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“She did?”

Lily pulled the lollipop out of her mouth. “She told me she’d be eighty years old one day. But daddy says she only got to be thirty.”

I swallowed. No wonder this sweet little girl had conjured up an imaginary dragon. It was probably her way of dealing with the death of her mom.

“Well, I don’t think your mother lied, sweetie. I’m absolutely sure she wanted to grow really old and wrinkled. But sometimes, things don’t go the way we want them to.”

“Like when Santa doesn’t bring you the toy you were hoping for?”

I smiled at her. “Kind of like that, yes.”

James came out of the examination room and shook Lewis’s hand. “Thanks again. I really appreciate it. You too,” he said to me. He then turned to Lily. “Are you ready to go, sweetie? I’ve got Drake right here with me. Let’s go home and get him tucked in, okay?”

The girl ran to her father. “I’ll hold him, Daddy, if you hold my lollipop for me.”

She pretended to take the dragon from her father’s arms and smiled at me. “Thank you for the candy.”

The two of them left, and the clinic grew silent. Lewis looked as emotional as I felt. We walked to the employees’ lounge without speaking and shared a pot of fresh coffee. The next patient wasn’t due to arrive for another half hour, so we had time to sit in silence together.

“What did you tell him?” I asked when both our cups were empty. “It’s all just so heartbreaking. I could hardly keep it together.”

Lewis nodded. “I told James he’s doing an amazing job and asked him if he needs someone to talk to. Being a widower at this age can’t be easy.”

I put my hand on his. “That’s really sweet of you.”

He turned his hand around and gave mine a squeeze. His eyes searched mine, making my heart race. I was positive he was going to say or do something romantic. Heck, I wanted him to, there was no more denying it.

His thumb caressed my skin. I leaned closer, ready for whatever was coming next.

“Do you want to have dinner tonight?” he blurted out. “I know you were supposed to come over tomorrow, but I just can’t wait to cook for you.”

My smile grew, reaching all the way to my eyes. I intertwined my fingers with his, my heart almost exploding. “Like a dinner date?”

The anticipation of the answer sent shivers down my spine. Lewis smiled at me, opening his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the phone rang.

We both immediately went back to professional mode – me answering the phone and communicating to Lewis that there was an emergency at the Old Pine Cove Inn, him gathering his things to drive down there right away.

And just like that, poof, the magic moment between us was gone.

Chapter Thirteen

Lewis

As I sped away to attend to an emergency at the local inn, I couldn’t help wondering if hiring Olive had been such a good idea after all.

I loved having her around, and she did an amazing job – especially considering she had no experience as a receptionist for a medical facility – but things were getting too intense between us. When she put her hand on mine, stirring up feelings that weren’t work-appropriate, I found myself asking her out on a date before I knew what I was saying. But there wasn’t any way out of this. I was stuck. I couldn’t exactly fire her, and I also couldn’t date her now that she was my employee. Unless…

No. I shook the thought away. I had promised myself I wouldn’t get tangled up in something like that ever again, and I never broke a promise. Sue had been my employee as well. We’d been so happy together until she backstabbed me, snatched up my position as chief vet, and left me feeling horrible about myself. Not to mention the lies she’d spread about me. Thinking about it made me boil with rage. I couldn’t let myself go there again. I’d just tell Olive that me asking her to dinner had nothing to do with romantic feelings. We both lived alone, and eating together was nothing more than a fun way of beating the loneliness. Right?

Even that lie couldn’t get Olive out of my head. Judging by the way I’d seen her look at me in between surgeries, the feeling was mutual.

My phone rang, and I picked up it through the hands-free car set, glad for the distraction. “Doctor Grant speaking.”

“Hi, Lewis.” Olive’s warm voice filled the car. “I was able to reschedule all non-urgent appointments. Darren is going to help the ones who only need blood samples taken, and the rest of your patients have been pushed back a few hours. There was one person I couldn’t reach, but I’ll deal with her when she shows up. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I’ll hold down the fort for you.”

“Thanks for that, Olive. I know you were supposed to have the afternoon off.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take Archie out for a walk after you get back.” I heard the sound of ruffling papers and barking. “Sorry, I’ve gotta go. I think Darren might need my help with a puppy.”