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Together, they sat in silence and watched as William got out of his car, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for this mystery woman. Then, they walked into the bistro. The last thing he wanted was to sound heartless, but he was hungry.
“So, um…there’s a great Korean barbecue place around the corner if you’re still interested in doing lunch,” he suggested. “Or I can take you back to your car and…”
She straightened and looked at him.
And removed her hand from his thigh.
“No. I’m hungry and I was serious about buying you lunch. I know you don’t have a lot of time, so…let’s go.” The smile she gave him didn’t quite reach her eyes and all he wanted to do was reach out and caress her face and tell her it was all going to be okay.
But he could only do part of that.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, he said, “Don’t think the worst. For all you know, she’s an event planner or an interior decorator looking to do work on the house while your grandmother’s gone. I mean, this doesn’t have to be…”
“Oh my God, Noah! That’s it!” she said excitedly, her hand landing back on his thigh.
“What’s it?” he croaked before clearing his throat. “I mean…what do you mean?”
“The interior decorator! My grandfather mentioned having work done in the house and that’s why he asked me to stay out in the guesthouse! Whew! Okay, now I can relax!”
“Excellent,” he agreed, and two minutes later, they were parked in front of the Korean barbecue restaurant.
“Although…” she began as they walked inside. “Why wouldn’t he want me to meet her? It’s not like I’d try to have a say in whatever she wanted to do at the house…”
Resting his hand on her lower back, he guided her into the restaurant and kept it there until they were seated.
“Why are you looking for trouble? Can we please just…talk about something else?” The huff of frustration spoke volumes, but he chose to ignore it. “Should we do the all-you-can-eat or do you want a specific meal?”
Lily picked up the menu and looked it over before responding. “Will you have enough time for the all-you-can-eat? I know they have a 100-minute time limit, but I’m guessing that’s there for a reason.”
“I’ve been in and out of here in an hour before. So if you’re game for trying stuff…”
She chuckled softly. “Oh, believe me, I am totally game. I’ve been wanting to come here, but there never seems to be anyone available when I’m in the mood to try it. So this is a treat for me. Thank you.”
This time her smile was positively radiant and for a moment, this almost felt like a date.
Like…a real date.
And then he immediately pushed that thought from his mind and had to quickly think of something for them to talk about. “So, what did you do this weekend?”
They were interrupted by their server who took their order and began putting plates of side dishes down that came with the all-you-can-eat option before lighting the grill in the middle of their table. Once they ordered their protein choices and were alone, Lily answered.
“Before I left Miami, I got a cortisone shot in my hip,” she explained. “My doctor advised me to take it easy for a week before I tried to dance or workout again. Since I had nothing but time on my hands, I decided to test the waters.”
“And? How did it go?”
“Not as great as I had hoped,” she replied honestly. “Everything felt stiff and sore afterwards and…” Pausing, she sighed. “And now I know that I definitely need to find a doctor here.”
“What exactly did you injure?”
“I have a hip labral tear.”
Frowning, he asked, “What’s that?”
“It’s a tear in the ring of cartilage, the labrum, that follows the outside rim of the hip joint socket. It cushions the hip joint, and the labrum acts like a rubber seal or gasket to help hold the ball at the top of the thighbone securely within the hip socket.” She laughed softly. “It sounds crazy, right? Basically, all the years of dance have caught up with me. It’s a common injury in athletes and dancers, but mine is to the point where it’s going to require surgery and I don’t want to do that.”
“Why not? I would think you’d do whatever it took to get better so you can dance.”
She shrugged and sat back when their server placed plates of raw shrimp, chicken, and brisket on the table. They spent the next several minutes preparing their lunch and talking about the things they were eating. It wasn’t until they were halfway through the meal that Lily addressed his question.
