“Everything okay?”
Gage nodded and looked a little disgusted. “It seems I have an online admirer-slash-stalker.”
“Oh, that’s not good.”
“It’s a hazard of getting to know people online. Sorry to bore you with my issues.”
“It’s okay.”
“Here you go,” Duke said as he returned to the living room and placed her thick stack of mail in her hands. “You sure you can’t stay for a little while?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I need to get a little more unpacking done and I have an early morning. I wish I could, because I love The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
Duke said, “I’ll walk you down.”
She was a little surprised he wanted to do that. She didn’t have far to go, and the stairway was well lit. Looking back at his friend, she said, “Good night, Gage. Feel better.”
“Thank you, Emma. I will.” His deep tone and the sleepy look in his eyes sent a thrill right through her core, and she smiled back.
“And good luck with your stalker. I’ll bring the popcorn next time I visit, okay?”
Gage smiled and said, “It’s a date.”
Duke walked her downstairs as she pondered Gage’s last words. A date? She wasn’t his doctor. Would she date him? In a heartbeat!
She asked, “So, are the two of you roommates?”
Duke nodded. “We’re also cousins, but we were raised together like brothers. We’ve lived together for about a year, since we made the move from San Angelo.”
San Angelo. Who do I know from San Angelo? “Hey! You’re friends with Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier, aren’t you?”
Duke smiled and nodded. “Yeah, we work with them on occasion. We helped with Summer’s security issues at Discretion.”
Emma hoped Duke couldn’t see her blush as she remembered her latest purchase at Discretion. She didn’t recall seeing him there. “That was a pretty hair-raising situation. Have you done work at the hospital recently?”
“Yes, they needed a consultation and upgrade on their video surveillance system.”
She nodded. “I’ll bet that’s why you’re familiar to me. I must’ve seen you while I was checking on a patient.” At her door, she inserted her key and turned to Duke as she pushed it open. “Thank you for walking me down.”
Duke leaned against her doorframe and crossed his lean, muscular arms over his chest, mirroring her posture, only he seemed ruggedly comfortable doing it, and she only felt vulnerable and awkward.
The snug black T-shirt he was wearing stretched tautly over his biceps, and she longed to reach out and stroke the tanned expanse of his arm. He smiled at her, and she was held captive by the mischievous twinkle in his slate-gray eyes. The color was not steely and intimidating. It was softer, more earthy, and appealing to her.
His smile lifted at the right corner of his mouth, and he licked his lip a second before he spoke. “We’d like to take you out sometime.”
“We as in three friends going out?” she asked as her heart raced in her chest. Is this how Grace felt the first time her men asked her out?
“We as in the three of us going out on a date, if you’re not opposed to that idea. Gage would’ve walked you down with me but it’s a lot tougher than he likes to admit to get up and down.”
“Oh. Um—well…sure. I guess that would be all right. But my hours are kind of strange.”
Duke’s ever-ready smile reappeared as he looked into her eyes. “We keep strange hours at times too, Emma. Could I have your phone number?”
“S–Sure,” she stammered. She reached for a business card in her pocket. After writing her private number on it, she gave it to him. “Wait. Why the sudden interest? I got the impression last weekend that you weren’t…”
“Weren’t what?”
“Interested in me. I saw you cut Gage off when he—”
“Almost became your patient?” Duke’s smile was wide and confident as he said, “We’re not interested in you as a doctor, Emma. We are, however, interested in you.”
It was a good thing she was leaning against the doorframe, otherwise she might’ve fallen over. “Oh.” That’s all you can think of to say, dimwit?
He smiled as he tapped her card against his palm. “I’ll call you.” Instead of backing off to return upstairs, Duke surprised her by closing in on her. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
His lips pressed lightly to hers for barely a second before he turned and walked away. She stood there in shock. He glanced back for a second, a big smile on his face, and waved at her. She grinned, probably looking like a total idiot, and waved back at him. Still feeling his warm lips pressed to hers, she stayed at her door until she could no longer see his feet and then went inside and locked the door behind her.