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Table of Contents
Falling for Dr. Winters
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Note from Andrea:
About the Author
Falling for Dr. Winters
An Alpine Hospital Romance
Picture Perfect Book 2
Andrea Kate Pearson
Copyright © Andrea Kate Pearson 2022
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then
please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are represented fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
http://andreapearsonbooks.com/freebooks
Chapter One
Sheena frowned, staring at the list on her computer, wanting to make sure it was perfect before she proceeded. This was the first time she’d used this particular program. There had been a lot of bugs to work through to get the list moved from the website for her charity and on to an editable document. It would simplify things in the future, but this first one had been challenging. Admittedly, a lot of the challenges had come from Sheena’s inexperience with computers and web development.
Satisfied with what she saw, Sheena hit a few keys, sending the document to the printer. She leaned back in her chair, stretching, enjoying the resulting pops. She’d been staring at that monitor for the last three hours. Her eyes and body were aching. She couldn’t wait to move on.
Once the printer was finished, Sheena grabbed the sheet, then turned to her bed where supplies were strewn across her quilt. According to what the patient—a woman named Mary—had requested, Sheena would need a lot of these things. She began gathering them, sorting them into a separate pile, initialing the appropriate boxes on the paper as she worked.
Toilet paper. Check.
Canned chili. Check.
Diced tomatoes. Check.
Toothpaste. Check.
These regular grocery items didn’t surprise Sheena—Mary was pretty average, as far as Sheena’s clients were concerned. She had basic needs, and Sheena was happy she could meet them. Halfway through the rest of the list, though, Sheena noticed a problem.
“Country fried chicken and gravy?” she whispered. “That’s a frozen meal.” It hadn’t been in Mary’s original order. Or had it? Maybe Sheena’s memory was off.
The next request, though, definitely wasn’t from Mary.
Heart jumping in her chest, Sheena stepped to the computer and checked what she’d spent hours agonizing over. What had happened? And how? It didn’t take her long to figure it out. She groaned, slumping in her chair and covering her eyes. She’d somehow pasted another patient’s order into Mary’s document before she’d sent it to print. One or two typos she could possibly get away with, but not an entirely separate order. It wouldn’t be professional, and she really needed to look professional.
Normally, she’d fix the error and print off another list, but that had literally been her last sheet of paper. She really couldn’t afford
to buy more. Not until payday, and that wasn’t for another three days.
Sheena’s shoulders began shaking as sobs welled up in her chest. Such a stupid mistake, one someone with more computer experience surely would never have made. She must have pushed an extra key or something when she sent the document to the printer.
A knock came at her door. Sheena didn’t even bother wiping her eyes before calling, “Come in,” her voice quivering.
Joette, her roommate, entered the room. The tall woman took one look at her before rushing to her side.
“Sheena! What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” Sheena wailed. “I don’t know what I did—I must have hit an extra key or something because I ruined Mary’s order. I somehow put someone else’s order on it too.” She dropped her head to her desk.
“Can’t you just print out another list?”
Sheena shook her head, not looking up at her favorite—and only —roommate. “I’m out of paper.”
Joette didn’t respond for several moments. Then, with a smile tinting her voice, she said, “You know, more paper can be had. The store isn’t too far away.”
Sheena burst into a fresh set of tears. “My bank account is completely empty. I don’t even have enough money to buy a pack of gum.” Luckily, she had plenty of food in her kitchen—she’d made sure of that as soon as her previous check from Alpine Hospital had hit the bank. No way was she going hungry when she actually made decent money as an X-ray technician.
Joette pulled Sheena’s rolling chair away from the desk, forcing her friend to look at her. “Why didn’t you tell me things were that bad?”
Sheena wiped her eyes. “Joette. You know exactly what you would have done if I’d said something. You would have run out and bought me reams and reams of paper.” She looked up at her friend. “I can’t always be rescued. I need to be able to do this on my own. What good is it to start a charity if I’m constantly needing charity myself?”
Joette sighed, sitting on the edge of Sheena’s bed, tucking a strand of beach wave curls behind an ear. Her makeup was perfect, her clothes were perfect, and naturally, her hair was perfect. The woman didn’t come from wealth, but she knew how to present herself in a way that made her look like she did.
