Nerds on Fire (7 page)

Her disquiet might also be due to a
growing sense of discontent with singlehood. She considered the
matter while staring at her ceiling. The blare of her alarm clock
ended her thoughts, which was just as well, since she arrived at no
answer.

Somehow she managed to fritter away
her time because by the time she entered the kitchen, she was
running late. Grabbing coffee and breakfast shouldn’t have taken so
long, but it did. Then after she packed her lunch, she hurried out
the door and into her car. It wasn’t until after she got to work
and reached for her lunch bag that she discovered she had left it
at home on the counter.

The only good thing to happen was she
ran into Nina, a good friend from the surgical wing. She was a
receptionist there and they took a moment to catch up before
parting ways as they were both seriously late. When she stepped off
the elevator and onto her floor, a brilliant idea struck. Tugging
out her phone, Trixi quickly texted her scheme to Katy.

Katy called a moment later.

“
Setting up Nina and Dad is
a great idea, but how?”

“
I have no
idea.”

Trixi inched up her shoulder to hold
her phone in place while she shrugged her jacket off. Then stowed
her purse before she straightened her scrub shirt and retied her
right sneaker.

“
I was afraid you were
going to say that.”

“
If we both think about it,
we might have a chance to come up with something.”

“
Anything to get rid of the
gold-digger.”

“
If we introduce Dad to a
real woman, maybe he’ll see what Chrissy is,” Trixi said
earnestly.

“
We hope.”

“
May I help
you?”

Her voice was professional, but
melodious and there was a thread within it that made him long to
hear more.

Rylan blinked before he focused on the
face that went with the voice. Every bit as pleasing, it was framed
by dark hair, an oval shaped face, and intriguing blue eyes. A
gentle smile teased her pretty lips.

He judged the woman’s age to be near
his own, maybe a few years younger. There were glorious laugh lines
edging her eyes and lips. Her face didn’t hold a candle to
Chrissy’s but there was something about it. This face enchanted him
exactly as Chrissy’s had done.

“
I’m Trixi Duvall’s father
and I’m aware I’m not in the right wing. She left her lunch on the
counter this morning and I was passing by so I thought I’d drop it
off for her. Except I have no idea where neonatal is.”

A charming laugh rewarded him. “She
mentioned she had forgotten it this morning. I’ll be happy to make
certain she gets her lunch.” A well cared for, feminine hand
reached for the bag.

“
Thank you.”

“
I’m sure she’ll be
thankful you brought it.”

Did he think enchanting? Her smile was
nothing less than beguiling.

There was a small pause, but it wasn’t
the uncomfortable, awkward kind between strangers.

Surreptitiously, he squinted at the
name printed on the small plastic badge hanging around her neck.
“Thank you, Nina.”

Her smile blossomed again and it was
one of the most real smiles he had ever seen. He blinked in the
glory of it.

“
You’re welcome, Mr.
Duvall.”

“
My name is Rylan.” He
smiled at her and then reluctantly left, but he took the image of
Nina with him. There was something very authentic about her. A
quiet dignity that came from good breeding, yes, but also from
riding out life’s experiences with patience.

Nina had dressed to compliment her
pretty figure, and glorious coloring, but not to stand out in a
crowd. Although with her elegant manners, and lovely voice, she
would anyway.

Humming a quiet tune, he left the
waiting room to return to his car. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late
for his next meeting and since they were on shaky ground with this
supplier, the meeting needed to go well. Being late would not help
matters.

He hurried.

“
Hi, Dad, how was your
day?” Trixi asked from her spot at the island.

He dropped his briefcase and meandered
over to drop a kiss on top of her head. “It was fine.”

“
Thank you for bringing my
lunch. I realized later I also forgot my wallet.” Trixi rolled her
eyes at herself as she added several ingredients to the bowl in
front of her.

“
Katy was there,
right?”

“
Yes, she’d have gladly
paid for my lunch, but it was nice to have what I
packed.”

There was an element in Trixi’s voice
he couldn’t identify. Whatever it was eluded him.

“
Is Chrissy coming for
supper?” She picked up a wooden spoon to stir the
mixture.

Trixi’s question surprised him. He
hadn’t given Chrissy a thought. She had been away over the weekend.
“I don’t know. I better go call her now.”

With reluctance, he took out his phone
and picked up the briefcase he set down to sort through the mail.
He carried them into his study.

Chrissy wasn’t at all happy to have
not heard from him, and in punishment for his lack of attention,
she had made plans with some friends of hers. She also made it
clear he was not invited.

“
That’s fine. I have some
paperwork I need to catch up on.” The relief bubbling under the
surface wasn’t something he wanted to make public
knowledge.

Instead, he played the part of the
contrite fiancé. Eventually he mollified her. After saying goodbye
and hanging up, Rylan hurried back to the kitchen.

“
Chrissy has other plans so
it’s just you and me, kid.”

Trixi poured the last of her mixture
into a baking dish and then smiled at him. “I’m glad.”

He answered her smile with one of his
own. “I am, too.” A wave of love engulfed him, as it usually did
whenever he gazed at his daughter. Rylan still wasn’t certain how
he came to be blessed with Trixi, but he was grateful he won the
kid lottery.

Both Trixi and Reed were impressive
kids, and now impressive adults. They carried responsible jobs, and
responsible home lives. Although he did want to see Trixi married
like Reed. She was a lot harder to crack though. As though a
significant other was the very last thing she wanted to talk
about.

