Mary, Mary (Alex Cross 11)

“Don’t go,” Kayla said. But I was already through the doorway.

As I headed to the kitchen, there was only one thing on my mind, though. How could I get Kayla alone at the party? And where was I going to take her on our first date?

Chapter 79

I TOOK KAYLA to Kinkead’s on purpose. It had been my and Christine’s favorite spot, but before that, it had been my favorite spot, and I was reclaiming it. Kayla arrived less than five minutes after I did, and I liked that. She was on time, no game-playing. She had on a black wrap cashmere sweater, black slacks, and kitten-heel sling-backs, and she was kind of dazzling again. In her own way.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” she said as she walked up to me at the bar. “I’m punctual. I know it’s a big bore and takes all the mystery out of things, but I just can’t help myself. Next time, and there will be a next time, I’ll force myself to be fashionably late. At least ten minutes, maybe fifteen.”

“You’re forgiven,” I said, and suddenly I felt incredibly relaxed. “You just broke the ice, huh?”

Kayla winked. “I did, didn’t I? Just like that. God, I’m good, aren’t I? Sneaky, just like you are.”

“You know the axiom that men don’t like women who threaten them because they’re too smart?” I said. “You’re scary smart.”

“But you’re the exception that proves the rule, right? You like smart women just fine. Anyway, I’m not that smart. Tell you why—my theory anyway.”

“Tell away. I’ll have a beer, Pilsner on tap,” I said to the bartender.

Kayla continued, “I see all these supposedly supersmart people at the hospital, doctors and researchers who are complete disasters in their personal lives. So how smart can they really be? What, they’re smart because they can memorize facts and other people’s ideas? Because they know every rock-and-roll song ever recorded? Or the storyline for every episode of Bewitched?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know the storylines of Bewitched? You know people who know the storylines of Bewitched?”

“My God, no. Maybe ER. And Scrubs.”

“I know a lot of R & B songs,” I told her. “Haven’t figured out life too good, though.”

Kayla laughed. “I disagree. I’ve met your kids, Alex.”

“Have you met Christine Johnson?”

“Stop it. Anyway, I have met her. She’s an impressive woman. Completely. A little messed-up right now.”

“All right, I’m not going to argue. I could make a good case against myself, though.”

We talked like that, laughed a lot, drank some, ate good food. Interestingly, we stayed away from talk about Nana and the kids, maybe because that would have been too easy. As always, I enjoyed Kayla’s sense of humor, but most of all, her confidence. She was comfortable in her own skin, not defensive. I liked being out on a date with her.

We were finishing an after-dinner drink when she declared, “This has been nice, Alex. Very nice and easy.”

“Surprised?” I asked her.

“No, not really. Well, maybe a little bit,” she admitted. “Maybe a lot.”

“Want to tell me why?”

“Hmm. I guess because I knew you had no idea who I was, even though you probably thought that you did.”

“When I see you, you’re usually working,” I said. “You’re being Dr. Kayla of Neighborhood Health Services.”

“Take two aspirin, don’t you dare call me at home,” she said, and laughed. “I guess what’s hard is that lots of people confide in me, but most of the time, I don’t get to confide back.”

I smiled. “You have anything you

’d like to tell me?”

Kayla shook her head. “I think that I said it already. This has been good. I enjoyed tonight even more than I thought I would.”

“Right. And there will be a next time. That’s what you said.”