Chapter Seventeen
Reed
I woke up that morning feeling happy. The last time I had slept with Kennedy, I’d felt so guilty about what had happened. But the second time had felt different. I only felt guilty about the fact that we’d done it in the living room. We shouldn’t have done that, and I was never going to make that mistake again. But other than that, I felt happy about what had happened. I knew now, without a doubt, that I liked Kennedy. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen or where it was going to go, but I was just going to take one day at a time and let it take its course.
“How about some pancakes?” I said to Trinity as she came down the stairs. I’d woken up early, and there was still a bit of time to kill before I had to go to work.
Trinity grinned. “Really? Like the ones Kennedy showed us how to make?”
I nodded. “It’s worth a shot. It didn’t look that hard. Should I try?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please.”
I set about making the breakfast while Trinity spoke at length about the wedding she was going to have one day.
“And who is this lucky man you are going to marry?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “I’m too young for a boyfriend, remember? But maybe one day when I’m older, I will want one.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will. But I would prefer if you just don’t grow up. I like you as you are.”
She chuckled. “But on my next birthday, I’m going to be seven, Daddy.”
“No, I think you should go backward. Can’t you turn five instead?”
She giggled. “NO!”
“That’s a pity. I don’t want you to grow up. I want you to stay six forever.”
She laughed. “That would be weird.”
When I was done with the pancakes, I placed a stack in the middle of the table and joined Trinity. She took one bite and grinned at me.
“Daddy, you can cook!”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I would call this cooking. But I’m glad you like it. Kennedy is a good teacher.”
Just then Kennedy walked in. She took in the scene around her in amazement.
“Do my eyes deceive me or are you really all eating pancakes right now?”
“Daddy made them.”
Kennedy looked at me in surprise. “Really?”
“Don’t look so shocked. You’re the one who taught me. Come try one.”
Kennedy walked over and sat down. She tried a pancake and made a face.
“Disgusting,” she said. Then, when she saw the look on my face, she laughed. “Just kidding. These are amazing. I’m impressed. Just don’t get too good at cooking, otherwise you won’t need me here anymore.”
“Oh, I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” I said and smiled at her. I was surprised that things were so easy between us. I’d expected us to feel awkward around one another after what had happened. We hadn’t spoken the next day at all as it had been her day off and I was glad to see her still smiling at me. In fact, the sexual tension between us seemed to have elevated.
“So, I was thinking of taking tomorrow off,” I said.
“What? This can’t be happening. Am I imagining things? First I walk in on you making pancakes, and then you tell me that you’re going to take a day off work. Is this a dream?”
I laughed. “It’s not a dream. I just don’t have any clients tomorrow, and I figured the rest of my work can wait. I was thinking that maybe I can take you both out tomorrow. We can do something fun together. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Trinity said.
“Me too,” Kennedy said. “But this time I get to choose what we do for the day. Deal?”
I chuckled. “I thought you had fun at the museum?”
“I did. Actually, I had a lot of fun, but it’s good to change things up a bit.”
“Okay, deal. Your choice. And now, I really better get going. If I’m going to take the day off tomorrow, then I need to get as much work done as possible today.”
“Have a great day,” Kennedy said.
“You too,” I said. Then I walked over to Trinity and kissed her on the head. “Have fun, Trin.”
I got to work and went immediately to get a cup of coffee before starting my day. I found Warren doing the same.
“Morning,” I said to him.
“Morning. So, are you in love?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I said you were going to fall in love with Kennedy after the wedding. Was I right or was I right?” he asked.
I smiled at the thought of Kennedy but then quickly shook my head. “I am not in love. You were mistaken, my friend.”
“Oh yeah, then why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat?”
“I always grin like this when I’m about to have a cup of coffee.”
“No way. And you’re not getting away with it this easily. So, come on, spill the beans. Did you kiss?”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
“Ah, finally. Some truth. I knew you would. In front of Trinity?”
“No way! Definitely not.”
“So, you snuck off at the wedding?”
“Uh, no. We kissed at home. Trin was sleeping.”
“At home? Is that all you did?”
“Uh, not quite.”
“Reed Maxwell, my man, are you telling me that you finally did it with the woman you have been lusting over for the past few weeks? The one that you won’t admit to liking? The one that I know that you like a lot more than you’re letting on?”
I laughed. “Well, actually, it’s not the first time.”
“Seriously? Dude, I had no idea. I’d shout at you for not telling me if I wasn’t so impressed that you finally got it on with her. No wonder you’re smiling all the time. So what’s going on between you guys? I mean, are you a couple now? Is she your girlfriend? I cannot believe I’ve been trying to get you to date for such a long time, and then you get it on with the nanny.”
