“There’s a picture of you on the vet school’s website. Leslie helped me look you up online.” A blush hit Seren’s cheeks with the last bit.

  Paige wanted to be happy that Seren had looked her up, but she couldn’t ignore the realization that one picture had likely sunk her chances. “You probably think I’m completely disgusting, but I’m stuck on the fact that you looked me up. Do I want to ask why?”

  “I wasn’t trying to be a stalker or anything, but you did start that first class by stripping.”

  “Stripping?” Paige grinned. “Stripping is an overstatement. I took off my wet sweatshirt.”

  “And underneath was a wet tank top.”

  Paige face-palmed.

  “I couldn’t help but look you up.”

  “And I thought I was embarrassed about you seeing that picture of me with the cow.”

  Seren laughed. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed. You’ve got a very nice body. And now I’m going to hide behind this menu.” She held the menu up and laughed again when Paige tried to peek around it.

  Paige gave up and sank back in her seat. “That picture of me with the cow really didn’t gross you out?”

  “I liked the coverall look but I did have some questions.” Seren lowered the menu enough to wink.

  Paige rolled her eyes in response. But she didn’t mean it. Inside, she was busy doing leaps of joy.

  “I didn’t even realize your arm was in a cow when I first looked at the picture. Leslie pointed that pearl out.”

  “I’ll have to thank her the next time I see her.”

  Seren lowered the menu completely. “I wasn’t going to tell you about looking you up online. But only because I felt sheepish about it—not because of what I found.”

  “I wish you’d found a picture of me cuddling a baby lamb or better yet wrangling a bull into a squeeze shoot.”

  “No one can really choose what people find out about them online.”

  “True. If I looked you up online, would I find some embarrassing pictures too?”

  “Nothing like yours. But maybe don’t go looking too hard.” Seren raised an eyebrow and Paige laughed. “So, no one came up with a urine test to tell if a cow is pregnant?”

  “There’s a urine test. You can pull blood too. Or do an ultrasound.” Paige held up her hand. “But this is cheaper and faster. Especially if you’ve got a big herd.”

  “I’m glad I’m not a cow.”

  “For the record, I rarely do preg checks anymore. Farm calls are only about a third of my practice and I mostly work with backyard farmers or 4-H kids. The rest of the time I’m in the clinic seeing cats and dogs. Also, I’d like to point out I’m not the one who started this gross conversation. I’m usually the one who gets blamed, but this was all you.”

  Seren laughed. “I accept that blame. But I’m a massage therapist. I touch naked people all day long. I can do gross too.”

  “Some people are way more gross than cows.”

  The waitress appeared at their table. If she’d overheard, she was good at hiding it. She grabbed the pencil stuck behind her ear and a pad of paper from the front of her apron. “Hi. I’m Holly. Are you two ready to order?”

  “I think so.” Paige looked over at Seren. “Want to go first?”

  “I’ll have the BLT, please.”

  The waitress nodded. “With avocado?”

  “Definitely. Avocado is the best part of being back in California. People here understand avocado goes on everything.”

  The waitress agreed and then looked in Paige’s direction.

  “I’ll have the same.”

  The waitress smiled as she pocketed her pad of paper. “You two are easy. Drinks?”

  “Water would be great.”

  Seren nodded in agreement and the waitress was gone and back a minute later with two waters. Once she’d gone again, Paige considered the questions she’d thought of on the drive over. “Leslie said you two went to high school together. How was Davis High?”

  “Not awful in retrospect.” Seren lifted a shoulder. “But back then I thought I was too cool for this town. We moved here from Seattle—before that we’d lived in LA. Davis felt like a boring tomato patch in comparison.”

  “Tomatoes do grow really well here.”

  Seren tilted her head. “I’ve since come to appreciate that fact, but back then I took one look at all the tomato fields and told my mom she’d ruined my life moving us here.” She scrunched up her face. “I was maybe a little dramatic. It was seventh grade. By ninth grade I was convinced I needed to live in New York. Or any big city. My mom told me I didn’t know how good I had it.”

  “Was she right?”

  Seren hesitated. “Davis is nothing like New York, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I made it out to be.”

  “Not a ringing endorsement.”

  “Well, no. Davis is…Davis. Leslie said you lived here as a kid too?”

  “Only until third grade. Then my dad got a job transfer and we moved to Nevada. Phoenix, Arizona, after that. And I thought Davis was hot in the summer.”

  “Davis is hot in the summer.”

  Paige shook her head. “Not like Phoenix.”

  “Why’d you come back to Davis?”

  “That was going to be my next question for you.”

  “Beat you to it.” Seren smiled.

  “Okay, but after I answer it’s your turn.” She paused, thinking of all the ways she could explain how much she’d wanted to be in Davis to someone who’d described it as a tomato patch. “Going to vet school was always my dream. And Davis has the best vet school. When I got my letter saying I’d been accepted, I felt like I’d won the life lottery.”

  “The vet school is pretty cool. Even if it is in Davis.”

  “In my mind, this place was basically heaven.”

