“Maybe,” Bella said. “But the point is, you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who really embraces the fun in life. You don’t listen to your gut feelings, and you’d never tried a mojito.”
“I do plenty of fun things,” Luke said, half-teasing, half-defensive. “You just don’t know me very well yet.”
“Fair enough. Tell me about some of the fun things you do.” Bella propped her elbows on the counter again and looked at him expectantly.
“I…” Luke trailed off. In truth, he mostly worked. During his rare free time, he slept, exercised, and ate, more out of necessity than anything else. The most fun thing he did was saving lives, but he didn’t get the feeling that was the answer she was looking for. Unable to find a good answer, he turned the question back on Bella. “Are you a really spontaneous person who finds the fun in life?”
“No.” Bella winked. “But we’re not talking about me right now.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
She shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.”
“You’reliterallymaking the rules right now.” They both grinned at each other. Talking to her, Luke felt freer than he had in a long time. The conversation flowed easily, and he found himself able to admit something he hadn’t in years. “You might be right. Maybe I don’t seize the moment enough.”
“Me neither.” Bella sighed. “Talking to you tonight was about as far as I go with ‘seizing the moment.’ I’m usually just too busy.”
Luke wanted to ask what it was that took up all Bella’s time and stopped her from seizing the moment, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to get too personal and ruin the easy connection they were building. He got the feeling that if they told each other too much personal information, it would ruin things. After all, he didn’t want to admit that he was a widower, a workaholic, and a sometimes-rude surgeon.
“What does your gut tell you we should do now?” Luke asked. “Maybe we can seize the moment tonight.”
Bella seemed to consider. “My gut tells me we should do something fun. Something spontaneous.”
“More spontaneous than a long conversation with a stranger about guts?” Luke asked.
Bella laughed. “Yes, more than that. Doesn’t this place have a pool?” She stood, taking her drink with her. Luke hesitated.
“Really?”
“Really.” She lifted one eyebrow. “If you aren’t too scared.”
Luke picked up his own drink. “Lead the way.”
They wove through the groups of networking doctors and into one of the hallways with rooms. At the end of the hall, signs led them up to the pool, which was on a covered terrace. Bella stepped outside, tilting her head back.
“I don’t have my swimsuit,” she admitted, glancing back at Luke.
“Me neither.” He followed her onto the terrace. Far below, the lights of Portland twinkled, the dark swath of Willamette Rivercutting through the middle. “A really spontaneous person would still jump in,” he teased.
“And a medium spontaneous person would just put their feet in.” Bella slipped off her shoes, rolled up the legs of her pants, and sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. After a moment, Luke followed suit. They were sitting close enough together that he could feel the warmth of her hand just inches from his and hear her soft breath over the whirr of the pool filter. Far below, he could make out traffic noises, too.
“What do you think?” Bella asked. “Do you think we’ve seized the moment?”
“Absolutely.” Luke nudged her with his shoulder. “There’s nothing better than sitting with our feet in a pool, smelling chlorine.”
“Hey!” Bella nudged him back. “I’m having a lovely time.”
“Me too.”
“Then what does your gut tell you we should do next?” Bella continued.
“Sit here for a bit.”
She gave him a suspicious look, and Luke chuckled.
“Hey, guts can want calm, normal things, too.”
“Fine.” Bella smiled at him and trailed her feet through the water. They were alone on the terrace — everyone from the event was busy networking and uninterested in a swim. It was surprisingly peaceful.
