Page 39 of Doctor Bossy

Not that anything particularly bad happened during the date. In fact, Marco was the perfect gentleman, opening doors for me, paying for parking, and doing everything that perfect gentlemen did. He also kept a steady conversation in the car on the way there, making effortless small talk about everything from the kind of music I enjoyed to old TV shows that we found out we both loved. I knew he did it to calm my nerves and assure me that he wasn’t some kind of psychopath, so I was grateful for that. He was attentive to my answers, seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, and treated the waiters and service staff great.

I didn’t have anything to complain about, really.

Except for how wrong everything felt.

“I don’t know what this stuff is,” Marco was saying at the time, chewing around what seemed to be a particularly tough piece of steak. “But it tastes pretty good.”

“It isn’t steak?” I asked, amused at the effort it was taking him to get it down.

“No idea,” he responded. “But it doesn’t taste like any piece of steak I’ve ever had. Plus, it had a pretty fancy name on the menu. I reckon whatever is on your plate can’t taste half bad either.”

I glanced down at the aforementioned menu.

“But you recommended I get this.” I had no idea what the food was, either. It looked like the tiniest portion of mashed potatoes I had ever seen, mixed in with chunks of unidentified meat and covered in pink gravy that reminded me distinctly of blood. I hesitated on touching it for the longest time because it did not look particularly appetizing, but Marco convinced me to get it. “You said it was the echelon of fine dining.”

“Yeah, I said that didn’t I?” he mused, winking at me mischievously. “To be honest, I’m not even sure what that means. The truth is, I’ve never eaten here before. Not really a fancy restaurant kind of guy. I cased this place yesterday and asked what the best thing on the menu was, and they gave me the ‘echelon of fine dining’ line about this. That was why I recommended it.”

It was such a ridiculous but thoughtful thing to do that I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks,” I said. “And to be honest, fancy restaurants don’t excite me either.”

“I’m guessing neither does this date.” He said it without accusation or offense, simply as if he was making an observation, and he maintained the same teasing smile on his lips. That allowed me to give him absolute honesty.

“That obvious?” I asked.

He shrugged without conceit. “I can tell when a gal is into me or when she is not, and you are distinctly not.”

I cringed. “I’m sorry. It really isn’t you. It’s just that I just got out of a serious relationship, and it ended badly, so it’s kind of messing up my mind right now. I’m not sure I’m ready to start dating again….”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself,” he said, and I got the idea that he didn’t quite believe me. “You don’t have to jive with me. Different strokes for different folks. I’m not mad at you, although clearly, there isn’t much to be said for taste…” he said the last part with an exaggerated eye roll so that I could tell he was still teasing. I smiled.

“No, there is not,” I said. “Just wanted to let you know that it isn’t you.”

“Of course, it isn’t me, honey. Have you seen me?” He threw back his hair with such a flourish that I barked out a laugh and then slapped my hand over my mouth to contain the sound. I glanced around the room to make sure no one had caught the loud laughter. That was when I saw him.

Griffin.

My heart caught in my chest, shock swimming through me. Just like always, everything else in the room faded away. I almost thought I had conjured him up from my imagination, but when I blinked, he was still there. He was sitting next to a woman dressed in a sparkly pink dress, but he wasn’t paying attention to anything she was saying. Instead, his eyes were on me, a dark intensity seizing my breath even as my belly squeezed with desire.

He was here.My heart was thumping with a familiar rhythm, a wanting that was slowly revving me up into a heat. My hands squeezed around the glass, combating urges within me to go closer and run away.

“Hey.” Marco waved his hand in front of my face, bringing my attention back to him. “You still there? Everything okay?”

“Um, yeah,” I said.

God, what was wrong with me? Here I was on a date with one man and completely lusting after another.

“I just need to use the bathroom,” I said and got up from the seat, quickly making my way over to the bathroom. Luckily, it was single-use and empty, so I simply placed my back against the door to catch my breath in privacy.

What on earth was he doing here?And…why was he looking at me like that? Why did I feel all these things running through my body?

The feelings the man could inspire in with a single look…it was heavy, far too heavy for someone I barely knew, and definitely an inappropriate feeling to be having about my boss.

I needed to end this date as quickly as possible and get out of here.Yes, that was what I would do.I would wash my face, then come out and tell Marco that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go home. I would apologize and pay for my half of the food before leaving so that I didn’t feel like such a heel for taking advantage of such a sweet guy. And then I would get back to the safety of my home.

I moved toward the sink and was washing my hands when the door swung open.

“Hey, I’m in here—” I spun around to say, but the rest of my words got choked in my throat.

Griffin was standing there.

---