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  Different With You

  Matchbox Series Book 1

  E. H. Lyon

  Copyright © 2021 by E.H. Lyon

  Written and published: E.H. Lyon

  All rights reserved.

  Editing & Formatting: Contagious Edits

  Cover Design: Shanoff Designs

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. The name, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and used fictitiously and are not to be perceived as real. Any resemblance to persons, venues, events, businesses are entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Contents

  About the book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Next Up

  Acknowledgments

  About the book

  This sexy single dad is about to a get a different outlook on love...

  Dr. Lucas Kade is starting over. He’s just moved back to his small hometown, set up his medical practice, and is slowly beginning to put the mess of his soon-to-be divorce behind him. Not to mention figuring out how to juggle the being a father on weekends and every other holiday situation. But when he accidentally nearly kills his parents’ dog, the dog isn’t the only one with a whole new dilemma, Lucas comes face to face with the woman he once kissed during his hormonal teenage years.

  It just so happens that veterinarian Dr. Abby Call is also riding the post-divorce train. What started off years ago as a teenage crush could easily become something much less innocent between these two newly single adults. Now they just need to find out if they’re nothing more than each other’s rebounds or if this is their second chance at love.

  Throw in Lucas’s five-year-old son, a meddling mother, and an overprotective Labrador, and this budding romance is only about to get more complicated. Different With You is a sweet and sexy standalone story from the brand-new “Matchbox Romance” series by author E.H. Lyon.

  Chapter One

  Abby

  Grabbing the tablet from the wall basket next to the exam room, I swipe on the screen and see that my favorite patient is back. I would love to say it’s for a check-up, but I see it is an emergency appointment. I’ve known this furball since he was a puppy, and his human parents happen to be golf and dinner partners with my parents. Even at age 32, I know within the next two minutes that I can expect the human owners to tease me yet again about that time I stole a bottle of wine at their Christmas party when I was seventeen, then ask how my recent holiday was because my parents are close enough with them to keep them updated on my life.

  Skimming over the information on the screen, I don’t have time to dig deep. I’ve been in back-to-back appointments all day. I’m still waiting on the labs of a feisty cat in exam room three and a retriever about to pop out a few puppies in exam room one. This also means there are human parents in the waiting room freaking out. Just another average day at Paws & Claws veterinary clinic. Two more appointments then I can hand the cases over to my colleague and grab a much-needed alcoholic drink away from this place.

  My eyes gather the necessary information from the chart as I walk into exam room two.

  “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Kade, what brings Brownie in today?” I smile and my eyes peer up from the chart expecting to see the couple I’ve known my whole life.

  Instead, I almost gasp, a surge of electricity immediately shooting through me.

  “Lu-cas?” There is definitely confusion in my voice as I slur out his name. My confusion is logical in this situation.

  “Abby?” He is equally puzzled as he leans against the table, holding the small brown poodle in place.

  In front of me I see the man I remember as my teenage dream. He is still medium height with sandy brown hair, brown eyes, and he seems to have filled out nicely. The button-down baby-blue shirt, jeans, and clean shave complement that grin that has undoubtedly melted many hearts. Throw in the doctor title that I’m sure he is proud of and this man is certifiable dreamy.

  Lucas standing in front of me is most certainly a surprise that gives me an extra dose of adrenaline. Screw any drink that I may have thought I needed as I am now 100% awake.

  Words. I need words. Must speak words.

  Clearing my throat, I say, “I was expecting to see your parents.” I pet the dog, yet my eyes remain on the human.

  The human who I may have made out with once. I guess it doesn’t really count if I was a hormonal teenager who had no skill, right?

  “I was expecting to see Dr. Murphy,” he comments and rubs a hand across his jaw.

  “That would be difficult as he retired…yeah, we are that old now,” I answer and begin to examine the dog.

  I took over the practice a year ago, and my head has been busy in modernizing the place while winning over the furred and feathered creatures of Sage Creek, Colorado. The town I grew up in and the place where snowy winters meet green and sunny summers. Nearby forests mean I’ve had my share of bizarre calls where someone’s dog grabbed a squirrel on a hike, and they feel the need to save the mauled rodent. It’s an idyllic place with great restaurants and little boutiques that women seem to adore. Tourists frequent our little town, which is understandable as it is so picturesque, all the way down to the occasional deer that walks across Main Street to eat the flowers outside the bakery.

  The town where Lucas and I seem to find ourselves yet again.

  Lucas lets his hand glide through his hair. “I had no idea you were a vet now. How are you? It’s been what, ten years since we last ran into each other?”

  And 15 years since he rocked my teenage world with a kiss.

  “Yeah, I think so. What exactly happened to Brownie?” I listen to the dog’s heart with my stethoscope.

