Page 11 of Must Be Love - Irresistible Bachelors

I love this tradition. It gives us a chance to unwind after our crazy day at the convention. It gives us a chance to talk. And it gives us a chance to pretend we can afford dinners like this regularly.

Now that Merhalle pays for the dinner, we can eat more than just a fancy salad. Tonight, I order a steak that costs almost as much as my phone bill, and Nicole goes for a chicken dish I can’t even pronounce.

“Any appetizers to get you started?” the waiter asks.

He’s dressed in a tailored suit with a white cloth over his arm, leftover from when he presented the wine to us.

“Chickpea fries?” I suggest.

Nicole nods, so we add them to our order. That’s on top of the freshly baked French bread that’s already on our table. It’s a good thing we worked up an appetite at the convention today.

After the waiter leaves to put in our order, Nicole sets her sights on me.

“So, how are you feeling?” she asks.

“What are you talking about?”

Nicole nods at the cooler by my feet. I had hoped we could pretend it wasn’t there.

“We’ve already discussed this,” I protest.

“But we were surrounded by people then, and I couldn’t properly celebrate. You’ve basically got a standing date with the hot doctor!”

“We agreed that it’s not a date, remember?”

She takes a sip of her wine. “Whatever. I’ve changed my mind. You need to get on that ASAP. What if he doesn’t wait for you?”

“Wait for me? Come on, Nicole, we just met today.”

Even as I say it, the words feel hollow. We met today, but we had an instant connection. I want him to wait for me. I can’t ask him to do that, though. Not when we barely know each other, and he’s my doctor.

“I’m just saying, it’s kind of weird that he gave you the AWJQ-whatever after Briana was freaking out that it was a bad idea.”

“AJB-9, and I’m telling you, he probably saw something in my skin and realized I needed it. He was being a doctor, that’s all.”

“Whatever you say.”

“It’s scientific research. Just like what Merhalle does with all of their products.”

“Merhalle doesn’t give products to random strangers who show up at their booth at a convention, though.”

“I see your point, but I’m telling you – it was just me being in the right place at the right time. It was an accident that I even saw the product. That’s it.”

Our appetizer arrives, so Nicole is forced to drop the subject. I blow out a breath of relief. She’s my best friend, but Nicole can beat things to death sometimes. She never knows when to stop.

“How’s Josh?” I ask after we’ve each had a couple of the chickpea fries. They’re a bit drier than I like, but the aioli dipping sauce helps.

Nicole’s face lights up as it always does when we talk about her boyfriend. They’ve been together for four years now. She met him in class when we were in college. It’s funny because they actually hated each other at first. Then they got paired together for a presentation and fell in love. I’ll tell the whole story at their wedding…if Josh ever grows a pair and pops the question. They’ve been living together for almost two years now! I can’t believe he has held out this long.

“He’s great,” Nicole says. “Busy with work but still great.”

Josh works at a hospital while he attends medical school. I don’t know how they ever see each other, with his crazy hours and her constant traveling for work. Nicole and I go where sales and marketing is needed, so we’re on the road at least once a month. At least this time, our convention was local, so it meant we didn’t have to travel far. I love getting to see new places, but so much travel is exhausting.

“Still no proposal?”

Nicole laughs. “I told you, I’m not in a rush.”

“Come on, Nic. We both know it’s coming.”

She blushes. “I think you’re right. He’s been kind of cagey lately. I hope that means he’s getting ready to propose, not that he’s planning on breaking up with me.”

“Please. Josh would be lost without you.”

“That’s true. He ‘lost’ his stethoscope the other day. I found it in his backpack, where it always is.”

“All the more reason to make it official. You should be getting a doctorate, too, for all the work you’ve put into making sure he survives.”

“Isn’t that the truth!” she exclaims. “I wonder if they give honorary doctorates to spouses. I should petition the school.”

“I’ll sign your petition. You’ve done almost as much as he has.”

“Except I’ve only done the easy stuff. I’ve seen some of his work, and I wouldn’t know the first thing about it. I’m not a science person.”

That’s one of many things Nicole and I have in common. We’re creative and have great business sense, but we wouldn’t last in a chemistry class. I barely passed it in high school, let alone at a college level.

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