Sheena, on the other hand, had always felt less than. Less than tall compared to Joette. Less than attractive compared to Joette. Less than approachable compared to Joette. Less well-dressed than Joette. Less successful than Joette. She sighed, trying not to spiral down that particular rabbit hole.
Joette eyed her. “Most charities are started by people who don’t have money.”
Sheena gave her a soft smile. “Did you pull that out of thin air, or did you read it somewhere?”
Joette shrugged. “It sounded logical as it left my lips.” She glanced around the room at the well-organized shelves full of supplies. “You know, to an outsider, you look like a prepper. Not even a regular prepper—a crazy one.”
“I know. And I kind of feel like it—at least, on behalf of my clients.” Sheena motioned to her desktop. “Could you show me again how to copy and paste using just the keyboard? I need to understand how this works so I don’t make a mistake like that again.”
“Of course. But honey, mistakes will still happen.” Joette studied Sheena for a moment before continuing. “Would you please let me keep you supplied with reams of paper until you have your money? It wouldn’t be a big deal—paper doesn’t cost that much, and I want to keep helping. This charity of yours is important. I believe in it. And I don’t want to see you lose everything you’ve already put in it. Besides, aren’t you looking for investors? Let me be your first.”
Sheena’s eyes welled up with tears again, but this time, they were tears of gratitude. “I’m forever going to be in your debt, you know.”
“Of course I know that. How else am I supposed to keep you around?”
The two roommates grinned at each other, then Joette’s smile faded. “Is that a yes, then? For paper? And printer cartridges too?”
Sheena slumped in her chair. “I guess so.” She sneaked a glance at Joette. “Thank you. And thank you for helping me prevent what happened to Eloise from happening to anyone else.” Eloise’s situation had ended up blessing so many other people, including Mary. Sheena sighed. “But please keep track of everything so I can pay you back, assuming I can someday access my trust fund.”
Joette searched Sheena’s face, obviously knowing that was another sensitive subject. “How is that going?”
“Not well.” Sheena rubbed her forehead. “I’ve been on forty first dates in the last month, and only three second dates.”
Joette frowned. “Only three of them were good enough for a repeat?”
“The rest were scumbags. I think I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel.” Sheena looked heavenward, trying not to feel despair again. “Yet another thing I’m failing at.”
“To be fair, most people don’t approach marriage this way.”
“What do you think dating is, if not a job interview?”
Joette waffled a bit. “I mean, it is, but in a different way. You’re supposed to have fun too.”
“Dating has never been fun to me.”
Her roommate didn’t respond for a moment. Then she said, “You know, there’s oneguy you haven’t asked out yet.”
Sheena knew exactly where this was going. “And you already know I don’t date coworkers.”
“Sheena, listen to me. I’ve been giving this some thought. You wouldn’t have to date him—you could make it an actual job interview, but skip dating and go straight to the important part. Ask him to marry you.”
Sheena’s eyes practically popped out of her head. “You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking.”
“He likes you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it? Aren’t we supposed to marry someone we like?”
“Of course, but I don’t want to lead him on.”
Joette pulled out her phone, tapped a couple of times, then held up her calendar. “You have three weeks to show a wedding license
to your grandma. Three weeks! And while I’m not usually one for gold digging, five million dollars is a lot to lose. You’ve worked incredibly hard—both on your charity, and on finding a husband. Don’t let any of that go to waste.” Joette set her phone down. “Besides, I don’t see what’s different about marrying Leo and marrying one of the randos on the street you’ve been ‘interviewing.’”
Sheena ignored Joette’s slang for “random people,” saying, “There’s lots of differences.”
“Such as . . . ?”
Sheena frowned. Leo was attractive, dressed well, smart, funny, and enjoyable to be around. But that was where his good traits ended, and she wasn’t in the mood to hash out the man’s faults. She just didn’t have the energy to badmouth him. “Well, besides being a coworker, he still lives in his parents’ basement.”
“Uh . . . technically you live in my parents’ basement. How is that any different?”
“I pay rent.”
“Maybe he does too.”
Sheena leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. “I think . . . I think the biggest reason might be my pride.” None of her coworkers knew about her charity. None of them knew why she went on so many dates. And none of them would everknow about it —the thought of telling them made her feel like she’d be dropping to her lowest point ever. Like Joette, they’d feel bad for Sheena. They’d pity her. Or worse, they’d think she was an idiot like all of the investors she’d talked to.
