My Christmas Doctor

"That's a perfect date, she'll love it."

"You sure? Should I come up with an alternate idea?"

Lara shrugged. "You could. I bet she'd like one of those escape room things. She's kind of into all that thriller stuff too. But the park idea is more romantic, suggest that first. You can always do the escape room on the second date, if the first goes well."

I nodded. "Thanks, I'll do that. Back to work now, I guess."

"By the way," she started as I turned to leave, "when are you going out?"

"Saturday, if she agrees to it. Why?"

She grinned. "Because I just won the bet."

I shook my head and went to check on my patients before calling it a night. Once I had finished seeing to them, and I was down in my car, I pulled up Jane's number and dialed it.

"Hello?"

"Jane? Hi, it's Brian… Dr. Chase?" I was nervous and couldn't remember if she actually knew my first name.

She giggled. "Hi, Brian. I know, how was the hospital?"

"Oh fine. Same as usual," I smiled, even though she couldn't see me, "I was calling to talk about our date?"

"Oh, yes?" she asked, a hint of anxiousness in her voice and I hoped it was more for anticipation sake than for worry.

"Yes, I saw they're having Shakespeare in Central Park on Saturday, thought we could take a picnic dinner, watch a little outdoor theatre? If you'd like that, if not I have an altern—"

"No, that sounds wonderful, I'd like that."

"Great. Then, I'll see you Saturday, around five? I'll pick you up?"

"That would be lovely. Thank you. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too. I'll see you then."

"Bye," she murmured, but she sounded pleased.

"Bye." Feeling exhilarated, I started the car and headed home.Chapter 11JaneI dressed in a pair of white capris, a green crop top that matched my eyes and a pair of green Keds. I loved that they came in so many distinct colors and I'd gotten at least five different pairs of them. Shoes were my guilty pleasure aside from books, but I always made sure I got good deals on them. I wasn't crazy, I didn't spend a fortune on a single pair. I went more for cute rather than designer. I decided to wear my hair down, brushing it until it was silky soft and hung down to my lower back. I added a pair of faux emerald stud earrings to my ears, rolled some lip gloss over my lips and determined I was as good as I was going to get.

About three minutes to five, there was a knock on my door. I opened it with a smile. "Come in," I gestured for him to come through to the living area, "I just need to grab my purse and then we can go."

He came in and looked around with a smile. "This is really nice. It's a studio?"

I nodded. "Yes, I like it, it's easy to maintain." I grabbed my purse from the closet and slid it cross ways over my chest.

"You look great by the way."

"Thanks," I felt my cheeks heat, "you look great too, I don't think I've ever seen you in jeans."

He chuckled. "No, not much call for them at work."

I nodded. "Um, should we go?"

"Of course."

We headed out the door and I locked it behind me, then we went down to the garage where he'd parked his car in one of the visitor spots. We chatted about Shakespeare as we drove and discovered we were both fans of Hamlet as well as Macbeth. We never seemed to run out of things to say, which was really nice.

He found a place to park and then grabbed a blanket and a basket from the back. He handed me the blanket and said, "If you'll carry this, I've got the basket and wine."

"Sure." I smiled.

Together we walked through the park and found an empty spot near where the actors had set up a small stage. Other couples and groups were there, spread out in front of the stage. We were off to the side a little, but close enough that we'd be able to hear them and see all of the action.

Brian set the basket and wine down, then took the blanket from me and spread it out on the ground. Then, before I could sit, he took my hand and drew me onto the blanket toward the center, directing me to sit. It was sweet, and gentlemanly, which I really liked. He grabbed up the basket and wine, then moved to join me.

He opened the basket and pulled out two wooden boards, like trivets, and then wine glasses. "I got these so we could set the glasses down without them tumbling in the grass."

"Smart." I smiled because I wouldn't have thought of that. I liked that he'd gone to so much trouble.