“Thirteen. And a half. Aunt Bea interrupted me the third time I saw it.”
“With a phone call?”
“No. Blackberry cobbler.” She glanced at her shoes, smiling a little. “I can’t resist it, and she doesn’t allow food in the living room.”
“Neither does my mother.” He picked up his coat and exited the row, then waved for her to go ahead of him. When she passed, he detected the scent of “clean laundry.” An actual scent—he’d seen the words on the detergent bottle in the laundry room growing up. How such a utilitarian fragrance smelled almost irresistible on Olivia, he had no clue.
They walked up the aisle and out of the theater door. He tossed the popcorn bucket in the nearby trash can as she started to slip on her black coat. Partly out of good manners and mostly out of the unexpected need to be closer to her, he said, “Allow me.”
She nodded and he took her coat. When she turned around, he noticed her outfit—a dark-green sweater with a collared white shirt underneath, a black skirt that hit below her knee, black tights, and flat black shoes. If she had a pair of glasses, she would be the picture of librarian chic.
“Thanks,” she said, putting her arms into the sleeves.
“No problem.” He draped the coat over her shoulders, catching that scent again. Her scent.
What is the matter with me?
Olivia turned and faced him, having to look up because of her short height. He figured he was about a foot and a few inches taller than her. The last girl he’d dated, eons ago, had been closer to his height, making it easier to kiss her. Wait, had he kissed her? He literally couldn’t remember. But now that he was thinking about kissing—
“I guess I’ll see you around,” she said. “At Anita’s wedding for sure, right?”
Right. His sister’s wedding. His other sister, Paisley, had gotten married last year to her lawyer husband, Ryan. He was a good guy, as was Tanner, Anita’s fiancé.
Wait a minute; the wedding was in August, wasn’t it? Hopefully Janine, his admin, had put it on his calendar. “Are you a bridesmaid?”
“Maid of honor.” A touch of pride shone in her dark-brown eyes. “Lonzo is the best man.”
“Yes.” It was coming back to him now. In addition to Tanner’s younger brother, he, Hayden, and Ryan were the other groomsmen. Riley, Hayden’s wife, and Harper, one of Anita’s good friends, were the other bridesmaids, along with Paisley. “I guess we’ll see each other at the rehearsal dinner.” Eight months away.
She nodded, and the lights started dimming in the lobby. He glanced at the empty popcorn machine and glass candy case. Apparently, the old man running this place was in a hurry to get home. He opened the door for Olivia, and she walked out in front of him. “Where did you park?” he asked.
“There.”
She pointed to the first car in the parking lot, approximately twelve steps away from the front door, give or take a few. That was disappointing. He’d parked his Audi in his usual spot, at the back of the gravel lot that sat adjacent to a large field. At one time the Sunset had also had a drive-in screen, but that had been torn down sometime in the late eighties, according to his father. He hadn’t needed to park so far because he’d been early for once, but old habits died hard.
“See you later.” Olivia waved and started for her car.
He moved to wave back. He would head for his car as well and drive to the condo he’d rented four years ago in Malvern. He’d intended to live there for only six months and then buy something permanent. The location was convenient—between his Hot Springs and Malvern clinics—and not too much of a drive to the Garland County Department of Health, where he volunteered every other month. But time had gotten away from him, and he was still living in his rental. And like his mother constantly, constantly reminded him now that she had one daughter hitched and another engaged, thus leaving him the only target for her matrimonial pestering, if something didn’t change, he’d live there for the rest of his life. Alone.
“Alone, Kingston. Utterly alone.” Mother had pointed out that depressing fact to him yesterday afternoon at his parents’ monthly Sunday brunch. Being in his thirties and utterly alone was a little disheartening now that he thought about it. Usually he was too busy to think about anything related to his personal life.
As he watched Olivia walk away, a cute bundle of black heading to her small vehicle, he didn’t wave. He didn’t head for his car either. Eight months. That was a long time to wait to see her again. They used to attend the same church, but he’d started watching an online pastor on the Sunday mornings he wasn’t working, so he hadn’t been to Amazing Grace in a while. And with his schedule, he couldn’t count on bumping into her here next month.
“Hey.” He sounded like a frog with a pack-a-day smoking habit. He cleared his throat. “Olivia.”
She turned around. The lone lamp in the parking lot highlighted her surprised expression. “Yes?”
He moved to stand in front of her, and his words disappeared. That had never happened to him before. He was nuts. Had to be. Or his mother had gotten under his skin, something that was happening more often lately. Or he was dealing with the lingering aftereffects of a good romance movie—one he’d enjoyed once he started paying attention to it.
“Is something wrong?” Olivia asked.
Her soft voice brought him back to reality. He couldn’t stand there much longer in silence, not unless he wanted her to think he was off his rocker.
I probably am.
What was the worst she could say? No? It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard that word a million times before, especially when dealing with some of his more precocious and, let’s face it, spoiled patients.
But he’d never been turned down by a woman before. Ever. And for some reason, he knew if Olivia turned him down, it would bother him. A lot. “Would you like to go out?”
Her eyes widened. “Out?”
“Yeah. Like to . . .” Uh-oh. He hadn’t thought that far. Where could they go? Coffee. That would work. “There’s a coffee shop a couple miles from here. We can get a cup and catch up.”
“I don’t drink coffee.”
Oh. He probably should have known that. But then again, how would he? He didn’t know that much about her, which was surprising since she was Anita’s closest friend. But he hadn’t been that close to Anita lately either.
She looked at her watch. “And it’s past nine p.m. I’m always home by nine thirty on Mondays.”
Ouch. He should have just driven home to his empty condo. That would have been less painful. Nothing like getting rejected by a childhood acquaintance, even if it was just an invite for coffee. “Yeah,” he said, backing away and forcing a smile. “It’s pretty late.” He gave her a half wave before turning to leave. “See ya.”
She nodded and turned toward her car again as he headed for his. He’d taken half a step when he heard her say his name. He stopped and whirled around.
“I . . .” She tugged on one of her coat cuffs. “I suppose I can stay out a little later tonight.”
He grinned. She sounded like a teenager on a curfew. Oddly enough, he was feeling a little like a kid himself right now. “Hang on. I’ll pick you up.” He started to turn.