“I’ll be here for you,” he murmured quietly. Then he glowered at Dantan and spoke louder, as if he were directing his words to him instead of Naomi. “Ellen and I will be here waiting for you. We won’t go anywhere until you come out.”
Naomi gaped at Lash and then at Dantan. They were both behaving oddly. One minute Lash was spilling his heart out to the group, and the next he was acting protectively, as if Dantan was out to hurt her. She sighed. She had no idea what to expect from Dantan, but he was a well-respected psychologist and had given her no indication during the group session that he was anything but polite and professional. She might as well get this over with. As she walked into his office, she saw Dantan glare at Lash one last time before he closed the door.
Chapter 10
The weeks in group therapy flew by. It took a while for Naomi to get comfortable talking about her father. When she did mention him, she didn’t tell them how the Sutherland camp had framed him. Surprisingly, when she shared her story, the others were polite and supportive; even Tori managed to find a kind word to say to her.
She’d anticipated that the others would take time warming up to her. Not Ellen, though. Ellen had spilled her entire life story during the ride home after the first session. At the following group session, Ellen had hugged Naomi tightly, as if she were her best friend. Naomi had the funny feeling that Ellen had had few friends in her life.
What Naomi hadn’t anticipated was that she would actually look forward to the sessions. She found herself taking extra care in selecting her clothes and applying her make-up. At one point, Chuy teased her about having a crush on her shrink. Naomi simply rolled her eyes and said making herself look good made her feel better, and that there was nothing wrong with that. An image of Lash crossed her mind when she said it, but she quickly dismissed it.
Naomi had to admit that she wondered about Lash from time to time. He shared little about himself, but what little he did share was profound. He obviously cared about and missed his family deeply. At the same time, it was as if he wore a chip on his shoulder, as if he expected someone to hurt him. It was at those times, when he was most vulnerable, that Naomi felt drawn to him. He would say something that was clearly difficult for him to say and then glance at her. They would lock eyes, and she’d feel an intense connection with him that she couldn’t explain. But then, as quickly as the moment came, he’d say something humorous and break the connection.
Ever since her first group session, Ellen had offered Lash and Naomi a ride every week. It was obvious that Ellen was infatuated with Lash. To his credit, he was the perfect gentleman to her and never teased or took advantage of her feelings. Still, Naomi worried Ellen would mistake his kindness for something else and be hurt when she discovered that Lash did not think of her in that way.
Naomi wasn’t sure, but she thought that Lash might be interested in her. The thought of it sent chills of excitement through her, and she’d promptly chastised herself for being silly over a man she hardly knew. Against her better judgment, she couldn’t stop thinking about his lingering glances during their group sessions, not to mention the times she caught him looking at her reflection in the rearview mirror when Ellen drove them home.
“Good group today, you think?” Lash asked after the session was over.
He touched Naomi’s arm, and the bottled water slipped from her hand. Why did her body have to go into stupid mode whenever he touched her?
“Uh, yeah. It was good.” She was all thumbs as she tried to pick up the bottle from the floor. Why did it keeping slipping from her hands? She felt like a moron.
Lash chuckled, bent down, and grabbed the bottle. “Slippery little sucker. Let me wipe off the condensation for you.” He lifted his t-shirt, exposing a sliver of muscled stomach. Naomi couldn’t take her eyes off him. Her fingers itched to touch him, wondering how it would feel.
“Here you go … Naomi?”
Naomi blinked, and her eyes shot up to meet his. He wore an amused expression.
Oh, God. Her face felt hot. “Sorry, I was thinking about … something.”
Lash leaned into her suggestively and raised an eyebrow. “I would say so. Anything … interesting?”
“Get a room,” Tori said as she passed them on the way out the door.
Naomi was mortified. “I-I-I was thinking about calling Ellen to see if she needed anything,” she spluttered. Before the group session, Ellen had texted both her and Lash that she was at home with the flu.
“That’s nice of you. But don’t you have to get to your self-defense class in a few minutes?”
Naomi looked down at her watch. “Crap, I gotta go.” The community center was several blocks away. If she ran, she might make it on time.
“It’s getting dark. I’ll go with you.” Lash opened the door.