Craig looked surprised she was acting this way, but then he smiled and nodded his head. “Okay,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I do want to go out with you again. Maybe something a little more personal and fun than just grabbing a coffee and a sandwich. And for the record, this is not a sympathy date.”
Sandy finished up her sandwich, raising an eyebrow at him. She didn’t believe just because he said it wasn’t a sympathy date meant it truly wasn’t one. He may have been telling himself it was an honest date in order to feel better about it. But maybe I’m being too suspicious of his motives, she thought. It had been quite a while since a guy had asked her out, and she was feeling so gross lately… She doubted it was fair to be so negative toward him when he’d given her no reason.
She leaned forward in her chair, looking him directly in his eyes. They were a cinnamon brown color with a ring of olive green around his pupils. She told herself not to let his eyes distract her. “Okay, you’re on. What sort of place were you thinking?”
Craig appeared thoughtful. It didn’t surprise her if he hadn’t thought his answer completely through. Who thinks about what their second date will be when they’re on their way to the first date? “We could go to a restaurant, or a movie? What would you like to do?”
She smiled at him, appreciative that he was asking her instead of just telling her what to do. A lot of guys often took on a bossy role when she first started dating them; she’d noticed in her many failed relationships and almost-relationships. “I like restaurants and movies,” Sandy replied. “I hear they pair well together, too.”
One problem with going to the movies early on when dating someone, though, was that there was no way to chat without annoying everyone around them. The good thing about getting dinner first – or maybe after – was they’d be able to have a conversation then. One thing Sandy enjoyed about Craig thus far was he was fun to chat with. The only way they could adequately get to know each other better was if they kept having conversations. Actions spoke louder than words, but she thought it was time for them to share some words after a bunch of rather traumatic action.
“You’re right,” he said to her with a grin. He raised his coffee cup in a slight toast and then took a sip. “Let’s say it’s our tentative plan for now and we’ll think about the details in the coming week?”
Sandy smiled and nodded eagerly. She’d been so worried about how he’d make her feel post-op, but it turned out he was acting exactly the same as he always had. She wondered if he really was just a sweet guy. She didn’t think she was biased towards the rich, but now she wondered if she was at least somewhat prejudiced against them. He certainly didn’t act like a spoiled billionaire. He acted like an average nice guy.
“I’ll look forward to making further plans,” she said to him. “My friends will be happy to know you weren’t just interested in seeing how my nose looks now. I noticed you barely examined it at all.”
It was true. He’d been looking her in the eyes as they talked the whole time, treating her like a normal woman. I suppose I’m the one who’s been making things weird and obsessing over the accident, she thought. Her friends wouldn’t be pleased if they knew she’d spent so much of this quite pleasant first date assuming the worst.
“I hope your friends will approve of me,” Craig said with a laugh. “My friends are also interested in what you’re like. They’ll be happy to hear you’re recovering wonderfully. I was confident you’d do well.”
Ahh. Now he’s bringing it up.
She supposed there wasn’t anything wrong with a surgeon being proud of his work. She just hoped she wasn’t just a patient in the stories he told of her. Sandy wanted to be viewed as a person and a potential significant other, not just a part of his work.
She couldn’t believe she was now imagining herself as a significant other. The date hadn’t gone that amazingly, had it?
“I hope your friends are glad to know how well we’ve both done,” was all she could think of to say.
Chapter Nine
There was one thing Craig knew for sure: he wanted to see more of Sandy. A lot more. He thought he made it very clear when he told her he wanted to take her out for dinner and a movie, and thankfully she hadn’t laughed at his quite clichéd idea for their next date. It had been a while since he’d last been interested in someone this much, so he wanted to do all the things with her. All the things he felt like he’d been missing out on.
He wanted to ask her exactly what show she was on, but he thought they might be too far along in their knowing each other. If I ask her now, she might think I haven’t been paying attention. He decided he’d just have to find out naturally; she would mention the name of the show or something. The last thing he wanted to do was let her know he recognized her but had no idea from where. Craig had a feeling famous people hated it when that happened.
“I’ve been thinking about where we should go for dinner,” he texted Sandy a few days after their café date. “What would you say to Sardi’s? Is it too stereotypical?”
“I haven’t been to Sardi’s ever, I don’t think,” she texted him back. “Would you believe it? My parents wanted to go with me once, but it’s SO expensive!”
Craig liked the thought of her getting her picture drawn and put on the wall there, especially when her nose was feeling better. There was the rub, though – her nose wasn’t going to be looking better for a bit longer. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to want all the attention when she was still a bit swollen and bruised. And there was no way he wanted her immortalized on the wall at Sardi’s with her nose not looking perfect.
“Maybe you’re right. We can wait to go there, ‘til you’re feeling better and stuff. You might get a lot of attention there…”
He hoped his text wouldn’t make her feel more self-conscious than he knew she already was. Sandy was certainly worthy of attention; Craig just wanted it to be positive and not negative. People could be cruelly focused on appearance sometimes…
That’s rich coming from me, he thought self-deprecatingly. I spend all my time and focus on perfecting people’s appearances. I’m the last person she should come to about her worries. Except she did come to him. He hoped he’d keep coming to him to vent her concerns and ask for his advice.
