Triplets for The Millionaire - K.C. Crowne Page 0,14
on his shoulders than Patrick seemed to.” I caught myself, realizing what I was saying. “Alright, that’s all the personal life stuff you’re going to get out of me.”
She grinned, as if she’d accomplished her mission. “I knew I’d get you to open up sooner or later. Anyway, you’ve got your non-prof clinic work tomorrow, so I’ll see you Wednesday, right?”
“Right. See you then, Sarah.”
She waggled her fingers in a goodbye wave before tucking behind the reception desk and finishing her work for the day. I hurried to the elevator. Once the doors were shut and I was alone, I let out a sigh of frustration.
I hated talking about my personal life. Nothing against Sarah, but she seemed to take it as a challenge to get me to open up about what I did outside of work. Truth be told, there wasn’t much to say. I didn’t really date, and most of my waking hours were taken up by work or volunteering or spending time with Mom. And that was enough for me. Why did I need to put the added complication of dating on top of that? Dating was annoying, and even worse, it was unpredictable. You could be into a guy and think things were going great and then, out of nowhere, you never hear from him again. Granted, it’d been a long, long while since I’d been a part of that world, but I was done with it.
The elevator took me down to the lobby, where a few other doctors chatted. I said my goodbyes to them as I left, stepping out into the early evening as I pulled my coat tight around my waist.
I didn’t get more than a few feet out into the cold before a familiar voice called out to me.
“Hey, Dr. Bridges!”
Without thinking, my hand shot into my bag, my fingers wrapping around my bear mace. I turned and gasped when I saw who it was – of course, the accent had tipped me off before I’d turned around to see Patrick.
“Patrick?” I asked, knowing it was him but still in mild shock about it. “What on Earth are you doing here?”
He shrugged, his big body hidden by his parka. “I wanted to swing by and see if you’d changed your mind about grabbin’ a drink with me.” He grinned, total confidence in his words, as if it were only a matter of time before I agreed.
The man wasn’t just handsome – he was stupidly handsome, unfairly handsome. He was being cocky and ballsy and maybe a little entitled, but I almost couldn’t blame him. A man who looked as good as he did most certainly didn’t have any problems getting what he wanted when it came to women.
“Okay. First of all, I don’t know how they do things in Ireland, but in the US we don’t hang out outside of women’s work to ambush them with date requests.”
“Is that right? Then how do you ask someone out whose number you don’t have? Makes decent sense to me.”
I ground my teeth before answering. “I already told you earlier my stance on dating patients. Not sure how much clearer I can be.”
“About that. I was thinkin’ and—” He glanced down, his eyes landing on my hands still in my bag. “What’s goin’ on there?”
I’d totally forgotten about my hand in my purse. I pulled it out, showing him the can of bear mace I’d been ready to use. “You’re lucky I didn’t let loose with this. I’d be giving you a whole other reason to make an eye appointment.”
He laughed. “Hey, love – whatever gets me in the exam room with you.”
I sighed, slipping the mace back into my purse. Patrick was overstepping some bounds for sure, but I didn’t exactly get dangerous vibes from him.
“Anyway,” he continued. “I was doin’ some thinkin’, and I realized that you don’t have to be my doctor. After all, you just checked my eyes the one time, yeah? I’ll get my glasses and our professional business with one another will be nice and concluded. And with that bein’ the case, I can’t imagine any reason why we can’t grab drinks.”
The man made a good case, I had to admit. And I couldn’t tell if it was his body or his face or his lovely accent, or all three, but the more he talked, the more I felt my wall of resistance giving way.
I sighed once more. “I can’t get drinks. I’m going to meet someone right now.”