Page 47 of A Place for Daydreams

“You could have called the office,” she said slowly. “I mean, if you needed to talk to me. I’m assuming this is about your physical therapy?”

“Well, it’s… it’s just that… I wanted to talk to you in person. And I know I could have gone there or waited until our next appointment, but… well, I wanted the conversation to be outside of your office. It’s—well, it’s personal. It’s not something I feel comfortable discussing in a professional setting like that.”

Noelle sat down in one of the lobby chairs. “What’s going on?” She sounded a little breathless and her eyes were wide.

Dean sat down in the chair across from hers. He clasped his hands and then unclasped them again, unsure of where to begin. “Noelle, I… I would like to be switched to another PT.”

She stared at him, and he could tell that she was upset. “I don’t understand,” she stammered. “I thought you enjoyed working with me. And your progress is fantastic. I mean, Chip is also a wonderful PT, but I can assure you he wouldn’t be able to help you along any faster than I’ve been helping you.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that.”

“Well, why then?”

Dean swallowed, feeling his heart race. He took a deep breath. “I want to be switched so that I can ask you out.”

Noelle froze, and her mouth popped open into a perfect little “O” of surprise. For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Dean rolled his shoulders back, worrying that she was about to turn him down. His palms were sweating fiercely again, and he wiped them off on his pants legs.

“Like on a date?” she said finally.

“Yes. I really enjoyed showing you around town,” he said, his voice steady despite how nervous he felt. “You’re wonderful company. You’re kind and fun to be around, and I realized that I wanted to be more than just friends with you. And you’re really a wonderful physical therapist. My admiration for you has grown with every session, not only because of your knowledge but also because of what an encouraging, uplifting person you are. And I’ve been happy being single—I mean, for years. My sisters have been trying to get me to go out with people, and I just haven’t felt any kind of a real tug in that direction. Not until you.”

Noelle was sitting there staring at him, looking shocked. He didn’t know what she was thinking so he nervously continued talking.

“I know it’s tricky, since we met in a professional capacity. I’m sure you’re not allowed to date your clients, and I wouldn’t want to ask you to anyway—I think that would be wrong. But that’s why I wanted to switch physical therapists. So that I could ask you out. And I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything, but I’m wondering if you felt what I felt the other day. When we shared that moment in your office. I felt so attracted to you then, and I still do. Did you feel any of that too? Some measure of attraction toward me?”

Three heart-pounding seconds passed, and then Noelle nodded. Slowly, a smile spread across her face.

“Sorry,” she said, pressing a hand to her cheek, which was slightly flushed. “I’m just in such a total daze. Yeah, I did. I definitely am attracted to you too.”

“Oh.” Dean found himself smiling, and he realized his heart was beating faster than ever. Now, however, instead of nervous he felt absolutely wonderful. “You are?”

“Yeah, I—well, like you were saying. I’ve been realizing that I’d like to be more than friends with you too. You’re great company, and I admire the way you handle your business here.”

“Yeah? And for the record, we’ve never actually forgotten to check something in someone’s car and asked them to come back in.”

“I didn’t think so.” She laughed, the sound light and musical. “I was like, ‘What on earth is going on? That doesn’t seem like him at all.’”

“You should have seen Keith’s face when I asked him to call you and tell you that.” Dean chuckled too, joining in her laughter. “I think he thought I was pranking him for a second.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell him that it was all a ruse to try to get me to come here so we could talk in person.” Her eyes twinkled at him.

“He’ll never let me live it down.” He grinned. “Sorry I had you drive over here. And that I made you nervous. It was a silly plan.”

She shrugged. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

“So you’ll go out with me? We don’t need to be officially dating or anything, but I’d like to switch to Chip so that I can take you out.”

“That sounds great. I accept your asking me out.”

“Amazing. Do we need to do any kind of fancy paperwork first?”

“Nope.” She tapped the side of her head. “Got all the confirmation that you’d like to

switch therapists stored away in here.” She smiled at him, and the expression on her face was so sweet that his heart did a somersault. “What’s a good day for you?”

“Hm, how about Saturday? In the evening?”

“Sounds perfect.” She was grinning just as broadly as he was, and he felt a surge of happiness at the fact that she was clearly excited too. “Saturday it is.”

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