“Good. Did you get your mother in the pool this week?”

“I did. Twice. Thank you.”

“Are you still trying to drown her?”

“After her exercises, I actually got her up on a float, but she made me keep her in the shallow end. She’s doing really well in the water. I can’t thank you enough for letting me use your pool as therapy.”

“It’s no problem. I’m glad it’s helping.”

“You want another cup?”

Cassidy hesitated. She had a ton of things to do before Tanya got there at noon. But the prospect of spending a few more minutes with Laura was too tempting.

“Yeah, that’d be good. Then I’ll need to go. They’re coming over about noon or so. I need to get the beans on.”

“Is there something I can bring? An appetizer or something?”

“I picked up a couple of dips at the store.”

“Deviled eggs?”

“Sure, that’d be great. I love deviled eggs.”

Laura reached out to take her cup and as she handed it over, their fingers touched. Their fingers touched, their eyes locked together, and damn…just like that, it was back. Laura looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. She turned and went into the house. Cassidy let out a breath and closed her eyes.

I’m attracted to her. And on the heels of that…Laura’s attracted to me.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Laura felt a tad guilty for leaving her mother alone, but as her mother had told her, Saturday was just like any other day. Except, she’d added, that she would be having leftovers for dinner. Laura had promised to make it up to her tomorrow by roasting a chicken in the oven. In turn, her mother had promised to make the gravy for their mashed potatoes. It was a win-win in Laura’s opinion.

And despite the little bit of awkwardness between them that morning, she was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Cassidy and her friends. Well, mostly with Cassidy, which was turning more dangerous with each encounter. Because…

I’m attracted to her.

So much for spending the week trying to forget about it. All it had taken was a few minutes together…a few minutes, an innocent touch, and Laura had fallen into her eyes and couldn’t get back out.

But she needed to, she told herself. She needed to push this aside—push it away and keep it away—and forget about it. Because there was only one way this could end…badly. She would lose the friendship she and Cassidy had, yes. But she would also lose her heart and she was too damn old for a broken heart.