Like You Love Me (Honey Creek #1) - Adriana Locke Page 0,3
my fault.” She shakes a finger my way as she comes to a stop on the other side of the counter. Her laugh fades, but she’s left with an easy smile. “But for your information, we did find it a few years later, buried in a sandbar. You didn’t come back, so we pawned it.”
“Well, that was nice of you.”
“Bought us a couple of bottles of strawberry wine.” She looks up at Dottie and sobers her face. “That we were too young to have. I know.”
Dottie holds her hands up, shaking her head.
Sophie laughs and leans against the counter. She props her chin on her hand. Her eyes shine.
Sophie was my best friend every summer. As we grew up, so did the chemistry between us. Summer was never quite long enough for the spark to ignite, but I’ve always wondered what things would’ve looked like if I didn’t live fifteen hundred miles away. I’ve thought about her through the years. Anytime Pap mentioned her, I’d dig a little to see what the girl who’d held my fascination for a large chunk of my life was up to.
“What are you doing in here today, anyway? Just coming by because you missed me so much?” I tease.
I cock a brow and steel myself against the coy, and adorable, look on her face and thank God I’m now immune to this woman’s magical powers. I think.
“Actually, I need an antibiotic, Dr. McKenzie.” She flutters her long dark eyelashes my way.
“For . . .”
“Strep.”
“Strep? Okay. Where is your pet?” I ask.
“Babar is at home. Why?”
Dottie coughs. I glance at her to see her lifting the neckline of her shirt to cover her mouth.
“Well,” I say, flipping my attention back to Sophie, “I generally need to see the patient before I can prescribe a medicine.”
“Not around here. Dr. Fred just gives me antibiotics and sends me on my way. I mean, there’s really no reason to see the same dog repeatedly for the same thing, is there?”
I struggle not to smile.
She narrows her eyes. “You mean that you won’t just write me a prescription?”
A laugh topples from my mouth before I can stop it. It triggers a sparkle in her eyes, a fire that switches my laugh to an extended chuckle.
She can’t be serious.
“You know I’m an animal doctor and not a human doctor, right?” I ask.
“Yes. What’s your point?”
“That . . . Are you kidding me?”
Her lips twist into a coy smile. “Are you considering it? Think about the next time I get sick. You could be my savior. You’d be a hero.”
“No,” I say adamantly. “I don’t care how much you beg. I will not break the law for you.”
“Easy, Doc. I was joking. But I saw that flicker in your eyes. You were thinking about it,” she teases.
“I was not. Not even for you and that pretty little smile you have going on.”
She leans back and nods appreciatively. “Ah. Well, thanks. I’ll leave on that high note.”
“You do that,” I say with a laugh.
“Tell Dr. Fred this guy needs a lot of training, Dottie.” She jabs her thumb over her shoulder as she heads for the door. “Like a lot of training.”
“Oh, don’t I know it.” Dottie tosses me a wink. “See ya later, Sophie.”
Sophie presses her back against the door. She pauses and looks at me. The warmth in her eyes, the familiarity, washes over me like a drink of bourbon. It’s comfortable and unpretentious and a feeling I totally forgot existed.
“I’m leaving now. Nice to see you, Holden. Hope I don’t need those antibiotics anytime soon.”
I grin. “I’ll say nice words at your funeral and forgo all that pawning-my-possessions stuff.”
She fires a playful glare my way before giving Dottie a little wave. With a pop of her hip, the door flies open, and she’s gone as quickly as she appeared.
I look over my shoulder to see Dottie smiling at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothin’.” She tries to smooth her features to hide her grin. “Now, do you have any questions before we open for the day?”
“Nope. I just hope it ends a lot calmer than it’s started. I feel like I’ve been exposed to more bullshit today than I have in my entire life combined.”
She laughs. “Oh, handsome. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
CHAPTER TWO
SOPHIE
What’s that smell?” I ask.
I kick the door closed and set the paper bags I’m carrying down on the counter. The kitchen at the Honey House is vacant but looks no worse for wear. There’s