Page 23 of Leave a Mark
But maybe his preoccupation with her had more to do with Marcelle and what happened after their dinner at Tsunami.
At the restaurant, Lee had been civil to his parents and his girlfriend — any display of anger would have earned his father’s disdain — and he’d been civil on the way home afterward when he told Marcelle it wasn’t a good idea for her to stay the night. He’d only become uncivil when she accused him of being passive-aggressive…
“And you’ve been underhanded and manipulative,” he said before getting out of his Jeep and walking around to her side to open the door. When she emerged, he went to her Miata and opened her driver’s side door without a word.
Her look of shock shouldn’t have gratified him, but it did…
They hadn’t spoken since. Lee knew that Marcelle was irate at being dismissed. Although he’d gotten over her breach, he wasn’t ready to apologize to her. And that was usually how reconciliations between them began.
Maybe if he waited her out this time, they’d make progress as a couple.
Taking one last appreciative look, he tucked the thank-you note into his coat pocket and made his rounds.
LEE KNEW WHENhe left the hospital just after six p.m. that he had nothing at home in the way of dinner. He’d grabbed a po’boy from Olde Tyme Grocery on his way home the night before, and he didn’t like the idea of eating out too often. As a doctor, he was supposed to know better.
Thinking he could steam broccoli while he showered and then broil some fish, he headed to Albertsons. The parking lot of the grocery store teemed with cars; everyone seemed to be rushing in after work with the same idea.
“Attention, Albertsons shoppers! Pick up a loaf of hot French bread at the bakery!"
Lee heard the announcement and doubled-back from the produce department. He could smell the loaves even before he saw them. Piping hot and soft. Lee tucked a loaf at the bottom of his basket to avoid simply tearing off chunks of bread and eating them in the store.
After he grabbed broccoli and green onions, he went to the fish counter and scanned his choices. He was eyeing the tilapia when a voice tugged at him.
“Now I think you’re just stalking me.”
Lee looked over to find Wren Blanchard clasping a handbasket and eyeing him over the rims of her tortoise shell frames. She hid her smile in a look of mock suspicion.
“Wha — H-hi!” His surprise left him sputtering. Had he conjured her with his thoughts? If he had, the image of her in his memory paled considerably. Lee would have described her as pretty, but now, healthy and rested, Wren Blanchard’s beauty left him stunned. Her skin glowed, and even behind her glasses, her sharp green eyes drew him in. To escape their pull, his gaze fell to her mouth, and the ripe flesh of her lips made him swallow.
She stood before him in a white camisole of eyelet lace and a gypsy skirt that fell to her feet. The skirt was striking with its electric-blue and indigo swirls, but Lee wanted to freeze time so he could take in the artwork along her upper arms. Purple-leafed bougainvillea sprayed down both arms, and iridescent hummingbirds found nectar in its pale yellow flowers. The tattoos didn’t go past her elbows, and they weren’t symmetrical; instead, they looked organic and real.
“I got your card… Thank you. The drawings were so good,” he stammered, finally speaking and pulling his eyes back to hers. “I recognized Agnes immediately.”
The corners of Wren’s mouth turned up, and he saw that she fought her smile. But her eyes lit with pride and her cheeks colored. Again, he found himself wondering.Does she blush like that around everyone?
“I’m glad you liked it,” she said, giving a solitary nod. “I wanted you to know I was grateful.”
Lee took a step closer. “I did like it. In fact, it cheered me up. Today was pretty rough.”
A littleVformed between her brows as she watched him. “What happened?”
Lee shook his head, not wanting to dive back into the Merricks’ pain. And even as he tried to avoid it, he didn’t want to pretend those kinds of things had no effect on him.
“Sometimes, the hospital can be a sad place,” he said honestly.
Her frown softened as understanding shaped her eyes. Lee knew he needed to change the subject before he had to tell the whole awful story, and he didn’t think he could handle that. “How are you feeling?”
Wren made a sweeping gesture with one hand and gave a little bow. “Good as new and glad to be out of the house.” Then she gave him a no-nonsense look. “If Rocky wouldn’t have let me go back to work today, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Rocky? The boyfriend who left her at the hospital?Something about this revelation didn’t add up. Lee knew almost nothing about Wren, but he sensed she wasn’t the type to let someone call the shots for her. The question was out before he could stop himself.
“Is he your boyfriend?"
Wren’s eyes widened in surprise. “No. He’s my boss at Studio Ink." She narrowed her gaze at him. “Why does everyone think that?”
Lee was still processing the welcome news that Rocky wasnother boyfriend to focus on her question. He shouldn’t have asked in the first place, and he shouldn’t have cared, but the fact that Rocky was her boss made him almost as happy as Agnes’s card had. He was about to grasp for an answer to her question when she saved him.
“Anyway, he let me come in today, but he wouldn’t let me close,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I guess that’s a good thing since I’m out of almost everything except shrimp stew and fried peach pies.”
