Her eyes widened. “Right! I totally forgot. Harlan Coben is a favorite of mine.”
“So...you’ll go with me?”
She hesitated. They’d been out together before—casually—with a group of his colleagues from the hospital. But she always had the sense that if given the chance, he’d want more. This would be the first time they would actually be going out “together.” Is that what she wanted? He was good-looking, and smart and funny and available...
“Sure. I’d love to go. I can meet you there—”
“Don’t be silly. I can pick you up. I’m out of here early today for a change. Reading starts at eight. Maybe we can grab something to eat first or afterwards.”
Oh, so this really was a “real date.” “Uh, okay. I’ll be ready.”
“You want to grab something first or after?”
She was having momentary brain freeze. If they had dinner first then went to the reading it wasn’t as romantic, whereas a late dinner gave off all kinds of signals. Didn’t it? It had been so long since she’d been on a date, she really didn’t know.
“I guess we could eat first.”
“No problem. How ’bout I pick you up at six?”
“Works for me,” she said, forcing cheer into her voice.
“See you then.”
“See ya,” she chirped. She slowly hung up the phone. Her right eyebrow rose ever so slightly. A date. Well, stranger things had happened.
“You finally gave in to Dr. Feelgood. It’s about damned time,” Tiffany teased Kai as she sipped her iced tea during their etched-in-stone Wednesday afternoon brunch. They’d decided several years earlier that with their hectic lives they needed time for themselves and designated Wednesday afternoon for just that. They would always have brunch and when time and opportunity allowed they either went window-shopping or to a movie. Although Tiffany’s import business of fine jewelry and fabrics often took her out of town to shop, she and Kai made it a point to keep their Wednesday afternoon dates. In the early days it had taken a bit of getting used to, with one or both of them often forgetting about their “date.” But once they got into the swing of it, not hell or high water would keep them from getting together for some girl time.
Kai had hit it off with Tiffany Howard from the moment Tiffany had sought Kai’s medical assistance when she needed a prescription for the morning-after pill. Tiffany was so warm, friendly and open that Kai had taken to her right away. They found themselves talking and laughing and finding more and more things in common long after the prescription had been written, and they hadn’t stopped sharing confidences ever since.
Kai gave her the bug-eye. “Very funny.” She cut her Caesar salad into smaller bite-sized pieces, and made sure that every slice of lettuce was sufficiently coated with dressing before putting it in her mouth.
Tiffany observed this ritual with wry amusement. “I swear you are the only person that I know that can actually make a major production out of eating a salad.”
“Would you stop?” She cut up some more pieces. “What should I wear?”
Tiffany pursed her lips in contemplation. “Hmm. Gallery. Evening. First date. Famous author. Sexy doctor. I say wear the navy wrap dress.”
“You don’t think that dress is a little too low-cut?”
“Low-cut? You’re kidding, right? Of course it’s low-cut. It’s supposed to be. That’s the point. If you would ever come out of hospital garbs and sweat suits, you would know that.”
Kai made a face. “I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”
“And what if he did? Would that really be so bad? What would be so wrong with a handsome, sexy, intelligent man showing you how much he wanted you?”
Kai studied her salad. “It’s just...I don’t know if I want things to go that way.”
“But you’ll never know if you don’t at least open yourself to the possibility. You said yourself that he’s a really great guy.” She smiled at her friend. “And he’s been after you for a date for forever.”
Kai giggled. “True.” She released a long breath. Her eyes sparkled in the afternoon light. “I do kinda like that blue number and haven’t had a chance to wear it.”
“Now you’re talking.” Tiffany pointed a well-manicured finger at her friend. “And don’t forget heels...the higher the better!”
“Girl, you are a mess.”
After leaving Tiffany, who had an appointment with a client who wanted to buy some of her imported jewelry, Kai took a walk down to the nail salon and treated herself to a well-deserved and long overdue mani and pedi. She was enjoying the feeling of the warm sudsy water bubbling around her feet when pedestrians strolling past the plate-glass window caught her attention. She jumped up so quickly she splashed water all over the floor and the manicurist.
“Oh...I’m so sorry.” Kai snatched up a towel and dutifully wiped the young woman’s damp arms. “I’m really sorry,” she repeated.
“Don’t worry about it. Is everything all right?” She stared at Kai whose attention was glued to the window.
Slowly, Kai sat back down. In that split second of confusion he was gone. Poof, like an apparition. But she was certain it was him—the man she’d seen in the photo that she’d taken. She lightly shook her head and offered a half smile. “Thought I saw someone...”
The young woman continued to massage Kai’s feet. “Must be someone important,” the woman prompted.
“Just someone,” she said absently, even as her entire body was consumed with an inexplicable heat from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and it wasn’t from the water. Just someone.
* * *
Kai took a final look in the bathroom mirror, dropped her lipstick in her purse and returned to her bedroom just as the front doorbell rang. Self-consciously she pulled on the deep V of her dress to no avail. She drew in a breath and went to the front door.
“Andrew,” she greeted, pasting a broad smile on her face, a combination of nerves and more nerves.
For an instant his eyes widened with pleasant surprise. “Wow.” He grinned. “You look...great.”
Her face flushed. “Thanks.” She swallowed. “So do you.”
“Guess doctors can clean up pretty good, huh?”
“Guess so.” She stepped aside. “Come on in for a minute. I need to get my purse.”
Andrew came inside. Kai shut the door behind him. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back. Can I get you anything?”
“No. Thanks.”
“Be right back.”
He took a slow look around the airy living area, which was dominated by a soft taupe-colored sectional couch with a bronze-and-gold stripped throw that looked like it had been meticulously hand-sewn. One wall held a bookcase filled with a cross-section of titles that included medical journals, British classics, contemporary thrillers, romances and a full shelf on photography. A flat-screen television was mounted on the wall. But what drew his attention was above the mantel. It was a near life-size black-and-white photo of the beach during a storm. The composition was breathtaking. Andrew could feel the fury of the surf as it roared toward the shore. Beyond the shoreline, the inky black sky was illuminated by a flash of lightning that exploded from an angry gray cloud and sliced through the horizon. He stepped closer to see the name of the photographer.
“Ready.”