She’d eased one aspect of the girl’s issues but she’d hit a nerve in Ryan’s. Why?
* * *
The knock on her office door told her Ryan stood on the other side. Even the rap of his hand was distinctive. Her officemates had gone home long ago. She might have left sooner if she’d had more to go home to. Instead, she was busy trying to see what services were available to Amanda Marcella. Going to the door, she opened it.
“Hi, I was just wondering if you might have dinner with me tonight. Let me say thanks for helping out this afternoon and apologize for making you feel less than welcome on your first day.” He grinned.
Ryan could slay dragons and carry off a princess’ heart with that movement of his lips.
“Just doing my job. No thanks necessary. I appreciate the invitation but I think I’d better just go home.” Why in the world wasn’t she accepting an opportunity to go out with a good-looking, smart man? Because she could be one of those slayed by his grin. Because it couldn’t go anywhere. But why did it have to?
“You don’t think you can take a few minutes to keep a hard-working colleague company while he eats?” His grin widened.
She was starting to fall for his charm. “I guess I could for a few minutes. I am hungry. But do you mind if I pick the place?”
“Sure. Just so long as it’s not a beans-and-sprouts place. I want meat and cheese and more meat.”
Lucy smiled. Something she was doing more often when he was around. It felt good. “There’s meat, along with great salads.”
“Perfect. Let’s go.”
He stepped through the doorway and waited for her in the hall. For heaven’s sake, what was she doing? She had no business going to dinner with Ryan O’Doherty. He was far too likeable. And he made her far too angry sometimes. She secured her scarf around her neck and pulled on her coat. Stepping into the hall, she pulled the door closed behind her and prepared to lock it.
Ryan was no longer there. It was late enough that most of the patients were in bed for the night. One lone mother spoke softly to her child and Lucy’s heart constricted. She’d thought distance would ease her feelings about Emily but with each baby she saw there was a fresh stab of pain. Would it ever go away?
She looked around and found Ryan standing in front of the nurses’ station, talking to one of the staff. The nurse was snickering. He looked in her direction and grinned.
His smile pushed the heartache away. She needed her mental faculties just to deal with him. The man had the ability to turn that charm on and off at will. All the nurses seemed to go calf-eyed whenever he walked down the hall. More than one had requested to care for his patients in order to have his attention for a few minutes.
That laughter and fun-loving attitude covered the seriousness of his job and the caring heart that she only glimpsed when he was dealing with the children. She’d seen him displeased and she was beginning to think few saw the emotional side of him. That he’d let it slip when she’d been around was something to ponder.
Ryan smiled and started toward her. The nurse saw Lucy and returned to her duties. When she reached Ryan he said, “I just got a page. I need to stop by the nursery for a few minutes to check on a child, if you don’t mind.”
No, she couldn’t do that. It would kill her to see the babies. She would cry. “Um, why don’t I just meet you in the lobby?”
“I would’ve thought you might want to meet the family, if they are there.”
“I’ll just wait and see if you are assigned the case.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “Okay. I’ll see you in the lobby as soon as I can.”
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as Ryan walked off. She just wasn’t ready to face the nursery.
* * *
In the taxi, Ryan grinned when Lucy had to give the address of the restaurant for a second time. The cab driver didn’t quite understand her sweet Southern drawl. He himself liked it, a lot. Her slower, softer accent was soothing. He especially liked it when she said his name.
Lucy had a way about her that relaxed him, and others as well. She wasn’t authoritarian when she spoke but people listened to her. Plus her manner implied that everything would be all right given time. He’d seen it first hand when she talked to his patients’ families. She’d given of herself. At one time, he’d done that more freely but now he had nothing left.
If he ever discovered he had something to give, he hoped someone like Lucy was around to share it with. But now wasn’t the time. He’d never confided in anyone from work and he wouldn’t be starting now, no matter how tempting it might be.
Lucy sat beside him in the back seat, staring out the window. He wasn’t sure if she was avoiding looking at him or was just engrossed in the lights of the “city that never sleeps”.
“Have you been to New York before?”
“Once, when I was a kid. With my parents. I don’t remember much about it, though.” The wistful tone in her voice made him think that it hadn’t necessarily been a happy memory.
“I bet you never thought you’d be living here.”
She glanced at him. “No, never,” she said, before turning back to the window. “And with your accent, I’d guess you’ve never lived anywhere but here.”
“Brooklyn boy, born and raised,” he said proudly.
“So that’s why you have the baseball picture in your office.”
“Yeah. I’m a big Yankees fan. Do you keep up with baseball?”
“If you live in Atlanta you have to follow the Braves. My brother-in-law gets season tickets so I’ve gone to a few games.”
“I have season tickets to the Yankees. Maybe you’d like to go to a game some time?” He shifted uncomfortably. What in the world was he doing, inviting her out to a game? That sounded too much like a date.
The taxi pulled up at the curb.
“Volpentesta’s. That’s some of the best pizza pie in the city. For someone who has been in the city no longer than you have, you sure know where to get a good meal.”
Lucy smiled as she climbed out of the taxi. When she offered her share of the taxi fare he said, “It’s on me. My idea for the pizza.”
She didn’t fight him, just waited on the brick sidewalk gone wavy with age. She tensed a second when he lightly touched the curve of her back but she eased just as quickly. As they came to the door of the restaurant, he reached around her to open it.
“Someone taught you good manners. That’s the second time you’ve opened a door for me.”
The dull pain that he carried in his chest sharpened for a second. “My father was very old school. He would say, ‘Ryan, my boy, you treat a woman like you want your sisters to be treated. It’s the O’Doherty way.’”
“Kind of got off track when you first met me, didn’t you?”
“Hey, I showed you up to the floor.”
“Yeah, but you would’ve liked to drop me down the elevator shaft.”
“Was I that bad?”
She nodded.
“Then I’ll try to make up for it over dinner, okay?”
She smiled. “I’ve really gotten over it, so don’t let it worry you.”
A man who was almost as round as he was tall approached them, his hands outstretched. He asked with a strong Italian accent, “Miss Lucy, how are you today?”
Her