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“I’m interested all right. Now we have fifteen years of wasted time to make up for.”
Her jaw sagged, and her lips parted. Not wasting a second, he crushed her open mouth and resumed a delicious assault on her face, mouth, and face.
“Steve … dinner,” she mumbled between kisses.
“Can we skip it?”
“No. You promised me ten dinners.”
“I’ll make it up, I promise.”
“Let’s go, please.”
“As you wish.” He inhaled and peeked at the counter. “I can smell my favorite sweet. We’re coming back here for dessert, right?”
“Yes. If you want to.”
“I can get hooked on your dessert quite easily.”
Her pulse thundering in her ears, she pointed to the counter. “Apple pie à la mode, with vanilla ice cream, and—”
“And more. Whatever you deem appropriate.”
Blushing at his double meaning, she eased out of his arms to reach for her handbag. “Let’s go.”
His recent words unsettled her. He’d made it quite clear that he enjoyed their dinners and wanted more. She had a lot of thinking to do. Entertaining him with dinner and kisses or more, until he left for his new endeavor wasn’t on her agenda.
With too many frustrating thoughts swirling through her brain, she remained quiet during the short drive to the restaurant that served the best hamburgers in town.
They settled into a booth facing each other and gave their orders.
“You’ve been too quiet,” Steve said after the waiter brought their beers.
“Just thinking.” In fact she was quite annoyed with his past indifference.
“About what?”
“The question you asked at my house. You didn’t even know how long I’d worked for you.”
“Am I supposed to remember those details about my employees?”
“Not precisely, but you should have a vague idea.”
He huffed. “I knew you were with us for a long time.”
“Long enough for me to become part of the clinic décor, always present and useful, but taken for granted.”
“Not true.” Frowning lightly, he seemed to consider her cautiously. “I never took you for granted and always appreciated your skill in the OR, your kindness with patients, your generosity when looking after my house and my pets, and your baking talents when cooking for me. Never took you for granted, Lillian. I’ve tried to repay you as generously as possible.”
“Very generously.” She couldn’t help bitterness from underlying her words and averted her gaze. Of course he’d repaid her generously. She’d asked for one dinner. He’d given her ten with plenty of kisses for tip.
“Lillian, what’s going on?” He leaned forward and grabbed her hand across the table. “I’m a good doctor, but I suck at weaving flowery sentences. If there’s something bothering you, be straight about it. Ask me any question, and I’ll answer honestly.”
“When was the last time you entertained a woman?”
“Ah…” Releasing her hand, he relaxed against the back of the bench and crossed his arms on his chest, studying her. “Four months ago.”
“How long did it last?”
