“We’ve decided to be friends,” she finally said.
Thomas and her patient had quite a few teasing things to say about that, but she refused to elaborate further.
When she was done and the dentist came in to have a look, Thomas followed her over to the next room where she began prepping for the next patient. He leaned against the door jamb, attempting to look charming. His clothes were a mixture of preppy and devil-may-care. At least he wasn’t doing the popped collar thing.
“Hey, I have a confession to make.”
Lina raised an eyebrow. “Like a dental confession? Because unless you’re about to tell me you hate to floss, I don’t think I’m the right person to hear this.”
“Well, let me just say that I’m so gun shy about blind dates that I prefer to meet them … how do I put this… unawares?”
Lina stared back at him. “Are you saying … What are you saying?”
“Corrie wants to set us up.”
She scoffed. “Oh, so you’re that guy. What is this? You decided to come check me out, and if you weren’t interested, you could tell Corrie never mind?”
“Who says I’m not interested?” His roguish smile told her exactly what kind of guy she was dealing with. If Corrie recommended him, he couldn’t be too much of a jerk, but he obviously liked to pretend he was. He spoke with a confidence she was usually drawn to. Now, she wasn’t sure she wanted it.
He stepped closer. “So, there’s another guy?”
Not if Dillon didn’t want to be. She wasn’t getting her hopes up about Thomas either, but one date with him wouldn’t hurt. It would make Corrie happy.
“There’s no one you need to worry about. But I have to get back to work. You have my number I assume?”
He broke into a triumphant smile. “I do.” He went to pick up one of the instruments off the table, and she batted his hand away, making him laugh.
“Sorry, I work with tools, just none this small and shiny. I’m looking forward to seeing you again, Lina. It was nice to meet you.” He put his hand out for her to shake. She hadn’t put a new set of gloves on yet and her bare hand gripped his firm and warm one. His eyes said he wished he could do more than shake her hand. There was no zing for her, but there was the potential for it to develop, maybe when her head wasn’t so clouded with other things. Thomas’s eyes were so appreciative. He didn’t hold anything back, and she blushed, something that didn’t happen to her often.
“I’ll call you later,” he said. It sounded like a promise. He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I wish all my trips to the dentist were like this.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t even the patient.”
He grinned before turning to leave, almost running into the person behind him. “Excuse me, ma’am. I didn’t see you there.” He ducked around whoever it was, revealing the last person in the world Lina would want to overhear that conversation. Brenda stared at her with shock and hurt.
“I came to bring you cookies. Here.” She shoved them at Lina and then turned and fled.
Lina dropped the cookies on the counter and ran after her. “Wait.”
Brenda kept going. Which was probably for the best. They couldn’t have this conversation right in the middle of the office. Vaguely, Lina was aware they’d passed by a bewildered-looking Thomas.
This could get infinitely worse, but Lina followed Brenda out to her car anyway. “Please wait and talk to me for a minute.”
Brenda shook her head. “If you’re hoping I’m not going to say anything to Dillon, you’re wasting your time.”
“I wouldn’t ask that. You know me.”
“Do I?” Brenda’s lip trembled as she studied Lina, maybe trying to see what was real and what was not. But that was an impossible task. She didn’t know what was real because they’d lied to her.
Lina took a step back. “You know what, talk to Dillon first. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Lina turned and forced herself to walk calmly back inside. Her hands were shaking, and she shoved them in the pockets of her scrubs.
Of course this whole thing would blow up. Juggling lies had a way of doing that. At least Lina didn’t have to fret about whether Brenda would call and want to hang out after the breakup. The woman hated her now. She thought she was a cheater and a liar.
Reina, one of the other hygienists, was in the exam room with Lina’s next patient. She gave Lina an apologetic smile. “I’ve got this one. Take a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” Lina retreated to the bathroom, not even caring how Reina knew she needed a few minutes to compose herself. She gave a shaky laugh as she looked in the mirror. Well, Corrie was two for two with disastrous setups. First Shaun, and now this? It truly wasn’t Corrie’s fault, but the woman had terrible matchmaking luck.
