Page 63 of Off the Wall
“Friends,” I echo, at the same time a voice inside me whispers.
You want Cash Briggs to be more.
I might want him to be … everything.
We both fall quiet, sipping our cocoa, as a wall clock ticks above us. When a white crescent of marshmallow sticks to his lip, I have to stop myself from reaching over to wipe it off. Cash Briggs drinking hot cocoa might be the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. Too bad he’s already made it clear he has zero time for or interest in a girlfriend.
No love life whatsoever.
“Something wrong?” he asks, clearly noticing me staring.
I need to change the subject fast. “It’s just … you’ve got a little something right there.” I point at my mouth.
“Ah. Hazard of the cocoa.” He ducks his head, rubbing at his lips with the back of his hand. “I’d offer you something stronger, but I don’t have anything here.”
Good. Something else to focus on besides my traitorous heart.
“So … you’re not much of a drinker?” I ask.
“It’s not that.” He frowns. “I enjoy a cold beer as much as the next person. I can appreciate a nice glass of wine. I just never know when I might end up with a case. My ex-partner, Alex, and I used to take turns covering weekend surgeries. Then he left for another company. So I’m on my own now.”
I stir the half-melted marshmallows in my mug. “It doesn’t seem fair that you’re always on call. Even doctors aren’t scheduled to work twenty-four hours a day, every single day.”
“True. But emergency surgeries crop up all the time. And when my usual doctors aren’t working, other doctors are on call. If one of them wants to use me and my stuff, I need to go in. It’s all part of the business.”
I press my lips together. “No time for a life.” Like I needed that reminder.
“The jobismy life.” He hitches his shoulders. “You can probably relate, as connected as you are to Serendipi-Tea.”
“I do love the shop.” I set my mug on the coffee table. “But there aren’t too many tea emergencies cropping up in the middle of the night.”
“Right.” A smile tugs at his mouth, and we drop into silence again. The moment is almost … intimate. It’s like the intensity of the night unspooled an invisible string between us. When his gaze drops to my lips, something warm stirs behind my ribs. And the longing in all the reflections I’ve seen leaps from the mirrors straight into my heart. My insides flood with awareness. More than anything, I want to kiss this man.
But I can’t.
So I take in a sip of air, hold it. Count to four.
Cash interrupts the quiet. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
I exhale. “You pretty much saved my life tonight, so yes. Permission granted.”
“Why didn’t you tell Warren you can’t swim the first timehe mentioned the pool?” Cash’s grip tightens on his mug. “You listed every other excuse in the book except the one real reason you couldn’t go in.”
“Because I never tell anyone.” Heat bolts into my throat. “And trust me, tonight’s list of excuses was only a partial one. Over the years, I’ve had to get pretty creative at swim parties and birthdays. The beach. But it turns out people are usually more worried about themselves, and they totally forget I’m there in a bathing suit with a towel but not getting wet.”
His brows pinch together. “But … why?”
I huff out a preemptive almost-laugh, prepared to make fun of myself first before anyone else can. “For the same reason I didn’t want to tell you I’m bad on a bike.” I avert my gaze. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Not knowing how to do something?” He shrugs. “That’s no big deal.”
I bite back a smirk. “Spoken like a man who’s good ateverything.”
“Not everything.”
I look up, and he’s got his broad shoulders squared. “That’s awful humble of you,” I say. “But seriously. I feel likenothingcomes naturally to me. And my brother’s overprotectiveness makes trying new things almost impossible. He jumps into rescue mode whenever things get hard for me. Which is great and all, don’t get me wrong. The support is wonderful most of the time.” I sigh. “But he treats me like a kid. Still. Always. And I sometimes feel like I can’t take risks or create waves without rocking his boat, too.”
Cash absorbs all of this, a fresh crease forming on his forehead. “What about your parents?”
