She shook her head, her brown curls bobbing with the motion. “I still don’t understand why you waited so long to call her when I can tell you’ve been just dying to do so all week. What do you want to bet she’s already got a date for tomorrow night?”
“Then I’ll ask her out for another night,” he answered logically. “Believe me, Pam, I have my reasons.”
“Yes, you told me your reasons. Some garbage about her having to chase after you if you’re going to catch her. That’s not the way things were done in my day! Back then it was the men who did the chasing and the women loved it.”
Jeff laughed, eyeing the indignant surgeon with fond amusement. Having put herself through medical school, graduating at the top of her class, Pam was hardly the unassuming Southern belle she was imitating. He wondered what had gotten into her lately. “Pamela, you sound like a little old lady. In your day, indeed. You’ve only been married for two years, remember? And according to Bob, you did a bit of chasing yourself. Weren’t you the one who rammed your car into his once when you were dating so he couldn’t leave having the last word in an argument?”
“That’s different,” Pam returned dismissively, waving one hand in the air.
“I thought you’d think so,” Jeff murmured.
“Dr. Bradford, your next patient is here. And Dr. Cochran, you ha
ve a telephone call. It’s Dr. Neville from Tampa General.”
“Thanks, Sheila. I’ll take it in my office.” With one last frowning look at Jeff Pam turned and marched out of the room, leaving him grinning and shaking his head as he pushed himself away from his desk and went off to take care of his next patient.
He hoped he was doing the right thing by treating Autumn so casually. Every day for the past week he’d fought the urge to call her, reminding himself over and over that she wouldn’t appreciate his chasing her too fervently. He’d told himself that he would be the pursued, he thought as he entered the examining room in which his patient was waiting. He only hoped the attraction between them was strong enough for Autumn to remain interested.
“SO,” EMILY ASKED with suspicious nonchalance, “have you heard from your friend lately?”
Thinking that Emily could only be referring to Jeff, Autumn shook her head and glared down at her dinner plate. “No. Not since our date last Saturday.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean Jeff,” Emily corrected her quickly, dabbing at Ryan’s mouth with a napkin to remove a smear of the broccoli he was happily eating with his fingers. “I meant your friend Webb.”
Autumn arched an eyebrow and looked across her dining table at her neighbor, who had joined Autumn for an early dinner followed by a television special they both wanted to see. So Emily was interested in Webb, was she? Autumn grinned, remembering that Webb had casually inquired about Emily on at least three different occasions during the past week since he’d met her. “Of course I’ve heard from Webb, Emily. I work with him, remember? I see him every day.”
“Oh, of course.” Emily flushed a bit and focused her china-blue eyes on the broiled fish fillet in front of her. “How silly of me.”
Autumn chuckled. “Emily, if you’re interested in Webb, just come out and say so. What would you like to know about him?”
Blushing deeper, Emily smiled sheepishly and looked at Autumn. “Everything. I thought he was nice. And so handsome! I’m surprised that you’re not dating him yourself.”
“Webb and I are just friends. We’re too much alike to be anything else,” Autumn explained. “He’s a great guy, but he’s been known to break a few hearts. He claims to be allergic to commitment.”
“It does sound like the two of you are a lot alike,” Emily agreed in amusement. “Ryan, don’t rub your Jell-O in your hair!”
Laughing at Ryan’s antics, Autumn turned back to her dinner. As she finished, she told Emily how she’d met Webb, then shared some funny stories of escapades she and Webb had been involved in during the past months. Privately she thought that Emily and Webb would make a good couple. She suspected that Emily would be the type who’d adore and admire the man she loved, and Webb was one of those males who’d enjoy the adulation and return it in full measure once he’d accepted the inevitable. He loved kids, so Ryan wouldn’t be a problem.
If only the man weren’t so shy of serious involvement, Autumn mused, not finding it at all strange that she was in favor of marriage for Webb when she was so wary of the institution for herself. It wasn’t marriage itself that she opposed, but the fear of losing herself within the bonds of such a union. Others seemed to handle the responsibilities just fine—her own two sisters were embarrassingly happy in their wedded states. But Autumn’s too-close encounter had left her decidedly marriage-shy.
Thoughts of Jeff Bradford tried to creep into her mind, but she firmly closed a mental door against them, telling herself that there was absolutely no connection between her reflections on marriage and the man who’d shattered her peace of mind in the six weeks since she’d met him. She’d been expecting Jeff to call all week. Not that she’d made any special effort to stay close to her phone because of that, she assured herself. She’d simply had several things to do that had kept her home every night that week.
“Webb sure left in a hurry when I told him that I was divorced,” Emily said with a sigh as they stood to carry their plates into the kitchen. “Has he got something against divorcées?”
Bringing her thoughts back to their conversation with an effort, Autumn shook her head at Emily’s question. “No. He only runs like that when he meets a woman who could become a threat to his bachelorhood.”
Emily frowned at that, then slowly smiled. “Oh. I see.”
Autumn returned the smile. “I thought you would. Maybe I’ll ask him over one night next week. I could use some help with the bookcase that I want to move from the living room to my bedroom.”
“I think that sounds like an excellent idea,” Emily agreed, her eyes dancing. “Oh, Autumn, I’m glad I met you. I’ve been lonely since Earl and I divorced. He’d pretty well alienated all our friends with his drinking by the time we split up, and I’ve been reluctant to get back in touch with them. It’s nice to have a friend again.”
Autumn reached into a cabinet for a cookie for Ryan’s dessert, pleased by Emily’s words. “I’m glad we met, too,” she admitted. “Until you came along, I hadn’t realized that almost all my friends in Tampa are men that I work with. It’s nice to have a woman to talk to again.”
Emily started to say something, then paused as the telephone rang. “Maybe that’s Jeff,” she said eagerly, confirming Autumn’s suspicion that Emily knew how much Autumn had been hoping he’d call, even though Autumn had said very little about Jeff to Emily.
Though her heart had begun to pound—as it had each time the telephone had rung during the past week, to Autumn’s disgust—she tried to sound as if she didn’t really care that Jeff might be the caller. “Could be. Excuse me, Emily.”