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“Yeah, uh-huh.”
“Pearce?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you’re gonna need to get one of those tankless water heaters.”
We were laughing as we left the now cool shower.
I served him dinner in bed while he told me about his week. It was a killer … no pun intended. Lots of gunshots, car wrecks, and one guy got mangled up by a boat propeller. Other things happened but I was amazed by his talented hands again and I held them against my heart and told him as much.
“Thanks, angel. I’m drifting, so I’ll just tell you now. Don’t want to sleep alone anymore. Marry me. Love you.”
And then I heard his soft even breathing.
Seventeen
Pearce and I were meeting Terri for lunch at our favorite barbecue restaurant. We got there a little early and grabbed a table in the back where we could have a little privacy. She bopped in and I waved my arm at her. She couldn’t see Pearce until she was right in front of him. Her eyes widened and her jaw sagged open. I grinned as Pearce rose to his feet.
“Hello, Terri, I’m happy to finally meet you. Alexia has told me all about you ... all good, of course. I feel as if I already know you.” Her eyes told it all. His voice had hypnotized her.
He ushered her into her seat, and she still hadn’t said a word.
“How’s it going, Terr? I already put in an order for some wings.”
Still no word. It was like her mind had been zapped by Pearce.
I looked at Pearce and he looked at me and shrugged.
“Terri! Hello, is anyone home?” I snapped my fingers in front of her face.
She finally shook her head and said, “Sorry. Don’t know what got into me.” Then she blushed.
“S’okay. I wanted you to meet Pearce because you said you wanted to give your approval.”
“Oh, I approve all right. He’s hot as fire.”
“Terri!”
Her hands covered her face. “Oh fuck! I did not mean to say that out loud. I am sorry. Oh shit. Lexi, I’m sorry.”
“Well, don’t apologize to me. You need to apologize to Pearce. That was kind of rude.”
She turned to Pearce and said, “She’s totally right. I’m sorry. I was just, well, I wasn’t expecting you to look the way you do. I mean you’re a doctor for Christ’s sake.”
“Terri, what the hell?” She went from bad to worse.
“Oh man, this is going from bad to worse. What I meant was that doctors aren’t usually good looking. They’re normally pretty geeky.”
“Okay, Pearce, my friend Terri’s body has been invaded by a species that has absolutely no tact. Please forgive her and then forgive me for making you sit through this torturous lunch.”
After about fifteen minutes, Terri finally got her mind and wit back and Pearce had her charmed like nothing I’ve ever seen. He could really put it to work when he wanted to.
They talked about growing up in Charleston and the high schools they’d attended. He was seven years older than she was, they weren’t in school at the same time, and they’d gone to different high schools, so it really didn’t matter anyway. They talked about college, and she told him about meeting me at UVA and wanted to know where he went. I had never thought about this, but when he told her he’d gone to Harvard, I almost fell out of my chair.
“Don’t let it fool you though. I’m pretty thickheaded most times.”
Yeah, right. Harvard. WTF … how did I not know that?
