She didn't see much choice here. "I do. Love it. Nothing better than being out there. On the green. Um, shooting." That sounded pathetic, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Really? What's your best game?"
"I, uh " He'd said eighty-four. So she should probably stay in that ballpark. But higher or lower? She took a gamble. "Ninety-three?"
"Not bad. Maybe you should join us one of these mornings. Dr. Albert and I usually play with a couple of thoracic surgeons from two floors down."
"That would be great," she said, her voice a little high. "Let me know."
Okay. She'd met her objective. Made actual interface with Luke, and so far, hadn't done anything to embarrass herself.
Time to make a graceful exit.
"Guess I'd better go. Don't want to leave the patients waiting." She turned, narrowly missing the chair that she'd forgotten about.
Outside in the hallway, she wanted to leap up into the air, do a jig, something to celebrate the moment.
She'd made contact.
And was still pretty much intact.
The rest of Benny's day after her chat with Luke had gone remarkably well; she'd managed not only to avoid colliding with any nonmoving objects the next time she caught him in the hall, but she'd also made eye contact with him for several seconds before ducking into the examining room. Progress.
So she'd thought nothing was going to sour what was left of the day when she pulled into her open parking spot, ready to dive into the bag of Thai food she'd picked up to celebrate her win. And with four minutes to spare, she might even catch the opening of Suits. Hoisting the bag into her arms, she pushed the car door shut with her hip and headed to the elevator. The faint dinging of the elevator told her that if she hoofed it she could make it and not have to wait the decade it usually took for it to return. She rounded the corner just as a stunning, leggy brunette stepped inside.
"Hold the door," Benny called out, relieved she'd made it in time.
Only the woman-who Benny was absolutely certain had not only heard her, but seen her as well-stepped farther back into the elevator. Not even pretending to hold it for her.
Hurrying, Benny surged forward, determined to make it onto that elevator, her hand in front of her to push that call button before it could leave without her.
The doors sealed a second before she pressed it.
The woman had completely ignored her.
A second later, the bottom of the takeout bag, not reinforced for running, gave out and her container of red curry exploded on her feet. "Mother of-"
Muttering a string of curses at the woman Benny blamed for her predicament, she leaned down and grabbed the pile of napkins that had fallen along with her food and wiped the tops of her new shoes off.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Benny looked up from her squatting position to see Henry staring down at her, amusement in his eyes.
Figured.
Henry had heard the woman talking to herself in Spanish before he turned the corner, and from the frustration in her tone, he sensed her ramblings weren't PG rated. He'd watched her probably a minute too long before he'd made himself known, his attention riveted to the opening at the front of her shirt as she tried to wipe the soupy mess from her feet.
She didn't bother to respond to his quip as he leaned down and took the empty Styrofoam bowl and lid and tossed it into the garbage as she grabbed the only two containers still intact.
"Thanks," she said, and straightened up.
It was hard to miss the anger shining in her bright eyes, or the flush on her face, and for a first, he hadn't been the one to cause it. "Bad day at work? Did things between you and the good doctor not go according to plan?"
She blew at the strand of hair that had fallen across her face, but with her hands filled, she couldn't wipe it away. Other than fleetingly blowing it off her face, it returned, and settled across her lips.
"Here." He moved his hand and tucked the hair back, touching her cheek just for a moment. She sucked in her breath and glared at him.
The contact was simple, but he couldn't deny the fact that standing so near the woman didn't have some appeal. She smelled like vanilla. And curry.
"I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad," he tried again.
She took in a breath and exhaled. "It went fine. Sorry. Just had a bad moment. It actually went better than I thought. We talked about golf. I think he even might have invited me to join him."
"A date? Already?"
"Not exactly. He suggested I join him and his golf buddies some time. But that's progress, right?"
Not good. Not if the guy was going to see her in a more romantic way. "Okay. The important thing is you talked and you didn't throw up on him. You didn't, right?" he teased.