I chuckled. “Wow, you make it sound incredibly unromantic. And I have no idea what’s going on between us, to be honest. We haven’t spoken about it. I guess we will one day, but we just haven’t had a chance to. And right now I don’t think either of us really has any idea. I think we’re just playing it by ear. Neither one of us want to upset Trinity, so I think we’re going to just take it easy until we figure things out ourselves.”
“And, at the same time, you finally get to do the hot nanny.”
I groaned. Someone walked into the kitchen and glared at me, and I laughed and pretended like it was all a bit of a joke. When the person finally walked out, I glared at Warren. “Could you maybe not put it quite so crudely? You know how rumors spread here.”
He laughed. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. I mean, you’re pretty much living every guy’s fantasy, you know.”
“Seriously? That’s really a thing?”
“Oh, it definitely is. And you, my friend, have gone up a notch in my mind.”
“Really? This is all it took?”
“Nah, I’m just messing with you. I’m happy for you. You definitely seem a lot more relaxed these days. And I’m glad to see that you’re not taking work as seriously as you used to. I mean, I know it’s an important job, and it’s good to be focused, but you also have to look out for yourself sometimes. In fact, I’d go as far to say as you’ll be a better doctor if you learn to take some time off for yourself every once in a while.”
“Yeah, I think so too. In fact, I’m taking tomorrow off. Which means I better get back to my office and get started.”
I headed back to my office and immediately got started on my work for the day. I didn’t have too many clients, but I did have a lot of paperwork. I started working methodically, just as I always did, but every now and again I would find my mind wandering. And two of my clients told me that I looked different that day.
“Different? What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You just seem happy.”
I smiled. “Well, that’s good. I guess I am. Who knew that happiness manifested so much in the physical?”
The woman chuckled. “That’s the problem with you doctors. You spend so much time worrying about the body that you forget about the mind. I think a lot of our bodily problems can be fixed simply by leading happier and less stressed lives.”
“I hate to admit it, but you are absolutely right.”
I was surprised to find how many times my mind wandered to Kennedy that day. She kept popping up in my mind, and little things kept reminding me of her. This had never happened to me before. Usually, I was so focused on work that I battled to think of anything else.
By the end of the day, I’d somehow managed to get a lot of work done without once feeling stressed about it. That woman had been right; I did feel physically better without the stress. I switched off my computer and was just about to head off for the day when Warren popped his head around the door.
“Oh good, I’m glad you’re still here,” he said.
“I was just about to leave, actually. What’s going on?”
“I just received an email about Saturday and I wanted to see if you had remembered it. Because, I’ll be honest, I had completely forgotten that it was still happening.”
“Saturday?” I asked as I tried to rack my brain. I shook my head. “No, doesn’t ring any bells. What’s happening on Saturday?”
He laughed. “Oh, good, I’m not the only one with the poor memory. And for some reason, it’s not on my calendar. Saturday is the banquet.”
“The banquet? I completely forgot about that. Really? This Saturday? I remember thinking that it was still weeks away. I actually thought it was next month. Oh man, I’m not in the mood for it. They can be so boring. Are you going? Is it mandatory?”
“Oh yeah, it’s mandatory.”
“Darn.”
“And anyway, we have to go because I heard that they will be honoring both of us for our achievements this past year. We can’t not be there.”
“Really? Oh, well, that’s pretty cool. That will make the whole thing a bit better. I had no idea that we were even getting anything. How did you find out?”
“Yeah, neither did I. I think they told me because they knew I wasn’t going to go otherwise. Which they were right to do. I was going to probably feign illness or something.”
I laughed. I probably would’ve done the same thing. These types of events were not my idea of fun. “Okay, well, it looks like I’ll be there then. At least we’ll both be there together. Thanks for reminding me. I don’t think it’s on my calendar, either. I cannot believe how fast time has gone.”
“Tell me about it. Hey, why don’t you bring Kennedy with? We’re allowed to bring partners,” Warren suggested.
“Ha! You just want to meet her, don’t you?” I knew Warren well enough to know that he was dying to meet the girl that I was finally interested in.
Warren laughed. “Yeah, I do. But it will still be nice, anyway. She’ll get to see you getting an award.”
Actually, the idea of Kennedy being there to see me getting an achievement award did sound like something I would want. I nodded. “Hell yeah, I’ll bring her. That way Trinity can come too.”