A Second Opinion

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

      This is the worst idea I’ve ever had. Nick watched Kate pick up the glass of wine he had poured and walk over to the window. He had driven them back to his apartment. He sensed she didn’t want him at her place. Yet. Kate could be like that. She was particular about her personal space. She would let him into her house when she was ready to let him into her life. 

      He paused. Did he want to be part of her life? He mentally shook his head. All the anguish she had put him through trying to figure out what he had done wrong, and it was over a simple misunderstanding. He was tired of dealing with women’s insecurities.

      He had shown her around his meager one bedroom rental. He watched her move around the room studying the books on his shelf, looking at pictures. Wow she's beautiful. She moved with a grace that he had never seen before. She was his Kate but different. More sure and confident of herself. Much more womanly. He remembered her with sweatpants and pony tail hair. She was wearing an elegant gray dress that skimmed her curves and fell right above her knee. 

      Her auburn hair was styled in waves, it brushed her face when she moved and skimmed across her shoulders. Her mouth was a sexy pink---lush lips that glossed and begged to be kissed. 

      “ I am not criticizing…but this looks a lot like your college dorm room.”

      “That actually sounds a lot like criticizing.” He smirked. “But it is temporary. I haven’t brought all my stuff from New York. I figured I would give it a few months to see if Coupland hospital will work out and then find more permanent housing.”

      Kate eyed him. “What brought you here? Charlotte is a cute town but it’s hardly New York City caliber.”

      You can say that again. He shrugged. “Large city hospitals have their own challenges. I wanted to be in a well-equipped hospital, but one without the hustle of a large volume.  More time to focus on patients.” It was a good, practiced line.

      Kate nodded. “That’s why I came here. It was the perfect place to start a practice. Big enough to have enough volume but not so big that you are constantly too busy for your patients.”

      She sounded so sincere. He started to say something perfunctory then looked at her. I am here with Kate. My Kate. She was the one person he could always talk to. “Kate, I am lying. I am not here because it’s where I want to be. I am here because a year ago, I made a mistake, and a nurse that I was dating ratted me out. The hospital said if I left, they wouldn’t raise a stink with the medical board.”

      She smiled sympathetically. “We all make mistakes Nick. Medicine is an art not a science. People think we’re supposed to be infallible but we’re just human.” 

      He looked at her wistfully.  “But do you expect the person you’re dating to sell you out? To reveal something you tell them in the privacy of your bed?” He was surprised at the hostility in his voice.

      She took a sip of her wine. “Love’s a crap-shoot Nick. Relationships are ticking time bombs and it’s hard to know when you’re accidentally going to press the wrong button.”  He searched her eyes but she was looking a million miles away. Why do I get the feeling this is not about me.

      “There is nothing you can do about the past. You’ll like it here….” She waved her arm “….once you get proper housing.”

      He nodded. She is right. He had a one year probation period but the first few months had gone swimmingly well. Surely, it would work out. “Yeah, it’s probably time I settled down and got a real place.”