“Yeah, I probably want to avoid so much attention for the time being, especially because the media pops up in places like Sardi’s every so often,” Sandy texted him. “Let me do some research and get back to you.”
He was amused she was planning to ‘research’ their next date. It sounded so professional. He didn’t usually put so much thought into where he was going to eat. Occasionally, he checked out Yelp or whatever, but for the most part he relied on word-of-mouth and knowing what he already liked. “It sounds like you miss work,” he texted, lightly teasing her.
It took Sandy a while to respond to him, but he had a feeling it was because she was researching potential restaurants. She’s cute, Craig thought. She puts a lot of care into the little things.
“What if we went to this place called Per Se?” she eventually texted him. “It’s French. :) It’s pricey, but so is Sardi’s…”
Craig chuckled. “Price is not a concern for me. God, that sounds so conceited, doesn’t it?”
“Not conceited, just honest… and fortunate,” she texted back.
He always did his best to remember how incredibly lucky he was, never wanting for anything while so many people did. Even though she didn’t call him conceited, her text still managed to cut him down to size.
“I’d be more than happy to go to Per Se with you,” he texted her. “Despite what you may think of me now, I don’t go to posh French places very often. I may be a rich guy, but I still am a creature of habit.”
Craig looked forward to being with Sandy again. He loved technology for allowing them to easily converse during the work week, but he really wanted to be with her in person again so he could see her expressions and hear her laughter. He wanted to ask her how her nose wa
s doing, but he didn’t want to always bring it up. He didn’t wish for her to think of him as doctor first, date second. Easing into being primarily her date was his new goal. He hesitated to think of the word boyfriend or partner yet, because after all they’d only been on one date! However, he remained hopeful eventually he’d be able to earn the title.
They solidified their plans over the next few days and before long, Craig was in a car on his way to the address Sandy had given him. It only seemed right for them to ride to their dinner and a movie together. He also liked the idea of treating her to a ride in a fancy car. It was no Maserati, but a Rolls Royce was nothing to sniff at. Anyway, he didn’t think Sandy would have particularly fond memories of sports cars after everything…
“Oh my god, this car is the prettiest car I’ve ever been in,” Sandy enthused. Craig was pleased to hear this, but once she was in and safely buckled, he could sense the fear in her eyes as she nibbled on her lip, watching fretfully through the windshield. Traffic kept them from moving very quickly, but he had a feeling she wasn’t going to feel comfortable in a car for a long time.
Compelled by an urge to comfort her, he reached over and took her hand in his, holding it gently but firmly so she’d know he was there for her and it would be okay. She looked over at him and smiled slightly, blushing. Now that the packing was out of her nose and the bruising had considerably gone down, he could see her nose looking more like it was supposed to. And best of all, it wasn’t an embellishment. She was naturally pretty, and soon he was confident she would go back to looking like her old self.
They arrived at Per Se and Craig helped her out of the car, giving the driver a handsome tip for navigating through the traffic without scaring his date too much in the process. He held the door open for her as she entered the restaurant and then held her chair out for her at the table – doing all of the things people generally did for him.
“Thank you,” Sandy said to him with an appreciative smile as he sat down in the chair next to hers. Their waiter handed them their menus, which were really just pieces of paper.
Craig stared down at his, surprised to see the place was a ‘tasting menu’ sort of place, that offered nine-course meals for the choosing. “Wow, this is not the sort of restaurant I was expecting,” he said with a laugh. “I was imagining a bistro or bakery type place. Just goes to show you how often I’ve had French food.”
“Is this a bad thing?” she asked him, guilt entering her expression.
He shook his head, smiling reassuringly at her. “No, not at all. This could be fun. A sort of food adventure!”
It was a good thing the movie they planned on seeing wasn’t going to start for about three hours…
Since the menu was chosen by the restaurant’s chef, they didn’t have to make any selections except for their drinks, and Craig had an idea for what they should have this time. “What do you say to sharing a bottle of wine?” he asked her. He didn’t drink very often, generally preferring mocktails, but he appreciated a good wine every once in a while.
Sandy smiled at him and nodded. “I’m not very good when it comes to selecting wines, though. I usually go by the one with the most fun name, or from the most interesting location.”
Craig looked down at the wine list on the slip of paper and chuckled. “Not a bad strategy,” he said. “The location is often the key, as well as the year.”
Together, they decided on a white wine from New Zealand – though not French, it was definitely the most exotic – and they clinked their glasses together as soon as the wine was poured. Then the food began coming in waves to their table. He’d never had anything like it, and he now knew for a fact Sandy hadn’t either. This is special for both of us, he thought with no small amount of satisfaction. We’re going to remember this forever.
“Oh, I’m stuffed now,” she said to him with a sheepish sort of smile as they made their way back into yet another waiting car. “I hope I don’t fall into a food coma during the movie.”