Joette waited for Sheena to continue, and when she didn’t, she said, “I’m not understanding how pride factors into things. You’re
already one of the humblest people I know. Something you didn’t learn from your family.”
Sheena gave the woman a small smile. “I already hate having you know how destitute I’ve made myself. Having Leo know feels . . . I just . . . It makes me feel low. Like a beggar. I don’t think I can handle having someone I’m around all the time think of me that way.”
“Tell him about the charity.”
“Absolutely not.”
“He’d understand. Why don’t you give him a chance?”
Leo had already teased Sheena more than once for dating every man with a heartbeat on the face of the planet. There was no way she would open up the more tender parts of her heart to him. Not after what she’d been through recently with investors. Most people had a soft spot for elderly people. They especially cared about elderly people who were alone. And even more than that, elderly people who were recovering from major surgery without support, friendship, or help.
At least, that’s what Sheena had thought. And then she’d started approaching investors. Many of them had told her there was no way she’d ever make money on the idea—not even through donations. Which was obvious. A charity wasn’t supposed to be a moneymaker —something most people who ran them didn’t seem to get. But the investors had told her she’d be fighting an uphill battle and it was better to start a charity for kids or cancer patients or something. Not one that would require as many man hours, supplies, and software interfaces as hers.
Maybe Sheena had approached the wrong people—she’d wondered that a lot. But how was she supposed to find the right people?
She’d done everything she could think of in her effort to avoid marrying just for her trust fund. But in the last eight months, it had become apparent she’d need to stoop to her grandmother’s level to get help.
Either way, Leo wouldn’t understand her drive. He’d mock her again. And she was past the point of trying to defend what she felt was an important service. A life-saving one.
She shut her mind to that train of thought and turned her attention to Joette. “Fine. I’ll talk to him about marriage. But please realize I’m past scraping the bottom of the barrel here. I’ve moved on to dealing with the devil himself.”
Joette laughed. “So dramatic. I’m sure he’s not all that bad.”
“I doubt it. He doesn’t have a mature bone in his body—anyone who plays video games until six in the morning isn’t an adult yet, regardless of how old they are.”
Joette laughed again. “Half of the men you dated were immature.”
“But not gamers—that’s a whole different level of immature.”
“Whatever.” Joette looked like she wanted to press the point, but obviously thought better of it. “Are you going to tell him about the charity?”
“Nope. Not unless by some miracle he’s able to prove he’s mature enough not to laugh at it. Once, a long while ago, someone at work mentioned they wanted to start a charity, and he scoffed at
them. I really don’t want to involve anyone again—especially not him —until I know for sure they won’t dis my idea.”
“And in extension, you.”
Sheena nodded. “Exactly. If they can’t understand how important this is to me, they don’t deserve anything else.”
Joette motioned to Sheena’s phone on the desk. “Go ahead. Send him a text and invite him to lunch. I’ll pay, and you won’t have to tell him it’s not your money.”
Sheena’s shoulders dropped. She didn’t have any arguments left. She really wasat the bottom of the barrel.
She picked up her phone and swiped out a text to Leo.
Hey,wanttogotolunchtomorrow?Mytreat.
Sheena waited several moments for him to answer, but he didn’t, and her heart jumped into her throat. “What if he says no?”
“He won’t.” Joette looked at her watch. “Besides, he’s probably at work right now.”
Sheena nodded. “He is.” They both worked four days a week, their time overlapping in the middle. She was there Monday through Thursday, and he was there Tuesday through Friday. The hours he actually worked, though, were pretty chaotic—half of the time when he was supposed to be there, he wasn’t. He joked about intense video games, and Sheena was constantly exasperated when McKenzie, their boss, excused him. He was a bum, a lazy flake who got away with everything. And Sheena resented him for it. When he was on the clock, he was dependable and hard working for the most part. The rest of the time, though? He was not reliable.
“What if he says yes?” Sheena hissed. “I’ll be stuck married to him.”
Joette tilted her head, giving Sheena a quizzical expression. “Why yes, that’s how it works. Has that never occurred to you with all of these guys?”
“I mean, it did, but that’s why I was pretty much interviewing them. My grandma’s philosophy has always been that two good people can make a marriage work.”
