Instead of the calm sense of control and belonging his pristine office usually fostered, Brian felt jittery and out of place. He paced the perimeter of the room, then stopped at the coffee maker and poured another ill-advised cup of coffee. He set the mug on his desk and sank into his office chair. Then he hopped to his feet again, leaving the beverage untouched, and paced some more.
If he was doing the right thing, why did he feel so unsettled? Because you’re selfish, an inner voice—his mother’s—prodded. Men never think of things from the perspective of the women in their lives. They can’t. And in this case, you just want to find some loophole that will allow you keep pursuing what you want, to hell with the consequences.
Well, maybe the voice was right, but for Pete’s sake, he was certainly trying to consider Katelyn’s feelings. He’d thought of practically nothing else since the night of that stupid picnic. He’d known then he needed to back off. And why. And he knew it now. And he even knew the easiest way to go about building space between them, so why was he still hesitating weeks later? If he didn’t stop waffling, he’d not only lose out on the opportunity that had arisen out of the blue, he would make things that much more difficult for Katelyn and himself. That painful fact jarred him into action. He strode back to his desk, picked up the phone, pressed nine for an outside line, then dialed before he could change his mind.
“Brian? Hello, long time no talk. Is that really you?” The cooing enthusiasm pouring from the other end of the connection almost undid Brian’s resolve. Curse call display. Of course, the office’s name and number had shown. And of course, Naomi put two and two together and got six.
“Hey, Naomi. Yes, it’s me—and yes, it’s been a long time.”
“Too long. Extremely too long!”
Brian cringed. “Listen, I was wondering if we could get together and—”
“I’d love to. Love to.” Her voice dropped, became throaty. “If you only knew how much I’d been hoping you’d call.”
And talk, he’d been going to say, get together and talk. He shrugged. If Naomi was that happy to hear from him, who was he to crush her? Besides, he needed a place to stay that wasn’t River’s Sigh—or, more importantly, wasn’t right beside Katelyn and the kids. In a perfectly timed coincidence, he’d heard that the tiny suite above Naomi’s garage was available. He wasn’t going to kill his chance to rent it by telling her she’d misunderstood his reason for calling—or not over the phone, at least. And who knew? Naomi was pretty and sporty and fun. Maybe when they met in person again, he’d be able to stir up some of the feelings she so obviously hoped he still had.
You’re a shit, Brian. The words were so sharp they were nearly audible, and for half a second he thought someone had joined the call to tell him off. But it was just his brain. And his brain was right. He could be pretty shitty sometimes, but he didn’t mean to be. He sighed.
“It’ll be great to see you and catch up, Gnome,” he said, using his old nickname for her out of habit, “but I have to be honest. Nothing’s changed since I left. The reason I’m calling is I heard you have a place to rent and I’m desperate.”
Naomi inhaled and when she spoke again, her voice, though still friendly, was definitely dampened. “I should’ve known. Well, at least no one can ever accuse you of stringing a girl along.”
“I’m—”
“No, don’t be sorry.” Brian could almost see her shaking her head. “It’s all right—and of course you can check out the suite. I told a girl at work that I’d hold it for her until next week though, so I can’t promise it’s yours.”
“Fair enough.”
“Where are you staying right now?”
“With Callum and Jo at River’s Sigh.”
“Sweet. Do they still do that amazing Saturday brunch that’s open to the public?”
“Yeah—”
“Great! I’ll come by Saturday, we can eat and catch up and then you can come see the place.”
“Oh . . . okay. Tomorrow doesn’t work?”
“No, I’m on graveyards and need to sleep. I’m wiped. You’re lucky, caught me before I went to bed for the day.”
There was a beat of silence, then Naomi chuckled lightly. “Not even a small joke about joining me? Damn, I guess we really are over.”
“I’m—”
“Nu-uh. No sorrys, I said. It’s fine. I’ll see you Saturday. Tell Jo to make extra coffee. I’ll need it.”
After the call ended, Brian tried to tell himself it had gone well and that he was relieved. He had no doubt that in person he’d be able to talk Naomi into renting to him instead of the other nurse. And, as he’d established and reiterated enough times in his head to drive himself crazy, getting away from River’s Sigh B & B, away from Katelyn, was best for everybody. So why did he feel so bad?