came face to shoulder with the mystery M.D.
Delia patted her blond bob, linked her arm through Anne’s and then cleared her throat to garner his attention. “Good evening, Dr. Morgan. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Anne.”
Considering his look of surprise, Anne could just imagine what he was thinking—another matchmaking mother foisting her hapless daughter off on a prospective groom. Still, for the sake of civility, she offered a slight smile. “Very nice to meet you, Dr. Morgan.”
He gave her hand a brief shake. “It’s ‘Jack,’ and it’s nice to finally meet you, too. Dr. Cooper talks about you all the time. I hear you work at the hospital.”
The fact that her father had actually mentioned her shocked Anne. Bryce Cooper had never been the demonstrative-daddy type. “I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”
“You’re at the other end of the building,” he said. “That must be why I haven’t seen you before. I’m on a general-surgery rotation right now.”
Without warning, Delia added, “I’ll just leave you two young people to visit,” before breezing away with a flip of one manicured hand.
Anne wasn’t all that surprised by her mother’s abrupt departure. She was surprised that Dr.Morgan hadn’t made an excuse to do the same. Following a few moments of awkward silence, she said, “Your apparel definitely makes a statement.”
He sent her a cynical yet still charming smile. “What? Screw tuxedos?”
Her laughter earned a curious glance from one of the medical matriarchs standing nearby, who was polishing her snobbish air. “I guess you could say that.”
“I like what you’re wearing. Nothing better than a little black dress.”
His tone was suggestive, and that was when Anne decided it would be best to leave, before she began to make a few suggestions of her own. “Again, it was nice to meet you. Think I’ll head home.”
“Don’t go yet,” he said. “I could use the company.”
“I’m sure you’ll find plenty of company as the night wears on.” From single women looking for the consummate catch, and she didn’t fall into that category.
“I haven’t run into anyone here I care to keep company with. Too much bowing and scraping.”
Surely he hadn’t really said bowing and scraping. “Excuse me?”
When a roving waiter passed by, Jack snatched two glasses of champagne from the tray and offered her one. “You know, kissing ass for the sake of appearances. I work forty-eight-hour rotations, and I can think of several things I’d rather be doing in my spare time than sucking up.”
So could Anne, even if it meant curling up on the couch in her apartment and ringing in the new year alone. “I know what you mean. I’m only here because my mother asked me to come. I need to get a life.” Wonderful. She’d just admitted she didn’t have one.
He downed the wine in two gulps, then set the glass on the portable tray behind him. “This is going to sound crazy, but I really want to play miniature golf. There’s a place on the interstate a few miles away. Are you interested in a game?”
She tightened her grip on the flute as if it were a life jacket capable of saving her from sinking. “Let me get this straight. We’ve just met and you want me to play miniature golf with you in the dead of winter while I’m wearing a cocktail dress and three-inch heels.”
“It’s not that cold.”
“It’s forty degrees out.”
“If you don’t own a coat, you can borrow mine.”
Obviously he’d mistaken her for a fool. “Of course I own a coat.”
“Then what’s the problem?” When Anne didn’t immediately respond, he added, “We only have to play one round. Of course, if you have other plans for the evening, we can do it some other time.”
Faced with a situation that meant destroying her pride if she told the truth, she considered a small lie. Yet for some reason, either a lapse of sanity or unseen cosmic forces, she found herself saying, “Actually, no. I don’t have any plans. But we barely know each other.”
“What’s your favorite color?” he asked.
“Red.”
“Red’s good. Now it’s your turn.”
Anne thought a moment. “What’s your favorite sport, aside from miniature golf?”
“Baseball.”
This might go somewhere after all. “I’m a rabid baseball fan.”
“Great. Now, one more question,” he said. “Why didn’t you go to medical school?”
The question she’d been asked at least a thousand times. “You sound like my father. He’s never understood why I didn’t want to wield a scalpel and a mammoth ego. The truth is, I prefer the personal connection with patients, not to mention keeping doctors in line. You and I both know doctors are nothing without nurses.”
He held out his hands, palms forward. “I guess I’ve touched on a sorry subject.”
“You would be right.”
He tried on an apologetic look, and it worked well. “I agree—doctors can’t function without nurses. Okay?”
Suddenly she felt a little foolish over her semi-rant. “Okay.”
“Go ahead and ask me something really personal.”
Anne grabbed the opportunity to do a little fishing. “How many women have you propositioned tonight?” She watched for signs of discomfort in his demeanor, but found none. Then again, he could be very good at masking guilt.
“I’m taking the Fifth on that,” he said.
Which probably meant he’d delivered too many propositions to count. “You don’t play fair, do you? And that really makes me wonder if I should join you in that golf game.”
“Are you worried I’d beat you?”
Anne’s competitive nature planted a swift kick to her common sense. “That never entered my mind because it’s not going to happen. I’m good.”
“So am I. Better than most, in fact.”
She downed the rest of her drink, ready to meet the challenge. After all, it was only a game. Mindless recreation. She could do mindless, even if she didn’t do doctors. “Okay, you’re on. And you’re paying.”
“Believe me, Annie, you’re definitely worth the price.”
She should have been insulted that he’d called her “Annie,” a nickname she’d never cared for. She should rescind the offer and get away fast. But sometimes those “shoulds” weren’t at all appealing. “Let’s just see if you say I’m worth it when I kick your butt,