“But it takes a while to figure out if the other person is good.”
“I judge character well—you know that. It’s why I’m able to eliminate men from my list so quickly.”
Joette sighed. “If you actually hate being married, get a divorce. It’s what everyone else does.”
Sheena glared at her roommate. “Absolutely not. That’s completely out of the question. I won’t repeat the mistakes my parents made.”
“But you probably won’t even have kids with him, so it’s not like it would be the same situation. Honey, the way you’re approaching all of this is a recipe for divorce. Do you not see that?”
Sheena dropped her face to her hands, admitting defeat. “Yes, I know. At least, it’s come to that now. In the beginning, I really tried hard.”
“Yes, you did. You can’t blame yourself that none of that worked out.”
Sheena shook her head. “I don’t.” She’d been engaged nine months earlier—she’d even announced it to her family—but the guy had gotten cold feet. Sheena hadn’t even minded, other than her grandma asking to meet the man ever since hearing the announcement. Sheena hadn’t ever corrected her, hoping she’d find a replacement fast enough.
She’d found all sorts of excuses for why they couldn’t go back east, but she was out of excuses and out of time. Her twenty-fifth birthday was in three weeks, and if she didn’t provide legal proof that a marriage had taken place, her trust fund—all five million of it —would go to her cousin, Kristen. Sheena shuddered at the thought of that horrible woman getting a single dime of money that was supposed to be hers.
Either way, even if there weren’t kids involved, Sheena didn’t want divorce on the table.
Her phone finally pinged, and Sheena closed her eyes, her palms sweating. “What if he said no?”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, get it over with.” Joette grabbed the device and read the text. “He says, ‘Sure,’ and put in a smiley face.”
“Don’t read into that too much. He puts smiley faces in all of his texts.”
“All of his texts to everyone? Or just you?”
“Joette, I already know he likes me—he’s told me. And he knows I’m not interested.”
“Boy, is asking him to marry you going to send him mixed signals.”
Sheena’s mouth popped open. “Hey! It was your idea, not mine. And I’m definitely going to make sure he knows it’s a business thing —nothing else.”
“Except, divorce won’t be an option. You plan on telling him that?”
Sheena’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. Divorce is an option. Happy now?”
“Yes. As soon as you get your trust fund, divorce him.” Joette softened her voice. “Okay?”
Sheena took in a long breath, then let it out. “All right. I will.” She didn’t have the energy to object anymore.
“Don’t get me wrong—I know how strongly you feel about it. But even more than that, I don’t want you to be stuck in a relationship with someone you hate.”
Joette made a good point—a really good one. Sheena couldn’t imagine how life would have gone if her parents stayed together with how much they hated each other.
Joette handed Sheena’s phone back. “Who knows, though. Arranged marriages worked out in the past. You might surprise yourself by falling for him.”
Like that would ever happen. Sheena knew Leo—they’d been working together closely for a year and a half, after all. He didn’t have any secrets. The man was an open, obvious book.
Still, Sheena hated feeling like she was taking advantage of him and his feelings for her. She would need to apologize profusely for that and make sure he knew she didn’t want anything out of him after they’d proven to her grandma that the marriage was legal.
Her grandma had never said anything about the marriage actually lasting. Thank goodness for that.
Chapter Two
Leo couldn’t stop thinking about Sheena’s text as he worked with the X-ray tech in the radiology department of Alpine Hospital. He couldn’t believe she’d asked him out. Who would’ve ever thought that would happen? The woman had made it clear she wasn’t into him.
Maybe that should have brought up red flags, but he was so excited for the date, he didn’t stop to consider those potential warning signs. He didn’t need to. Surely, she’d changed her opinion where he was concerned.
He knew she’d assumed he was unmotivated. And maybe he was, but probably not to the extent she thought. He wasn’t sure how to help her see the real him without allowing her to find out more about his history. And money.
Leo was unwilling to allow that to happen. Especially with how quickly Sheena went through guys. Most women he’d dated back in Chicago who jumped from man to man that fast were gold diggers. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out, and the moment the lesson sank in, he’d stopped “telling” people about his wealth. He’d stopped acting rich, stopped wearing nice clothes, stopped driving expensive cars, and he’d continued that way after moving to Utah. Those were neon signs to gold diggers, and the women who’d clung to his arm with their perfectly manicured nails were petty and shallow.
