“Too late, I saw you looking,” she teased. Except it was more of an accusation than a tease.
“Hey, tell me you’re not looking when a fine set of pecs and a six-pack walks by on full display.”
He had a point. “You’re right.”
“Nothing wrong with looking. Nothing wrong with moving past looking and getting to know someone, either. Or maybe even falling for someone.”
Here they went again. She rolled her eyes.
“Or committing to a life together, to having each other’s back.”
“Or just staying friends all your life.”
“Friends with bennies?”
She smiled. “I like bennies.”
He smiled back. “Me, too.” Then he sobered. “But I want more than just friends with bennies. I want a whole life with a partner. Kids someday.”
She nodded, acknowledging both his words and the fact that things wouldn’t work out for them the second time around any more than they had the first time. They wanted different things.
As if sensing the conversation taking a downward turn, he got up. “Come on. Let’s get back in the game.”
MONDAY MORNING ITwas time for Zona to return to work. Louise hated to see her go. It had felt a little like a party having her daughter home for several days in a row. Except for the pain and the itch of the cast, and the frustration of swinging herself around the house and having a hard time doing things. The cumbersome cast made things she’d taken for granted difficult.
She’d caught a glimpse of the mysterious woman who appeared to be living with Alec James from the dining room window. The woman was certainly pretty. She looked younger than him by maybe ten years. Which meant she was younger than Zona. So their brute of a neighbor liked younger women he could bully and control. Zona didn’t need that in her life.
Maybe this other woman didn’t either, though. Louise should keep an eye on the neighbors. If the woman was in danger, someone needed to step in.
She was back in her bed after a bathroom run and Zona had just returned from taking Darling on a quick walk when Gilda arrived to take over. Zona opened Louise’s bedroom door and announced, “Gilda’s here. I’m just going to show her what we’ve got in the fridge, then I’ll be going.”
Left with Gilda the caregiver like she was a little kid with a babysitter. It was so embarrassing. Louise nodded and tried to smile. She could hear voices as the two women walked down the hall toward the kitchen, could hear Darling’s excited barks. She supposed voices were better than silence.
What was everyone doing on the cruise? Had all the singles paired off? Were people enjoying drinking champagne and watching sunsets? Dancing till all hours? She knew she shouldn’t be dwelling on what she was missing. It would only make her grumpy. But too late. She’d dwelled, and now she was grumpy.
Zona returned with Gilda behind her. “I’m on my way. I hope you two have fun,” she said, and kissed Louise on the cheek.
Be a good girl.Louise frowned.
Zona hurried past Gilda and then was gone, leaving Gilda leaning against the doorpost, a canvas bag over her shoulder. Darling came and parked next to her.
“You look unhappy,” Gilda observed.
“I am,” Louise said. “I feel like a little kid who’s been left with the babysitter.”
“You’re not going to throw a tantrum, are you?” Gilda asked, deadpan. “I hate it when patients throw tantrums.”
Louise chuckled at that. “No, I’m not. And do they?”
“You’d be surprised,” Gilda said with a knowing nod.
“Part of me would like to,” Louise confessed. “Except I can’t jump up and down or throw myself on the floor, so what’s the point?” She sighed. “I should have been in the Hawaiian Islands by now. Who falls over a deck chair and breaks her leg? So pathetic.”
“Is that what happened?”
“Sadly, yes. I got a little off-kilter.”
“That stinks,” Gilda said. “But things do happen for a reason. Sometimes even bad things.”
