Page 9 of Silver Fox's Twin Surprise

"That's a catchy nickname. Dr. Foxy…" Kiki laughed and fanned herself. "He's hot though, right? Every single lady here knows it.And girl, have you seen him without a shirt?" Her hand swept up and down past her face as if she were on a beach sweating. If anyone could give me a better read on what Cole Hastings was really like, it was the people he worked with. But getting information out of them would be tricky if I didn't want to let on that something was brewing between us.

"I can't say that I have," I told them, lying. That man was chiseled more perfectly than Zeus, and just thinking of his sweat-slicked body made me feel a few degrees warmer.

"Well, don’t get your hopes up," another nurse said. Her nametag readJenn, and I turned my attention on her. "He's a grump, won't even flirt a little. Too professional." Jenn was a bit older than me, but she had a ring on her finger. What was she even doing flirting with a single man when she was married? No wonder Dr. Hastings wouldn’t flirt with her.

"Oh, Jenn, you know that's not true." Kiki shook her head and looked back at me, leaning in as if she were going to share a dirty secret or something. I hated this. I wanted to know where he was, not all the gossip. This was why friendships with coworkers were just not a good idea. "He's just mourning."

My eyebrows rose and I said, "What?"

"Yeah, his wife died in a bad car accident a few years back and he's never been the same. We like to flirt with him and stuff, but I think he's just heartbroken. No woman has ever gotten him to open up. Not likely to happen until he's ready to move on. He hasn't dated anyone that I know of since it happened. But hey, we can enjoy the eye candy, if you know what I mean." Kiki winked at me, and I had to force a smile.

Of all the information I could have discovered this morning about Cole Hastings, this wasn't even on my radar. "I know what you mean," I told her absently, but I backed away with the new revelation in mind. Learning that Dr. Hastings' wife was dead helped answer a lot of questions I had.

It made sense now why he was that good-looking but still single. Why a wealthy, handsome doctor hadn't settled down well into his forties. Because he had. He'd been married and now he was a widower, and if what Kiki said was true, I was the one helping break that curse. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing because if he was still mourning, I might have to compete with the memory of his dead wife. It didn’t put me off the idea of going to dinner, but it did help me see what I was getting into more clearly.

I used a computer to sign into my shift and looked over my first few patients' charts and what I had to do, but the entire time, I was thinking of dinner with Dr. Silver Fox. Kiki said he hadn't opened up to anyone and I wondered what that meant. He probably had walls so high around his heart, it was impossible to get to the real him, but if anyone could help him lower those walls, I knew I could.

And the fact that he had asked me to dinner—on a date—meant he was probably feeling ready to move on. It was a good sign but one I wasn’t going to put too much stock in until we actually went to dinner. I was really glad I spoke to the nurses this morning. I felt like it prepared me more for what was to come, and that made me even more eager to find out when and where he'd want to eat dinner.

Dr. Cole Hastings, the silver fox of Twin Peaks, was a mystery I couldn’t wait to solve.

9

COLE

Rose looked stunning in the simple black gown she wore. She had her hair tied up into a knot on her head and she wore light makeup. I opened the passenger car door, and she got in and buckled herself in as I shut it after her. I was a bundle of nerves. Dating was easy when I was eighteen or twenty years old. Now in my forties, I felt like I'd been out of the game for so long I didn't know what I was doing.

I had agonized all week about where to take her. When we exchanged numbers on Monday afternoon, she mentioned that her favorite food was Italian, but I knew pasta was a bit messy and I didn't want her to feel awkward eating and wiping her mouth every few minutes. I ended up choosing an Italian place anyway, though, and now, Friday night, I was here picking her up.

I climbed into the driver's seat, feeling out of place, and started the car. She sat quietly with her clutch on her lap. Her fingers tapped her knees and the radio hummed in the background. I didn't know how I'd gone from a suave, charming man to thisawkward bundle of energy, but I had. I didn't even know how to break the ice.

So she did it.

"You look nice tonight." Rose's compliment made me feel like a buffoon. Of course I thought she looked gorgeous, so why hadn't I said that?

"Uh, thank you… I wasn't sure what to wear. It's been a long time since…" I felt foolish for even thinking of Kate or my past, or dating.

"It's okay. I think you picked a nice suit." Rose's warm smile put me at ease, and I appreciated how she was trying to make me feel comfortable. As a woman in her late twenties, she probably went on dates all the time. This stuff was simple for her, and I was struggling.

"You look nice too, Rose, and I'm sorry if I seem out of place or uncomfortable." Bringing up my dead wife on the first date didn’t seem like good etiquette, so I said nothing, but I felt the weight of it. It was like Kate's ghost was hovering tonight and I didn't know if that was good or bad, if I should be doing this, or if she'd be upset by it.

"It's okay." Rose reached over and patted my knee. "Kiki told me…"

I glanced at her, and the knowing smile she had brought a tinge of sadness. Everyone at work knew about what happened with Kate. They'd all seen me fall apart and attempt to put myself back together. It was inevitable that someone would tell Rose anyway, so I couldn’t be upset about that. I just wished I got to control that narrative.

But like everything else in life, I had control over very little. She would eventually find out about the surgery screw up and what I was going through with the board, and when she did that, it might taint her view of me, so for now, I just wanted to put anything negative aside and enjoy the night.

"If it's alright, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Totally fine. I'm here for the food, anyway," she joked and I smiled.

We fell into a natural banter about the Italian restaurant, and given she had only moved to Denver a few weeks ago, I felt good about being able to introduce her to something I knew she'd love.

We pulled into the parking lot about a quarter past seven and parked. I opened her door, and she got out and put her arm around mine. I led her inside with her fingers wrapped around my bicep, and I felt more comfortable already.

The host showed us to a private table near the back of the room and we settled in. I ordered spaghetti and Rose ordered lasagna, and we enjoyed the free breadsticks while we waited for our food.

"So, tell me a little more about yourself. Where do you see yourself in five years?" It'd been so long since I had a relationship with a woman, I didn't know where to start, but compatibility seemed like a smart step. If we had wildly different futures in mind, it wouldn't be smart to continue pursuing something no matter how gorgeous I thought she was.

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