My Christmas Doctor

He popped the cork on the wine and poured us each a glass. Once we had that, he proceeded to pull various foods from the basket, all of it appeared to have come from an upscale restaurant. "I made sure to get things we could eat outside with plasticware, but it's all still warm, the basket is insulated for that."

"You are very thoughtful. I think you've thought of everything."

Grinning, he ducked his head and turned back to the basket. "This is for dessert."

"Death by Chocolate cake?" I arched a brow and then grinned. "I'm not sure my doctor would approve."

He laughed. "I'm sure one night of indulgence is allowed."

"Well, if death does come with chocolate cake, I have to admit it's a delicious way to go." I grinned back at him.

The actors came forward and started their performance, it seemed they were going to treat us to Twelfth Night. I had not been aware of what play it was, but both of us became engrossed in the story of Viola, Orsino and Olivia. Of course, there were many other characters, and everyone was so effective in their roles, we actually felt we were a part of the performance as the actors often interacted with the audience, encouraging us to sing along with playfulness. When the play ended, and we'd finished our divine chocolate cake, I felt I'd never been on a better date than the one I'd shared with Brian.

It was still early as we headed out of the park, hand in hand. I really didn't want the evening to end, but I didn't know what to suggest.

"Would you like to go get a cup of coffee? I confess, I'm not ready to take you home yet." He smiled, his gaze meeting mine.

"I'm not either, so yes, that sounds perfect."

"Great, I know a little shop with the best coffee." He unlocked the car and opened the door for me. Once I was in, he put the basket and blanket in the backseat then went around to the driver's door. "Ready?"

"Yes."

He drove us to the coffee shop he mentioned. It was just a little café style diner, but it had a really pleasant atmosphere. We chose a booth, and a waitress came over to take our order.

"Tell me something about your childhood," I said once we had our coffee.

"I grew up in the Hamptons. My father is in pharmaceuticals. Mother is a Vassar alumnus, not that she ever did anything with her degree. She married my father and became a socialite. I grew up with nannies. Spent my summers on the beach, my school years in boarding schools. When I went into medicine, my parents were thrilled. They fully expected me to cater to the rich and famous, their friends and whoever. I guess I'm pretty much a disappointment to them now." He shrugged.

"What? No way. You are a brilliant doctor! How could they feel that way? You are out here making a real difference."

"That doesn't matter to them. They hate me wasting my talent on regular people. I had the opportunity to work in the Hamptons, but I turned it down. I wanted to go where I was needed, where I could make a difference. I'm happy."

I smiled and reached across the table to grasp his hand. "I'm glad you did. I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't."

He smiled back. "You are so different from my ex-wife. My mother is determined to get me and Belle back together. She's constantly badgering me to go home for some reason or another, but I know it's just an excuse to shove me into Belle's orbit."

I was taken aback at that. Was it possible he wasn't available? Was he actually about to get back together with his ex? Surely not, if he asked me out, right? "Is your ex wanting to get back together with you?"

He shrugged. "She's allowing my mother to do it, so probably. I won't do it though. I know what kind of person she is, and I'm not going back to that."

I was having a really bad feeling about his family. Like they weren't going to approve of me at all. "I see."

He curled his hand around mine and smiled. "You're nothing like her. She's really an awful person. I don't even know why I married her in the first place. Probably because I thought I was supposed to. My parents approved of her, pushed us together at all of the local functions until we both just complied. I guess they think that if I get back together with Belle, I'll come back to the Hamptons and join some upscale clinic. That's just not what I'm going to do."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

We finished our coffee and then he drove me back to my apartment. As he walked me to my door, he said, "I've really had a lot of fun tonight."