Page 40 of What the Doctor Ordered
“Excuse me.”
I looked up at the voice and came face to face with a handsome man with dark hair and eyes. He was staring at me curiously.
I blinked at him. “Yes…?” I replied with heavy uncertainty.
The guy blinked back and shook his head hard. “Sorry,” he said. “This might sound strange but are you Kiley Hart by chance?”
My jaw dropped and I stumbled back in surprise.
CHAPTER 18
Kiley
My heart stopped when I heard my name fall from the stranger’s mouth. I took a step back and my body started to go into a panic, my mind racing with questions. Who was this guy? How did he know my name? And what did he want with me?
The panic dissipated quickly as I studied the man in front of me, though. My instincts told me that he wasn’t dangerous. He was well-dressed and while he was staring at me with interest, it was more curiosity than malice.
“Yes,” I finally managed to answer. “I’m Kiley.”
I debated lying and saying that he had the wrong person, but something stopped me from deceiving him. It might have been the expression in his warm eyes. There was something a little more intense than curiosity in them, but it still didn’t seem like he intended me any harm. Still, I warned myself to be cautious.
I relaxed when the man gave me a gentle smile. “I thought so,” he said, holding his hand out to me. “I’m sorry for startling you. I just recognized you from afar and knew I should come say hello. My name is Theo. Theo Raines. I’m a friend of Simon Vale.”
I felt surprise color my features. I took his hand and shook it. “Oh,” I said, my scintillating intelligence on display. I shook my head hard to clear it. “Nice to meet you, Theo. I’m Kiley.”
Theo’s lips twitched. “Yes, we’ve established that, I believe.”
Embarrassment immediately filled me, and I winced. “Right,” I muttered. “Sorry. I was a little distracted when you approached me. I guess I was just startled out of my thoughts.”
Theo looked concerned all of a sudden. “You don’t have to apologize,” he said. “Anyway, I’m pleased to meet you as well. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
That got my attention, and I gaped up at him like a fish. “Really?” I asked in amazement. “Has Simon really talked about me?” Oh no, now I sounded like a teenager with a crush. Psst, does he like me?
It was hard for me to imagine Simon talking about me to his friends for some reason. I was under the impression that he was keeping our relationship on the downlow from those he knew well. If he talked about me with his close friend, maybe that meant he thought about me outside of when we were together.
Theo nodded and then looked around, scanning the busy downtown street for a moment. “If you have some time, I would be delighted if you would join me for a coffee,” he said, a friendly, honest tone in his voice.
That took me off guard and some of the panic from earlier returned. I waved my hands in front of my face. “Oh, I don’t think I should do that,” I said, cutting myself off as I realized how that sounded. I grappled for something else to say. “Simon and I, we’re…” I trailed off, not knowing how to put it.
I wanted to say that Simon and I were involved but after the awkward date we had tonight, I wasn’t sure what to call us. My throat felt as if it was tightening and I shut my mouth, pressing my lips together. Lord, please don’t cry, Kiley!
Theo was watching me in confusion and then his eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he hurried to say. “I didn’t mean to imply anything like that. Of course, I didn’t mean it as a way of pursuing you. Simon would probably castrate me if he thought I would ever try anything with you.”
That caused relief to flood me and I gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were implying anything. I just wanted to make sure you understood.”
“Yes, I definitely do understand,” Theo said hastily. “I should be better at communicating than this. Let me try again. I would like to treat you to coffee as a way of getting to know you a little bit. And I might be morbidly curious about you as well. It isn’t every day that Simon meets a woman who completely changes his outlook on life. So, what do you say? If you happen to be free right now, of course.”
My ears perked up at his words. How could I possibly say no to that when I just learned that Simon doesn’t just talk about me, but that I might be making more of a difference to him than I previously thought.
I smiled shyly at him. “I would like that,” I said. “Thank you.”
Theo was quite the gentleman. He was much gentler than Simon, even the way he held the door open for me to the little vintage-style coffee shop was soft in a way. He was careful when he pulled my chair out for me and then asked what I wanted so that he could go up to the counter himself to grab it for me.
“Thank you for agreeing to join me tonight,” he said as he slipped into the seat across from me.
“I was happy to,” I said honestly. I smirked a bit and gave him a teasing look. “You were curious about me, but I’m pretty curious about you, too. I was beginning to think Simon didn’t have any friends.”
Theo blinked before he threw his head back as he laughed. “Yes, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by that,” he said. “Simon can come off as rather distant and hard, but you’ve probably learned by now that he is a good guy.”
