Page 36 of Doc Showmance
“Then don’t talk.”
“But you want to talk.”
“Take it or leave it.”
“I don’t get you. The less time we spend together the better.”
I dropped the bag to my side. “Guess that’s a no on you being hungry.”
Her chin dropped. “Is that from Jimma’s? Did you get me one of their burgers?”
I opened the bag to let her peek inside. “We can’t risk drawing attention to ourselves.” I nodded toward the two cars that had pulled in. The driver of one popped the trunk and struggled to maneuver an ancient Labrador out of the back. We didn’t want to argue while people watched. We had a facade to maintain.
“This is extortion,” she groaned.
“No, it’s bribery.”
“Fine. Get in, Dillweed. I don’t have all day. Five minutes.”
When I opened the passenger door she said, “Promise you won’t murder me.”
I grinned. “If I do, it’ll be quick and painless. I’m good with a scalpel.”
“I’m texting Bruno that you’re in my car having dinner with me. If I turn up missing, they’ll check you for my DNA.”
“I know how to wipe down a car, thank you. I also have Clorox wipes.”
“Why are you being…nice? Buying me food. Acting weird.” She frowned as she snapped a picture of me and took the food I offered. Then murmured as if the words were dragged out of her by force. “Thank you.”
“Don’t sound so grateful.” I suppressed a grin as I glanced around the generic Honda. “Have to admit, I’m a bit disappointed. I expected there to be a few skull pendants and it to be a lot more black inside your car, Goth Girl. This is far too vanilla for you.” I removed the bobblehead giraffe in the cup holder to put my drink there.
“I can’t stand you.” She unwrapped her burger.
I chuckled and ate a fry. I tried not to notice how delicate her nose looked or the splattering of freckles across her face. The last thing I needed was for her to catch me checking out her face and how perfect she was in profile. She reminded me of a rebellious cartoon princess, one who the audience never knew if she might break into song or plunge into battle swinging a longsword. I’d always had a soft spot for the feisty princess.
Not that I would ever admit that to anyone.
A few minutes into silent eating, she asked, “Why are your parents so terrible?”
I chewed slowly and didn’t deviate my stare out the windshield. “Everything about this sucks.”
“What? That I’m cramping your dating life? Or are you referring to us forced into pretending to be a couple for your parents, which is beyond stupid? They’ll see through it.”
“Meh on the dating. My last girlfriend kind of made me gun shy on diving into anything new. My parents won’t notice if we’re not real since my mom is going to make our lives hell and probably set me up with some new heiress she wants me to accidentally impregnate. She won’t care if I said you and I are together.”
“That sounds like fun. I’m assuming that means your mom doesn’t want me to be mother to your next generation?”
I shook my head and rubbed my forehead. “Mom’s a nightmare. I’m sorry about this ruining your event with the kids.” I threw my head back against the headrest. “That sounds like a lot more fun than going to San Francisco. How many kids do you mentor?”
“Personally, I help three kids. My siblings each have one or two they mentor. Altogether, the group is about twenty kids. I’ll make sure Marianna follows through with her offer. We’ll take the kids to Sea World or something big that costs a hell of a lot. I’m sure the kids will understand rescheduling if I say I got a sponsor. They’ll be more excited about us going somewhere rather than having food at my place.”
“Let me know if Marianna isn’t following through. I’ll have my agent make sure it gets done. He’s kind of scary about stuff like this.” I stared out the windshield. “This isn’t the direction I wanted my career to go. I’m not an ER doctor. It’s been enlightening to see you work, though. You’re good at what you do.”
“Thanks?” she said with hesitation as if expecting a bomb to drop.
“But you’re right. We’d never have ended up dating in real life.”
“Because I’m not a model?”
