“Um, ok.” I was caught off guard. Blake was acting weird. It was like he didn’t want me to go, but had no reason to make me stay.
He stuffed a business card in my hand, “Anytime, night or day, and I’ll answer.” He waved before heading back to the elevator bank.
“What has gotten into Dr. Blake?” Donna shook her head as we reached the walk thru.
“That was weird, right? It wasn’t just me?” I stuffed the card in my pocket as we went into the parking garage.
“He was tongue tied like a school boy.” She laughed. “I think he might like you.”
“No.” I shook my head.
“We’ll soon find out,” she teased.
“What do you mean by that?” I lifted the car seat into the back of her car. It snapped into place, and I closed the door.
“If I’m right, he’ll find a way to come by the house. He already helped you move out, and then today he showed up for this. I know your radar is all kinds of messed up from your ex, but Dr. Blake’s signals are there.” She laughed as she climbed in the car.
Was I that blind, or was Donna seeing things that just weren’t there? I thought about this the entire ride home. Ava was quiet in the back, and Donna was humming to herself. It had been a long time since a man showed interest in me. Warren had trained me to ignore it. If we were ever out and a man was so much as polite to me, Warren would punish me when we came home. He was constantly accusing me of cheating. I never so much as looked at another man, but that didn’t matter. In his eyes, I was asking for it.
When we arrived home, Donna helped me carry Ava’s things into my room. I placed the carrier on my bed and lifted Ava out to cuddle with her. Before placing her in the crib, I wanted to spend time with her. Donna must have noticed this because she quietly slipped out the door to give us some time.
I laid on the bed with Ava beside me, just caressing her soft hair. She was sound asleep and didn’t even flinch when I shifted, causing the mattress to bounce slightly. Ava stretched and yawned after a few minutes, blinking up at me. “Hey baby,” I cooed. “Mommy is so happy to have you home.”
Ava’s mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but then closed again. She blinked a few times more before lifting her fist to her lips. As soon as she found her mouth, she began sucking. “Are you hungry?” I searched the room, finding the bottles we’d brought home sitting on my dresser.
I prepared one, and began feeding her as Donna’s words tumbled around in my head. Was Blake really interested? How did that even work? I was still married, and wasn’t sure I’d ever want to be involved with a man again. The only relationship I knew was a bad one, and I needed to concentrate on me. That was one of the few things that really stuck with me from therapy. I needed to worry about Ava and myself. The rest wasn’t important at the moment. Once I got myself and my daughter taken care of, then I could look into other things. If Blake started coming around, I’d have to tell him that. I needed to concentrate on me.
Chapter 9
Brooke
“What do you think?” Donna swept her arm across the room. After I’d laid Ava down for an afternoon nap, Donna had asked me to come into her office.
“What do you mean, exactly?” I tipped my head to the side as I watched her, now more confused than ever.
“I really need someone here to answer phones and manage things when I’m at the hospital. I know this isn’t what you went to college for, but I was thinking that you could do it for a while since Ava is so little still. We could bring the play yard in here for when you need to be here.” Donna smiled and nodded.
“You mean work for you?” My brow crinkled. “Like here?” I pointed at the small desk in the corner.
“Yeah.” She nodded again. “You can do this until next fall, then we’ll try to get you into a school. Ava will be old enough then that it won’t be so hard to leave her with a sitter. You may even be living on your own by that point.”
I swallowed, “On my own?”
“Relax,” she soothed. “I’m not kicking you out. You can stay as long as you need to, but I think you’ll be ready then.”
“Ok.” I forced a smile. The idea of moving out scared the crap outta me. I’d just gotten settled here, and was in no hurry to leave.
“I’m off tomorrow, and then I work the night shift for two days. I can show you what to do, and the girls are in and out every day. Someone seems to always be here.” Donna patted my arm. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll have a visitor or two.” She winked at me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I clasped my hands in front of me.
“Dr. Blake seems to have taken a liking to you, and from what Amy said, so has his brother.” She laughed and I couldn’t help but turn away slightly. I could feel my face heating with embarrassment.
“I don’t know about that,” I muttered.
“Hey, I wouldn’t mind attention from either one of them. They are both F-I-N-E, fine looking men.” Donna grinned and my heart raced. Did I want attention from either of them? What if they hid things the way Warren did from his colleagues? What if they were different