His money was a result of working hard—very hard. He wasn’t about to be taken advantage of because of that hard work. No, he wanted someone who loved him for him, not for his success.
Blake, the X-ray technician, looked up. “Seems to be working fine now. Thanks for installing the update.”
“No sign of the bug?”
Blake shook his head. “Nope. It’s completely gone now.”
Leo nearly slumped in relief, but caught himself just in time. He didn’t want to reveal his hand by looking too invested. “Great. It was an annoying one, wasn’t it?”
“Definitely.” Blake proceeded to run a couple of X-rays, making sure the program didn’t crash when he waited too long between shots as it had previously.
Leo was an inventor who owned a startup company. He’d developed the software keeping the X-ray machine running, and Blake had no clue. Only McKenzie, head of the department, knew his secret, and she’d never given even the slightest hint to anyone. Maybe because she knew he held blackmail against her in the form of dry-cleaning receipts. She frequently ran out of clean clothes
when she forgot to do her laundry, and more than once, he’d rushed to the nearest cleaners to have her backup outfits—all five of them— washed and pressed.
Leo shook his head, smiling to himself. Where would McKenzie be without him?
Probably the same place he’dbe without her.
That thought was sobering.
The entire office was under the impression that he worked for McKenzie. In reality, they were equals—both radiologists. Dean Harrison had been absolutely thrilled when Leo, the doctor who invented the most popular imaging software in the country, had asked to work for him. It meant their hospital would always have an edge in radiology, maintaining their competition. It meant hiring better doctors and staff, which meant happier patients. In turn, Dean Harrison had promised to maintain the illusion that Leo was a regular X-ray tech, which gave Leo access to the rubber-meets-theroad application of his programs. That sort of anonymity was important to Leo. He wanted real, honest feedback.
That feedback had been brutal at first, and he’d been forced to grow a thick skin. But it enabled him to see firsthand how his programs were affecting regular, every-day users.
That had been invaluable.
Knowing they’d never be able to keep the secret from McKenzie, Dean Harrison and Leo had brought her in from the start. She would need to know why he’d be late for his shifts or have to leave at random times or why he’d be distracted or even cranky. Even though he had a team of people to help him with updates, upgrades, and customer service, things still took their toll.
Speaking of his team, he needed to check in with them soon. With the popularity of his product, he’d been forced to hire out most of the tasks, and soon, he’d found himself with several employees, including a software developer, HR person, marketer, and three callcenter people to handle incoming questions and problems.
Leo was proud of everything he’d done, but he was also exhausted. He was tired of working long hours, late into the night. More than once, he’d been at his office, working until after the sun had risen when a new bug surfaced in an update.
He knew his coworkers thought he was lazy and played video games all night long. Sadly, he hadn’t touched a gaming console since college, many years earlier.
Perhaps someday they’d find out what he really did with his time. He hoped that day wouldn’t come for a long, long time, though. He needed to maintain his persona for a while longer. At least until he was more secure with his software. It had only been out for a couple of years, and he was still finding the occasional bug in it.
Luckily for him, those little bugs had been easy compared to the problems of the previous software most hospitals used. Like, crashing when someone logged out of the system. Or occasionally deleting X-rays when the tech sent them to the physician who’d be reading them. Thathad been a big issue.
Above all, though, Leo had incorporated a system that allowed patients to share their images with all providers, regardless of which group or insurance the doctors were with.
All of this had helped his startup grow quickly. For the first six months, he’d struggled to keep up with demand. A ton of orders
meant he had plenty of money, but finding good employees was nearly impossible initially. He’d wasted a lot of time training flaky people.
But now . . . now he had employees he trusted and a system that functioned and a cover at the hospital that allowed him to observe his product in real time.
It was a great situation, and he had zero desire to upset the cart.
Leo’s thoughts went back to Sheena. Shewas the one exception he was willing to make.
Sheena Dively had consumed his thoughts almost constantly in the last year and a half he’d worked with her. She was selfless, humble, and a hard worker. She was dedicated to the patients and her job. She made him laugh.
He’d yet to see any bad qualities. Except one—her inability to concentrate on just one guy for more than a fleeting moment.
Leo swallowed hard. He’d been infatuated with her for a long time, but even he had a hard time overlooking the fact that she dated more men than all of the Kardashians put together.
