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Authors: Brenda Harlen
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dodged that bullet.”
But her clichéd phrases and the forced cheerfulness warned him that her feelings weren’t as simple or straightforward as she wanted him to believe. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m relieved, of course.”
“You are?”
She shrugged. “Sure, I’m a little disappointed, too,” she admitted. “But considering the circumstances, it’s probably for the best.”
“You’re probably right,” he agreed.
He was certainly relieved to have “dodged the bullet,” and grateful that their impulsive actions wouldn’t have long-term consequences. He liked his life just the way it was and hadn’t been thrilled to think of the adjustments he would need to make to accommodate a child. Of course he would have, if it had turned out that she was pregnant, but he was undeniably relieved that wouldn’t be necessary just yet.
“Now our lives can go back to normal,” she said, her words echoing his own thoughts.
“By normal, you mean that you intend to go back to ignoring me as much as possible,” he guessed.
“I mean that you can go back to dating a different woman every weekend,” she countered lightly.
He started to protest her erroneous assumption of his habits, but what was the point? She’d made up her mind about him a long time ago and obviously nothing he’d said or done in the past couple of weeks had changed her opinion.
Instead, he nodded his agreement. “There is that.”
* * *
“Who was that?”
Justin glanced up as Nora slid into the seat Avery had recently vacated. “What are you doing here?”
“Thanks to the introductions you made, I’ve got an interview with Jovan Crncevic,” she explained, naming the supervisor of the hospital’s physiotherapy department. “Of course, I came way too early so I decided to stop in here and grab a cup of coffee and I saw you having a deep tête-à-tête with...your girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Ex-girlfriend?”
“No,” he said again, lifting his own cup to his lips to finish his coffee.
“Really?” she challenged. “Because I’m pretty sure that was the same woman who stopped by your condo when I was there, and there were some serious vibes between the two of you just now.”
“We work together,” he explained.
Nora laughed. “It was definitely not a work vibe.”
He scowled. “How long were you watching?”
“Long enough to know it was not a work vibe,” she assured him.
“We had a thing,” he admitted.
“A thing?”
“A shared moment of insanity.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “A thing.” She sipped her coffee. “You still hung up on her?”
“No.”
“I think I understand why it didn’t work out—she’s probably intimidated by your conversational prowess.”
“You’re a real smart-ass, you know that?”
“I always figured it was better than being a dumb ass.”
His lips twitched a little in response to that, but all he said was, “Shouldn’t you be preparing for your interview?”
She shook her head. “Even thinking about it makes me nervous—your love life is a great distraction.”
“Glad to be of service.”
“Do you want my advice?”
“No,” he said bluntly.
She frowned. “Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I don’t have any wisdom to offer. I’ve got some experience in matters of the heart.”
“Good for you.”
“I’m only telling you because I recognize the symptoms of a serious infatuation.”
“Dr. Wallace is not infatuated with me,” he assured her.
Nora laughed. “I wasn’t talking about Dr. Wallace.”
Chapter Six
L ife did go back to normal—eventually.
Although Avery had lived with the possibility of a baby for only a couple of weeks, she’d wanted to be pregnant so much that she’d let her imagination run with it, and it took a few days to shake off her melancholy.
The depth of her disappointment forced her to reevaluate her life and her choices. It was time, she decided, to stop being passive and go after what
But her clichéd phrases and the forced cheerfulness warned him that her feelings weren’t as simple or straightforward as she wanted him to believe. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m relieved, of course.”
“You are?”
She shrugged. “Sure, I’m a little disappointed, too,” she admitted. “But considering the circumstances, it’s probably for the best.”
“You’re probably right,” he agreed.
He was certainly relieved to have “dodged the bullet,” and grateful that their impulsive actions wouldn’t have long-term consequences. He liked his life just the way it was and hadn’t been thrilled to think of the adjustments he would need to make to accommodate a child. Of course he would have, if it had turned out that she was pregnant, but he was undeniably relieved that wouldn’t be necessary just yet.
“Now our lives can go back to normal,” she said, her words echoing his own thoughts.
“By normal, you mean that you intend to go back to ignoring me as much as possible,” he guessed.
“I mean that you can go back to dating a different woman every weekend,” she countered lightly.
He started to protest her erroneous assumption of his habits, but what was the point? She’d made up her mind about him a long time ago and obviously nothing he’d said or done in the past couple of weeks had changed her opinion.
Instead, he nodded his agreement. “There is that.”
* * *
“Who was that?”
Justin glanced up as Nora slid into the seat Avery had recently vacated. “What are you doing here?”
“Thanks to the introductions you made, I’ve got an interview with Jovan Crncevic,” she explained, naming the supervisor of the hospital’s physiotherapy department. “Of course, I came way too early so I decided to stop in here and grab a cup of coffee and I saw you having a deep tête-à-tête with...your girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Ex-girlfriend?”
“No,” he said again, lifting his own cup to his lips to finish his coffee.
“Really?” she challenged. “Because I’m pretty sure that was the same woman who stopped by your condo when I was there, and there were some serious vibes between the two of you just now.”
“We work together,” he explained.
Nora laughed. “It was definitely not a work vibe.”
He scowled. “How long were you watching?”
“Long enough to know it was not a work vibe,” she assured him.
“We had a thing,” he admitted.
“A thing?”
“A shared moment of insanity.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “A thing.” She sipped her coffee. “You still hung up on her?”
“No.”
“I think I understand why it didn’t work out—she’s probably intimidated by your conversational prowess.”
“You’re a real smart-ass, you know that?”
“I always figured it was better than being a dumb ass.”
His lips twitched a little in response to that, but all he said was, “Shouldn’t you be preparing for your interview?”
She shook her head. “Even thinking about it makes me nervous—your love life is a great distraction.”
“Glad to be of service.”
“Do you want my advice?”
“No,” he said bluntly.
She frowned. “Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I don’t have any wisdom to offer. I’ve got some experience in matters of the heart.”
“Good for you.”
“I’m only telling you because I recognize the symptoms of a serious infatuation.”
“Dr. Wallace is not infatuated with me,” he assured her.
Nora laughed. “I wasn’t talking about Dr. Wallace.”
Chapter Six
L ife did go back to normal—eventually.
Although Avery had lived with the possibility of a baby for only a couple of weeks, she’d wanted to be pregnant so much that she’d let her imagination run with it, and it took a few days to shake off her melancholy.
The depth of her disappointment forced her to reevaluate her life and her choices. It was time, she decided, to stop being passive and go after what
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