“Maybe.” I shrugged and fluttered my eyelashes dramatically. “Is it working?”
A sexy smile consumed his mouth. “Maybe. Will you keep doing it?”
“Only if we actually leave work for the day instead of just talking about leaving work for the day.”
“Let’s hit it,” he said and moved toward the doorway. “Meet me at reception in five.”
I grinned. “You got it, Doc.”
Two hours later and Will and I had managed to eat two hot dogs, a slice of pizza, a cupcake from a mom-and-pop bakery, and walked about a million blocks toward the East Village.
Instead of hearing Marlene grumble about her bunions, I got to breathe in the warm, fresh air of a New York spring day. Blue skies and the rays of the sun peeking out between the buildings had replaced hearing Melissa pop her gum one thousand times while filing her nails behind the reception desk.
And instead of watching patients trying to give my boyfriend their numbers via vag-mail, I was strolling hand in hand with him, people watching and chatting about the most random but hilarious things.
Granted, he was my boyfriend in disguise—a baseball hat pulled low and sunglasses covering the perfect blue of his eyes, but he was my Will all the same when it came to personality. He’d also changed out of his professional garb and into a pair of dark jeans and a plain white T-shirt, but when I’d teased him about all of it, he’d had a succinctly genuine explanation. Apparently, wildly popular attention from the show had spread beyond the office and had been following him around in the form of paparazzi as well.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. I never traveled to or from work with him, even though I spent most nights at his apartment, so I hadn’t seen it. I was always running twenty minutes behind his schedule. Well, everyone’s schedule, actually.
As sorry for him as I felt, it did make me feel a little better about the fact that we weren’t taking daily strolls through Central Park.
But as Will leaned forward and touched his lips to the line of my jaw, a chuckle still clinging to his tongue, one thing was clear. Playing hooky from work was everything it was hyped up to be.
Will’s phone chimed inside of his pocket, and he pulled it out to read a text message. “Hold on,” he said, and our leisurely walk through the city came to a halt. “It’s my sister.”
We sat down on a bench beside an old, Victorian-style church, and Will held his phone in his lap while he typed a quick response. No less than a minute later, his phone chimed again.
“Jesus,” he muttered and moved the phone so that I could read the messages.
Georgia: William. I need your help. Is it normal to have contractions at 6 months pregnant?
Will: Is everything okay? Seriously, Gigi, if you’re having contractions, you need to call your OB now.
Georgia: I’m not. But I knew that would get you to respond.
“My sister is a huge pain in my ass sometimes,” he said and typed out a response.
Will: Wow. That’s low. Even for you.
But Georgia didn’t waste any time, firing back within seconds.
Georgia: Like you should talk. When we were kids, you told everyone at school Mom sent me to Masturbation Camp for the summer.
My eyebrows pulled together in curiosity. “Masturbation Camp?”
He grinned and nodded. “My mother, the sex therapist, was all about setting a foundation of healthy sexual habits and open minds when we were kids.”
“Wow.” I couldn’t hold back my urge to laugh.
“Yeah,” he agreed on a soft chuckle as he typed out a response on his phone. “I’m pretty sure my sister is still dealing with PTSD from those summer camp memories.”
Will: That was like a million years ago. And Mom DID send you to Masturbation Camp. I was merely telling the truth.
Georgia: It wasn’t Masturbation Camp!
Will: It was called Camp Love Yourself, Gigi. I can connect the dots.
Camp Love Yourself? Holy Moses in Crocs. And here I thought Jazzercise Janet took the cake on crazy mothers. No wonder our moms were friends. They went together like two nuts in a shell.
His phone chimed again, but he still never hesitated to move it away from my view, seemingly relaxed and content with letting me read the conversation between him and sister.
Georgia: Ugh. You’re annoying.
Will: I love you too, sis. Mind telling Kline I’m in for Poker Night next week? You’re the best. Bye.
Georgia: DON’T IGNORE ME, WILLIAM.
Will: What do you need, Gigi?
Georgia: Have lunch with me and Julia? She misses her uncle.
“Goddammit, she knows my weaknesses,” he muttered and tapped out an answer.
I couldn’t blame him. I’d seen pictures of Will’s niece on his desk, and I was certain no one on the planet could resist her dimples or pretty blue eyes. That little lady was bound to break some hearts when she grew up.
Will: Tell Julia I’ll be there. Name the time and place.
Georgia: Noon at that Italian restaurant on Broadway.
Will: Okay. See ya then.
Georgia: Oh man. Julia just told me she’s busy Monday. She won’t be able to make it.
Will: Julia is two, Gigi.
Georgia: Shoot… And here I already made the reservation. Looks like you’re locked in or else we’ll lose the table. That restaurant is notorious for not letting you order until the entire party is there.
“I should’ve known,” he said on a sigh. “In person, my sister is the world’s worst liar, but through text messages, she could mastermind a plot to take over the universe.”
Will: Entire party? How many fucking people are going?
Georgia: Just me, Cassie, Winnie, and now, you. A reunion of sorts. I’m so glad it worked out! See you tomorrow at noon!
Will: You’re evil.
Georgia: :) Love you. Bye!
“I love my sister dearly, but sometimes she meddles worse than our mother.” Will shook his head as he slid his phone back into his pocket. “Do you think it’s too late to hire a decoy to go for me?”
“A Dr. Obscene look-alike?” I teased and he groaned.
“Jesus, I hope that doesn’t exist.” His eyes met mine, and a pleading expression covered his face.
“No,” I protested before he even said the words. “I’m not going to lunch with your sister for you.”
“Not for me,” he corrected. “With me.” His expression morphed into something that resembled a word that was more than like, and it nearly melted me into a puddle of swoon on the pavement. “I want you to know all of the important people in my life, and more than that, I want them to know you, too. Just think about it, okay?”
Considering Will had to meet my crazy parents before our first date even got started, it made sense for me to go to lunch with his sister.
And more than that, I did want to meet her. I wanted to know the people in his life.