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“Okay, girl. I’m coming.” Finally, I propelled myself out of the bed and headed to the bathroom to tie my hair back, brush my teeth, and put on some sweats so that I could take Lucy out before returning to retire on my couch for the day.

Right as I was brushing my teeth, the doorbell rang. Lucy barked.

“Who in the hell?” I muttered. I returned my toothbrush to the bathroom cabinet and rinsed my mouth before rushing to the door, almost tripping on Lucy along the way.

I peered out the peephole and my heart almost stopped.

Dr. Evan Sholly stood there, staring hopefully at the door with a single red rose in his hand.

Shit. I looked down at my raggedy old pajamas that consisted of an old college t-shirt and faded plaid shorts. Lucy continued to bark and scratch at the door, wondering what was taking me so long to answer.

A frown appeared on Evan’s face, and I watched as he took several tentative steps backwards, obviously thinking I wasn’t home and preparing to leave.

I hesitantly unlocked the door. By the time I poked my head out, Evan had been heading down the hall.

“Evan? What are you doing here?”

“Tessa,” he said, coming to a halt.

He ran a hand through that dark silky mane of hai

r on his head. “I wanted to see you.” He came back to my door and handed me the rose. Lucy, wagging her tail like crazy, stood on her hind legs and placed her front two paws on him. He smiled and pat the top of her head. “Can I come in?” he asked after a moment.

“Sure…” I said.

I took a deep breath, feeling the various emotions rolling through me. First it had been shock at seeing him at my apartment door, unannounced. Then it had been flattery over the beautiful rose. And then my frustration started to return as I recalled how he hadn’t bothered to tell me he was re-enlisting in the military.

I looked down at the rose in my hand, wondering if it was meant as a feeble peace offering for a silly lovesick girl who needed to be let down gently.

I gripped the rose a little too tightly, accidently pricking my finger on a thorn.

As Evan entered my apartment, I slammed the door a little harder than I meant to. “Be right back,” I said rather harshly as I headed to the kitchen to put the rose in a vase of water.

When I returned to the front of the apartment, Evan still stood by the door. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he looked somewhat nervous. Lucy still danced around him, and he occasionally reached down to pat her head.

“What do you want, Evan?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I have things to do.”

He raised his eyebrows, perhaps surprised by my angry tone. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s just—when you didn’t show up for work, I was worried something was wrong.”

“What do you care about me not showing up at work for? You didn’t show up yesterday.”

“I did—”

“No, you didn’t. I looked all over for you.”

“I did go to work. I went last night. I returned to the night shift.”

I paused. “Oh,” I said. “Well…still, what are you doing here? I’m busy. I have to take Lucy for her run.”

“Can I come with you?”

I headed to the back of the apartment to retrieve Lucy’s leash without answering. Lucy raced behind me, unable to hide her excitement about finally going out after asking for hours on end.

“Are you going in your pajamas?” Evan called out.

I swore under my breath. His presence had disoriented me so that I had suddenly forgotten I was barefoot and still in my pajamas. Behind me, I heard Evan chuckle. I turned around, seeing that he had followed Lucy and me.

“Evan, I really don’t understand why you’re here. What the hell do you want?”