the one dragging it out. “Fine, you’re sorry. We’re still over, and you still have to stop calling me. Definitely do not ever call this number again, or I’ll get a damn restraining order.”
That seemed to bring Hank up short. The other man had seemed funny and sexy when Lukas had met him, but his reaction to Lukas’s frantic phone call had ruined any good feelings he’d had for the man. “You can’t be serious…”
“Dead serious. Leave me alone, Hank. I swear to god.” He didn’t bother waiting to see if he’d come up with more excuses or half apologies and simply hung up. He didn’t slam down the receiver because he was a damn professional, but he really wanted to.
When he turned around to apologize to Jenna, he nearly choked on his tongue when he came face-to-face with Dr. Mason Richardson. His damn boss.
Dr. Mason was frowning as he looked between Lukas and the phone, like he wasn’t sure what was happening, but he didn’t like it anyway. “You okay, Lukas?”
Some of his embarrassment melted away. There were many reasons why he loved working for Dr. Mason, and the care he had for his employees was just one of them. Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Yes, sir. Just a little misunderstanding.”
Kevin scoffed from where he was typing on his computer, but he didn’t turn around and Dr. Mason didn’t seem to notice.
“If you’re sure?”
“Yes, sir.”
Nodding, Dr. Mason gestured toward the exam room Lukas had been in. “Okay. I’m ready to see Mrs. Greenhoe and Pickles then.”
“Of course.” He led the way to the door, took a deep breath before opening it, then stepped back into the room, gesturing at Dr. Mason when he followed behind and closed the door. “Mrs. Greenhoe, this is Dr. Mason. He’ll do an exam on Pickles while I go grab the distemper vaccine for him.”
When she nodded and turned to Dr. Mason, asking about Pickles’s habit of leaving hairballs in the bathroom, Lukas slipped back out of the room and took a moment to lean against the closed door.
His happy bubble had effectively been burst by Hank’s call, and he took a second to get his bearings once more. Ugh, that was what he got for dating a guy who looked a little like John. They were nothing alike, it turned out, and now he was paying for being so shallow.
Hopefully, that would be the end of Hank’s attempts to contact him.
Wednesdays were short days for John, since he worked late on Tuesdays, but he usually didn’t do anything particularly exciting with that free time. Grabbing a beer with a buddy or having dinner with Dave and Lydia were the extent of his social circle, and he usually preferred to relax on his couch watching something on Netflix when he had downtime.
But he needed to return Lukas’s cupcake container and decided Wednesday would be as good a time as any. He knew Lukas wouldn’t be home until five, so when he got to his house at two, he showered and changed, then decided to marinate some chicken to bring with him. He figured he could return the favor of Lukas making him dinner, but there were very few things he knew how to make. His Greek chicken though?
Definitely something worthy of payback to Lukas.
And it wasn’t like he was just looking for a way to spend more time with Lukas—because that was ridiculous. No, he just owed Lukas a meal. That was it.
When he pulled up outside of Lukas’s house a little after five, he ignored the fluttering in his stomach and threw his truck in park. Enjoying spending time with someone didn’t have to mean anything else. Lukas was sweet and funny, so why wouldn’t he like being around him?
As he jumped out, container and cooler of chicken in hand, Lukas opened his front door and grinned at him. “Hey! What are you doing here?”
He lifted the cupcake container. “I maybe ate all of those cupcakes already.”
Chuckling, Lukas reached down to stop Ruby from darting out to greet him. “No worries, that’s what they were for. I had some here and ate all of them this weekend.”
“A whole dozen?” He lifted an eyebrow as he made his way up the sidewalk.
“Well, no. But a half dozen.” Lukas’s grin could light up a damn room it was so bright.
He hummed and smiled, gesturing at Ruby. “You can let her go. You know I don’t mind.”
With a chuckle, Lukas released his hold. Ruby darted toward