Chris closed his eyes briefly as he reigned in his temper. He loved Alyssa like a sister and didn’t want to fight with her husband. Michael had a few inches on him as far as height was concerned, but Chris spent more time at the gym. If a physical fight were to break out, it wouldn’t be pretty.
“I’m going to head out,” Chris said as he made his way to the door. “I really don’t want to argue, because it won’t stop there.”
Chris pulled Alyssa into a brief hug before turning to leave. When he’d met Mallory, he had no idea who she was. Her blue eyes seemed familiar, but he didn’t realize it was because they were nearly identical to those of his best friend’s husband. He had to get the hell out of there. He made his way to the door and then to his car before Michael could stop him.
Chapter 6
MALLORY
“Why are you in such a rush to get out of here?” Doris asked as Mallory was rushing around to get everything finished on time.
“I’m just ready to go,” Mallory answered.
By the time Mallory had everything cleaned up, both Jenna and Doris were standing in front of her. She tried to be as nonchalant as possible, but she had a hard time hiding how excited she was to spend time with Christian. They had set up a lunch date, but it was so busy, she didn’t end up taking her entire half hour. After a quick cup of coffee, they made plans for dinner.
Just seeing him for those few minutes had melted her resolve. She would more than likely regret it at some point, but she was tired of fighting her feelings for him. All the time she’d spent in therapy was so she could stop to avoiding life. Her focus on wellness meant nothing if she couldn’t even consider that happiness was a part of it.
“You’re seeing him again, aren’t you?” Jenna said with a pleased grin.
There was no use denying it. “Yes. We were supposed to have lunch together, but it turned into coffee because we were swamped.”
Jenna and Doris high fived each other. “We knew it!” Doris said triumphantly. “You were in a rush to go on break and you’re in a rush now. We’ve never seen you move so fast.”
“You guys are the worst,” Mallory said, unable to suppress her smile.
“Since your secret is out, why don’t you give us the details? There’s no use holding out on us now,” Jenna said.
They headed out, leaving the hospital-wide lab techs to take over. Mallory didn’t know how to explain her connection to Christian. They’d only been on one actual date, and they hadn’t even kissed … yet she felt like there was more to it.
“There isn’t much to tell,” she finally settled on. “We’ve seen each other a few times, but there’s only been one actual date. But I think I like him … gosh, I sound like a freaking teenager.”
Jenna pulled her close once they reached the parking garage. “You don’t sound like a teenager. You sound like someone who might have finally met her person. Have fun tonight!”
Jenna and Doris both walked off before Mallory could respond. She didn’t think it was possible to know if a person was meant to be after seeing them just a few times. She also didn’t believe in coincidences. She always took the first patient, but it could have been a sign that he wandered into her hospital on a whim.
As she was parallel parking in front of her house, her music was interrupted when her phone started ringing. Her heart sank when she saw Christian’s name appear across the screen when she glanced at her phone, assuming he was calling to cancel. She maneuvered into the parking space before accepting the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” he replied. His voice was even sexier over the phone. “Are you on your way to the restaurant?”
She knew it. He was calling to cancel. “Not yet. Traffic was a nightmare. I was just about to change clothes real quick. Do you need to cancel?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “It’s just that I forgot I was supposed to have dinner at my mom’s house tonight.”
Mallory was having a hard time guessing where he was going with the conversation. “Did you want to meet up after? I have work in the morning …”
“No, I uh …” he hesitated. “I actually wanted to see if you’d join me.”
“What?”
“It’s not as crazy as it sounds,” he rushed on. “Mom cooks enough to feed an army of people. Me and my brother always had friends show up for dinner when we were teenagers and she never got out of the habit of cooking way more than we could eat. Her food is better than anything we’d get at the restaurant.”
Mallory’s mind raced as she tried to think of a response. The idea of a family dinner threw her into a panic. She had distanced herself from her own family for the sake of her mental health. After losing the family member she cherished most, she was determined to never repeat that experience. And when her dad was so quick to replace her mother and her brother didn’t seem to care, she knew she’d be better off without them. As soon as she was old enough to go her own way, she did.
“Please?” Christian breathed. “I really want to see you. Those few minutes earlier today weren’t enough. I picked up overtime, so I’m off tonight, tomorrow night, and then I work every night until next Thursday. It won’t be awkward, I promise.”
“Okay,” she answered before her brain could catch up.
