“That’s a little too much denim for me.”
“He’s good-looking! In some parts of the world they call that a Canadian tuxedo.”
“Well in my part of the world they call it a virginity force field.”
She tosses her hands in the air and gives up on me. Finally.
For the next thirty minutes, I’m left to sit next to the speed-eating yin to my yang. We don’t talk until I’m cutting into a slice of cheesecake. He’s as old as my grandfather; if he was younger, we’d already have eloped. I look over for his name.
“Where’s your nametag?” I ask, finally aware that this man might have sneaked into the event.
“My what?”
“Are you here for the singles thing?” I ask, pointing to the herd of grazing singles I want nothing to do with.
“Singles what?”
He’s hard of hearing, but I’m not discouraged.
“Yeah, me neither. You gonna finish that?”
He nearly forks my hand as I try to steal a bite of his brownie. He isn’t one for sharing desserts. I respect that.
“That a friend of yours?” he asks, pointing a pudgy finger out past the front of the restaurant.
I glance up and come face to face with my worst nightmare.
Lucas is standing on the other side of the smudged glass, looking like the cat that caught the canary. He holds the Hamilton Singles event poster in one hand and my dignity in the other.
“He looks awful happy to see you.”
“That’s because he is,” I groan, sliding down in my seat until I’m completely under the table.
Chapter Twelve
Lucas
From: [email protected] To: [email protected]
Subject: Unsent Email #350
You probably think I’m happy I spotted you at that singles event, and you’re right, I am—but not for the reasons you’d guess. I was smiling because from the looks of it, you’d managed to find the only man in the entire room that wasn’t interested in you.
Thanks for that.
I think I’ll sleep a little easier tonight knowing you didn’t go home with anyone, knowing there’s still a chance.
Then again, maybe I should give you hell for being there in the first place. I mean, c’mon. A singles event? You don’t need any help in that department. Every guy in town has been asking about you since we got back.
I’ve tried to deter them, but pretty soon, one of them is going to work up enough courage to do something about it.
I guess I’ll have to beat them to it.
Chapter Thirteen
“Well if it isn’t Daisy Bell, the most eligible bachelorette in Hamilton County.”
“Oh! And look, it’s Lucas Thatcher, the only human man with no heart.”
It’s the morning after the singles event and Lucas follows me into the lab. We’re supposed to be examining a slide, looking for an infection; instead he is examining me, looking for a weakness.
“You know, I can help with your situation if you need me to. Just say the word.”
“First of all, I don’t have a situation, and the only words I have for you are inappropriate for the workplace.”
He comes up behind me as I’m looking in the microscope and brushes my loose hair off my neck. I freeze because there’s nothing else to do. My brain is mush.
His breath hits the top of my spine. His fingers are on my pulse. I shiver.
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it over the years.”
I dig my elbow into his ribs, but it’s not enough. I should have jammed the heel of my hand into his nose—a self-defense move I’ve always dreamed of trying on Lucas.
“This is an unwanted sexual advance.”
I sound like a bored HR manager giving a presentation.
“So report me.”
“Did you two look at the slide yet?” Dr. McCormick’s jolly voice ricochets through the halls and Lucas steps back, finally.
“Yes sir. Her white cell count is high and Lucas just propositioned me for sex.”
The second half is retained in my head.
“All right then. Let’s get her on some antibiotics.”
He walks off and I turn back to Lucas. He’s wearing a smirk I want to steal.
“I reported you in my head,” I tell him.
“I did something in my head too.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment. He’s had the upper hand for far too long. The kiss in the hallway, him seeing me at the singles event, and now him teasing me in the lab has made me desperate. Phase III is behind schedule, but I can’t tell him that.
I turn to the exam room across the hall and yank the patient’s chart out of the cubby. I feel Lucas’ eyes reading over my shoulder and try my best to tilt it in a way that inconveniences him. It’s the only retaliation I can muster.
This setup is getting to me. With my cast, there is no way I can see my patients alone. Our proximity gives me no chance to regroup or strategize. He’s winning and he knows it. It’s time to take back the upper hand.