  Seren looked dubious. “Davis is heaven?”

  “I’m telling you, summers in Phoenix are hell. As soon as I saw the vet school acceptance letter I started whooping.”

  “You don’t seem like the whooping type.” Seren grinned.

  “I’m not, really, but I did then.” More than whoop. She’d been on a high for weeks after the letter arrived. “I was over the moon. For real. I wanted to come back to Davis and go to vet school more than anything. I didn’t think I’d stay here forever though. Once I graduated, I figured I’d take a job somewhere else. But one thing led to another, and I never left. Even convinced my mom to move back here. Then she got into water aerobics and no way will she leave now.”

  “Water aerobics is kind of addicting. But it might be that I have a good teacher.”

  Paige scratched her head. “I don’t think it’s that.” She knew she was barely making it as a water aerobics teacher, but the look in Seren’s eyes made her feel all buzzy inside. “Your turn. What took you away and what brought you back?”

  Seren blew out a breath. “You sure you want to know?”

  “Definitely.” As much as she’d complained about first dates, Paige had to admit she was enjoying herself this time. Instead of feeling like a job interview, chatting with Seren felt like catching up with an old friend.

  “I moved away for college and thought I’d never come back. Not to live, anyway. I didn’t love it here as a kid and I did everything I could not to come back. For the last ten years I even bought my mom plane tickets every Thanksgiving and Christmas so she’d come to me instead of the other way around.”

  “Wow, you really hate Davis.”

  Seren gave a half-shrug. “My teenage self hated it here.” She glanced down at her folded hands, seemingly reluctant to go on. “Growing up, it was just Mom and me. After my father left, she never remarried. Never had any other kids either. When she got her cancer diagnosis, I wanted to be here for her. I knew she was going to need help…Everyone said it would probably be a year-long process with all the treatments, but, well, it didn’t work out that way.” She fanned out her hands like that was the end of it.

  “How’s your mom’s health now?”

  “She passed away six weeks after I moved home. About five months ago.”

  “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

  “It’s okay. It sucked but it is what it is now.” Seren took a long moment before she went on. “The cancer was already a lot further along than we realized initially.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “After I lost her, I had kind of a midlife crisis. I didn’t know where my life should go next. I’d planned to be here until my mom got better, you know, and then suddenly that all changed. Other than Leslie, the only thing here for me was memories of my mom. And my mom’s house, which I need to sell because I can barely afford the payments now—let alone once I have a baby and I’m not working as much. And my job was only supposed to be a temporary thing but…ugh.” She rubbed her eyes and then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. You asked a simple question and I go and lay all that on you.”

  Paige reached across the table to touch Seren’s hand. “I asked because I wanted to know. Thanks for telling me. That’s a lot on your shoulders.”

  Seren exhaled. “Hence the midlife crisis. Everyone around me seemed to have this clear life plan. Even Leslie, who’d always been my go-to bohemian, was engaged—and I had no clue what I was doing. It’s one thing to not have a compass when you’re twenty-three but thirty-eight?” She shook her head. “I did a bunch of soul-searching and it hit me that the only thing I really wanted was to be a mom. Like my mom.”

  “So, you got pregnant.”

  “On the very first try.” She looked toward the kitchen when a rattle of plates interrupted the relative quiet. “Leslie’s fiancée told me it was a good thing I never had sex with men given how eager my ovaries were.”

  “Leslie has a fiancée?”

  “Not anymore. The engagement got called off. It’s a long story and she’d kill me if I told you. It has to do with her job. She’s a kick-ass realtor but she makes questionable choices when it comes to women. And this woman may have been her boss.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  Paige shifted back in her seat. After a moment she said, “I’m sorry about your mom and your midlife crisis. But a little part of me is happy you decided to stay in Davis.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll stay. I’m getting my mom’s house ready to sell and then, well, then I don’t know. I can’t imagine what life will be like after the baby comes. I keep trying to picture it, but I can’t.” She unfolded the napkin next to her plate and then immediately refolded it. “I don’t even know if I’ll be a good mom.”

  “You’ll be amazing.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I can tell. You’re gonna rock it.”

  Seren sniffed. “Well, I’m not so sure, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  The waitress appeared at their table. “We’re out of the potato salad that usually goes with the BLTs. Any chance I can replace that with fries?”

  “Sure.” Paige answered first without thinking but then quickly looked over at Seren. “Is that okay for you?”

  Seren nodded and the waitress zipped off once more. After a moment, Seren reached for her water and met Paige’s gaze. “You’re used to being in charge, aren’t you?”

  Paige didn’t know what Seren wanted her to say. She was used to it, of course, but had answering for them both been a misstep that she ought to apologize for?

  “I didn’t mean to stump you with that. And you don’t have to answer. I actually already know.”

  “I am used to being in charge, but I can definitely tone it down a bit.”

  “Don’t. It’s kind of refreshing, actually. I’ve had to make a lot of hard decisions and I’m feeling kind of done.” Seren looked around the restaurant and then back at Paige. “I needed this tonight. I never go out anymore. Even just with friends. Leslie and I always get takeout and eat at home.”

