He nodded, chin sinking even lower. Then he risked an upward glance at her though his lush dark lashes—much too lush for a man, she thought enviously—and his blue eyes were dancing with humor. “Now will you believe I’m not perfect?”
“I suppose I’ll have to. Anyone who watches Dr. Wilson’s World every day is seriously flawed.”
“I can’t help it,” he repeated, looking quite pleased with himself. “I’m compulsive.”
“I’m terribly disillusioned. So tell me, who do you think is the father of Misty’s baby? Dan? Running Wolf? Or old Dr. Wilson?”
Jeff shouted with laughter, not at all concerned that dozens of eyes immediately turned his way. “You watch it, tool” he accused her in what could only be termed unholy glee.
She lifted her chin disdainfully. “Not very often, but when I do, it’s for a good reason.”
“Oh, yeah? What?”
“I like to watch Dr. Noble suffer.”
Jeff eyed her questioningly, obviously confused by her pleasure in the many tribulations suffered by the serial’s unfortunate heartthrob hero, one of the more popular actors on daytime TV. “You mean you’re a fan of his?”
“Nope,” she answered cheerfully. “I keep hoping he’ll die in a horrible soap opera accident and fade into television oblivion. No such luck so far, but hope lives on.”
“I don’t suppose you want to explain?”
“Nope,” she replied, deciding not to tell him that the actor who played Dr. Noble was a Little Rock native who’d painfully jilted her sister, Summer, after her permanently damaging motorcycle accident. ?
?But I am glad you have a weakness. I have so many myself that you were making me feel inferior.”
“Name a few.”
She shook her head firmly. “Subject closed. Tell me about doctoring.”
So they talked about him for a while, about the grueling course of study in medical school, the exhausting hours of internship and residency, the occasional heartbreak and more frequent rewards, the demands on time and energy. And Autumn listened in fascination, feeling herself growing more and more attracted to him—if that were possible—as the evening went on. And then they were talking about her again, and she was telling him funny stories about her work and discussing favorite books and movies and television programs, and too soon their dinner was over.
Dancing seemed to be the natural continuation of their evening, a physical confirmation of the intimacy that had begun when they’d both confessed to watching the same soap opera. While they were dancing, she discovered the small electronic pager attached to his belt, reminding her of his demanding profession. “Are you on call?” she asked.
“No. I always carry the beeper in case Pam or Julian need to contact me. They know I want to be notified if anything serious happens to one of my patients, even though whoever is on call is perfectly capable of taking care of any situation.”
A dedicated man. A very special man. How could she possibly resist him?
Autumn loved to dance, and Jeff was the perfect partner. She could have quite happily remained in his arms for days, their feet moving in easy synchronization, their conversation light and low-voiced, his hand warm on her bare back.
“I love this dress,” Jeff informed her, as if reading her thoughts.
“Thank you. I’m glad Webb made me wear it,” she murmured, drifting along in some wonderful fantasy, barely conscious of what she’d said.
But Jeff heard her, and he stiffened. “Webb?” he asked, a bit too casually.
“Webb.” She lifted her head from Jeff’s shoulder and smiled up at him. “Webb’s one of my best friends. You know him—Webb Brothers. He says you go to the same health club.”
“Sure, I know him. Nice guy. In fact, he’s the reason I called your company when I needed an electrician. I like to do business with my friends when I can. Are you and he, uh…?”
“Friends,” she supplied firmly, choosing to leave it at that. After all, she didn’t owe Jeff any explanations.
“Are you involved with anyone else? Seriously, I mean,” Jeff asked cautiously.
She shouldn’t really answer. She wouldn’t. He shouldn’t even have asked. But then her mouth opened, and the words came out on their own. “No, I’m not involved with anyone. And I like it that way.”
“I’m not, either,” he told her, returning the courtesy, even though she hadn’t asked. “But I don’t know that I like it that way. It’s just the way things are right now.”
He was a man who would want a wife and a family, a man who was probably looking for those things now that he’d established his career as a doctor. Autumn dropped her eyes to the knot in his tie, reminding herself once again that she had no business being out with this man, feeling these feelings for this man. She was single servings, irregular hours and haphazard housekeeping; he was dinner at eight, family outings and socks in the hamper. She belonged to a union and a bowler’s league; he joined community service organizations and health clubs. They were opposite ends of the spectrum, day and night, apples and oranges.