I sighed, knowing Grams would never let it go if I didn’t play along. “She’s a beautiful woman, yes.”
“Got a great ass, too.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “Yes, Evie also has a nice figure.”
“Do you often find yourself wondering what’s going on in her head?”
“Yes, but she’s a therapist. So she has a unique way of looking at things.”
“See a future with her?”
I didn’t want to throw Evie under the bus and say it was her who was stopping anything from happening. But it was becoming inevitable.
“Grams, you’re talking to the wrong person. Evie knows I’m attracted to her.”
“Of course she does. But she also sees a man who’s closed off from his feelings and angry at the world—a man who can quickly answer questions about his attraction to her, but say the word future, and you change the subject. You’re two good-looking people. Lust isn’t the problem; it’s being afraid of love.”
“I’m fine, Grams. Really. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not afraid to fall in love.”
Grams’s face turned serious. “Oh, I never thought you were, sweetheart. I think you’re afraid you won’t be loved back.”
? ? ?
“Thank you so much for coming today.” I shook my head as I drove. “I would never have gotten her to agree to have surgery without you. What did you say to her when you asked for a few minutes to talk alone?”
Grams, Evie, and I had all gone in to meet with the doctor after she examined Grams. The doctor laid out all of the reasons my grandmother needed a hysterectomy, but Grams was adamant that things would heal on their own. She wanted to give it some time. Then Evie asked if they could have a few minutes alone. Twenty minutes later, my grandmother was signing consent forms and getting scheduled for this coming Wednesday.
Evie smiled. “Do you really want to know?”
I sighed. “Never mind. But thank you.”
Grams had asked us to drop her off at Marvin’s, so now it was just the two of us pulling into her driveway.
“You’re welcome,” Evie said.
I put the car in park and killed the ignition, but made no move to get out. “I think I’m going to work from down here until she’s out of the hospital and back home safely. I’ll probably arrange a nurse to come by and check on her, too, which will piss her off.”
Evie smiled. “It definitely will. But I’m glad you’re going to stay. I’m going to see if I can get a flight home late tonight or tomorrow morning. I didn’t cancel tomorrow’s patients yet, and I hate to have people think they aren’t my priority when I just started.”
“I don’t think that’s the case, but I understand.”
“Would it be okay with you if I came back? Her surgery is on Wednesday, and the doctor said she would only be in the hospital two or three days, so she’ll likely be home Friday or Saturday. I could come down for the weekend.”
“I’m sure she’d like that. Though I can only have you come back under one condition.”
“Oh?”
“I’m paying for your flight. And I’m reimbursing you for the one you already paid for.”
“No, it’s fine. I’d have done it for Kitty even if you weren’t my employer.”
“I know you would have. But it will make me feel better.”
She nodded, but I had a feeling she had no intention of giving me the bill, so I made a mental note to tell Joan in HR to put a bonus in her next check.