She thought about pulling her phone from her pocket and shooting Henry a quick text, but the sight of the smallest kid about to leap off the exam table brought her quickly back to reality.
Later. Definitely later.
The next day, Benny arrived at the office wearing another skirt and top that she'd picked up last night on the way home. She found that the array of clothes didn't fluster or horrify her as much as they had before. She was more familiar with what styles flattered her and had a good idea of what she wanted. That in itself was miraculous.
She'd spotted Luke a few more times yesterday after their first conversation, and she'd definitely seen his face light up when he saw her, a warm smile crossing his face as he greeted her or nodded, so something had to be working.
A yawn pulled from her mouth now, and she stretched her arms in front of her. She and Henry had spent another late night watching two episodes of Property Brothers, and she'd shared her victory at not having bumped into any door, wall, or cabinet the entire day.
She considered Henry's advice, imparted on his way out the door. "Keep in mind, when he asks you out-" A statement she'd interrupted when she snorted and started to object, but he'd pressed two fingers to her lips, effectively cutting her off.
"When he asks you out," he continued, "you can't be too available. Remember, you have to make him work for it. He has to know that you're not just sitting home pining away, waiting for him to ask you out, and that you have other options. You're going to have to turn him down."
She'd almost laughed then. "Turn down a date with Luke Seeley? Are you insane? That's what we want-what I want. What we're doing all of this for."
"Do you want to just be one of the many women the guy sees once before moving on, or do you want to be someone he's really interested in? Someone he has to work to see, a prize in itself? Guys like a challenge. And that's what you need to give the good doctor. You have to trust me on this. Say yes too soon, and that's all it's going to be. Think long-term."
Even now the thought of declining a date from Luke seemed ludicrous. Not that she was in imminent danger of his asking her out, since it was Thursday and he was bound to have plans already set for the weekend.
So it was something of a shock when five minutes later someone knocked on her door and, instead of Roz's long face, she looked into the warm gaze of Luke Seeley.
Holding two cups of coffee in his hands.
"Thought it was only fitting that I returned the favor and brought you some coffee today. I didn't know what you liked, so I got a skinny vanilla latte. Hope that's okay-it just seemed to be a popular drink of the women ahead of me."
"It's perfect, thank you." Even if she hated the flavor of vanilla in her coffee and preferred whole milk to skim, thanks to the richer texture it gave. But she smiled and took the cup from his hand.
"Not a problem." He stood there another second, staring at the floor as he considered something. "Actually, maybe you can help me out with something. Dr. Albert has to cover the clinic this Saturday, so it's thrown a little hitch into my golf plans."
He was going to ask if she'd mind covering for Dr. Albert. She'd been asked a couple of times before to cover by other doctors, and being the newbie, she didn't want to risk making enemies. She waited now for the appeal, resigned to having her hard-earned Saturday off taken away.
"So since you play and all, I wondered if you'd consider being my partner."
She couldn't have heard him right. He was asking her to play with him? This Saturday?
Her head seemed to be spinning at the possibility, and she forced herself not to jump up and bounce around the office. Best to be sure. "Sorry?"
He smiled, confident and certain. "Saturday? Golf? With me?"
Yeah. She'd heard him right. She opened her mouth, ready to say, "Of course," and ask what time should she be ready, but then she remembered what Henry had said.
To make him work for it. To tell him no.
"I-I think that sounds like fun, only I kind of already have weekend plans."
"Come on, I'm sure you can manage to pull yourself out of bed by seven no matter how hard your partying is the night before." If possible, he was smiling even brighter, sure he could charm her into coming.
Well, she'd acted so freaking infatuated around him the past couple of months, she couldn't blame him. It helped firm up her resolve.
She smiled and, like a pro, she licked her bottom lip-even though she felt like an idiot doing it. Only
Luke was staring at her mouth. Hmm.
"No, I'm afraid we have plans the whole weekend." She played it coy, not elaborating more.
He seemed to finally realize the implications, and his smile cracked a little. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were involved with anyone."