“
Chrissy asked me if you
have a boyfriend.” He leaned against the counter and observed as
she tucked the dish into her range. Then she puttered around the
kitchen.

“
I don’t.”

Waiting for an explanation that never
came, one of his eyebrows climbed. “Why not?”

The look she sent him should have
singed his hair. “Because men don’t find me attractive.”

“
What?
”

Trixi reluctantly faced him full on.
It appeared to take everything she had to meet his eyes. She
repeated the same nonsense about men not finding her
attractive.

“
I don’t believe that at
all. Warren from Wychert Pharmacy has chased you for
years.”

“
Warren’s a
dweeb.”

“
He’s a man and he finds
you attractive.”

She held up a hand. “Okay,
let me clarify. Men
I’m
attracted to don’t find
me
attractive.”

“
Are you attracted to movie
stars?” He frowned.

“
Of course not.” She
scrubbed the island with more vigor than was necessary.

“
Who are you attracted to
who isn’t attracted back?”

“
Every male at
work.”

“
I’m sure someone like a
neurosurgeon or some other impressive specialist might have cause
to overlook you, but I can’t imagine the other men there
would.”

She winced at something he said.
“Bert, one of the maintenance guys, always flirts with me.” A smile
flitted around her lips.

“
There you go.” He started
to smile, but something in her manner caused him to reconsider.
“What’s wrong with Bert?”

“
Nothing, except he’s at
least Gran’s age, probably a little older. So he’s not exactly my
ideal husband.”

Rylan agreed. “I think you need to
cross him off your list.”

“
Then there’s Leo de
Vosse.”

“
What’s wrong with
him?”

“
Absolutely nothing. He’s
about as perfect a man as you can get.” She smiled again, and he
liked seeing her eyes gleam.

“
Is he gay?” Rylan
ventured.

“
Nope, but I’m guessing
he’s going to be married to Katy at some point in the
future.”

“
Katy stole your man?” That
didn’t sound like Katy at all. His second daughter would
never...

“
No, Dad. First of all, she
had no idea I was even attracted to Leo. I never said anything to
her. I flirt with him, and enjoy every minute of it, but I’ve never
felt the need to progress to the next stage.” She stopped wiping
the finish off the island to stare into space.

There must be more to this
story.

“
Then I introduced them the
other day.” Her smile was sweet and made him think of another smile
he had enjoyed today. “Leo and Katy are best friends
now.”

“
And this means
what?”

“
Mark and I think they’re
in love.”

“
Who’s Mark?”

“
He’s Leo’s brother and a
neurosurgeon. Katy is working with him temporarily.”

Hmm, this might explain a few things.
“Oh, so you do interact with neurosurgeons.”

“
If one of my babies has a
problem within his expertise, he’ll offer advice.”

Based on the lilt in her voice, this
sounded promising. “He’s a neurosurgeon?”

“
Yes, and probably at the
top of his field.”

“
Oh, so he’s older?”
Nothing like fishing in your daughter’s love life. This was the
hardest baiting he’d ever done.

“
No. I’m guessing he’s in
his mid-to-late thirties.”

“
Not a bad age difference
between you. You’re going to be thirty soon.” A better age
difference than what was between him and Chrissy. He suppressed a
sigh.

“
Right. But like you said,
he’s a neurosurgeon. I doubt he sees me as anything other than
staff.”

“
You probably don’t have
much cause to socialize with him.” Speaking of fishing, something
smelled fishy here.

Before he could further question her,
her phone rang.

“
It’s Katy,” she
announced.

“
Tell her I said ‘Hi’ and
to come see us.” Rylan left to return to his study so he could
actually get some work done.

Except it wasn’t work he thought of
when he sat down at his desk.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t
his daughter’s love life, either. If his daughter had fished
in
his
love life,
she might have discovered a new dark secret. He wasn’t thinking of
his beautiful fiancée at all.

Instead, a lovely, gracious
receptionist with the tinkling laugh and gentle smile stole his
focus.

Chapter 8

“
Hey, it’s me. Did Dad say anything about
Nina?”

“
No,” Trixi nearly wailed.
“They met and I was all ready to ask him about it, but you wouldn’t
believe what he asked me about.” She moved quickly through the
house to the small office she used. It had a pocket door she closed
now and then plopped into the comfy chair by the desk.

“
Okay, I can’t guess, so
tell me.”

Despite her agitation, Trixi smiled.
“You are so impatient.”

“
I know. Now
talk.”

“
Dad asked me about my love
life.”

Silence greeted her, then lengthened.
She peeked at her phone to make certain it hadn’t died. The call
was still active, so they hadn’t lost the connection.

“
Hello?”

“
I’m still here. I’m just
thinking.”

“
I’d love to hear your
thoughts,” Trixi said dryly.

“
I’m not certain I can
express them.”

“
Okay...”

“
What prompted him to ask
you?” Katy finally asked.

“
Chrissy wanted to know if
I have a boyfriend.” Her tone nudged bitter.

“
Of course she did. If he’s
better than Dad, then she’ll upgrade.”

“
Ugh. You’re so close to
the truth it’s scary.”

“
It’s what gold diggers
do.” Katy sounded very sure.

“
We are never introducing
her to any of our friends or colleagues.”

“
Agreed. Now, back to our
problem.”

“
Which one?”

“
The Chrissy
one.”

“
What about her?” Trixi
tapped the chair arm.