“He’s an arrogant ass,” she says a little too loudly.
To my dismay, the blond devil glances up and winks at Sophie, then starts toward us.
“Dr. Kaminsky,” he says with a teasing grin. “You haven’t called me in over a week. Don’t tell me you learned to do your own sutures?”
Sophie’s face reddens. “The last time I called you, Austin, was because a twelve-year-old kid had a cut on her face, and her mom asked for a plastic surgeon.”
“I’m not complaining, Sophie,” he interrupts. “I’malways glad to help you out. But in exchange, I think you should introduce me to your friend.”
“Sure,” Sophie says, with a roll of her eyes. “Melissa Lawrence, meet Austin Davenport. He’s one of the plastic surgeons at the hospital.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Melissa,” he says with a warm smile. His tone is flirtatious, but I try not to read too much into it. He’s probably one of those men who flirts with every girl he meets.
I glance back toward Luke, and sure enough, he’s walking over too. “Hey, Sophie,” he says, then pauses before turning to me. “Melissa.”
Austin raises an eyebrow. “You guys know each other?”
“We went to high school together,” Luke says curtly.
“Huh,” Austin says, smiling at me again. “Almost makes me wish I’d grown up in Somerset.”
I can feel my cheeks heating. There’s no mistaking that; Austin Davenport is definitely flirting with me.
“We should join the group, Austin,” Luke says pointedly. “I think they’re almost ready to go.” The casually athletic types have clustered around a young man in a Roadrunner shirt who appears to be giving a pep talk.
“You girls coming?” Austin asks. “I think it’s just five miles today.”
“Sure,” I say, before I can talk myself out of it.
Sophie’s eyes widen. “But?—”
“I think I can do five miles,” I interrupt, before she can explain that we were planning to run with the beginners.
And why not? I used to be able to run five miles like it was nothing. It won’t be pretty, but if I don’t push myself, I’ll never improve.
Sophie’s looking at me with concern. “Melissa, I?—”
This time Austin interrupts her. “Don’t think you can keep up, Kaminsky?” he teases.
“Of course we can,” I answer for both of us.
Sophie shrugs, and we follow Austin and Luke over to their group.
“Welcome!” bellows the man in the Roadrunner shirt. He’s bouncing on the balls of his feet, like he’s been looking forward to this all week and he can’t wait to get going. “I’m Justin, and I’ll be leading this group. It’s a great day for a run!”
I must look a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm, because Luke’s dark-haired friend smirks at my expression.
“A bit much for eight A.M., isn’t he?” he mutters. “I’m Drew.”
“Melissa.”
“Drew’s basically our boss,” Austin explains, “but he’s not a bad guy, so we let him hang out with us sometimes.”
Drew rolls his eyes at Austin before turning to me. “Nice to meet you, Melissa.”
“You too.”
Justin finishes explaining the route—south through the park, west along the lake, then a loop back up to the starting point—and we set off. Sophie and I are bringing up the rear, and Luke and his friends are directly ahead of us. I’m glad the guys didn’t insist on letting us go first, out of some misguided sense of chivalry; this way, I don’t have to worry about whether Luke can see the cellulite on the backs of my thighs.
