Page 58 of Anatomy of a Meet Cute
“Whose side are you on?”
“The hospital’s side. But you are so obstinate that I think you are staying mad right now just to prove a point.” This time, Grant didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was laughing at her. In fact, Sam was pretty sure he would have stayed in the room slapping his knee if the first client hadn’t walked through the door. Giving Sam a long look, he said, “Are you free tonight after the program wraps up?”
“I would’ve been, but if you are gonna pitch me on the merits of Dr.Franklin—”
Grant shook his head, causing Sam to cut her burgeoning rant short. “I won’t do that, I promise. I have a surprise for you. And if you hate it, you can yell at me the whole car ride home about how much I’m not on your side.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“Just humor me. I think it will cheer you up. Okay?”
“Okay,” Sam said, and Grant smiled that same bright, genuine smile that sent shivers down her spine and made her heartbeat a little too fast.
“See you in a couple hours,” he said, turning as one of his patients walked into the room.
Sam watched him walk away and felt herself relax as her own patients started to come in. Whatever else was happening could wait. She had a program to launch and a dream to fulfill.
Chapter Sixteen
Sam closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin outside the hospital as she waited for Grant. One of the upsides of SF Central was that it was located in one of the city’s sunny microclimates. While places like the Richmond got twelve hours of fog a day, here in Mission Bay, there was actually sunshine, and days like today when her shift ended by five o’clock, she could even enjoy a little of it before the fog rolled in.
“Ready?” Grant’s voice called from behind, drawing her out of her reverie.
“What are we doing?” Sam asked. She didn’t turn to look at him, eager to let a few more rays of vitamin D hit her face.
“That is still a surprise. But we have to get in my car to get there.” Grant’s voice had pulled even with her now, so she opened her eyes to find him watching her upturned face with curiosity.
“Just enjoying the absence of the fog,” Sam said, answering the unasked question on his face.
“You mean Karl,” Grant said, readjusting the strap on his bag.
Keeping pace as Grant moved toward the parking lot, Sam pushed her regret about leaving the sun aside to ask, “Who is Karl?”
“Karl Fog Monster,” Grant said, his face completely serious.
“You named the fog?”
“No, someone else named it,” Grant said, grinning like the story of Karl Fog Monster was his favorite. “I don’t think it had a name when I was little. And old San Franciscans get cranky when you call it Karl, but honestly, Karl Fog Monster is a perfect name.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Not at all. There was even a story on NPR about it,” Grant said, shifting his bag to the other shoulder as they approached the car. “What, you didn’t name the weather in Ohio?”
“Absolutely not.Oppressive humidityandcrushing chillwork just fine, thank you very much,” Sam laughed as she settled into the passenger seat.
“Well, that’s too bad for you, because Karl has come to feel like my friend. Sure, he’s cold and kind of unpleasant, but he’s always there for you.” Grant smiled over his shoulder at her as he buckled his seat belt, then pushed the ignition.
“I’ll have to let my friends back home know that naming the next blizzard will help.” Sam shook her head playfully as she buckled her own belt. “So can you tell me where we are going now?”
“Kind of. It’s located in the Mission.”
“Are we getting ice cream again? You want to try the avocado flavor, don’t you?” If ice cream was Grant’s surprise, Sam had about fifteen places closer that she could direct him to.
“No. I mean, yes, ice cream is involved, but I can’t tell you the rest.”
“You can’t tell me the rest?” Sam eyed him with suspicion.
Meeting her eyes briefly, Grant said, “Just trust me. This won’t be murdery or anything.”
