

“Do I need to kick her ass?” Hunter threatened half-heartedly. She couldn’t imagine Cass being stupid enough to mess things up with someone like Rebecca. Or vice-versa.

Rebecca chuckled. “No. She’s done nothing wrong. In fact, she’s doing everything right. She’s with her best friend right now helping her through a situation.”

“And, you’re upset about that?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.”

Hunter shook her head in wonder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this flustered. Want to tell me about it?”

Rebecca didn’t hesitate to tell Hunter about the little scene with Miranda.

“Wait, she came down the stairs naked?” Rebecca nodded. “And said something asinine like “I didn’t know we had company”? What did Cass say about that?”

“Honestly, I don’t think she even noticed. She was completely flustered by the whole naked thing.”