“Let me give you some money for my food. I appreciate your getting it for me.”
“Forget it,” she said as she stood. “Apparently, I owe you more than that, since I was responsible for getting your brother angry at you. Maybe I should buy him lunch, too.”
“Carli.”
Her back was all he saw as she pulled open the door.
“Carli,” he called again, louder, then rose to follow her. He didn’t want her leaving with this tension between them. Before he could reach her, the door slammed shut.
“How are the private sign language lessons coming along?” Priya sat across the table from Carli in the hospital cafeteria. “You don’t have them today?”
“No, I think they’re done.” After the way Blake had acted on Friday, she doubted he was interested in her teaching him anything.
Priya’s dark, perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose. “Why not? I thought you said it would take a while for him to learn enough to converse with.”
“It does. Most hearing people needs at least four or five courses in advanced ASL to become fluent and then they need to practice often. Unless they grew up in a Deaf family, like my brother, Brian. He’s fluent, but he’s a CODA and a SODA.”
Tilting her head, Priya asked, “CODA? SODA?”
“Child of a Deaf Adult and Sibling of a Deaf Adult. Brian grew up signing before speaking. Even though he doesn’t have a hearing loss, he still needed speech therapy, since he didn’t have the speech role models at home. My parents put him in preschool early, so he’d be able to hear typical speech.”
“That makes sense. But why did Dr. Wentworth cancel your ASL lessons? I thought he wanted to be able to communicate with his nephew.”
Maybe she shouldn’t have told her friend about the lessons she was giving Blake. Or the fact they were meeting most days for lunch. Or that she had seriously enjoyed the lessons. She wouldn’t be scrambling for an excuse that didn’t put Blake in a bad light.
“His job is a busy one, and he’s still new here.” Would that appease her friend?
“Yet he seems to have time for lunch right now.”
“How—”
The grin that popped onto Priya’s face as she stared across the room had her stomach plummeting. Had he seriously shown up in the caf at the same time as her? On purpose, because he knew her lunch schedule?
Glancing slyly toward the register, she sucked in a deep breath. Even being a jerk, he still took her breath away. But when he turned in her direction, she lowered her eyes to her half-finished meal.
“Man’s got to eat. He probably has patients needing to see him, though.” Good excuse for him not to sit with them. Doubtful he’d want to after she walked out on him as he called her name. Yeah, she’d heard, but no way she’d give him the benefit of getting the last word.
“Or not.” The smirk on her friend’s face grew, and her eyes twinkled in greeting. “Hi, Dr. Wentworth. Would you care to join us?”
Heavens, no. Priya ignored the evil eye she sent her and waved to the empty chairs. Blake claimed a chair next to the radiologist, which made it hard to avoid seeing him.
“How about you call me Blake?” He turned to her. “Hey, Carli.”
The smile she gave him was tight as she took a few more bites of her food.
“All set for Thanksgiving in a few days?” This was addressed to both of them.
Really? Small talk from him? She shoveled more food in her mouth, so she didn’t have to answer. She wasn’t being petty. Okay, she was being a tiny bit petty. But she hadn’t tried to influence Annie like he’d accused her of, and it rankled.
“I’ll be spending the day with my neighbor’s family,” Priya said. “What about you, Blake?”
She didn’t want to listen, because she didn’t care where he’d be. Right, and his scent wasn’t driving her crazy even across the table. Delusional.
“My parents always do it up big, so I’ll be there.”
“Is your mother a good cook?” Priya kept the conversation going.
Blake laughed. The sound of it got her heart racing.Stupid girl. Keep eating. Don’t let him see that you’re interested.
