Hot Docs On Call: Surgeon's Seduction. Carol Marinelli
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tomorrow,” Sam said with finality.
“Fine. So where will this jaunt take us?”
“Have you seen all the touristy sights yet?”
“No. I haven’t had time.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine a.m. sharp and we’ll see all the sights of New York City.”
“What? It’s the middle of winter. It’s cold out there.”
Sam chuckled and headed toward the lab door. “I won’t take no for an answer. You can dress in layers to fend off the cold, like any good New Yorker would do. Besides, it’s time to get you got acclimatized to the cold weather if you aim to remain in New York.”
Mindy scowled. “What if I don’t come downstairs at nine a.m.?”
“Then you’ll leave me standing in the cold in front of your apartment, shouting your name.”
Mindy gasped. “You wouldn’t do that.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, wouldn’t I?”
“I wouldn’t hear you high up in my penthouse.”
“I don’t care. I’ll still do it.”
“Fine,” Mindy agreed grudgingly. “I’ll dress in layers, but you’d better take me to all the really famous landmarks. Not the landmarks a native New Yorker thinks are famous. Like some weird house or building that was in some obscure movie in the eighties.”
He laughed. “Agreed. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Mindy’s heart skipped a beat as he left the simulation lab, whistling something. What had she just done? This was not keeping her distance. This was the opposite.
She tried to tell herself that they were just friends. That this outing would be innocent. Nothing had to happen. Nothing needed to be said. They were just friends.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
I HOPE HE’S not down there, shouting.
Mindy was running late, though only by about five minutes. Still, she darted from the elevator and past the doorman out onto the street. She was terrified that Sam was going to make good on his promise and begin to shout her name.
When she rushed outside he was standing in front of her building, his hands deep in a black peacoat, looking up toward the sky. Then he looked at her and grinned, that cocky, devilish smile that made her weak in the knees.
“I thought you’d be out here, screaming my name,” Mindy said as she walked over to him.
“Well, I was contemplating it but I remembered that your place is a penthouse and that’s a bloody tall building.”
Mindy chuckled. “It’s the best.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You really think so? I prefer the brownstone myself. That’s why I live in one.”
“I thought you lived in an apartment with a bunch of other residents?”
“Aye, but the flats are in a brownstone. It’s kind of just a bedroom really. Though one of my roommates moved in with her boyfriend recently.”
“You live with girls. Why does that not surprise me?” she teased.
“There is one other man in the house.”
“Sure, sure.”
“There is. I don’t know why you don’t believe me. What have I got to hide?”
“A harem.”
Sam snorted. “Oh, aye, a harem of surgical residents.”
Mindy rolled her eyes and then laughed. “So, what do you have planned for us today since you were so insistent that I spend my day off touring New York City in the freezing cold temperatures.”
“This isn’t cold.”
“It is when you’re from California.”
“Aye, well. Yes, I guess so.”
“How do the Scots keep warm? Especially when wearing kilts?”
Sam groaned. “I’m not wearing a kilt. Why are you bringing up kilts now?”
“Because you’re making fun of the fact that I’m from California and I hate the cold.”
“I had porridge this morning.”
Mindy wrinkled his nose. “Ugh.”
“It keeps you warm. It’s hearty.”
“No, thanks,” Mindy said.
“You need to toughen up, Mindy.” Then he slipped his arm through hers. “And we’ll start by dragging you out on a ferry to visit one of my favorite ladies.”
“You told me that we were going to see traditional tourist attractions. I don’t want to visit one of your girlfriends on some obscure island.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “I was talking about the Statue of Liberty, you daft hen.”
She glared at him.
“What’s that look for?” he asked.
“For calling me a daft hen!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay.”
Sam chuckled as they walked toward the subway station. “You were a wee bit jealous when you thought I was going to drag you to meet a girlfriend.”
“Hardly.”
“Aye, you were.” His eyes were twinkling. “Admit it.”
“I’m not going to admit to anything and you can’t make me. So how are we going to get to the Statue of Liberty?” she asked, changing the subject of jealously and girlfriends, because he was right, the thought of him with another woman drove her a bit bonkers. It made her see green, though it shouldn’t. She didn’t have a claim on him.
“We’re going to take the Number One train down to the South Ferry Station.”
Mindy dug in her heels. “We’re taking the subway?”
“What’re you worrying about? There’s nothing wrong with taking the subway.”
“I’ve never taken public transportation before.”
“Never?”
She shook her head. “In Los Angeles it wasn’t safe.”
“Well, it would take you all day in this kind of traffic to get down to the South Ferry Station and even then it would be almost impossible and probably expensive to find parking. I also don’t have a car. Do you?”
“No. I’ve been meaning to go and look…”
Sam tsked under his breath. “Trust me. Don’t waste your money. If you want to leave the city for some reason, rent a car. Trust me, the subway train will not bite you.”
He took her gloved hand and squeezed it. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
“I have no choice.”
Sam laughed. “Aye, that’s true. Come on. I swear it will be fun.”
Mindy let him lead her down the steps of the Eighty-Sixth Street Station into the underground of New York City. The first thing she noticed was that it was warm but the air was dank and smelled stale. She wrinkled her nose but followed him through the turnstiles as he paid their fare and he led her to the platform.
She