She smiled. “And you spoil me with your curb service.”
“Only the best for our favorite doctor.” He squatted on the pavement. “Have you met a nice lady to take care of you yet? I guess not, or this order would be for two, huh?”
His eyes crinkled, showing his age and his kindness. His genuine smile never failed to cheer her spirits, which could be hard after some of her shifts. “I meet lots of nice ladies.”
He shook his head. “Your patients don’t count, Cassie.”
She glanced at her phone, aware that Taryn would be calling back soon. “I’m waiting for a call from someone I met last night. Does that count?”
“That depends. Is she going to pamper you like the queen you are?”
Cassie smiled widely. “You’re such a charmer, Yan. If only you weren’t married—”
“Or a man. Or old enough to be your grandfather.” He stood up and patted the roof of her car.
“You’re in better shape than most thirty-year-olds.” And she wasn’t flattering him. She’d seen him at the park doing pull-ups and handstand push-ups like an Olympian.
He gestured back to his restaurant, where his wife, Jade-Lai, smiled and waved. “That’s because I’ve had averynice lady looking after me since I was sixteen.”
“I can only be envious, Yan. Give Jade-Lai my love.”
He stepped back and pressed his palms together. “Zàijiàn.”
“Yep, see you soon,” she said and headed home, as eager to get back for Taryn’s call as she was to dig into Yan’s special noodles.
A few minutes later, she was at home and in the bathroom adjusting her hair and adding a little extra makeup. Though it had been ambiently dark at the club, she’d been wearing full makeup, and that was something akin to a suit of armor for a knight, a literal mask to separate her doctor persona from her club persona. There had been mornings after the nights before, but those women still hadn’t seen her without makeup.Ever. Likely the last person who had was her mom, and she’d impressed upon her that being seen without “a full face on” wasn’t advisable until at least a year into a relationship. She put no stock in her mom’s advice, but since Cassie’s engagements didn’t last beyond one night, let alone one year, she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to ignore it.
Still, a little extra makeup to face Taryn was a layer of protection she wanted tonight. She couldn’t place her finger on why that was, and she didn’t have the luxury of time to analyze it, so she headed to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine to accompany her meal. Yan had included chopsticks, as usual, and she decided to eat from the carton and not dirty a plate. Good for the environment, she figured. Cassie dropped onto her couch, angled her phone on the coffee table, and took her first bite of food. The flavors exploded on her tongue, and she moaned quietly. Why cook when she had some of the best chefs in the world available by app?
She was halfway down the box, eating way too fast to avoid heartburn, when her phone rang. She leaned over and hit accept before tucking her legs under her butt and relaxing into her chair. Taryn’s face filled most of the screen, but Cassie could tell she was in the Bellagio from the Chihuly glass flowers on the ceiling. “Classy place. Is that where you’re staying?”
Taryn shook her head. “We were here for the show and stayed on in the casino to play some poker.”
“We?” Her question surprised her. What did it matter who Taryn was out with?
“Me and Andi, and Banjo, and Fig—”
Cassie laughed. “Are you just making names up?”
Taryn shook her head and grinned. “I understand why you’d think that, but no. For reasons I have yet to divine, a lot of my friends have bizarre monikers.”
Her smile was TV-perfect, but this close to the screen, Cassie noticed she had a small scar at the top left of her slightly crooked nose. She could be forgiven for not seeing it last night, but she didn’t want to stop studying it now that shehadspotted it.
“You’ve noticed my war wound, haven’t you?” Taryn touched her nose.
Cassie’s interest had clearly been none too subtle. “Sorry. Was I that obvious?”
“Well, your eyes narrowed and your brow furrowed like you’d seen something incredibly ugly. And you didn’t look at me like that last night, so I’m assuming the dark club favored my good side.” Taryn covered her nose and part of her face with her hand. “I could zip down to the Venetian and buy a carnival mask to cover it up if I’m putting you off your food.”
“Oh my god, no. I didn’t mean it like that.” Though she had no doubt that Taryn would look insanely hot in full carnival garb at a masquerade ball.
“Phew. I thought me and my ugly mug had blown it again.”
Taryn’s smile grew wider, and her laugh lines deepened. Cassie’s breath caught at the sight of such a genuine expression. She enjoyed life, but she couldn’t honestly say she’d ever laughed like that. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?” She knew only too well how people used humor to disguise chinks in their self-belief. It had been her go-to coping method all through her college scholarship.
“Of course not,” Taryn said and wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m fantastically handsome, and my scar only adds to my overall ruggednessandadds a touch of mystique.”
“Handsome but not humble.” Their verbal sparring picked up where they’d stopped at the club, although Taryn had her on the back foot this time. Cassie liked it both ways and instinctively drew the comparison that their sex would be equally fun.
