Chapter 9
The next morning, Audrey sat in her office, dreading her next client. Carly was coming in and Audrey honestly didn’t want to hear any more about her ex. She desperately wanted to believe he wasn’t Josh. She’d probably gone too far asking Josh how he felt about marriage, but curiosity got the better of her with all Carly had said about her ex-boyfriend.
The secretary buzzed her, letting her know Carly had arrived early. It was time to get it over with. She took a deep breath and walked to the waiting area to retrieve Carly.
“Hi, Audrey,” Carly said, wiping her face with a tissue. “I know I’m early, but I really needed to talk.”
“That’s okay, come on back.” Audrey put a hand on her shoulder and led her into her office. Carly sat on the couch, and Audrey took her place in the desk chair.
“How are you doing?” Audrey asked.
“I just don’t know if I know what I want in a man anymore. None of them are who they seem to be and…I’m gonna die alone.”
Audrey took her notepad from the desk. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a break from relationships for a while. But it’s a little soon to decide you’ll never find someone who makes you happy.”
Carly blew her nose. “I hate men. My friend thought it would cheer me up to take me to see a comedy. But there was a stupid relationship…I threw my popcorn clean across three rows in front of me and walked out. I don’t want to see romance on screen or off. I don’t want to read about it, I don’t want to hear about anyone getting engaged…I still can’t believe my ex turned out to be so weird. I don’t think he’ll ever commit to someone, he’s too busy with baseball and Bigfoot hunting to care about anything or anyone else.”
“This is going to be hard for a while.” Audrey pressed her lips together tightly and drew a few circles on her notepad. She wanted to ask the question, but didn’t know if she could stand to hear the answer. “So, Carly…I don’t believe you ever mentioned your ex’s name.”
“Probably because I’m trying to block it out.”
“I understand.”
“He never shaved on weekends, he cut his hair exactly the way I hated it. And he worked all kinds of crazy hours, so why only shave during the week? He’s an electrician.”
Audrey’s heart sank. She was so hoping to be completely wrong about Josh.
“You should never hire him, by the way, he’s a terrible electrician.”
“Really? Who?”
“Joshua Chadwick. Never hire the guy.”
It was like a punch in the stomach. She gulped. No more assumptions. This was fact. “So did he do any work for you?”
“Yeah, he installed a ceiling fan for me, and he was supposed to update all the other fixtures in the house but he never got around to it. Probably out hunting.” Carly leaned forward. “But the ceiling fan hasn’t worked right since and ever since I met him that day, I couldn’t get those magical eyes out of my head.”
Well, at least Audrey wasn’t the first to be hypnotized by his amazing eyes and…his smile. The way his rough, working-man’s fingers made her tingle all over…
“But no more,” Carly said. “I’m done with him. I’m done with dating. Done with men. It’s time to focus on myself.”
“What…what would you like to do?”
Audrey struggled through the rest of the session, dying to finish and rush straight home. How rude would it be for her to charge into her house and demand to see his license? Was he really a terrible electrician? Or just a terrible boyfriend? Knowing the effect he seemed to have on her, and having it confirmed she was treating his ex-girlfriend, should be enough for her to fire him. Except, she couldn’t tell him about Carly, and Josh was almost done with the house. She couldn’t call it off now. Besides, the other electrician in town couldn’t send someone for a few weeks. She’d checked into that option after the festival. Romance wasn’t that big of a city.
She would have to keep him…unless he really was a lousy electrician.
***
Josh left Audrey’s house for lunch and headed to the Valley Market to grab a sandwich in the deli section. He wanted to stop thinking about Audrey. But then again, he didn’t want to. In fact, he was excited that at the end of his project, he wouldn’t be working for her anymore and things would be far less complicated to ask her out on an official date.
He walked over to the deli area and grabbed a prepared sandwich. A tap on his shoulder prompted him to turn around. There stood Carly, her blond hair perfectly straight and sitting on her shoulders. She didn’t look unhappy to see him, and he was rather startled.
“Well, hello, Josh.”
“Hey…” He put down the sandwich and paused. What was he supposed to say in this situation? “How are you?”
“I’m much better now.” She nodded and glanced down at the shopping basket in her hands. “I’ve been in therapy.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Getting over you was difficult, Josh. I’m not gonna lie.”
“Look, I’m sorry things didn’t work…”
Carly held up a hand. “I just wanted to say hi. And tell you I’m doing better now. Had a major breakthrough in my session today. I’m moving on and focusing on myself. Oh, and here…” She reached one hand into her purse at her side and took out a business card. “I’ve just finished all the therapy I’m going to do, but this counselor is amazing.”
Josh took the card, but didn’t look at it. He was confused. “Why are you…”
“You need help, Josh. Let’s face it.” She pointed at the card and stepped around him. “Call her.”
He turned his head and watched her walk away. Carly thought he needed help? He would have thought it was a joke if she possessed a sense of humor. Then he looked down at the card in his hand and his mouth dropped open. It read: Audrey Foster, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.