"Ha-ha. I thought you'd be more excited about this. Maybe I should go out and hit a few holes with you or whatever. Get in some practice."
"Unless he's asking you to join him-and him alone-I wouldn't be celebrating just yet. What you have to be careful of is venturing into the friend zone. Once you're there, there is no going back."
"That's so not true. There are loads of people who started out as friends and went on to become more."
"Really? What, in movies? Books? Look, you want me to be honest? If a guy sees a woman and he has any interest whatsoever in her-"
"Meaning he wants to sleep with her."
"If he finds her attractive and wants to sleep with her," he conceded before continuing, "he might pretend he just wants to be friends until he can find the right opportunity to make his move. A man either wants to have sex with you or he doesn't. You have to make sure Luke Seeley sees you as someone he wants to sleep with, not become golf buddies with."
"The other day you were telling me I needed to learn golf," she said, frustration in her voice.
"Learning golf is still a good idea, but you want to make sure it's because he's doing it to spend time with you, not to fill an empty spot on his golf game. See what I'm saying?"
The elevator doors finally crept open, and they stepped inside. "I guess so. But it was hard enough just to talk to him. What would you have me do? Push my boobs together and bat my eyes at him?"
He glanced pointedly down at said boobs, which looked remarkably perfect in that formfitting top, and smiled. "Yeah. Go ahead. Try it. I want to see that."
She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"You've opened the lines of communication. That's a start. Now you need to make him see you as a woman. You've seen the kind of woman he likes," he said, referring to the supermodel from the other night. "Now you have to be that woman."
"I don't think minidresses are something that will blend in well at my pediatric practice."
"I'm not saying you have to wear four-inch heels and slinky dresses, but there's got to be more." He looked her over, nodding in approval.
She was wearing an outfit they'd chosen the other day that made her appear chic and sophisticated. Her ponytail was lower and looser, already making her seem softer, more approachable. In fact, that hair he'd just tucked away had come loose again and was curling below that full bottom lip. Subtle but sexy. If you looked hard enough. Because other than that, she looked like a kindergarten teacher.
She was going to need more if she wanted to catch the attention of an eternal bachelor like Luke Seeley.
"You look nice-for holding little kids' hands, blowing their noses, and putting that little scope into their ears like you do. Nice. Nonthreatening. But you're going to need to step it up if you want Luke to want you. Try wearing your hair down. It's true. Men really do like long hair." He looked at her face, bright and young, cheekbones that were there but barely discernible. "Get some layers in your hair. And do you know what a mascara wand is for?"
She crooked up her lips into a smile. "Do you?"
"I've dated my share of women, so I know a thing or two about what they wear. Lipstick, base, eyeliner. Just go easy on it, okay? You want to enhance what you've already got. I know someone who will get us started."
"I'm not saying I'm doing any of this, but let's say for argument's sake that I did try a little makeup, maybe get a haircut. And let's say I have Luke's attention, he's smiling at me in that way he smiled the other night at the glamazon creature. But then what?"
He glanced at his watch. He was meeting that cute barista for drinks at ten. He had time. "What are you doing now?"
Half an hour later, the two were stretched out on his couch, eating what was left of Benny's takeout.
"Get him talking about something he likes. Check. Nod and smile, look as if I'm hanging on his every word. Check. Giggle and laugh at everything he says because my brain is too soft and empty to have anything more to do than engage him. Check."
He smiled at the annoyance in Benny's voice. The disgruntled look on her face. "Oh, and don't forget to lean forward as much as you can, preferably in a low-neckline top with a lacy bra underneath."
"Should I baby talk, too? Maybe ask him if I can massage his feet?"
"If you think it might help." Her brows drew together in vexation again, and he chuckled. "Okay, I'm not saying you have to do all this. But-I'm not proud to admit this-all men, even the best of us, are still little boys underneath. We want to be assured that a woman likes us. Finds us irresistible. But it's a fine line. You want to be interested but not an easy conquest."