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I pat Lauren’s hand to reassure her I’m only teasing when I spot a familiar profile in the mirrored glass behind Lilly’s head. Glancing over my shoulder, I find Poppy with a handsome blond about her age. He’s sitting next to her at a four-top table, leaning in as if they’re having an intense conversation. The muscles along my neck and shoulders tighten, and I force myself to focus on the menu before I give my irritation away.
“Dad?”
“I’m sorry.” I look at Lauren to see what I missed.
“She’s waiting on your order.”
“Can I have the chicken parm, please?” We’ve eaten here since the girls were young. Not sure why I even picked up the menu except for a diversion.
“What dressing for your salad, Dr. Weston?” My eyes flick up to meet the server in response to the use of my name and find her smiling coyly at me.Should I know her?
As she walks away, I observe Lauren silently mocking the server’s question.
“What?”
“Oh, she was soooo flirting with you.”
“You think? I was trying to figure out if she’d been a patient of mine.”
“I hope you didn’t do her boob job,” Lauren adds.
I should ignore Lauren, but after a few moments, I sneak a peek in the direction of the server. How did I miss those?
I’m a tit man. I appreciate a nice, perky pair. They don’t have to be large, but they do have to be natural. And trust me, there is nothing natural about those double Ds. I must’ve been distracted by the hot blonde and her date if I missed those. Glancing back in Poppy’s direction, I notice her companion now has his arm draped over the back of her chair. The muscle in my jaw starts to twitch.
If her husband is dead, and she’s still wearing a wedding band, who the hell is this guy?
“You okay, Dad?” Lilly whispers.
“Yeah, of course, sweetie. I’m fine.”
“You seem even more preoccupied than usual. Something at work bothering you?”
Lauren’s eyes pop up from her phone, and she gives me a wary look.
“No. No. I’m fine. I’m sorry, honey.”
“It’s that woman over there. Isn’t it?” Lilly asks.
I look where Lilly is tilting her chin to make sure we aren’t back on the busty waitress and discover she’s referring to Poppy. As I glance back at my daughters, I find they’re both leaning to the right, trying to catch a better glimpse of her.
“Do you know her?” Lilly asks.
“She works at my hospital.”
“So you’re not dating her or anything?”
I cough and reach for my Pellegrino. “No. What gave you that idea? She’s obviously here on a date.”
“She’s not into him,” Lauren blurts flatly, her eyes back on her phone.
“Why do you say that?” I need to change this conversation, but curiosity is getting the best of me.
“I can tell. It’s her body language. He’s leaning into her, but she’s sitting perfectly straight.” Lauren and Lilly again tilt in their seats to take a better look. “I wonder if she’s breaking up with him.”
Unable to control my snooping, I swiftly look back in their direction to observe them settling the check. Wondering what I missed, I turn to Lauren and Lilly to find them giggling at me. “What?”
Lauren drops her forearms onto the table and blurts, “You like her.” Her teeth are about to pop out of her head, she’s smiling so big.
