Or it might annoy her.
Somehow, I don’t think so.
I’m practically walking on air when I leave the massage clinic and return to my practice fifteen minutes away.
The large, single story redbrick building occupies a desirable corner lot, and it’s gratifying to see almost all the parking spaces filled. I’m not seeing patients today, just getting caught up on forms and drawing up new treatment plans. I enter through the back door and head to my office, exchanging a few smiles and nods of greeting with the technicians I pass on my way.
Thirty minutes in, Jared pops into my office, a ready grin on his sunburned face. He’s newly returned from a golf trip down to Florida and that’s all he’s talked about for days. I click save on a current set of notes and prepare myself for another drawn-out golfing story.
Dropping into the leather chair opposite my desk, he laces his fingers over the paunch straining his white doctor’s jacket and raises bushy blond brows.
Remaining quiet, I arch my eyebrows back at him.
“Well?” he props.
“Well, what?”
He spreads his arms wide. “How are the massages going?”
Giving my shoulders a roll, I don’t feel any of the tension that normally plagues me. Surprising since my massage got skipped today. “Going great.”
“Have you settled on a tech or just going to who’s available?”
We might not be best friends, but we’ve been partners now for three years and have known each other professionally for over ten. Still, I hesitate to mention Tricia. Part of me is afraid to jinx things.
“Whoever’s available.” It’s not a lie. The next therapist will be whoever Tricia recommends. Unless she’d be willing to give me massages on the side. Though I would feel guilty having her work on her time off and offering to pay her might upset boundaries.
I almost laugh. We haven’t had a single date yet and I’m already complicating things.
“That’s a suspiciously satisfied smile on your face,” Jared comments, leaning forward. “I’d say you were getting happy endings, but I know the place I recommended doesn’t do that.”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I can’t even form a reply for several long seconds. Finally, huffing out a breath, I shake my head. “I won’t even ask how you know that. I’m in a good mood. Why is that suspicious?”
Jared’s loud laugh is like a shotgun blast shattering the silence of the office. “A good mood isn’t. That smile is. Something’s going on.” He appraises me for a moment, his smile widening. “Did you meet someone?” He waggles his brows, his faded blue eyes merrily intent while he spits out rapid-fire questions. “Who is she? How long have you been seeing her?”
I’m shocked at how fast Jared figured it out.Am I really that transparent?
Apparently.
I open my mouth and close it. After a few seconds, I finally mutter, “I don’t…”
He doesn’t even let me get any denials out. Jared jumps to his feet, holding his palms out and grinning. “But if you’re not ready to tell me, that’s fine. Good luck, buddy.” With a wink, he walks out.
Sitting in my chair, I go over the brief conversation and can only shake my head. I had no idea that my business partner was so invested in my love life.
My thoughts immediately turn to Tricia, my gaze darting to my phone on the edge of the desk. Before I can talk myself out of it, the phone is in my hand and I type out a quick text, not even reading over it before I hit send.
MATT: Hi Tricia, this is Matt. When can I take you out to dinner? Tonight?
I wince reading over it. Do I sound desperate or eager?
Despite my dry spell, I’m not desperate. I could have joined a dating site or hit the bars at any point since my divorce. Dating simply took a backseat to everything else going on in my life. Seeing Tricia was like a bolt of lightning hitting me. It wasn’t other women I was missing out on. It was Tricia who is missing from my life.
TRICIA: Hi Matt! If you don’t mind a late dinner, I can probably meet you somewhere around seven.
Mind? I’m thrilled I don’t have to wait days to see her again.
MATT: Seven sounds good. Any preferences?