Page 369 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Second Ave.”

“Jesus,” I said, my eyebrows pulling together. “The East Side, huh?” At this time, there’d just about have to be an act of God to convince me to trek across town on my own.

She smiled teasingly, and at the tightening of both my chest and my pants, I decided this was probably as close to me as God intended to come. “Yes, Nick. That is where Second Ave. is.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my suit jacket from the hook behind me, slinging it over my shoulders as I asked, “What’s over there?”

“Cornerstone Tavern.”

“Good burgers?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Perplexed, I froze, hands to the button of my jacket, before putting it through the hole. “You don’t know?”

“Nope.”

This woman was fucking crazy. She specifically said she wanted a burger and picked a place all the way on the East Side, and she didn’t even know if they had the relief to her craving. Maybe I was letting my hormones talk me into something I shouldn’t.

“Look, Charlotte—”

“You ready?” she cut me off to ask. Her delicate fingers curled around the handle of her briefcase and flexed as she waited for my response. Her other hand shot to the door handle and started to turn.

Her eyes danced with both mischief and mystery, and despite her ability to make me feel completely uncomfortable, something about their color called to me. A dark blue-green, rimmed with even darker midnight, they were both roguish and appealing at once.

With a quick pat to my pockets to confirm I had my keys, wallet, and phone, I nodded. “Yeah.”

I guess I’m fucking crazy too.

Around the desk and out the door, I flicked the light switch off as we left and allowed her to take the lead as we made our way down the hall from my office, down the stairs in the lobby, past the main desk, and out the front doors into the bustling energy of rush hour in Manhattan.

Horns blared, a sharp whistle sounded, and a taxi swerved to a stop right in front of us. I jumped back and moved to pull Charlotte a step with me, but her body held firm. It was only then that I noticed Charlotte’s fingers, curled into the clutch of her mouth, and her other hand in the air.

This taxi wasn’t a near accident; she’d hailed the fucker practically before we’d stepped out the door.

I nodded, flexing the corners of my lips as my eyebrows moved up. “Impressive.”

“Thank you,” she cooed with a giant smile as she opened the door and slid into the faux leather seat. I stepped off of the curb and into the open space of the door to follow, but she stopped. Her eyes danced as she looked up at me. “Some people train for marathons. I trained to be a world-record taxi hailer.”

I laughed. “Really?”

She cackled, outright and brazen, the volume of her downright obnoxious laugh nearly knocking me on my ass. I felt one corner of my mouth curve upward involuntarily.

Why is that hideous laugh so attractive?

“No, not really. Geez, Nick. You sure are gullible for someone so science-minded.”

I immediately thought of Lexi. She’d been the majority of my female contact outside of work for a couple of years now, and everything she said was fact. There wasn’t a need to read between the lines or interpret the joke. It just was. I supposed that had largely impaired my ability to detect sarcasm.

Instead of giving Charlotte all of those details, I bit the pride bullet and admitted a fault. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Good. I like that. It’s entertaining.”

I smirked and climbed inside the car, shutting the door at my side, and she told the cabbie where we were headed.

Her lively eyes came back to mine, and her body turned toward me, the skin of her bare knees just barely brushing against the thin wool fabric covering mine. “I wouldn’t get too used to the gullible version of me. I’m a quick learner.”

“I just bet you are, Mr. Brain Surgeon,” she agreed smartly, seeming to transform from working professional to fun companion right before my eyes. Coral painted lips gave way to a nearly perfect white smile—just one bottom tooth jutted slightly out of line.