“What? I can’t get a bowl of soup and a whole sandwich?” she teased. Looking at the size of the meals as they passed, she doubted she’d be able to eat all of that.
“You can have anything you’d like.”
Did that include him? Sadly, probably not.
She studied the menu for a bit and peeked up a couple times to watch Blake as he perused his. He was extremely good-looking. Tall with broad shoulders but lean through the hips. His wavy hair just tousled enough from the wind that it took away the rich doctor feel to him. That and the tie with the fall-colored leaves.
“These are some interesting soups. Have you had any before?”
“I’ve tried most of them. I love the Meatball Macaroni, but the Cream of Crab is also a favorite. They’ve also got a few vegan or gluten free options.”
The waitress showed up, and Carli ordered the cup of Meatball Macaroni with a half roast beef panini. Blake got the crab soup with a Reuben. The drink order was taken, and the waitress disappeared.
“What did you want to work on specifically with signing?”
Blake shrugged. “I’m not really sure. If you were teaching an ASL class, what would you start with?”
“I’d start with the alphabet. Many of the signs use a letter as part of the sign. Like doctor. You form the letter D.” She showed him her fingers all touching her thumb, then lifted her index finger. “Then, you touch it to the inside of your wrist like you’re taking someone’s pulse.”
“Cool.” He tried doing the sign. “That’s easy to remember. Do all signs have some sort of trick to remembering them?”
“Not all, but many do, yes.”
“Show me the alphabet.”
She began with the letter A and had him repeat it. Often, she had to adjust his fingers, and each time her stomach fluttered when she touched him. The back of his hand and up his arm was covered with a sprinkling of hair she wanted to stroke. When had hair on a guy’s hands and arms become such a turn on?
When the meal came, they took a break, but Blake kept practicing after each bite, making her laugh when he tried to spell things out.
His eyes narrowed. “What was R again? I keep forgetting.”
She showed him. “This is something you need to keep studying. It’s like learning any language. If you don’t use it, you forget. There’s an app that you can add to your phone that will help.”
“Great.” He fished his phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen. “Can you add it for me?”
“You trust me with your phone?”
Chuckling, he said, “Sure. Why not?”
“I could send nasty texts to all of your girlfriends, so they’d never see you again.”
One eyebrow raised. “You could try, but since I don’t have any current girlfriends, it might be a bit difficult.”
“No girlfriends? A young doctor like you? Living in the Back Bay? Why do I have doubts?”
“A young doctor who’s spent the last few years working a million hours a week, day and night.”
Lifting one shoulder, she cocked her head. “I’d bet big money Joy would be happy to fill the position.”
“Ask me if I’m interested in Joy. The answer would be no.”
Her heart did a little dance at that. She glanced down at his phone and got the app all set up. When she was done, she held the phone to show him how it worked. He scooted his chair closer and leaned in. That aftershave or whatever scent he wore was driving her crazy. It could have been simply him, but it was potent, and she wanted to breathe him in. That wouldn’t be too awkward, would it?
“You have to make sure to practice and review.”
“Maybe you can help me with that. When we see each other, I’ll sign to you.”
“Okay, though it might take a while to engage in a full-blown conversation. We can start off with signs Annie will most likely be using with Parker.”
