Uh oh, sizing up the competition, eh?
“Thank you for bringing me breakfast. You want to take some of it home. I can’t finish all of this.” Regina was trying to dismiss him, so she could get back to relaxing, but he couldn’t take the hint. “Sure,” he nodded. “I heard you ran in the mornings, so I wanted to go with you.” “Are you implying I’m fat?” Regina was on her 2nd pastry and wondered when he was leaving. “It’s the weekend, and I try to rest for the next two days.” “That’s fine with me. We can stay in all day. I bet we have a lot to explore about each other.” He grinned mischievously, like a man with ideas in his head, and all of them required getting naked. “Your idea of a date is not fun,” she mumbled while chewing her food to avoid replying to his sexual innuendo. “It’s okay if you’re not up to it. We can take a walk so you don’t get left behind.” “I see what’s happening. You fed me pastries so you can outrun me.” Owen laughed. “No. I got those because I didn’t know what you ate for breakfast. There’s ham and
Regina swam all the way to the other side, expecting Owen to stay on the sidelines when she got pulled back under the water. She turned around, and Owen pushed her back up to the top. She sputtered water while laughing and threading the water on the deep end to keep afloat. “You’re awful!” “And you are a big tease.” Owen splashed more water on her. They did several more laps before ending up on the lounge chairs, exhausted from all the exercise. After lying in the sun a bit, Regina took out all the pastries Owen brought with him earlier and served more iced tea on the patio table. “I can show you the bathroom if you want to get out of your wet clothes.” “My workout clothes have moisture-wicking qualities. They’re already dry.” “I’ll take a shower later after you finish eating.” “Well, I eat slow. I want to relish the food and enjoy the outdoors.” “I’m not complaining.” “Being at the hospital all day got me cooped up. The only time I saw daylight was when I took a break. I
“My sister is a character, isn’t she?” Owen nodded and waited for Ronnie to say more, anticipating the lecture he knew was coming. “Regina is the youngest member of my family, and my parents gave up hope of ever having a daughter until she came. I was a teenager when she arrived, and she was the most precious thing I’ve ever held in my arms, so you understand why we love her a lot. It is also the reason we get protective.” Ronnie poured himself a mug of coffee and offered Owen one when they walked to the kitchen to sit at the counter. Owen never thought of Regina other than as a blonde bimbo who was out to get him and his brothers, but getting some input from her brother changed his perspective. Now he could see her as a sister with very caring brothers. There were three of them in the pictures, and now he could see how she got her spunk to speak up to him. “I understand,” he answered. “I trust Regina, and if she said nothing happened here today or last night, then I will believe
“Regina?” “Come in.” She knew only one person wanted to see her at the moment, and she was ready to start with the badgering. “Do you like this guy?” “What?” “You invite him to your apartment and let him walk around naked. Do you like this guy?” “I don’t know. He wants to date me, but I’m not sure. Did you scare him off like the others?” Regina peeked from her walk-in closet to see Ronnie’s reaction. He sneered, “If he easily gets intimidated, then he is not for you. You need a stronger man.” “So, does he pass your test?” “I don’t know yet. He seems capable, but that’s only from what I read about him. Is he your type?” “I’m attracted to him because he’s sort of unpredictable. Not your regular, boring, calculated guy. So I guess I’m intrigued.” He smirked. “That might be an outstanding trait or a terrible trait. So make sure you know him before you jump into whatever this is.” Regina took her time changing clothes while they were talking, so Ronnie tried to sit on the bed, bu
Regina closed the door and said, “I’m sorry about my brother. He rarely comes by, so I was surprised as you were when he barged in here today.” “It’s okay. I understand why it pissed Ronnie off. I would too if I found my sister with a naked man walking around our apartment.” “After that ordeal, I think I lost a ton of pounds. I feel hungry again. Do you want to stay and have lunch? I’m whipping up this new recipe. Care to be my guinea pig.” Owen never tasted her cooking before, so he was a bit afraid it wouldn’t be good, and he would end up insulting her. He wanted them to date, so everything had to be smooth. “Are you sure you don’t want to order in? I think you’d be tired after the morning we had.” Regina’s heartbeat felt like it was coming from her ears, as Owen came closer and leaned over her on the sofa. She did not know why she felt a tingling feeling now when she’d been trying to avoid him all day. The conversation with her brother made her look at things differently. It
He shook his head. “I have something else to ask you.” She nodded for him to continue as she took another mouthful of chicken. “Remember that day, uhm…” Owen cleared his throat. “Which one?” “The FMK day?” “Oh geez, don’t tell me you want to ask me about that comment. That was a joke. It was before I got to know you. Can we leave that behind?” Regina covered her face with the napkin she had in her hand. “That’s not what I was going to ask. We can discuss that later.” Owen took the napkin away so he could look at her directly. “You left your notebook at the house that day.” Regina stared at him, and the color drained from her face as realization dawned on her. “You read the notebook?” Owen nodded. “Yeah, it had my mom’s medical and progress information, so I couldn’t help but browse through it.” “Did you see anything else?” Regina felt scared, not because there were drawings of Owen in the notebook, but because of her secret. She had drawn Owen in all states of undress and e
For the next few days, Regina felt a calm settle in the Bennet mansion. Owen was still there in the morning when she arrived, but he was more pleasant when they conversed. He never lingered to criticize her work and came home later to do his workout, so as not to disrupt his mom’s routines.It was a refreshing change for Regina, as she did not need to watch her step whenever she was at work.“Girl, what happened to Mr. Broody?” Marius was giving Mrs. Bennet her massage when he asked the questions.“Mr. Broody? Is he a patient or a doctor?”“Mr. Broody, aka dark cloud hanging over his head all the time.”“Who are you referring to, Marius? Stop speaking in code.”“I thought you said not to mention their names around Mrs. B, in case she listens to our conversations.”“Oh, I forgot about that. What were you asking?”“Did you see him lately? He doesn’t glare at you anymore, and he always looks like he wants to say something to you, but he hesitates.”“Oh, that. Well, I guess we came to an
Regina stood and took a few steps away from Owen and his very enticing lips. It was hard for her to concentrate whenever they kissed. “We fight like cats and dogs. That’s not a healthy relationship.” “Every couple fights.” Owen sat on the chair and crossed his legs. “We just need to talk like we did yesterday,” he said nonchalantly. Regina pursed her lips. She had no argument in dating him. She just felt there was something Owen was not telling her, just like she hadn’t told him about her real identity. Her brother was right, she had to come clean before they dated. “You know nothing about me. What if you end up hating my family?” “Isn’t that what dating is for? To know each other?” He shrugged. “I have to tell you everything.” “You don’t need to right now. We can do this slowly.” Regina was frustrated. She wanted to be honest, but she felt like he was not listening. She wrung her hands, ready to confess, but Owen stood, and she paused to stare as he came closer, making her fo