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“I remember you used to draw stuff like that. In art class.”
She almost choked on her wine. “How on earth did you remember that? Nate Miller, don’t tell me you had a crush on me in high school!” The instant she said it she wished she hadn’t. It was an outrageously flirty thing to say and normally she would never tease him like that. What was wrong with her? She should cut herself off from the wine. Now.
“No,” he said with a perfectly straight face. “Allie Grant was my unrequited high school crush.”
“Oh.” God. Now she just felt stupid. Well, of course he had a crush on Allie! Didn’t everyone? Her ex, included.
“But I always admired your talent. May I ask you a question?” He was so polite. So…not tipsy. Like she was beginning to feel.
He waited for her response.
“Sure, ask away.”
“I also remember you wanted to be a fashion designer and go to New York.” At the look on her face he added, “It was in the yearbook. Under your senior picture.”
“Did you memorize everyone’s senior aspirations?”
“No.” The quiet way he said it made her brain feel buzzy. What was that supposed to mean?
She shook her head. Food. She needed food. She flagged down the waiter. “I’m starved,” she said to Nate. “Can we order?”
“Of course.” He ordered the same surf and turf she’d had last Saturday and this time she ordered the salmon. Their salads came, followed by their entrees and Lauren began to feel more like herself again. More in control.
“Do you make a lot of your own clothes?” he asked.
“I used to. Before I opened up the shop. But between the business and Henry and Daddy, I don’t have a lot of time anymore.”
“That’s a shame,” he said thoughtfully. “You should think about selling your own designs.”
“If I only had the time,” she said cheerfully.
He ordered another bottle of wine and they spent the rest of their meal talking about whatever popped into their heads. He told her about Lola and Bianca and the nurses in the office and how they seemed suspicious of him. She was surprised he confided those sorts of details with her. She listened mostly, every now and then giving him some encouragement. She told him about her divorce from Tom and how lucky she was that they had managed to stay friends, and how they split custody of Henry in a way that so far—thank God—worked out for everyone.
Every once in a whi
le, she caught herself staring at his hands. She liked the way they moved when he talked. Not animated, but more precision like. His fingers were long and the knuckle on the middle finger of his right hand was larger than the one on his left.
“What happened to the knuckle on your finger? The one on your right hand?” she blurted.
He seemed startled by her question and she realized she probably shouldn’t have noticed something like that. It seemed…strangely intimate. Then she remembered the conversation she had with that woman in the bathroom and the old saying came to mind; big hands, big… Whoa. Don’t go there, Lauren!
What was wrong with her thought process tonight? It must be the alcohol making her think things she normally wouldn’t.
“I broke it when I was a teenager,” he said, holding his hand up in the air. “Accidentally slammed it in a car door and it never healed right.”
She needed to steer the conversation away from his body parts. “So, what made you want to become a doctor?”
“I’ve always been good at math and science. Plus, I wanted to find a way to help other people. To give back to the community.”
Lauren stilled. That was the exact same phrase Jessica used when she had mocked Nate in the bathroom last week.
“Is that your stock answer?”
His gaze sharpened. “That’s the answer I always give when anyone asks.”
“But…it’s not the truth?”
“The first part is. I am good at math and science.” He hesitated a moment. “I hate when people ask me that question. But the truth is, the real reason I became a doctor is because I wanted a profession where I had the potential to make a lot of money.” He blinked, like he was surprised by his own answer.
