"No— no, I... I think it was a one-off... I hope it was, at least. It's just— my dad said that, and I gave him a piece of my mind, and then you just happen to be standing behind me..." Casting him a curious glance, my eyes ached to explore his faintly defined chest. Carl swiped back his wet hair, his earbuds dangling off his neck and drawing attention to his collar bones. "Why are you running in the rain?"
"Ah, my sister's in the tea shop. I was waiting for her to come back. I didn't even see you over the railing."
He rubbed his neck, almost bashfully, and my heart fluttered lightly at how hot he was. Every time I saw Carl, he got more attractive. Not good.
"I always wished I had siblings. My parents didn't want me, you know? But that never stopped my mom from making me feel like she did. She and I had our problems, right, but she never made me feel like I wasn't her daughter. My dad... he never shared that view." The memories of when I was thirteen and my mom found out about my dad's cheating the first time popped into my head, crystal clear— as if it'd happened yesterday. "My mom sat me down one day after school and told me my dad's cheating wasn't my fault. That she may not have wanted kids, but she was blessed and couldn't imagine her life without me. I may not have been planned, but I wasn't unwanted."
"Do you figure she married your father for you?"
Despite how hard I tried, my lower lip puffed out in despair, and I nodded dully.
"She sounds like an amazing woman, Melissa."
"She was. I think I blame myself an appropriate amount. I know it's not my fault, but it's still my fault, you know? If that makes sense. There's plenty of blame for all three of us."
For a second, Carl looked like he was going to say something but decided against it. Just sharing that made me feel so much better, and I absently reached over to grab his hand. He smiled, relief and tenderness shining in his eyes, and squeezed my hand.
"Thanks, Carl."
"You're welcome." Twisting to glance behind us, Carl cleared his throat a little before nodding firmly. "If you have another emergency today, go to the hospital and shoot me a text, okay? Have you used your CPAP machine yet?"
"Not yet. I'm kinda nervous, to be honest, but... I just wanna sleep through this emotional stuff, so I'll definitely use it tonight and let you know in the morning." Standing up when Carl did, I mimicked his nod as satisfaction softened his features. "Thank you, again— I'm really sorry about that."
"I'm not gonna lie... I'm really enjoying being the hero and swooping in to save you." Even as uncertainty glimmered in Carl's eyes, he reached to touch my hip— like he couldn't stop himself.
Electricity skittered up my side and down my outer thigh, but he was quick to pull his hand back. This time, though, there wasn't any awkwardness as he shuffled out from the cabana. Only offering me a little wave, he returned to his sister, and I bit my bottom lip hard. Man... if only I could kiss him.Chapter 10Carl"Thank you for doing this for me, Laurie." My sister flashed me a tight smile as she straightened her little vest, and I opened the door to the HR offices for her. She looked good, her plain, black skirt suit very smart and professional, and her hair up in a tight bun. It eased some of my nerves to have her here, but that same anxiety came surging up my throat when I saw Eva was already here.
That horrible woman was flipping through a magazine, her low heel dipping leisurely. When Eva heard the door open, she looked up and froze, her eyes going wide when she saw my sister. Confusion battled my already raging emotions, and I glanced between the two over thinned lips.
In her heels, Laurie was almost the same height as me, and I could almost smell how intimidated Eva was. A wilting flower, my sister was most decidedly not, and she sauntered up smoothly to the reception desk to talk to the woman behind. Eva watched my sister with panic tightening her face, making her look gaunt and haggard.
Of course, Laurie advised me not to say anything to Eva, ever again, but I seriously wanted to ask what got her feathers ruffled.
This investigation had taken less than a whole business week, and that was strange in itself, as well. Usually, it'd take months to resolve as they were trying to catch me doing something I wasn't. This hospital would hire a private investigator, pull, and analyze cameras— the whole nine yards— to cover their butts.