Page 17 of Moonshot

“Me too. It’ll be fun. Are you meeting us there or did you want to ride with Allison and me after work?”

“No, I’ll meet you. I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me this morning. But my last patient is at 3:00 so I’ll have plenty of time.” Walking toward exam room three, I take a deep breath and collect myself before knocking on the door. “Hi, Mr. Brown. It’s nice to see you.”

The day has continued to move at a fever’s pitch, running from one patient to another as if I’m running the bases, desperately trying to slide into home. Home would be 4:30 p.m. Quitting time. Today’s typical of any day when Dr. Stark’s scheduled in the OR. It’s as if he has Joanie double-book my patients to include his. But I’ve tried to remain focused on the evening in front of me. I’m not letting Joseph Stark or any other man get in the way of my having a carefree girls’ night.

“Ava, could you come here a moment?” Dr. Stark calls from down the hall.

What? It’s 4:20.I was so close to making a clean getaway. I briskly walk to his office, hoping I can take care of whatever this is and head out so I have time to get home and change before heading to the ballpark.

“I wanted to introduce you to Dr. Lee. He’s a hand specialist at Mary Immaculate but is generous enough to come to St. Luke’s to offer his services when Dr. Morgan’s out, or there’s a case that’d benefit from his expertise.” Dr. Stark rattles off this information as if Dr. Lee’s about to begin a lecture. I reach out my hand, hoping to make this short and sweet until my blue eyes meet his.Holy shit. This is the guy from-

“Yoga girl.”

“What?” I ask, stunned momentarily. This is obviously the surgeon from earlier today.

“I think you may have been in a yoga class I attended recently,” he adds. There’s a sauciness about his greeting. His voice is deep and rich, and there’s the hint of a dimple in his left cheek. Everything about this man screams player.

“Oh. Yes. I think you’re right.” I notice an odd expression on Dr. Stark’s face and decide to make a quick exit, so he doesn’t have to worry that this sexy surgeon will be an issue for me. “It was nice meeting you, Dr. Lee. I’m heading out, Dr. Stark. I’ll see you in the morning.” With this, I turn and exit before he has a chance to interrupt. His behavior tends to be a little better in front of strangers, so I’m hoping I can use this to my advantage.

Grabbing my things, I dart for the door. “Bye, Joanie. Meet you guys at the gate at 6:00.”

“We’ll see you there, dear.”

Mick

Heading to the reception area, I shake my head. I don’t know what to make of this. Ava seemed genuinely excited to see me. Could she have been telling the truth about missing me? God, I really like this girl. But seeing her with Dr. Dick in the courtyard fucking hurt. I have no right to be possessive. We’ve had one date. She honestly doesn’t seem to be the type to string a guy along, but neither did Paula. Obviously, my radar on such things is not finely tuned.

Before I can think better of it, I stop at the desk and ask Joanie if she can give Ava my business card since we were interrupted.

“Did no one sign your form Michael?”

“No, Dr. Stark signed for me,” I answer hesitantly, unsure how to explain why I’m leaving the card for her. Quickly jotting my personal cell number on the back, I hand it to the inquisitive receptionist. “In case she has something come up in the future and needs to reschedule.” I smile, more at thinking quickly on my feet than for being polite. I feel good about this recovery until I watch Joanie flip the card over and notice a smirk on her face as she looks back up at me.Busted.

“Got it. I’ll make sure she gets it, Michael,” she adds with a teasing wink.

* * *

“Michael, it’s good to see you,” Luigi greets as I walk toward the bar.

Shaking his outstretched hand, I take a seat. “I ordered takeout on the way here. I’m sure it’s not ready yet. It’s good to see you too. How’ve you been?”

“Good. Business is very good.”

“Oh, I wanted to thank you again for the donation of the dinner for two for the little league fundraiser. It was very generous of you.”

“I was happy to do it. I think it’s great what you are doing for those kids. Was it successful?”

“The fundraiser? Yes. I got my sister, Emmaleigh, and my mom to make gift baskets we raffled off. They all did better than expected. I think the one with your dinner and the Flying Squirrels giveaway earned us the most money. At least I can get the boys matching hats and some much-needed equipment.”

A server dressed in a starched white shirt and black vest brings a to-go bag to the bar that smells heavenly. It’ll be a chore not tearing into the veal piccata before I get home.

“Looks like your food is ready,” Luigi says, inspecting the ticket. “Here you go. Enjoy.”

“Thank you. I will.”

“You know what would go well with that?” Luigi interrupts as I’m pulling my credit card out of my wallet.

“A good red?”

---