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A soft contrite sigh came from her. “I guess there is.”
“Despite being a surgeon whose patients are asleep during most of his interaction with them, I’m a good listener.” He really wanted to know what was behind her reaction. Somehow he believed it had something to do with Cynthia’s hesitancy at them becoming more than doctor and transcriptionist.
“I had a boyfriend. It was pretty serious. We were talking about getting married, then my parents died. I had my brothers to be concerned about. It wasn’t long before he’d had enough and was gone.”
“That must have been tough.” If nothing else the timing was poor. When she’d needed support the most she’d been let down. No wonder she was so suspicious of his actions. But even if they started dating he didn’t see their relationship becoming too involved. He wouldn’t be around long enough for her to depend on him.
“Yeah, it was,” she said in a flat tone.
They were quiet for a few moments as he worked his way through traffic.
Suddenly Cynthia cried, “Oh, no. You’ve got to take me back to my car.”
“What? Why?” Had she forgotten something? Was she in pain?
“I forgot about Rick’s game tonight. I’ve never done that before.” She pulled out her phone. “I can just make it if I hurry.”
Sean was relieved that it wasn’t something serious. “Doesn’t he have other games he’ll play?” Why was her seeing a basketball game so important?
“This is his senior year. I’ve not missed one.” She looked around anxiously as if she was in a panic to get to her car.
“Surely you have time for a quick dinner? We’re almost to the restaurant.” He’d gone to such effort to convince her to eat with him. He couldn’t help being disappointed she’d rather go to a high-school basketball game instead of spending time with him.
“I’m sorry but I really must go. Rick expects me to be there. He has no one in the stands to support him if I’m not. Don’t you remember how important it was to have someone rooting for you?”
He couldn’t. The few times his parents had had the money to let him be a part of an afterschool activity they hadn’t ever shown up to see him participate. They had always been having meetings to get people to join their various business ventures. There hadn’t been time to watch him play ball. If they had attended they’d spent their time trying to recruit people to join them. No, he knew nothing about the support Cynthia was talking about.
“No. My parents weren’t very good at that sort of thing,” he said in a neutral tone.
She looked at him for a moment before quietly saying, “I’m sorry. Supporting each other is what my family does. No matter how small the event. I have to go. Rick will worry if I’m not there.”
Twisting in his direction, she added, “Sean, I’m truly sorry for bailing at the last minute.” Briefly she touched his arm. “Hey, why don’t you come to the game with me? I can get your dinner.” She smiled. “Hotdog, fries and popcorn.”
“As appetizing as that sounds, I’ve got to work tonight.” The food didn’t sound that appealing but he sure would miss spending time with her.
She waved a hand. “I need to make up for running out on you. How about coming to dinner Sunday night?”
He shook his head. “I wish I could but I have this grant hanging over my head.”
“Bring the work with you and we’ll spread it out on the table, look at it on the laptop. I’ll see what I can do to help you. I’ve done enough of the reports for it that I think I have an idea of where you’re headed.”
“I don’t know.” Still, he was tempted. He wanted to get to know her better and she was offering help he needed. Maybe he could accomplish two things at once.
“You’re afraid I’m a bad cook, aren’t you?” Cynthia’s look was piercing.
He grinned. “Well, maybe a little.”
“I’ll tell you what, if you don’t like my cooking... I don’t know what I’ll do. But I do wish you’d come to dinner. I feel horrible about this.”
Her eyes were begging him to agree. “It’s not necessary but a home-cooked meal does sound appealing. Okay. And I’ll bring work along. I’m not going to turn down good help.”
After he’d heard her story about her ex he was sure he would lose any chance he had with her if he didn’t take this in his stride. A few minutes later he pulled up next to her car.
A broad smile lit Cynthia’s face and she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back she appeared shocked. Hurrying out of his car, she said in a rush, “Great. I’ll see you at seven.”
Sean watched as she pulled out of the lot. He couldn’t deny feeling put out at her dropping him to go to her brother’s game. Nothing in him or his background gave him a basis to comprehend that type of devotion. Still, he had to respect her commitment to her brothers even if he thought it was a little over the top. What would it be like to have someone care about him with such devotion?
CHAPTER FIVE
TWO EVENINGS LATER Sean showed up at Cynthia’s house right at seven. To avoid looking too eager, he arrived on time even though he’d been looking forward to her dinner all day. He’d spent more time anticipating his date with her than he had on the looming grant deadline.
There was still so much to organize. He hoped Cynthia would be able to make sense of the tangle of information he was trying to get in order. After asking her to help him he realized that he didn’t even know where to have her start. All he knew to do was bring what he had and let her have at it. With the deadline looming he was afraid he would be putting in several long days ahead.
That afternoon he’d sent her an email.
Cynthia
Looking forward to dinner tonight. Can I bring something?
Sean
A few minutes later the reply had come back.
No—just yourself.
Cynthia
When was the last time he’d been interested in a girl who was equally interested in him? Not his money or position? He liked the idea that he alone was enough for Cynthia. But was that really true? He didn’t know her well enough to state that as fact. Still, the idea it could be true made him feel something he hadn’t in a long time. Wanted.
The porch light was on and the house looked welcoming. He’d become so used to going home to his dark house that the idea someone was expecting him pleased him. He climbed a couple of steps and knocked on the door. Seconds later it was slung open by a younger man who Sean hadn’t met before. He surmised that the man must be Cynthia’s middle brother, Mark. Sean suppressed his disappointment that Mark wasn’t Cynthia. It would have been nice to have a chance at another kiss.
“Hey, man, you must be Sean. I’m Mark. Come on in,” Mark offered. Sean stepped inside. “Cyn’s in the kitchen buzzing around. You must be a pretty big deal. I haven’t seen her this excite
d since her prom night.” Mark pushed the door closed with a slap.
He headed down the hall and Sean followed. So Cynthia was acting out of character because of him. Interesting.
An amazing smell wafted to his nose. If he had to guess it was roast beef. His stomach reacted to the pull of his favorite meal. His mother used to fix it on his birthday. It didn’t matter if they were in dire straits at the time or not, she saw to it each of her children got their favorite meal on their birthdays. He had all but forgotten about that.
Mark passed the kitchen entrance and continued down the hall. Cynthia turned away from the sink and smiled when he entered the kitchen. Sean returned the smile as he set down his bag with the grant material in it. If he got that kind of welcome every time he went home, he wouldn’t spend nearly as much time at the office.
“Hey.” There was a touch of pink on her cheeks.
“Hi. I did as you said. I came empty-handed.” He stepped closer, looking over her shoulder.
“That’s what you were supposed to do.” There was a little nervous wobble in her voice. Tomatoes, lettuce and a cucumber sat in the sink.
“What’re you up to?”
She looked at him. “I’m surprised that a man of your intelligence wouldn’t recognize salad fixin’.”
“There you go starting with the smart mouth. You should be careful about talking to me like that. I might not offer my help.” When had he ever teased a woman in the kitchen? When had a woman he was going out with offered to prepare him dinner? In the short time he’d known Cynthia he’d experienced a number of personal firsts.
“Since you offered to help...” She stepped back, bumping into him.
Sean reached for her but she scooted away. Opening a drawer, she withdrew a small cutting board. “How about you slicing the tomato and cucumber?”
It had been some time since he’d helped in the kitchen but he was game if it meant being around Cynthia. “I can do that.”
She handed the board to him and pulled a knife out of a wooden block on the counter. “Here you go. I’m going to check on the roast. It should be almost done.”