  Just with friends. Did that mean this wasn’t a first date?

  Seren continued, “How long have you lived with your mom?”

  Paige pushed away the question of whether they were on a first date or not. “Four months now. Only planned on it being a few weeks. It’s worked out okay. Her dog and my cats don’t get along, and Mom and I get on each other’s nerves. I really thought I’d find something to buy sooner than this.”

  “You don’t seem like the type to get on anyone’s nerves.”

  “I have my moments. We all do, right?”

  “True story.” Seren pursed her lips. “I’m diabolical when it comes to laundry. It drove my ex nuts. I have to sort everything. Everything.”

  Paige laughed. “Not the worst trait.”

  “Oh, I have others.”

  Before Paige could ask for more, their waitress reappeared.

  “Two BLTs with avocado and side of fries.”

  They fell to eating, with Paige’s thoughts hopping between all the questions she had about Seren and whether or not she should simply ask if they were on a date.

  “These fries are delicious.”

  Paige looked up from her BLT and nodded. Seren dipped a fry in ketchup and bit it in half. “You’re agreeing but you haven’t even tried them.”

  “I’m distracted by this BLT.”

  “These fries might be even better.”

  “Not possible.”

  “You haven’t tried them yet. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  Paige grinned. “One could argue that about a lot of things.”

  Seren narrowed her eyes. “That was smooth.”

  Paige laughed as Seren shook her head in mock disapproval. Definitely first-date territory.

  Seren dipped another fry in ketchup but then hesitated. “I’m eating too fast.”

  “Feeling sick?”

  “Pretty much the story of my life right now. I’m hungry all the time, but if I eat too fast it comes right back. That’s gross. I’m sorry.”

  “Remember, you’re eating with a vet. You can’t gross me out.”

  “I feel like that’s a dare.” Seren half-smiled. “I don’t usually talk about this kind of bodily stuff. Especially at dinner.”

  “We could try to be proper.” Paige reached for her napkin, still on the table, unfolded it, and placed it on her lap, then straightened in her seat. “Better?”

  “No.” This time Seren smiled all the way. “This might sound weird, but I like that I can be myself around you. If this were a first date, I’d be all full of nerves. With you, I feel totally relaxed. I mean, I’m still embarrassed talking about vomiting but…you know what I mean.”

  “I do.” Paige forced a smile. For once, she truly wished she were on a first date. Just when she knew for sure that she wasn’t. She reached for her water glass and held it up to Seren. “Cheers to not-first dates.”

  Seren clinked her glass. “Cheers.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Seren’s gaze flicked to her rearview mirror and confirmed the truck was still tailing her. Paige’s truck. When Paige had asked if it’d be okay to follow her home, Seren’s initial reaction was to hope that meant the evening would close with a good-night kiss. Of course, it didn’t make sense to hope for that considering she’d told Paige they weren’t on a date.

  She could tell Paige had been disappointed. She’d been disappointed too. The whole evening had been one big hurricane of emotions. She’d gone from certain she could date Paige, knowing full well it couldn’t last, to sick to her stomach at the fact that she wasn’t being transparent. Which was why when the moment came, she decided not dating at all was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, her body kept sending signals like “doesn’t Paige smell good?” and “don’t you want to lean in to her?”

  God, did she.

  The traffic light turned red and she slowed to a stop. Could she propose a fling after telling Paige they weren’t on a date? If she did, could she really stick to it? Breaking up in October sounded a lot better than not dating at all, but would Paige understand?

  She glanced down at the swell of her belly. No doubt about it, the baby was growing. Her OB had promised she’d get to see another ultrasound image at her next appointment, and she wanted to be simply excited about the changes she’d see. With Paige in the picture, though, she couldn’t help but wish for time to slow. She wanted a few more months to figure things out.

  Paige had surreptitiously paid the dinner bill while she was in the bathroom. When she’d realized that, she’d considered saying they should split it, but Paige had spoken up first—apologizing for taking the liberty of paying and adding that the waitress was trying to close out the cash register for the night. Seren had volunteered to pay next time and silently cheered that she’d ensured there would be a next time. Friends went out to dinner, right?

  But she didn’t want to simply be friends.

  When the light turned green, she again glanced at Paige’s truck. Even if part of her wished she were the kind of person to have a fling, and that Paige was coming to her place to get hot and heavy, a bigger part of her appreciated that Paige was following her home to make sure she was okay. At another point in her life, she might have been uncomfortable with the way Paige paid attention to her. Or maybe if Paige was someone else. But nothing about Paige watching out for her made her uncomfortable.

  The only thing making her uncomfortable was how much she wanted Paige to jump her. Well, that and the fact that she’d talked about morning sickness during dinner. She’d admitted to vomiting almost daily for the last two months. Instead of being grossed out, Paige had made her laugh about it, which was some kind of superpower. Later, when Paige had turned the conversation over to how cows couldn’t vomit and listed some of the weird things she’d removed from cows who probably wished they could have vomited, Seren wanted to hug her.