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4
I dropped my purse and keys, probably would’ve dropped my cell phone, too, had it not been tucked away in the pocket of my lab jacket.
He quickly bent his towering frame over and picked my belongings up, offering them to me with a smile. “Here you go.”
“Uh…thank you. You-you startled me.”
His smile disappeared, replaced by a slight frown. “I did? I’m sorry.” He looked down at himself and back at me, his expression a bit softer. “Am I that ugly?”
My eyes widened. “Ugly? God, no! You’re nowhere near ugly.” Geez, that was a bit much. “Uh, I’ve just had a rough morning. Kind of out of sorts. I’m actually heading out to lunch now.”
The smile returned. “Really? Can I join you? My treat.”
“Uh…” I really didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know him, and I was still married. Was I even supposed to be having lunch with another man? Then again, it wasn’t like it was a date. But still… “I don’t think so.”
The smile left again, and I instantly missed it. “Oh, okay. Well, I was actually coming here to talk to you about my sister. When would be a good time to come back?”
It was my turn to frown. “Is she okay? The baby’s all right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I just wanna make sure she has everything she needs. I worry about her, you know?”
I smiled. “Well, she’s really not my patient. Cassandra is her midwife and—”
“I know, but I’m more comfortable with you.”
His eyes were glued to mine, and he looked so good in his slacks, blazer, and dress shirt. And my husband had ruined most of my day in person and in thought. I needed…something. A distraction? I don’t know, but that unidentified need made me say, “You know what? I think I’ll take you up on your offer after all. Where do you want to have lunch?”
*****
I drove my own vehicle, opting to follow him to the restaurant rather than take him up on his offer to ride with him in a cream-colored Cadillac Escalade driven by Rell.
Once we were seated at our table in Young’s, an overly-expensive steakhouse, I asked, “Is Rell going to join us?”
“No,” Lorenzo said, looking up from the menu and meeting my eyes.
“Oh, did he leave? He’s coming back for you?”
He shook his head. “No, he’s probably on the lot in the car.”
“Oh…”
He smiled. “Are you worried about him or something?”
“No, I just think it’s odd. I mean, what does he do when you’re somewhere for hours?”
“He stays with the car unless I instruct him otherwise.”
“I see.” I refocused my attention on the menu and fell silent.
“You don’t like that he stays with the car? He’s the driver. That’s what he’s supposed to do,” he said.
Without looking up, I replied with, “It’s none of my business. I don’t know him. I don’t know you. I was just curious.”
We dropped the conversation altogether when the waiter reappeared to take our orders. After he left, I asked, “What was it you wanted to talk about? Something to do with your sister?”
He stared at me, then stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
“Uh, okay.”
