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“Okay,” he said. “I’ll start getting personal with you if you promise me that you’ll consider oncology. You would be fucking amazing at it, and there aren’t many in our field who have done it.”
“Honestly, I’m buried in student debt, and I don’t need to add that on top of it.”
“Why the hell would you buy a house like this in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Los Angeles if you’re buried in debt?”
I finally sighed, realizing it was time to come clean about Aunt Bev’s house.
“Fine, you win. I can’t keep up the charade that this is my house when someone in my situation clearly could never swing this,” I said. “This is my Aunt Beverly’s home. She’s an actress. She played on that soap opera, The Lighthouse, and was very successful. I’m housesitting for her while she’s in Morocco producing a film?—”
“Hold up,” he chuckled, and for some strange reason, I saw relief cross over his features. “The Lighthouse?”
“Yes. Let me guess; It’s your favorite soap?”
“No,” he laughed. “It was my mom’s secret indulgence, though, and if you knew my mother, you would understand why no one knows that little secret of hers but my immediate family. She loved that one lady?—”
“Vivian Winthrope?”
He snapped his fingers in the air. “Yes!” he chuckled. “That was your aunt?”
“That is my aunt, and yes, I could see why everyone would love her character.”
“I guess my mother could relate?” he chuckled.
“To a character with an evil twin and a hundred ex-husbands? Shit, I am curious to know more about your personal life now.”
“Wouldn’t you love that!” His humored demeanor subsided, and he stood. “Hey, tonight was fun, and I’m glad we finally got to know a little more about each other.”
“Um, you’re the one pulling information out of me all night. I’ve got nothing on you.”
He stepped toward me as his eyes darkened, “I guess you and I will have to do this again. Get to know each other more.” He paused and eyed me like he was about to kiss me, and I didn’t know what to do about how this was making me feel. Strangely, I liked it. “And if I feel I can trust you with my secret life,” he said playfully, “then I might start opening up a little more.”
“Oh, great,” I said. “Secret life?”
“You have no idea.” He smiled, then turned and set his wine glass on the counter, “I have a seven in the morning C-section, so I need to get out of here, but thanks for inviting me in and going to dinner tonight. All of this was very nice.”
“I had a great time, too.”
I said that in the same confused voice that I was suddenly feeling. John was a lot of fun, but I sometimes found him a bit odd. He never liked to talk about himself and always seemed to pull information from me. It was like I was interviewing to be the man’s friend or something.
All the mystery just drew me in even more.
Chapter Nine
John
I loved my life and every little fun surprise that came along with it. Who would’ve thought in a million years that Mickie was the niece of my mother’s favorite soap opera actress? It wasn’t only cool, it was also secretly hilarious.
My mother would be amused that the new resident I worked with was the niece of Vivian Winthrope—or whatever her real name was. Regardless, if I ever introduced Mickie to my mother, that would score her immediate points.
It was also secretly hilarious that I considered introducing Mickie to my mother, even for half a second. Sure, my mind had wandered a few times at dinner, imagining taking Mickie home with me, but in all fairness, that happened almost every time I went out with a woman, so it wasn’t an exception.
The part I hadn’t expected was how drawn I felt to her. It was a nagging sensation that kept her on my mind almost all the time, and that was something that never happened to me.
The following day, I brushed it off as I made my breakfast and rationalized my sudden interest as a reaction to an intelligent, like-minded woman who wasn’t throwing herself at me for once.
I had to remind myself I didn’t want a relationship with anyone, so it was pointless to let this take up headspace this morning. Mickie was going to perform a C-section shortly, which I was going to assist and observe, so I needed to get my act together.
This promised to be interesting.
