Playing Doctor

Chapter Five

His gaze fell to my lips and then returned to my eyes. When he spoke, his voice sounded husky, like pure sex. "You know what I'd like to do?"

My heart beat in my throat. I shouldn't ask. I shouldn't ask.

But I couldn't help myself. "What do you-"

My phone vibrated. It startled me, and I was so flustered by the doctor's effect on me, that I answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Daphne, I need you to be reasonable."

With a glare at the doctor for distracting me into taking the call, I turned my back to deal with Kevin. "How am I not being reasonable?"

"I just need some of your notes for the upcoming conference."

"Do you?" I asked with false calm. I glanced over my shoulder at the guy. He still stood there, arms crossed and looking entirely too fascinated.

"Yes. There are some discrepancies in the data. A few gaps I need to clear up and I need your notes for comparison."

I knew there were gaps. I'd deliberately withheld a few essential pieces of information. "Do you really think I'll help you after what you did?"

"Isn't that selfish? Withholding information that could help millions of children with diabetes?"

He played the one card that would strike a chord. The guilt felt sharp, but there was absolutely no way I would help him and Jenny with their presentation. The thought of watching Jenny make doe eyes at him made my stomach twist. I didn't want Kevin to have the data, but it didn't mean I was going to bury it. I just hadn't decided what I was going to do yet. He didn't know me if he thought I was going to keep it to myself.

But I supposed that was the underlying problem: he didn't really know me. And he hadn't cared enough to get to know me.

I shook my head even though he couldn't see it. "Sorry, Kevin. I can't help you."

"You can't or you won't?" he asked in his chilly professorial voice.

"Take your pick."

"Daphne, for once in your life will you act like a normal person-"

"I am normal," I hissed. "You hardly have the right to judge me." I felt the doctor's gaze on me and mentally winced. "I've got to go."

"Daphne-"

I hung up, taking satisfaction in cutting him off. Dropping the phone back into my purse, I turned around to deal with the immediate problem facing. "Look-"

"I find myself intrigued," he said, studying me.

Great. Just what I needed-another egomaniac brilliant doctor plaguing my life. I decided the best way to extricate myself from him was to just leave. "I have to go."

"Why?"

"Because I have to feed my rats." Kevin had always been repulsed when I brought the mice home. It was the perfect turn-off.

His lips twitched. "You have rats?"

"Five of them," I lied.

"Five rats, huh?" He crossed his arms and gazed steadily at me.

"Dopey, Sleepy, Happy-" The other dwarves' names didn't come to mind, so I improvised. "Fluffy and, er, Mena."

"You have a rat named Mena?"

Glad my sister wasn't around to hear this conversation, I shrugged. "I liked the name."

"I'm somewhat partial to Fluffy myself."

"I am too, which is why I have to go." I tried to look worried. "Fluffy's been under the weather and she didn't eat this morning. I need to check on her."

"Well, I don't want to keep you from your Fluffy." But he didn't step aside.

So I stepped around, careful not to come in contact with any part of him.

Only he followed me out the café. "Maybe the next time we run into each other you can show me a picture of your rats."

I froze mid-step and turned to frown at him. "We aren't running into each other again."

"That depends entirely on fate, now, doesn't it, darling?" He grinned and leaned closer to me. For a panicked moment, I was afraid he was going to kiss me but then he just brushed by me and walked down the sidewalk.

As I watched him go, I told myself that what I was feeling was definitely not disappointment.

And there really were no sparks. None at all.