Hurting his leg had been unfortunate, but he was thankful it’d happened. If it weren’t for that injury, he doubted he and Cora would be talking right now. Satisfied with how things were progressing between them, he tried to switch gears and focus on getting some work done.
~*~
That evening, Grey made sure his house was picked up and at least the bathroom had been cleaned. He’d thought about what he should make for dinner and finally settled on ordering pizza. He wanted to wait and make sure she still liked the same kind of pizza first, though.
Cora arrived right on time. He opened the door and ushered her inside. “Did you find the place okay?”
“I did.” She took in the living room. “This is really nice. Do you own it?”
“I just rent. Although I’ve been impressed enough with the neighborhood that I’d consider it if the owners ever think about selling.” He took the heavy jacket she was wearing and laid it over the top of a small table nearby. “It looks like fall may be finally settling in, doesn’t it?”
“It’s about time, too.” She smiled. “Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away? It’ll be Christmas before we know it.”
The year did seem to be flying by. “So, I figured we’d just order pizza since cooking has never been my strong point.”
“Your spaghetti was always good.”
He grinned. “That all came from jars, and I think time has clouded your memory of how truly terrible it was.” They both laughed. “Is Italian sausage still your favorite?”
“Yes, but with black olives included.”
He nodded as he made a mental note. “Interesting combination. Okay, let me call that in. Then maybe we can get the stitches out before it gets here.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
He called and placed the order. Meanwhile, Cora rummaged through her medical kit and pulled out a small pair of scissors.
“This should be easy. I’m just going to wash my hands and pour some alcohol over these scissors and we’ll be ready to go.”
She didn’t wear gloves this time, and her soft, warm fingers gently tugged on the stitches after she cut them. She pointed to the tiny holes in his skin that they left behind. “These should close up, and you’ll barely be able to see them. With this kind of injury, the stitches needed to stay in longer to heal properly, which always increases the chance they’ll leave behind scars as well.” She told him about a cream he could get and apply that would minimize the scarring.
He thanked her, although he wasn’t too concerned about how obvious the scar was since it was just on his leg.
“Thank you. That already feels a lot better. They were getting itchy.”
“I’m sure.” She cleaned up her supplies and set the medical bag on the table by her jacket. “Have you talked to your mom at all since the trip? How is she doing?”
“She’s good. Already talking about what she’s cooking for Thanksgiving this year.”
“Oh, your mom’s Thanksgiving meals were always the best. I order those turkey meals from Boston Market now. They are really good, but still don’t hold a candle to your mom’s cooking.”
Mom would appreciate knowing that. Although the thought of Cora eating Thanksgiving dinner alone bothered him. “Oh! Flynn got that job he interviewed for.”
Cora smiled. “That’s great! I’m sure that’s a huge relief for all of them. Any news on Dare? Did his boss forgive him for not being at work on Monday?”
“He’s still got his job, but poor Dare isn’t sure he’ll get Thanksgiving off. I guess his boss was pretty upset he wasn’t there despite the fact Dare had a good reason. I told him he should look for another job after the new year.”
“That’s messed up. He really should. But it’d be good for him to stick it out until then.” Her mouth lifted in a smile. “You were quite the hit with Jen. She didn’t stop talking about you for the rest of that shift. I thought about setting the two of you up.”
Grey didn’t expect that and sat, unsure of what to say.
That’s when she laughed. “I’m kidding. About the setting you guys up part. I don’t think she’d be your type.”
She was right. He only had one type, and Cora fell right into the description of the perfect woman for him. “And what makes you say that?”
“Because she has a strict rule about not dating the same guy for more than three weeks before breaking it off. She thinks the solution to all of the relationship issues out there is to not have one.”
“Wow. That’s incredibly sad and jaded.”
