Moonlight Over Manhattan(53)

“That was the one where you climbed out the window.”

“That’s right.”

He reached for her empty mug and stood up. “My sister is back on Monday, and I’m working over the weekend, which means Friday is our last night together.”

He made it sound as if their living arrangements weren’t simply for the convenience of the dog.

“Oh.” There was no reasonable explanation for the disappointment that thudded through her. None at all. She should be pleased to be able to get her life back to normal. “I’m pleased your niece is well enough to travel.”

“I’m taking you out to dinner.”

Dinner? Her heart sped forward and her stomach felt fluttery. Had that just happened? Had she misheard? No. Definitely not. He’d asked her to dinner.

So it wasn’t just her who was feeling the chemistry. He was too.

She couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d actually asked her out. On a date. A proper date. Not one randomly assigned by some app.

A man she really liked, who liked her back and wanted to spend time with her.

She had a feeling that a date with him would be unlike any of her other dates. No sitting across from him trying to haul up her sinking heart while she pinned a fake smile on her face and tried to pretend she was interested in a monologue.

Ethan was a great listener. And she felt relaxed with him.

It promised to be an amazing evening. Possibly the first truly excellent first date of her life.

“Thanks,” she croaked. “I’d like that.”

He smiled. “It’s the least I can do after you moved in here to help.”

She went from elation to disappointment in less time than it took Madi to devour a dog treat. So it wasn’t a proper date.

It was a thank-you.

Why was she such a ridiculous optimist? She needed to keep hope locked in a cupboard somewhere instead of letting it soar uncontrolled into the stratosphere.

In the meantime, she needed to hope that all her fantasies hadn’t played out across her face.

“You’re paying me for that. Big-time.”

“I know, but you and I both know it’s not about the money.” He slid the mugs into the dishwasher. “We are going to dinner, and you are going to relax and talk and build your confidence. And if you stammer, who cares?”

She would care. She would care a great deal.

“So what you’re suggesting is a kind of dating master class.” Not even a thank-you. It was more of a training session. Great. It was becoming harder and harder to keep the smile on her face.

“If you want to call it that. You helped me out. I want to help you out.”

Hope shriveled and died, probably never to be resurrected.

The chemistry she’d imagined had been on her side alone. It wasn’t that he was overwhelmed by the sight of her in her butterfly pajamas. It wasn’t that he wanted to rip them off and have wild sex with her on every available surface. She wasn’t that sort of woman. No, she was the sort of woman men wanted to help. Not the sort they wanted to help themselves to.

Ethan was a doctor. He wanted to fix her.

Her confidence deflated like a giant balloon.

“I don’t need training,” she said, “because I’m not going on any more dates for a while.”

“But you never know when you might need those skills. And I’d like to buy you dinner. As a thank-you.”

A thank-you. She would have rather he’d sent her a card.

“I don’t need thanks.”

“I’m working tomorrow, so it will have to be Friday.”

“We can’t leave Madi.”

“There’s a great Italian place a block away. We’ll be gone for two hours. Three at most.”

Three hours. Three hours of sitting across from Ethan, knowing he was doing her a favor.

It sounded like a nightmare to her.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


“SO HOW IS your live-in relationship?”

“It’s good.” Harriet wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she tugged Madi’s leash to coax her to lift her nose out of the snowdrift. They’d done this same walk every day for a week and both of them knew every inch of it. “She’s settled down and behaving herself. She felt insecure, that’s all.” And she had sympathy with that.

Fliss laughed. “I wasn’t asking about the dog. I was asking about the man.”

“The man? What does he have to do with anything? I’m here because I’m dog sitting.”

“Yes, but the owner is there with you. It’s a unique situation and one which I’m hoping you will exploit.”

“For me, it’s all about the dog.”

“Sadly, I believe you. So how is Doctor Hot-but-Disapproving?”

Harriet thought about the time she’d spent with Ethan. The way he listened and paid attention. “He’s not really disapproving.”

“So now he’s just hot? Interesting.”

Harriet shook her head in exasperation, but she was smiling too. She realized how much she missed talking to her sister. Not even about the big things, but the small things too. How pretty Manhattan looked in the snow. How Madi had learned to sit without moving while Harriet was preparing her dinner. How she’d found the best Christmas present for Daniel—