Her mouth went dry, her mind working to try and keep up with the pretense. What would Henry suggest she say? "Nothing serious."
Luke's smile brightened back up. "Another time, then? Maybe we can even go for dinner soon."
"Maybe."
He pushed his glasses back up on his nose in a boyish fashion, still grinning widely. "I'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy your coffee."
"I will. Thanks."
Luke turned around and-in a surprising turn of events-he ran into the edge of the open door. She smothered a giggle, but when he glanced back at her, she pretended to already be caught up in her files.
Sure, it wasn't like he was asking her out for an intimate dinner alone, just the two of them. But he'd asked her to be his golf partner, which was as close to a date with him as she'd ever had.
With the door closed firmly behind him, Benny hopped to her feet for a quick celebratory jig, her arms pumping the air in victory.
Henry would never believe this.
Grabbing her phone from the desk, she sent him a text.
Guess who just told Luke Seeley she was busy Saturday and couldn't play golf with him? ME!! That's right. *dancing*
His response was almost immediate.
Didn't I tell you? What did you tell him? ~H
No. Just like you said. That I had plans the entire weekend.
Attagirl. Congrats. Dinner's on me tonight. Chinese or pizza? ~H
Chinese. And Henry? Can I still take you up on that golf lesson?
Chapter Nine
"It has to be a sign of lunacy that people actually get up early-on a weekend, no less-to do this," Benny whined as she stepped out of the passenger seat bright and early Sunday morning in front of Henry's country club.
He had agreed to give her a lesson in golf in case Luke Seeley asked her to join him for golf again-or wanted to engage in some sort of discussion about the sport. She needed to be prepared. And although he usually spent his Sundays in a more leisurely fashion-preferably in bed with some delectable beauty-an unforeseen client crisis that mandated he spend Saturday at work had left Sunday the only day available. Although, to be honest, last night's date had ended early anyhow, as he just hadn't had the energy do the usual club thing. And he'd wanted to be fresh and awake for this interesting day.
Benny followed him to the trunk, where he pulled out his golf clubs along with an extra set he'd borrowed from Morgan. Henry had almost been afraid that when Benny opened her door that morning she'd be dressed in more scrubs or possibly that hoodie sweatshirt she'd worn the other night, even if it was expected to reach close to one hundred by midafternoon. But she seemed to have caught on to the idea of casual wear that didn't involve flexible waistbands and was wearing a white short-sleeved polo and a pair of slim green capris that showed the generous curve of her backside. Neither of which were items they'd shopped for on their first foray to the mall, leading him to conclude she'd supplemented her wardrobe on her own-and fairly successfully.
He wondered what else she might have purchased that he still had yet to see.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail again, but he couldn't begrudge her that, since she'd want to keep it up and away while they played. And with the fringe bangs Katrina had given her, the boring ponytail had infinitely more sex appeal, especially combined with the artful way she'd pulled some strands down to frame her face and the hoop earrings that swayed when she moved. But it was the light, berry-toned gloss on her lips that had him most hypnotized. Even now, his gaze kept dropping to their full softness, and he wondered if the gloss tasted as good as it looked.
Easy there.
"No one is making you do this, you realize," he said, trying to regain his sanity. He had not been just thinking about his neighbor's lips. He slung the golf bags over each shoulder before slamming the trunk. He handed the valet his car keys and headed inside the club. "If you hadn't pretended to actually know how to play golf, you could have used the opportunity to ask Luke to take you for your first lesson."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "You couldn't have thought to tell me this before?" She glanced around the club, looking a little less certain all of a sudden. "What time are we scheduled to start teeing off-is that what you call it?"
"We have an hour."
"What?" Her eyes widened. "You pulled me up out of bed and we still have an hour? If you wanted company for breakfast, we could have stopped at McDonalds's drive-through and given me an hour more of sleep."
"McDonalds? You sound like Ella. Are you sure you're not four? No, we're here early because we're going to go to the driving range to spend a little time working on your swing. There's more to it than just closing your eyes and hoping you make contact."