Besides that, though, she was a saint. Sure, she’d gotten in late to work a few times and had plenty of distracted days. Those were normal-people issues, though.
The Kardashian thing was a pretty big hurdle.
Maybe she’d surprise him. Maybe he’d find out she was just as dedicated to finding the right guy as he was to finding the right woman. Maybe she’d finally seen him for who and what he was—a man with a purpose, determined, hard-working, and who would take care of her for the rest of her life.
Dreamon,buster.Youknowbetterthantogetyourhopesup.
And he really did. Yet, he still found himself excited for noon to come. He checked his watch frequently and tried not to get impatient when Blake exclaimed he’d found another bug. (He hadn’t.)
As the clock ticked closer to noon, Leo’s nervousness increased. His stomach couldn’t decide if it wanted to be in his throat or at his feet.
About ten minutes before it was time to meet Sheena outside, McKenzie called him into her office.
“You’ve been really nervous today,” she said after he’d sat down. “Any reason?”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the software, if you’re wondering.”
McKenzie visibly relaxed, and Leo couldn’t blame her. Last time he’d been that nervous, they’d ended up having an outage on the system for four hours. Rescheduling patients had been a nightmare. Leo had hoped they could just start up the old program, but their license had expired, and getting it renewed was too expensive for just a couple hours’ worth of use.
It was the first and only—outage they’d had.
“Good. What’s up, then?”
Leo grinned. “You’re never going to believe it. Something I never thought would happen has happened.”
“You’re going horse riding?”
Leo blinked, caught off guard by the throw-back to a conversation they’d had months earlier. “What? No. You know how I feel about those . . . creatures.”
McKenzie threw her head back and laughed. “I still can’t believe you think horses are creepy and dangerous.”
“They’re dangerous if they throw you.”
She waved him off, not getting distracted. “Come on, Leo. Spill the news. What’s going on?”
“Sheena asked me to go to lunch with her.”
McKenzie blinked, staring at him. She hadn’t been expecting that. “What? You’re joking, right? She askedyou out?”
“You don’t have to be so surprised.”
McKenzie shook her head slowly. “Wow. That’s really amazing, Leo. I’m so happy for you!”
“Me too. And nervous—very nervous.” He looked at his watch. “I need to go now. She’ll be here any minute to pick me up.”
“Wait, it’s for today? On her day off? That says something.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“It means she was thinking about you.” McKenzie waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“I’ll stay away from messy foods, if that’s what you mean. Oh, wait. No, I won’t. Because you love messy foods, and your clothes are proof of it.”
McKenzie rolled her eyes. “They’re the best. Now git. Tell me all about it when you’re done.”
Leo saluted her, then jumped to his feet and stepped out of her office.
It was date time.
Chapter Three
Sheena’s hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel, driving to the Thai House on Lehi Main Street. Leo was quiet next to her. She figured he’d caught on to her mood, and that made her even more nervous. Neither of them said anything as they exited the car. She was breathing too shallowly. If she didn’t calm down, she’d get lightheaded soon. Sheena focused on calming techniques, forcing her legs to be steadier as they walked to the door and Leo held it open for her.
Comeon,woman,it’sasimplequestion. But wasit? She was asking him to marry her, for crying out loud. It’sjustbusiness.
Something told her he wouldn’t see it that way, though. Commonsensetold her he wouldn’t see it that way.
The waitress seated them in the empty restaurant and took their orders for drinks, then disappeared while they looked over the menu. Sheena was grateful the place was so quiet—it gave them a better opportunity for a private conversation.
“Sheena?” Leo said, causing her to look up at him.
Not for the first time, she was taken aback by his striking, attractive features. The man had dark hair and eyes, fair skin, and a beautiful smattering of freckles across his nose and cheekbones. Any other personality, and she would have fallen for him on day one.
In fact, she’d had a slight crush on him when he’d first started working in her department. But the moment she found out what he was really like—his gaming habits, awful work ethic—she dismissed him and hadn’t really considered him since.
“What’s going on?” he continued. “You’re making me nervous.”
She nodded. “Sorry about that. I’m nervous too, and it’s affecting you. We’ll talk once we have our food. If that’s okay.”
The waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders, and Sheena found herself watching Leo. He was friendly with the server, smiled a lot without being flirty, and even made a joke or two. She’d always known he was an extrovert, but seeing how easily he interacted with others gave her hope.
Grandmotherwouldapprove.
Yes, Sheena was sure of it. At least, her grandma would approve of the Leo Sheena would be presenting her with. As long as he agreed to the plan, of course. Leo had an uncanny ability to pretend like he didn’t have a care in the world. Pretty much everyone in the office fell for it, but Sheena could always sense the underlying current of stress that seemed invisible to the rest of their coworkers.
As long as her grandma didn’t notice—and Sheena didn’t think she would—they’d be fine. The woman was far too wrapped up in her country club and wealthy life.
Speaking of her grandma’s country club, if neither Sheena nor Kristen got married by the age of twenty-five, all of that money would go to it.
What a waste.
The waitress left, and silence descended on the table again. Leo fidgeted with the napkin and Sheena kept her hands clasped tightly in her lap, trying not to watch him closely, but failing. Their eyes met several times, and she saw the automatic warmth in his expression before he shut her out again, as a response to her mood.
Neither of them said anything more until their food was served. It was awkward and uncomfortable. They could have started talking, but no way was Sheena bringing up the reason for their date when there was a chance they’d get interrupted at any moment. The conversation would be difficult enough without something like that happening. And she wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
But maybe it would be an easy question. Maybe Leo wouldn’t hesitate or wonder about her sanity. Maybe he liked her enough to accept without even thinking about the reasons.
Sheena shook her head to herself. No—she’d vowed not to take advantage of him liking her. She couldn’t do that to him.
Finally, their food arrived, and they dug in. Sheena mostly messed around with hers while Leo ate enthusiastically.
But even that much told her more about him than she’d noticed before. He ate quickly, but his table manners were excellent. His napkin was in his lap, the way he held his utensils was correct, and
he didn’t even move his plate to access all the food the way some people did.
Grandmareallywill approveofhim.
Despite his gaming habits, he seemed to have been taught proper etiquette. The moment that thought entered her mind, though, Sheena scolded herself inwardly. Talk about judging a book by its cover.
Just because he’s a gamer doesn’t mean he’s sloppy or bad mannered.
All of her experience with gamers contradicted that point. But surely there was an exception. Surely Leo would be an exception.
Pleasebeanexception.
Once he’d eaten most of his food and Sheena had eaten enough not to throw up, she finally said, “I asked you out for a reason.”
Leo nodded. “I figured that based on how nervous you’ve been. What can I do for you?”
“Do you want the question or the background first? Let me warn you—without the background, the question is most likely going to freak you out.”
Leo furrowed his brows, studying her, and Sheena’s heart rate rose quickly at the intense expression. He was hot. He was really hot.
She’d always known he was attractive, but something about the intimacy of their current circumstances really pushed buttons that had never been pushed before. She found herself hoping to get him to look at her like that more often.
If he said yes to her question, she’d get that opportunity. Pleasesayyes.
“I guess give me the background first.”
“Okay.” She took a breath, glad that was the route he’d chosen. “How much do you know about my family?”
He shrugged. “Not a lot—parents divorced, and they all live back east.”
She nodded. “In Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, to be exact.”
“That’s about all I know. You don’t talk about them much.”
For good reason.
“My grandmother is wealthy very, very wealthy. My cousin and I are her only descendants—her two children only had one child each, and her line is ending with Kristen and me.”
“That’s too bad. Though, I can’t say it’s much different on my part. My parents were only able to have one. They wanted more, and I know it was always hard for them that they couldn’t.”
Sheena slowly shook her head. “My parents barely tolerate the one kid they dohave. I couldn’t help but wonder growing up if they felt like I was a mistake.”
Leo’s serious gaze studied hers. “You’re kidding, right?
“I wish I were. My parents . . . are interesting people.” The conversation was getting off track. “Anyway, when my grandma realized she wouldn’t be getting more grandchildren, she set up two trust funds. One for me, and one for Kristen. The trust funds are five million dollars each.”
Leo blinked. “Wow. That’s a lot. You’re incredibly blessed.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly mine. If I don’t meet the requirements my grandma set up, all of it will go to my cousin. Vice versa, of course, but she’s a bit younger than me, so it’s not as pressing for her.”