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29

TASHA

“ W e’re going to have a sleepover,” Lily, the same patient I saw before I left for Australia, said with a wide grin. It was crazy how much she had grown into herself in the last few weeks. Before I left for vacation, she was just starting to make friends and now they were planning a sleepover.

“That’s fantastic, Lily. I’m so glad you’re branching out and making friends.”

“Hannah loves to read like I do.” Lily went on to tell me all about them. I sat there watching as she smiled more than I'd ever seen. The difference between where she was when we first started seeing each other and how far she’s come was truly remarkable.

With a promise to tell me all about it at our next session our session drew to a close. I made a note to sit down with Lily and her parents to discuss cutting her sessions down altogether.

Walking her to the door she paused for a second.

“Thank you, Ms. Davis.” With a bright smile, she lunged forward, wrapping me in a hug. I hugged her back. She pulled back and gave me a small wave before heading out the door.

With a light feeling in my chest I grabbed my notepad and headed for my desk. Mr. Waltham was scheduled to arrive soon. He was my last patient of the day before I needed to leave to make it to Trevor’s game tonight. I’d make it there, but it was going to be tight.

A knock sounded on my door ten minutes later, signaling Mr. Waltham’s arrival. Yelling for him to come in, I grabbed my notebook I had just for him and moved away from my desk.

“Good afternoon, dear.”

I grinned at him as he stepped into my office. “Good afternoon, Henry.”

“Did you know you have a very tall, attractive man in your waiting room?”

My eyebrows shot up. “I do?”

He gave me a nod as I moved around him in efforts to go look. “Just give me a moment.”

I knew exactly who it was. With a grin fighting to break free on my face, I stepped out of my office. Standing there, leaning against my receptionist’s desk, was Trevor. My poor receptionist, Sofie, was staring at him with red, flustered cheeks. Trevor had the ability to do that to a woman.

“Hey.” At the sound of my voice, Trevor straightened, turning to me with a smile that made my chest ache. I looked him up and down, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth at the sight of him.

My eyes raked over muscular thighs clad in a pair of dark gray slacks and up to the black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his tattoos on display. His hair was perfectly styled back, my fingers itching to run through it. Not to mention the sexy scruff on his face he started growing out because he knew I liked it .

God, he looked mouthwatering.

Whoever made it mandatory for professional athletes to dress up before a game deserved a medal of honor. Because, damn.

“Hey, beautiful.”

He stopped inches away from me.

“What are you doing here? You have a game in two hours.” It was clear he was on his way to the arena with his appearance.

“I wanted to come see you before the game. You snuck out early this morning.” His hands came to rest on my hips.

“Josie wanted to go over some things for the wedding before work, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

I knew he had a game today, and he needed the rest. Plus, he was an adorable sleeper, although clingy. I had to slide my pillow in between his arms in order to escape this morning. Every time we got in bed Trevor had to have his arms around me or his legs intertwined with mine. I never would have guessed him to be the type.

“I would have gotten up.” I tried not to grin at the way he sulked.

“I know.” I placed my hands on his chest as I looked up at him. I knew it was wildly inappropriate standing in the waiting room at work, flirting with my boyfriend with my assistant and patient waiting for me. But I couldn’t bring myself to step out of his hold quite yet.

“I know you have work, but I just wanted to drop by and say hi.” My heart skipped a beat. No one showed up the way Trevor did. Certainly not any past boyfriends. He made me feel seen every single day.

After feeling invisible by my parents, I never realized just how much I longed for affection. For years, I tried to gain their attention, seeking their approval. I craved any sort of affection they’d give me .

Subconsciously, I knew I projected feeling unwanted onto people I was with, letting myself accept the littlest bit of attention given. When past boyfriends wouldn’t call me for days then ask me to come over late at night, I accepted it. I figured any was better than none.

The bar was so low that I let men treat me like a second option without saying anything about it. I accepted the love I thought I deserved. It wasn’t until Trevor that I learned I deserved more than just the bare minimum.

“Once I’m done here, I’ll be there front and center.” I promised.

“You’re my good luck charm.”

“Of course I am.” I beamed. “I bring good luck in waves.”

“That you do.”

The way he looked at me made my cheeks heat. Before Trevor, I rarely blushed but for some reason, he could get me flustered in less than a second.

Knowing he needed to get going, and I needed to get to Mr. Waltham, I rose onto my toes.

“You better leave so you’re not late for your game.” I pressed a quick kiss to his lips before pulling back. “I’ll be there soon.”

Before I could fully pull away, he pecked my lips once then twice. With a soft groan, he pulled himself away and stepped back, his hands leaving my hips.

“I’ll be the one on the ice.” He sent me a wink as he walked backward toward the door.

“Better make a goal for me.”

“Always.”

With one last smile, Trevor left my office, my eyes following him until he disappeared from view. Even the back of him looked great in his outfit. I bit my bottom lip at the way his dress pants hugged his ass.

