“So you’re a movie star?”
“Hardly.”
“I bet you had fan mail.”
He cracked open one eye. “What makes you think that?”
“Because people are naturally drawn to doctors. They work on the assumption that you’re caring and a bit special. That’s before they get to know you, of course.”
“Kick a man when he’s down.”
“I will.”
He gave her a sardonic look. “You don’t seem to be particularly drawn to doctors.”
“I could be. There’s a kind of built-in attraction. The word Doctor says good guy. Caring. Able to save your life if you jump from a window and fall in the Dumpster.”
“So why aren’t you drawn to me?”
She was. She really was, although she suspected that had nothing to do with the fact that he was a doctor. “Because you’re irritable, shouty, and you think you know it all.”
“Shouty? Is that even a word?”
“It is in my world.”
“I shouted at you once.”
“But it was loud.”
“You’re never going to forgive me for that one?”
“I’ve forgiven you, but we were talking about attraction. I would never date someone who makes me stammer.”
“That happened in the first five minutes of meeting you. I should get a free pass. And you’re not stammering now.”
“That’s because you’re weakened and not a threat to me.”
“What happens when I’m fully recovered?”
“By then Debra will be back and we can both go back to our normal lives.”
He frowned slightly, as if he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “So you’re saying you’re not at all attracted to me?”
“Not at all,” she lied. “Not even a tiny bit. You were telling me about your wife.”
“We dated for eighteen months and were married for six. Then we both woke up one day and agreed it wasn’t working. By that time we were little more than roommates. She was dedicated to her work, and I was dedicated to mine. There was no room for anything else in our lives.”
Harriet felt something tug inside her. “That’s sad.”
“Do I look sad?”
“No. And that’s what makes it even sadder.”
“Not everyone needs a long-term relationship.”
“You have plenty of long-term relationships. You love your sister. You obviously love your niece. You’re close to your parents. You have lifelong friends you still see. Those are long-term relationships.” What she didn’t say was that he had more long-term relationships than she did, although she’d gathered a few more lately since Daniel met Molly and Fliss had got back together with Seth.
She wanted one of her own. She wanted to share her life with someone special. Someone who would know her. Someone who liked the way she was and didn’t expect her to put on an act or pretend to be someone different. Was that too much to ask?