Cassidy Lane (25 page)

She paused the
movie and replied:

What’s the going rate for that sort of work? I could use some spending money.

LOL. They’re finally asleep. Thank God.

I assume you’re not talking about your feet.

I love when you make me laugh. Did you have a good day?

I did. I bought your Christmas present, actually.

You got me a gift? You are too nice.

Now you can’t ditch me until after Christmas, promise?

I can’t believe you already got me a gift. I’m flattered.

Do you promise?

Yes. ☺

I’m excited for the holidays. I’ll have finished my book by then! Maybe we can celebrate in style.

I would like that. I could use some fun.

Maybe we could go bowling. I have my own shoes.

Please tell me you’re joking.

I’m joking. Maybe we could go ice skating? There’s a rink in Belmont that I’ve taken my nieces to a few times. It’s sort of cheesy, but they play fun holiday music.

That does sound fun. Could we hold hands while we skate? Would be a good excuse to touch you while also keeping me from falling on my out-of-shape ass.

I’d be honored to keep you from falling on your out-of-shape ass. How is your mom doing?

About the same. I don’t really want to talk about it.

Oh, sorry.

Don’t be sorry. I’m just tired of talking about it. Hey, I’ve got to run now, the boys woke up and are going at it. Have a good night.

OK, good night.

She stared at
the phone for a few moments before gently setting it on the coffee table. Had she said something wrong?

Chapter Nineteen

“I’M SURE IT’S
nothing.” Harper peered at her nose as he opened the cab door. “It doesn’t even look like anything.”

Cassidy climbed inside
and took a seat. It was a couple of days later, and they were on their way to the dermatologist’s office. “I hope you’re right. Thanks for taking the morning off to come with me, by the way. I feel like a baby for not wanting to go by myself, but for some reason I just don’t want to.”

He climbed in
behind her. “That’s what friends are for, right? You’ve certainly been a good one to me lately.”

She put a
hand on his arm and squeezed. “I’m not sure where this neediness is coming from. Usually I’m more independent than this.”

“It’s OK to
need people, Cassidy.”

“I know,” she
said with a sigh. Before calling Harper last night, she’d spent the day expecting to hear from Brandon at some point, even if only to say he was thinking of her. But her phone had remained silent, and as her anxiety about her appointment grew, she’d felt an urge to talk to someone. She’d called Patti, and then Danielle, but neither had picked up, so she’d confided in Harper, who then offered to come with her. She knew Brandon was extremely busy with his own problems, but she wished that just once he had time to pay attention to her when she needed a little support.

“I’m sorry to
keep you waiting so long. It’s been a hectic morning. Thanks for being patient.” The doctor shut the door of the examination room and held out a hand. “I’m Dr. Zimmerman.”

Cassidy shook his
hand, then nodded toward Harper. “Cassidy Lane. This is my friend, Harper Gold.”

“I’m the neighbor,”
Harper said. “Just here for moral support.”

“Nothing wrong with
a little moral support.” Dr. Zimmerman smiled curtly as he glanced down at her chart. “I understand you’ve got a little something on your nose.”

Cassidy cleared her
throat and felt her hand move involuntarily to touch the area in question. “Yes. I think it’s been there for about three months. For a while I thought it was just a scrape that had turned into a scab, but then recently I realized it should have healed by now.” As she said the words out loud, the reality of why she was there hit her, and she felt her blood turn cold at what might happen. Her anxiety must have shown in her face, because Harper reached for her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back, grateful to have him there.

“Let’s have a
look, shall we?” Dr. Zimmerman set the folder down on a counter and picked up a magnifying glass, then walked over to Cassidy. Leaning in close, he switched on a bright light attached to the instrument. He peered at her nose briefly, then turned off the light and set down the magnifying glass.

He smiled. “There’s
nothing to worry about.”

Cassidy felt her
whole body loosen. “There isn’t?”

He shook his
head. “I believe what you have there is a wart.”

Harper laughed, and
Cassidy hit him playfully on the arm. Then she looked back at Dr. Zimmerman. “A
wart
?”

