Marrying the Playboy Doctor - By Laura Iding Page 0,38

game. She still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea to go. Especially right before the first day of school. Not that the kids would do much on the first day. But heck, she didn’t even like sports much.

Although the baseball game hadn’t been too bad. Not that she remembered much, except Seth’s home run and the heated kiss they’d shared.

Which wasn’t going to happen again, she reminded herself sternly.

The ride to Dr. Geoff Greenley’s office wasn’t far. Kylie wished Seth would wait in the car. It felt awkward to walk in with him, especially after she’d told Geoff she wasn’t seeing anyone.

“Hi, Kylie, Ben.” Geoff greeted them cheerfully, although his gaze narrowed on Seth.

“Dr. Greenley—er—Geoff, this is Seth Taylor, a friend of ours.” Kylie made the introductions, somewhat annoyed at the way the two men eyed each other warily. For heaven’s sake, they looked as if they were ready to fight to see who would win the prize. She didn’t appreciate their male posturing one little bit. “Seth, you remember Geoff Greenley from Ben’s visit to the emergency department, don’t you?”

“Sure.” To give him credit, Seth stepped forward and offered his hand. “Nice to see you.”

“Likewise.” Geoff sounded anything but happy as he reluctantly returned the greeting. He brightened for Ben. “Are you ready to lose that eyepatch?”

“Yeah.” Ben reached up to finger the gauze, his tiny forehead puckering in a frown. “Will it hurt?”

“No, it won’t hurt at all.” Geoff patted the chair surrounded by the eye examination equipment. “Hop up here and I’ll take it off for you.”

Seth stood next to Kylie, toward the back of the exam room, his arms crossed over his chest. She flashed him an exasperated look, which he studiously ignored. What was wrong with him? Seth was acting like he’d come along for the sole purpose of staking his claim in front of Geoff.

Irritated, she focused on Ben, who was shielding his left eye against the bright light. If Seth thought she was impressed by his me-Tarzan, you-Jane imitation he was very much mistaken.

“Just give it a few minutes,” Geoff advised as he used his ophthalmoscope to peer into Ben’s eye. “Your vision will be blurry at first, but it should get better as we go along.”

And what if it didn’t get better? She had to bite down on her lip so she wouldn’t interrupt Geoff as he was asking Ben a whole series of questions.

“Tell me—is this better, or this one?” Geoff flipped lenses in front of Ben’s eyes as he proceeded through the examination.

Kylie was aware of Seth standing beside her. Although the inches between them felt more like miles. Maybe her agreeing to dinner was a mistake. She didn’t have to go. It wasn’t too late to cancel the babysitter. Although if she made a habit of canceling, Elise might not give her a third chance. Good babysitters were hard to find.

Back and forth, thoughts bounced through her mind like ping-pong balls. Should she? Or shouldn’t she go? Was this a mistake? Or could it possibly be the beginning of something special? She had no idea what to do, and tried to focus her attention on Ben’s answers to Geoff’s questions.

“His vision is great,” Geoff proclaimed, sitting back and grinning at Ben. “Both eyes have the same clarity of vision. He’s all healed.”

“That’s wonderful news,” she said, stepping forward to give Geoff a grateful smile. “Thanks so much for your help.”

Seth, who hadn’t uttered a sound since she’d introduced them, chose that minute to speak up. “By the way, Kylie, everything is set for Friday night. We have dinner reservations at seven.”

She stared at him, barely resisting the urge to kick him in the shins to shut him up. Why had he blurted that out? Without bothering to respond to his ridiculous statement, which had absolutely no bearing on the conversation at hand, she turned back to Geoff, who watched them warily. “Do you need to see Ben again, for any more follow-up visits?”

“Not anytime soon, unless something changes. I’d like to see him again in six months, though.” Geoff’s expression seemed a little hurt when he met her gaze, and she wanted to explain that her being here with Seth wasn’t what he thought.

Except it was.

Her stomach clenched with the realization. She could deny it all she wanted, but having dinner with Seth was a date. Worse, she wanted it to be a date.

Kissing him had made her long for more.

After thanking Geoff again, she hustled Ben out