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“Hey, Doc, I’ve got a couple of questions about the Turkish Angora coming in?—”

The moment is gone, busted apart into little pieces.

“Once again, Belle, you’re getting ahead of yourself,” he admonishes.

Not a snap, but his brows draw down and his lips are pinched. I hate seeing him button up again this way. The slow unveiling of him hooks me straight through the belly.

“Sorry, but there’s a note in the file that says she needsto be isolated when she comes in,” Belle continues obviously. “Do I need to set up an entirely different crate for the cat?”

“I’m going to go grab a snack.” I hoist my thumb behind me and take my leave while there’s a chance for a hasty exit.

I draw in a clear breath and head to the break room and the granola bars, now that I know where they are. My pulse is still racing.

And for the rest of the day I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened.

Between Soren and Tase, I’ve stepped into this strange carnival ride spinning me around and around in circles with no chance of stopping. Do I want to get off?

I’m not sure. It’s probably to my detriment to let myself get distracted by dick rather than solving my stalker problem.

But this is new. Unique.

Less than two weeks of extraordinary circumstances and I’m not the same person I was when I drove over the state line. I’ve changed since then.

The end of the day comes quicker than I thought. Between the back to back appointments, we kept busy until we locked the front door and flipped the sign over.

“Another great day, folks,” Tase calls out. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Sooner or later you’re going to have to get us even more help, you know. Or hire Gilli full time,” Belle says. “Please, Doc? We need her!”

“He can’t afford me,” I joke, winking at Belle.

She snorts prettily. “I’m sure he can find the extra funds somewhere.” She links her arm through mine and parades us toward the break room. “I want to keep you, Gilli. I like you. You’re weird with those little ticks of yours but I like them.”

“Ticks?”

“Yeah, you know. How you start to pull little pieces of your hair out to braid when you’re thinking aboutsomething. Or you twitch your nose like a bunny when you’re reading through files.”

I laugh outright. “I didn’t know I did those things.”

“Like I said,” Belle repeats. “Weird. But I don’t get why you’re single.”

The reminder is a punch to the kidney. I guess I haven’t felt single for a while now.

“Oh, you know, people say it will happen when you least expect it. I figure some dude with love for Nancy Meyers movies and mint chocolate chip ice cream and vintage mirrors will find me, someday. We’ll be the perfect match.”

Belle’s head tips back on a laugh. “We’re definitely going to be friends. A perfect match for sure!”

The girls get their coats and head out, once again leaving me and Tase alone in the break room. His attention flickers toward the counter where he’d propped me up yesterday and my chest goes hot.

I’ve got half a mind to lock the door and have my way with him right here and now.

“Stop looking at me the way you are or we won’t get out of here,” he mutters. “And I promised my father-in-law I’d have dinner with him.”

Ah, an excuse.Good. I need one.

“You know, if I were a normal person and these were normal circumstances…” I pull up short when Tase drapes my coat over me, forcing me to hold my arms out to the side while he helps. “Well, I would fall head over heels for you.”

He stills. “I’m not the person you must think I am. I’m hard to love. Having dinner once a week with the old man doesn’t change things. It’s called an obligation.”