Page 12 of What the Doctor Ordered
Kiley shook her head quickly. “No, not at all,” she replied, and she looked out the window, as if to hide her expression from me.
“You can tell me, you know,” I urged carefully. “Is there something you don’t like about this neighborhood?” That would have been surprising to me, considering that Sunset Springs was a nice, safe neighborhood from what I understood. I have had no issues while living here for the past few years.
“No, it’s nothing like that,” she said, and I was surprised to find that her voice sounded almost embarrassed. “It’s just that I thought only celebrities lived in this neighborhood. Aren’t there a couple of movie stars that have houses around here?”
I barked a laugh, completely taken by surprise by her comment. “Yes,” I confirmed. “There are a couple of movie stars that live here but there are others as well. There’s a lawyer that lives down the street from me, a few other business professionals.”
Kiley’s eyes rounded, her mouth forming a tiny “o” as she looked around with even more amazement. I smiled to myself, realizing with a start that I found her expression adorable.
Kiley’s excitement seemed to double as we pulled down my street and stopped in front of my house.
“Wow!” she said immediately, stepping out of my Lexus with a bounce in her step. She stared up at me in shock. “Your house is huge! Do you really live here all by yourself?”
I cleared my throat awkwardly, unsure why I found her reaction equally as embarrassing as it was amusing. “I do,” I confirmed. “Although I do have a couple of cleaners and gardeners that drop by a couple times a week.”
Kiley laughed as I led her down the rose garden path that led to the front door. “Yeah, somehow, I can’t imagine you getting on your knees and pulling weeds.”
My jaw dropped. “And why is that?” I demanded.
Kiley just shrugged before grinning and gesturing at me vaguely. “Well, look at you,” she said, her green eyes studying me almost critically. “No offense, but you don’t look like you’ve worked outside a day in your life.”
My eyes narrowed playfully. “You know, I’m beginning to regret my decision to invite you over,” I sniffed, feigning offense. “I wasn’t aware that I was going to be insulted in my own home.”
Kiley giggled and it was a light, bubbly sound that lit up her whole face. “It’s a little late to be having those kinds of regrets, don’t you think, Dr. Vale?”
“Right again,” I said with an amused shake of my head.
I tried to be discreet while I watched Kiley look around the garden and then as her eyes widened when we stepped into my house and I flipped the lights on. Her eyes strayed from the dark wooden bookshelves to the marble statues that dotted the main room.
“You have quite a few impressive pieces of artwork,” she noted, seeming to choose her words carefully.
I shrugged. “I took a couple of art history classes during my undergrad,” I said. “The electives really got me through the dryer subjects.”
That earned me another surprised glance from Kiley. “I took art history too,” she said. “I loved it so much that I minored in it during my undergrad.”
About a half hour later, I was standing at the stove while Kiley sat on a stool at my kitchen island. We were discussing art history and some of our favorite historical pieces. Kiley had a sharp mind and was genuinely passionate about the subject. She just kept on surprising me.
“So, you’re in grad school?” I asked. “What are you studying?”
“I’m in veterinary school,” Kiley answered, spinning lazily in the barstool.
“Wow,” I said. “So, you’ll be Dr. Hart in, what? A couple more years?”
“Three,” Kiley said with a heavy sigh. She lowered her head onto the counter. “If I’m lucky. Tuition is so expensive. I’ve been taking loans and trying to pay my own way by working while also taking classes. It’s been rough but I’m managing. Hopefully, I can get a job right after I graduate so that the debt doesn’t pile up.”
I tried not to make my expression too calculating. “That sounds challenging,” I said sympathetically. I logged away the information she just gave me. “I’m sure you’ll get a job right away. Less people are having children nowadays and are opting for pets.”
“I’ve heard that too,” Kiley said.
“Hope you don’t mind a simple but hearty meal,” I said as I spun around to place a full plate in front of her. “Steak and potatoes are one of the few meals that I know how to make decently well.”
I was pleased by the way Kiley’s eyes lit up as she looked at the food. She took a bite and smiled at me. “It’s delicious! Thank you.”
I sat beside her and started to dig into my own meal, watching her carefully out of the corner of my eye. She already seemed comfortable with me, despite having just met hours earlier. A twinge of protectiveness stirred in me as I realized that this girl was far too trusting. She should be more careful.
She clearly needed a keeper.
I studied her. She was a tiny thing, probably barely over five feet tall. Her thick, wavy red hair was pulled away from her face with shiny hairpins. Her smooth legs were crossed, and she bounced them slightly as she ate happily.
