Julie was in her office when Lark stopped by. Although she hadn’t known the pretty brunette more than a couple months, Lark felt a real connection with her. Born in South Africa, Julie had traveled extensively around the world before coming to Royal to work with Dr. Lucas Wakefield, the brilliant surgeon who’d saved Skye and Grace.
“I brought treats,” Lark announced, setting the pan of rolls on Julie’s desk.
“Isn’t that just like you to think about everyone but yourself? You look half-dead on your feet.” Julie’s brown eyes narrowed in concern. “How are things going with Grace?”
“Better, but it’s something new every day. Last night she had the hiccups.”
“Oh dear.” Julie popped the lid on the rolls and inhaled deeply. “They’re still warm. How did you find time to bake?”
Lark covered a yawn with one hand while waving away Julie’s concern with the other. “I had a free hour this morning.”
“You are amazing. How is living with Keaton going?”
“Fine. We had the talk.”
“The one where you told him nothing was going to happen between you two?”
Lark thought back a few days. Had she spelled it out that succinctly? “I’m not sure. I told him your theory of proximity lust.” She paused. Had she actually said there would be no more kissing? “I know I mentioned how bad it would be if we were caught...” She trailed off.
“But you didn’t actually tell him to keep his lips to himself.”
“I don’t think I did.”
“Because you don’t want him to?”
“I guess.” Was it lack of sleep that was making her ambivalent or something else? “I mean, no.”
“You’re not sounding very clear.” Julie grinned at her. “I think you like him and are afraid of the repercussions because of what happened with your sister.”
“I do like him. He’s intelligent and a huge help with Grace. He’s been a strong advocate for his brother even though none of us understand why Jake hasn’t been in contact.”
“Not to mention he’s incredibly sexy in an intense, silent way.”
Goose bumps rose on Lark’s skin as she recalled the heat of his kiss and the way he’d watched her afterward. “He’s tall. I actually have to look up at him.”
“And he’s built like he could wrestle calves all day and never break a sweat.”
Lark laughed. “What do you know about wrestling calves?”
“Only what I’ve seen on TV, but it’s enough to know you need to be tough.”
“Okay, he’s definitely on the rugged side and that’s very appealing, but I would be crazy to think of him as anything but the one man in Royal that my father would never forgive me for getting involved with.”
“Except that you’re already involved with him. He’s living in your house.”
“To help me take care of Grace.” Lark cringed when she thought of her father’s inevitable reaction when he found out. “It would be so much worse if he thought we were sleeping together.”
“So you’re just going to ignore the chemistry between you?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Good luck.”
Waving goodbye to Julie, Lark headed toward the ICU. Her nerves were a tangled mess. She’d been gone from the house, leaving Keaton in charge for a whopping half hour, and already she wanted badly to call and see how things were going. What bothered her was that only part of her wanted an update on Grace; she mainly desired contact with Keaton. He’d gotten under her skin in a very short period of time.
As a compromise between instinct and logic, she sent him a text instead of calling. This way she satisfied her need to connect with him but maintained her distance. It was going to be a balancing act until she got her emotions under control. It would be hard—living in close proximity, desiring his hands against her skin, quelling the urge to press her body against his while maintaining a casual, unaffected demeanor. Lark shuddered in dismay.
The ICU nurses’ station was slammed when Lark arrived. Apparently Marsha had gone home with a headache halfway through her shift and one of the surgical patients who had undergone a routine knee replacement had developed a blood clot that had moved into his lungs.
This meant Lark wouldn’t have the opportunity to ease back into her job and wouldn’t have more than five minutes to stop by Skye’s bedside. With time running short before her shift started, Lark pulled out her phone for one last thing. She set it on Skye’s chest, right over her sister’s heart, and hit the play button.