A Love Worth Living by Skylar Kade Page B

nodding.
    “Have you had trouble focusing on work lately?”
    She nodded again.
    “That’s what I thought. Now, do you feel more rested than you did last Thursday? More able to focus, even if it’s just on you and me?”
    Another nod.
    “All right. So don’t you think, if you use this vacation to recuperate, it will benefit your work when you return, that you’ll be back on your game—more so than if you hadn’t taken it?”
    Her eyebrows rose, and her chin just barely dipped. Her eyes never left his.
    “Then think of everything that happens this week as recharging, so you can return as the implacable Dr. Carrie Farrow everyone knows and fears. Trust me, as your friend, to keep us on track. Everything we’ve done, everything we will do, is all moving you closer to your goal.”
    He recognized the analytical expression she wore, and held his breath until she gave her verdict.
    “I can accept that as a valid conclusion.” Her arms crossed. “And you agree that when I go back to work, our arrangement will end?”
    Apprehension stabbed his gut. With care he banished all those complicated emotions from his voice. “Yes, if that is what you decide. But I will always— always —be here as a friend.”
    And as long as she was back to her normal, if distant, self, he’d be satisfied. And then he’d probably win the lottery and fly off on a Pegasus.
    “You’re still overwhelming me.”
    “That’s kind of the point, Care. I don’t want you to think beyond this day. And because I’m such a self-sacrificing, nice guy, I’ll continue to distract you until it’s time to go back to work, if that’s what you need. In my expert opinion as your friend, that’s my prescription.”
    She bit her lip and her eyes crinkled in repressed laughter. “Fine, David. You win this round.” Then she stuck her tongue out at him, and damned if it didn’t give him ideas.
    How a woman of her serious genius managed to have such moments of goofiness, he didn’t know, but it cracked him up. He smirked, then gave her some breathing room as he led her to the other side of the museum and the Insect Zoo.
    They stopped at the Butterfly Pavilion and took advantage of the free Tuesday admission to the interactive exhibit. Inside the miniature ecosystem, live plants made the air thick and humid while butterflies drifted throughout the enclosure.
    She stood near one of the flowers in bloom to watch the butterflies—or Lepidoptera , as she called them—flitting around to sip the sweet nectar. When a huge moth landed on her palm, she practically squealed, a huge grin on her face.
    She froze and spoke from the corner of her mouth. “It’s a Luna moth.”
    He stepped back to take in the whole view, her innocent wonder exactly what he’d hoped to evoke in her during their outing. While the moth gave a lazy flap of its big, light-green wings, David slipped out his smartphone and captured the moment. Carrie, too engrossed to notice or get self-conscious, was radiant. A kaleidoscope of wings rose behind her in the photo, the perfect contrast to the marvel on her face.
    Damn, he loved that woman.

Chapter Eleven
    For a few hours, Carrie actually relaxed. They browsed the rest of the second floor then dipped in and out of some of the main-floor halls. David continued to take pictures of her, some with a wry smile on her face while she stared down the camera lens, others where he caught her unguarded and absorbed in some exhibit.
    If she did indeed cut him off after her experiment with vacationing, he’d need the reminder of their time together—a shred of hope that she’d let him in, at some point down the road.
    When they finally left the museum, it was early afternoon. The lines of tension that had lined her face less than a week before had relaxed, like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
    “What now?” Her stomach growled in answer.
    He laughed. “I guess we’re eating. Are you okay with a hot dog?” He pointed to a small food