  “Oh yeah, that. So, I’m babysitting the dog as my folks are at their house down in Arizona. I guess he swallowed something and now he seems quite sick,” he explains.

  I’m trying to focus on the dog, but I feel like Lucas’s eyes haven’t left me and I’m certain he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the dog either.

  I feel the stomach of the dog. “Any idea what he may have eaten?”

  “I think maybe one of Theo’s toys.”

  I look at him baffled.

  “Theo, my son,” he reminds me.

  I’d heard he had a son but wasn’t sure of his name.

  “Oh, so you’re visiting your parents with your wife?” I may have heard the gossip from my parents, but I need the confirmation.

  He bites his bottom lip and his face scrunches up as his hands find his pockets. “Actually, uh, no wife. I’m about to finalize our divorce and moved back here a month ago.”

  Yep, the divorce is the confirmation that I wanted to hear. And suddenly I’m relieved that I just r
eturned from a week in Cabo with a sun-kissed tan to show off.

  “Ah, I see. Well, welcome back. And divorce is no fun. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt,” I admit.

  My divorce from Scott was finalized a year ago, and while it wasn’t horrible as far as divorces can go, I wish it hadn’t had to happen. As in, I should not have married my ex to begin with. It’s another reason I’ve kept myself busy the last year…a distraction from the fact that I experienced the death of a marriage.

  “Got it. That is how you ended up back here? I thought you were living on the east coast and writing?” Lucas seems equally intrigued.

  “It has been awhile since we’ve seen each other. Switched tracks. You? I thought you were going to be a pilot, did that happen?” I give him a knowing look.

  “No, actually. I am also a doctor now—but for humans. Switched tracks.” He grins with a click of his tongue.

  Yep, we are both doctors but for two different species.

  “Dr. Kade,” I say, and our eyes seem locked on each other.

  “Dr. Call,” he tips his head slightly.

  There is a moment and we both have a soft smile, but the sound of the whimpering dog brings me back to the task at hand.

  “I am going to have the assistant do some X-rays. If it’s just a toy and in the right place to pass through, then I’ll give him something to help ease it out. Give me a minute.”

  As I leave, I can’t help but look at the man who is watching my every move. I nearly run into the door, but I make a quick graceful save and leave the room.

  I go to check on another patient while the assistant does the X-rays, and I wonder why there’s a flutter in my stomach.

  Returning a few minutes later with the scans, I switch on the light box, sit on the chair, and place the scans over the lit panel on the wall.

  “So, Lucas, it seems to be a figure with a sword? Or is that a hat? Is it a dog? I mean, like a figure or something,” I inform him as I tilt my head in various angles as I study the film.

  “Could be the Paw Patrol toy. Kind of ironic.” He laughs to himself.

  The corners of my mouth hitch up.

  “Well, good news is it will pass, and bad news is you owe your parents a good bottle of scotch because they love this dog more than their first-born child,” I remind him as I take the X-ray and roll the chair I’m sitting on away.

  He lets out a laugh. “Since I am the first born, any way we can keep this between us?” he pleads with a mischievous grin as he scratches the back of his head.

  “Geez. You’re back 5 minutes and already asking me to do something unethical,” I tease.

  His face tells me he likes my teasing. I don’t look away when the sound of the click of my pen fills the room and I sign off on the prescription. Handing Lucas the paper, our fingers graze slightly, and it sends a prickle through my body to parts I forgot I had.

  We pause and get a little lost as we look at each other.

  “Thanks. It was good to see you again. I feel like I should give you a hug or something.” He tries to lean in for a hug, but I jerk my hand up to stop him.

  “Sorry. I am literally covered in fluids from a labradoodle,” I laugh.

  He steps back. “Oh. Well. Maybe I will see you around?”

  His eyes twinkle the way I remember. Those brown pools are the gaze of a man who knows he has a fan club of women somewhere, and I may be a secret member.

  He picks up the dog to carry him out, and I can’t help noticing his flexed muscles. Lucas was always quite athletic when we were growing up. He would literally run to our house for exercise, then charm my mother by helping her mow the grass. All the while, I would gape at the sight in front of me and thank the fact that his parents volunteered him for helping with the yard. Now, he looks even more defined and muscular. He must work out, no man has the metabolism at his age to justify his body right now.

  “Yeah. Maybe see you around,” I smile softly and lead them out.

  I am very much hoping that I do, but I’m slightly nervous because I’m out of practice on how to deal with these butterflies that seem to be floating in me. And that twinge in my gut reminds me that I am not the exciting one that the opposite sex goes for. When I was a teenager, I was awkward and borderline wild. Then when I hit college and dove into my studies, I settled into a more introverted bookworm life. I have no illusions, the word vixen and me will never appear in the same sentence. No, I’m the respectable vet who wears cute sweaters and jeans. Even if I did want to rebrand myself, I don’t think I would know where to begin.