He nodded. “Most
likely it’s a wart, but if it’s something else, it hasn’t yet turned into anything to worry about, so we’ll freeze it off and that should do it.”

“You mean right
now?”

“Yep.” He opened
a cabinet and picked up a large aerosol can, then held it up to her face. “Close your eyes. This might sting a little bit.”

She shut her
eyes tight. He sprayed for literally one second and then it was over.

“All done,” he
said.

Cassidy opened her
eyes. “That’s it?”

He smiled. “That’s
it. It will crust up and may look a little unsightly for a few days, but then it will fall off. The wart, not your nose.”

Cassidy exhaled. “I’m
so relieved. Thank you, Dr. Zimmerman.”

“You’re very welcome.
I like it when the news is good.”

“I can’t believe
I took the morning off of work for a wart.”

Cassidy narrowed her
eyes at him. “Hey now, don’t make fun of me. I thought maybe I was dying.”

“It’s well within
my rights to make fun of you for a
wart
. Dying. Please.”

She laughed and
stirred sugar into her latte. “OK, you can have this one. You have no idea how relieved I am.”

“As you should
be. Melanoma is no joke. You dodged a bullet in there.”

“No kidding. I
feel really lucky.” She sipped her latte, then pointed outside the Starbucks window. “Want to wander for a bit before you head to the office? We could walk toward Broadway.”

He nodded, and
together they slowly made their way west. They strolled for half a block in silence before Cassidy spoke. He’d been there when she needed him, and she wanted to repay the favor, or at least try. “So what’s the latest with Vanessa? Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugged. “The
same. She’s still pregnant. The question now is, where is she going to live?”

Cassidy looked over
at him “Are you thinking of having her move in with you?”

“I’m thinking about
it. I haven’t made any decisions, but I’m thinking about it.”

“Where does she
live now?”

“Hell’s Kitchen. But
she has two roommates in a walk-up. Not doable for raising a baby.”

“Where do her
parents live?”

“Texas.”

“Yikes. And she
doesn’t want to go back there?”

“No, she’s set
on staying here.”

Cassidy closed her
eyes. “Oh, Harper. I’m so sorry about all of this.”

He tossed his
empty coffee cup into a trash bin. “It could be worse. She’s a nice person, and we get along pretty well.”

“You think she’s
a nice person?”

He nodded. “I
do. She’s a bit shallow, but she has a good heart. I mean, the whole situation is far from ideal, but I could do a lot worse for the mother of my child.”

They were hardly
the words of a proud father-to-be, but he was clearly trying to do the right thing, whatever that was, and Cassidy’s heart ached for him. She knew how much he’d wanted to fall in love, get married, and have a family—in that order. Her thoughts turned to Danielle: independent, confident Danielle, who didn’t share Harper’s dream of a white picket fence but had been tied in knots for having given in to temptation, however briefly. Then there was her own relationship with Brandon, which was admittedly unconventional but recently seemed to have careened far from the idyllic. She lightly touched the bandage on her nose and wondered when she’d hear from him.

However different, she
and her friends had all embarked on journeys that had been sparked by the irresistible pull of physical attraction. She wanted to believe the roads they were traveling would lead to a future of love, or fulfillment, or whatever
happiness
represented to each of them. But she knew better. She knew there was no guarantee any of them would end up with the life—or the person—they really wanted.

She took a
sip of her latte and frowned at the uncertainties of life.

This must be
why people like my books.

By bedtime that
evening, Cassidy had had enough of waiting. After nearly two days of not hearing from Brandon, she gave up and texted him:

Hi, I don’t have skin cancer, in case you were curious.

He wrote back
a couple minutes later.

That is great news.

She was glad
he’d replied so quickly, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he would have asked about her nose had she not brought it up first. And now she would never know.

She shut off
her phone. For the time being, she figured it was best to say nothing more. Rationally, she knew how stressed he was, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he hadn’t been there for her when she needed him.

She also felt
guilty for being disappointed.

Despite her conflicting
emotions, as she turned off the light and climbed into bed, all she could think about was what it would feel like to be falling asleep in his arms.