Craig laughed softly, making sure both their seatbelts were buckled before nodding to the driver to get on the way. “I won’t judge you if you fall asleep. I’ve done it more times than I care to admit.”
The movie theatre wasn’t too far away from the restaurant, so soon they were getting out of the car again and heading inside to take their seats. They saw a romantic comedy with fantastical, musical elements which kept him interested even if the schmaltzy stuff did not. It was a feel good sort of movie, a nice way to pass the time without being very deep or memorable. What Craig was going to remember more was when Sandy lowered her head onto his shoulder midway through. He wondered if she’d fallen asleep, but then she laughed at an appropriate moment so he supposed she was just making herself comfortable. He smiled and gently leaned his head against hers a bit, enjoying this closeness and wishing it could last.
When the movie was over, Craig carefully walked with her out of the theatre, holding her hand. She was clearly drowsy and it was a good excuse to hold onto her and keep her close. They rode his hired car back to her apartment building. “I can make it inside all right,” Sandy swore to him with a smile. “I know the place like the back of my hand.”
“Will I see you again soon?” he asked her, hoping his voice would let her know he wished so.
She nodded at him. “I’d like that.”
He watched her as she went into her apartment building and, once she was out of sight, he got into his car and rode off back to his penthouse. The time between these dates was starting to gnaw at him, but he didn’t want to be too impatient or annoy her. Soon, she was going to be back at her job and her schedule would likely be full. Craig wasn’t sure he was ready to share her with the media after enjoying such peace with her thus far. Who knew that a lousy accident could’ve led to such happiness only a little while later?
It was rather late, but Craig didn’t feel like being alone so he texted his friends to see if any of them wanted to get together at The Executive and sure enough, they were interested.
“Late night happy hour on Saturdays,” Tim pointed out.
Craig smiled and instructed his driver to take him to the social club instead of his penthouse. Thankfully, the traffic of the city had made the ride slow thus far and they were closer to the club than they were to his building.
As soon as his friends saw him, he knew they could tell he’d had a good night. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen you look this happy,” Doug pointed out as they all sat down and ordered a round of the club’s delicious beverages.
“He’s been looking a lot happier ever since he started spending time with his new lady friend,” Ashton pointed out with a sly, crooked smile.
Craig blushed a little, but he couldn’t deny it. He grinned at his friends but didn’t say anything in response to Ashton’s remark.
Their waiter came to the table with a tray full of colorful drinks. Just in time for a toast. “To new lady friends giving us a reason to smile like that,” Tim said, raising his glass.
They all raised their glasses and happily drank. Craig enjoyed the tartness of orange-tangerine in his mocktail, recalling the tasty wine he’d shared with Sandy not so very long ago. “I really like her,” he told his friends once a few hors d’oeuvres were also delivered to their table and things had calmed down. “I feel like I need to do something big and important to show her just how much.”
“Whoa,” Doug said, his jaw falling open. “You’re not thinking of wedding bells already, are you?”
Craig was quick to shake his head. “No, no. Nothing so big. It’s too soon. I’d scare her off. I’m just thinking perhaps I could do with a change-up. As you all well know by now, the business of plastic surgery for plastic surgery’s sake doesn’t sit well with me. I’d much rather know I’m helping people – really and truly helping them, not just focusing on how they look and letting it be the end of it.”
His friends regarded him thoughtfully. Craig knew they weren’t really versed in plastic su
rgery; they each came from vastly different careers and he thought it made their friendship stronger and more interesting. But they knew the sort of things he did, the sort of people he had to deal with… And they knew he had a fair amount of misgivings about a lot of it.
“I have faith in you that you can take your knowledge and skills and turn them into something great,” Ashton said. “If you’re not happy doing what you do, maybe you can find a way to start up something different based on the aspects you do like.”
Craig nodded, scratching his chin in thought. “I’m thinking of options,” he said. “And I can think of no better gift to give Sandy than the gift of changing my practice. I can tell she thinks I’m a spoiled rich guy, concerned about appearances. She doesn’t even have to say so, I see it in the way she looks at me sometimes. And I want to be better in her eyes.”
Suddenly, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. The bar had a pair of flat-screen TVs affixed to the wall behind it and they were showing this sketch comedy show called The Banana Peel. Craig had suspected Sandy might’ve been on something like it, and now it was confirmed because there she was on the screen!
“Guys, look over there,” he directed his friends to look at the screens. “That’s Sandy on TV!”
Tim, Ashton, and Doug followed his gaze and hooted a bit when they saw her there. The camera was focused in on her face. Craig marveled for a moment because her nose looked perfect and the hour had gotten so late. Did she go straight from her apartment to the set? But she was so tired… He realized there was no way. This had to be a repeat episode.
He and his friends rushed over together to the bar so they could hear some of the show. Sandy was portraying a sort of ditzy blonde character and he thought she was quite funny.
“Man, your girlfriend is gorgeous,” Doug said to him with a smile.
Billionaire Hearts Club- The Complete Series Collection Page 20