“You two are so cute,” Sofie gushed, making me glance away from the doors. “He’s even hotter in person.” My lips twitched as she sighed, resting her chin on her hands. I found it comical how people lusted over my boyfriend.

I totally got it. Even when I was denying what I felt for him, I knew he was beyond attractive. The fact that he was my boyfriend was still a bit surreal. Like, yes, I snagged that!

“Oh, he left this for you.” Sofie shook herself out of her daydream. She pulled a single lily flower from her desk, holding it out for me.

Right when I thought I couldn’t fall for Trevor anymore, he went and did something like this. I didn’t need a giant bouquet of flowers. The fact that he remembered that I loved lilies more than roses was more than enough.

I held the flower between my fingers as I brought it to my nose. He was too good for me.

Remembering Mr. Waltham was waiting for me, I snapped myself out of it. Ignoring the smirk on Sofie’s face, I quickly walked back into my office.

“Sorry about that, Henry,” I apologized as I closed my door behind me. Glancing over, I found him seated in his usual seat, a content smile gracing his face.

He kept grinning at me as I gently placed the flower on my desk and grabbed my notepad. When he didn’t stop by the time I sat down, I sent him a look.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You and Trevor Hall.” He remarked.

“You know who he is?”

“Dear, I may be old, but I don’t live under a rock. Everyone knows who Trevor Hall is.”

“Oh.”

“You two make a good-looking couple.” It became clear he was watching us from my office the entire time. It was a bit embarrassing having a patient know about my love life, but it was bound to happen when my name was posted everywhere.

“These old eyes can spot true love a mile away,” Mr. Waltham continued. My eyes widened at his words. True love? I liked him a lot but that didn’t mean love…right? The growing feeling in my chest hinted at something else, but I couldn’t think about it right now.

Clearing my throat, I veered our conversation back on track.

“Enough about me. How are things?” He was quiet for a moment as I waited for him to talk. I wasn’t the kind of person to push someone to talk when they don’t want to. I had plenty of patients who sat in front of me and barely said two words. Sometimes, it was more about having someone there than them listening.

“I talked to Rosette,” he finally spoke after a minute. The last time he was here he didn’t want to meet his new neighbor, fearing it would mean he was over his late wife’s passing.

“How did it go?” I took note of him fiddling with his wedding ring.

“Good.” He shrugged, the motion making me raise an eyebrow.

“Good?” I gently pried.

“I took your advice and went over to say hi. She invited me to a BBQ the neighbors were having.”

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“It was…nice.” Over the last six months, I had learned to read him and his tales, so I knew he had a good time at this BBQ, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He was definitely holding information back.

“I’m glad you had a good time. And I’m proud of you for finally talking to Rosette. ”

I could tell he was struggling to continue as he sat there quietly.

“Henry,” I spoke softly. “Is everything okay?”

“Rosette is even better than I thought.” He heaved a sigh like it was the worst thing to ever happen. “She’s so nice and beautiful. She was a nurse in the military. That’s where she met her late husband. He also passed away three years ago.”

Mr. Waltham started rambling as he told me about Rosette. I leaned back in my seat, smiling softly at the way he talked. It was really cute seeing his eyes light up for the first time since he started seeing me.

He told me about how they had coffee on their front porches every morning this week. From the sound of it, Rosette and him had a lot in common. Both had military experience, both were widowed, and they loved the same genre of books and movies.

“I want to invite her over for dinner tomorrow night, but I don’t want to look like a goon.” Aw, he was nervous about asking a woman out.

“Well, do you have a plan on what you’d want to make?” I asked.

“She told me she loves seafood. So, I was thinking of making salmon.”

“Once you know what you want to make, go over to her house, and just ask if she’d like to spend the evening with you. She’ll say yes, I promise.”

“Are flowers too much?”

“Not at all.” I smiled, shaking my head. I imagined Henry all dressed up, walking over to Rosette’s with flowers in his hands. Too cute.

The way he fiddled with his ring and then his coat sleeves I could tell he was nervous. This would be his first time since Carol’s passing that he put himself out there. He was married for so long that dating wasn’t an option. It was going to take some time, but I had no doubt that he would find someone who could make him happy again. Rosette seemed like the right person for that.

“You will have a fantastic time. Don’t overthink it.” I sent him an encouraging smile. He could do this. He sent me a small smile back along with a nod.

“Do you think I’m ready for this?” His question was probably one of the most vulnerable ones he ever asked. The hopefulness in his eyes made my heart ache.

“The only person who can answer that is you.”

A lot of people thought therapists could solve all your problems. That they’d tell you all the answers and make you better. We didn’t do that. Yes, we gave advice and listened to the person. But it was up to them to do the work. To make the change inside themselves. We just gave them a little nudge and the resources to make that possible.

The only person who could answer if Henry was ready, was Henry. I couldn’t decide that for him.

“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be open-minded going forward. You never know where something can lead you.”

“Thank you, Doc,” Henry said after a few moments.

“Anytime.”