“But you and Christian aren’t dating,” he pointed out.
“But you’re encouraging me to. So, spill.”
Dan’s eyes briefly narrowed before he let out a short laugh. “Fine. I met him at work. I was working with a new admit, and he was the patient’s uncle. I was professional the entire time, don’t worry.”
“So, he gave you his number right there in front of his niece?” she asked.
“God, no! I ran into him at the hospital’s coffee shop a couple days later. And I may have mentioned my favorite happy hour location.”
“I can’t believe I’m just now hearing about this,” Mallory complained.
“Anyway,” he continued, “we happened to see each other at the bar and decided to share a table.”
Mallory listened to his entire story. It sounded so normal; so matter of fact. She needed to take that approach with things. When people said she takes things too seriously, they weren’t wrong.
“Come to find out he’s a physician’s assistant,” Dan continued. “He knows the medical field, which is nice. He also knows how taboo it is, the way we met. That also makes it nice. Plus, I feel like I’ve known him forever. I know I’ve never really introduced you to anyone before, so I hope that wasn’t weird. I just want you to know it’s possible. Give Mystery Patient a chance.”
“I’ll think about it.” That was as close as she planned to get to giving in.
Chapter 4
CHRISTIAN
Chris waited by the doors just outside of the lab. Once again, he felt like a total creep, but he convinced himself it was worth it. He had watched her like a creep outside of the Pilates class and it hadn’t scared her off, so hopefully she’d be okay. By calling to get the hours of the outpatient lab, he was able to figure out about what time Mallory would get off work. And that wasn’t creepy at all …
After he ran into her at the gym, he tried to put her out of his mind. He tried to forget her. But every time he closed his eyes, her blue eyes met his. He wasn’t sure of the reason behind her fast getaway at the gym, but he intended to find out.
The double doors opened, and out walked Mallory and the two other women who were working with her the morning he went in for his labs. She was wearing her blue scrubs with a gray zippered hoodie. She hadn’t spotted him yet, so he took a moment to watch her. She laughed freely with her coworkers as they started down the hallway.
“Hey,” he said after a moment.
She looked up from her conversation and stopped in her tracks. The look on her face leaned more toward surprise than hostility, so he took a step closer. Both of the other women looked from Mallory to him, before the younger woman broke into a grin.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” the younger woman spoke up before taking the other one’s arm and pulling her away.
“Hey, yourself,” Mallory finally replied. “What are you doing here?”
Chris struggled to come up with an explanation. Clearly, he hadn’t come up with a plan beyond showing up at her job like a stalker, so he went with the truth. “You left so fast the other day I didn’t get to ask you to lunch … or get your number.”
Mallory resumed her walk toward the parking garage. He knew he’d better keep up or it was going to be a repeat of the day at the gym. Falling into step behind her, he tried to think of what to say. He reached out and placed his hand on the back of her arm. She immediately turned around and looked from him to the hand on her arm.
“I’m sorry,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to grab you. Just—" He paused, trying his best not to fumble over his words. “Can you give me a minute? Please?”
She closed her eyes and took a slow breath before opening them again. She seemed a little more relaxed as she folded her arms and looked at him expectantly. He had to put his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her again. There was nothing left to do but lay everything on the table. Something he never did.
“Okay, listen. I know how ridiculous I sound, but I’ve wanted to spend more time with you from the moment I met you. I want to know you. I didn’t ask you out, because it’s not a good look for a patient to ask out anyone who is part of patient care. I knowyou just drew my blood, but still. When I happened to run into you at the gym, I took it as a sign. Yes. I know that also sounds ridiculous.”
Mallory looked down toward the floor and laughed. “You don’t sound ridiculous.”
“Then will you have dinner with me? Please?”
The panicked expression was returning to her features. “I better not.”
“It’s just dinner. Don’t even give me your number first. If you don’t have a good time, then you never have to see me again. I won’t be able to call you, and I promise not to show up here again. I just want a chance to know you.”
He could see her resolve beginning to crumble. After another slow breath, she answered him. “Okay. But just dinner.”
“Tonight?” he asked before she could change her mind. “There’s an Italian place right next to the gym. Meet me in an hour?”
