“Sounds like the flu to me. Wait it out and it’ll pass.”
He looked at her as if she were an uneducated child. “You poor thing.”
“Stop pitying me.”
“How can I not? You don’t believe in true love.” He clicked his tongue in dismay.
“So if you’re such an expert, where’s your Miss Right?”
“I haven’t met her yet.”
“Come on, you expect me to believe that out of six billion people in the world, you think there’s one right person for you?”
“Yep.”
She shook her head. “You sound just like my friend, Lacy.”
“Has she found her Mr. Right?”
“Well, he’s Dr. Right and yes, she did. They’re getting married in December.”
“See there.”
“Lacy and Bennett’s love affair was a coincidence, not some weird bolt from the blue.”
“I agree with your friend, Lacy. Guess I’m just a romantic at heart.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Either way, I want you to break up with me.”
“But why would I do that? You’re smart, independent, accomplished, and gorgeous. Even if you don’t believe in true love.”
“Gorgeous?” She blinked, totally taken aback by the word. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
Gage snorted. “Get a mirror, woman, will you? You’re incredible.”
“Really?” She straightened and met his gaze, the faintest hint of a smile hovering at her lips.
“Come on, you’re trying to tell me that tons of men haven’t told you how attractive you are?”
Janet shook her head. “Not unless you count being whistled at by construction workers, which I don’t. They’ll whistle at anybody.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No, really. Once, when I was a little girl, my grandmother and I walked past a construction site and they whistled their heads off at her. She must have been all of sixty at the time.”
“I’m not talking about the construction workers, Janet. I’m wondering why men don’t appreciate you. What kind of weirdos do you date?”
“Actually, I have dated little since college. In high school they called me Giraffe Legs. Doesn’t do a lot for a girl’s self-image.”
“What about those college boys? Didn’t they know a good thing when they saw one?”
“I had a few boyfriends. Nothing serious. They weren’t the ‘whisper-sweet-nothings’ sort of relationships.”
“What about now?”
Janet shrugged. “I think I intimidate most men.”
“You don’t intimidate me,” he said.
“No?”
“Not a bit.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can see through that hard-as-nails exterior of yours. You’re just protecting a tender heart. I’ve observed you with your patients. No one’s gentler with those kids than you are.”
Suddenly feeling very exposed, Janet whipped her head around and stared out the passenger window. She was breathless, apprehensive, and she didn’t know why.
“So you see,” Gage replied, “if I’m going to break things off with you, I need a powerful motivation for throwing back such a great—if somewhat unromantic—catch. Something your mother will buy into but doesn’t cast you in a terrible light.”
“You found out I eat crackers in bed,” she said.
He shook his head. “Sorry, so do I.”
“I drink milk straight from the carton.”
“Really? Me, too.”
“I squeeze the toothpaste in the middle.”
“Not gonna wash. We could just buy his and hers tubes.”
“Okay, smart guy, you got any bright ideas?”
“Hmm, I know. You want kids and I don’t.”
“You don’t want kids?” She blinked at him.
“We’re pretending here, remember.”
“So you do want kids.”
“Sure.” His eyebrows went up. “Three or four. Don’t you?”
Janet shrugged and glanced away. “I don’t know. I have mixed feelings.”
“Are you concerned about the pressures of juggling motherhood and a high-powered medical practice?”
“You’ve got it.” That, among other things. “But let’s not bring up the kid issue.” she said. “It’s a sore spot between Mom and me.”
“Good enough.”
Silence fell as they both considered the options.
“Why don’t we just go with the truth?” Gage said after a few minutes. “Our priority is to our pediatric practice, and our love relationship threatened to affect it.”
“But we don’t have a love relationship.”
“Your mother thinks we do.”
“Only because you told her we were dating exclusively.”
“Hey, I apologized for sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong and I’m working on repairing the damage, so cut me some slack.”
“You’re right. I do appreciate what you tried to do for me. At least I escaped dating Oscar.”
“So we’re square?” He grinned.
“We’re square.”
She couldn’t resist smiling back. He really was a nice guy. A little off-center, perhaps, but he meant well. She couldn’t hold a grudge.
“Oh, look, here we are.” Janet pointed. “It’s the third house on your right.”
7
Gage pulled up to the curb, cut the engine, and climbed out. He intended to go around the car to open the door for Janet and help her with the pecan pie they’d brought for dessert, but she was halfway up the sidewalk, the white bakery box tucked under her arm, before he could even round the bumper.
He sprinted after her. “Here, let me carry that for you.”
She looked at him as if he’d sprouted wings. “Come on. The box doesn’t weight half a pound.”
“Just let me do something for you.”
“Hey, dude, this isn’t feudal France. I lift thirty-pound kids every day. This may come as a shock to you, but I’m not some shrinking violet. I change the oil in my car; I repair my own plumbing, and I’m not afraid of insects. I don’t need some big he-man to lean on. I can take care of myself.”
“Sorry.” He backed off.
She was so damned independent. Couldn’t stand to have anyone do anything for her. Maybe that was why she didn’t have a boyfriend. She made a guy feel as useful as a third thumb.
He joined her on the front porch. Janet knocked and the door was immediately flung open, as if her mother had been waiting on the other side with her eye pressed to the peephole.
“Come in, come in,” Gracie called out gaily and escorted them inside the tidy house.
The minute he stepped over the threshold, Gage felt as if he’d come home.
Gracie ushered them through the living room, chattering a mile a minute. She had dressed for the occasion, wearing an apron over what appeared to be