  LUCAS

  Maybe I will see you around? That’s all I could manage to say?

  Probably because I wasn’t expecting to see her. She looks slightly different than I remember, with light brown hair and soft green eyes, full mouth and perfect teeth. Last time I saw her, she was getting over her wild years of high school and college when she dyed her hair black and crashed parties she wasn’t invited to.

  Now she appears sweet, calm, pretty… and divorced.

  I shouldn’t really think about these things as I’m still in the process of my own divorce. But it feels like the longest divorce ever that has already cost me a freaking year of my life. What a mistake that marriage was. While I thought it was love with Isabella—maybe it was at one point—she changed after the birth of our son Theo a few years ago.

  The signs were there, but I wanted it to work for our son. But that isn’t always enough, and it was for the best we ended. She kept the house in Denver, and I decided to move back to Sage Creek, the place where I grew up. The place where all my family and friends are.

  I sit in a booth at Matchbox, the bar my little brother Nate owns, refurbished from an old warehouse at the edge of town near the river. This is the epicenter for all our friend gatherings in recent years.

  Leo, our resident corporate tycoon, comes to join Max and me at our booth with beers in hand. I’ve known these guys my whole life and we never lost contact. Even though I haven’t been living here, I always came back for birthdays, holidays, and occasional visits.

  Taking a sip of my beer, “This is a good brew,” I comment.

  “I think it’s the Matchbox local brew,” Max remarks as he scratches his face, his dark features steely.

  Leo throws a hand through his wave of brown hair as he leans back in his seat. “So, how is the big return, Lucas?”

  “Yeah, good. Nice meeting the new patients. Theo went back to his mom’s yesterday. Nearly killed my parents’ dog, and his vet just happens to be someone I fooled around with once in high school,” I say, needing to take another sip of beer.

  “You mean Abby? Oh yeah, forgot about that little mishap.” Max seems to find my history humorous.

  Leo chuckles because he remembers it was at his party that it happened. It’s crazy that we’re in our thirties and still relive memories from high school like it was yesterday.

  “It was once, and yes,” I answer and hold up one finger. Then I shrug a shoulder, “It was only kissing…uhm maybe a feel here or there. How did you know I meant Abby?” I’m curious.

  “Because,” Leo explains with a grin, “Max is convinced getting a puppy will get him the ladies, so he ran into Abby at an adopt-a-pet event. He went for a puppy and left with three numbers.”

  “Abby is also close with Jess. Abby’s parents are friends of your folks, no?” Max says, searching his brain. He owns a real estate company with Jess.

  “Yeah, that’s her. She looks a little different these days, though.”

  “You mean hot?” Max shoots out as he downs some beer.

  I throw him a strong look.

  “Whoa, man, your face. Relax. She’s not my type. But by the looks of it, she is yours,” Max cracks out.

  “How long has it been, Lucas? I mean since you, well, blew off some steam?” Leo nudges my arm.

  I give him the death stare. “You try going through a divorce and tell me about blowing off steam. But yeah, it has been awhile.”
r />   In truth, a year and three weeks. The night Isabella decided to tell me her true feelings, which weren’t positive, and I countered with let’s get divorced… after sex. Talk about going out with a bang.

  “I am positive you have passed the window to date again,” Max assures me.

  I hold a hand up. “Whoa, who said anything about dating?”

  I just want to see Abby again and catch up. I ran into Abby once ten years ago at my parents’ holiday party, and to be honest, there were a few sparks flying, more than there should have been for two people who were not on the market. But we kept it innocent.

  “Let’s leave the man alone. I’ll get some whiskeys from Nate,” Leo mentions as he gets up out of the booth.

  Within five seconds, Leo straight-lines it back to the table.

  “On second thought, Lucas is going to get this round.” Leo has a grin and pats my back.

  “Why?” Max asks.

  “A) Your business partner Jess is here, and we know how she feels about me,” Leo lists, and yes, I have been back long enough to know that Jess and Leo do not see eye to eye. “And B) Jess is here with Abby, so a perfect time for Lucas to subtly appear.” Leo’s smile is too cheeky for his own good.

  Lining my sight to the bar, I see Abby talking with Jess. They’re laughing, and Abby is out of her animal doctor clothes. They’ve been replaced with tight jeans and a loose peachy-colored sweater that falls slightly off her shoulder, and her hair is down.

  My life right now is about starting my next chapter as a soon-to-be divorcé and getting my son comfortable with his new surroundings on the days that I get to see him. It never crossed my mind that someone would arrive in my path so soon. Nor is it a great idea considering I probably should get my ducks in a row in this thing they call life.