She laughed. “I do like to eat.”

“Great. Give me your address and around seven thirty we’ll do that eating thing together.”

He heard her sigh. “Okay. But at dinner I’ll tell you why we shouldn’t see each other.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She said she’d text him her address when he offered to pick her up. After he hung up, he smiled.

He had a date with Aubry tonight.

AFTER TUCKER CALLED, AUBRY HAD SPENT THE REST of the afternoon taking care of business. She paid some bills, dashed to the grocery store and did some laundry. Keeping her eye on the time, she took a quick shower and stared at herself in the mirror, feeling ridiculous for agreeing to a date with Tucker.

As if her life wasn’t complicated enough. She should have said no when he asked her.

So why hadn’t she?

Because you want to go out with him, idiot. That’s why.

Ignoring that annoying inner voice, she dried her hair, put on makeup and went to her closet, trying to figure out what to wear.

Dinner. Nights could still be cool, so she chose a pair of black skinny pants and a long top, then slid on her boots and selected a pair of silver dangly earrings.

Okay, maybe it felt good to dress up in something besides scrubs for a change, and eat something other than microwave meals or a salad. Or, God forbid, hospital cafeteria food. Tucker was damn fine to look at, so there was that as well. How bad could it be to share a meal with a hot guy she was attracted to? He was funny, smart, and if they didn’t end up in the ER because he fell off the curb and broke an ankle or something, it might just be a decent night.

It was just a date, not a relationship. Simple, easy, and fun. Not life changing or anything. She could live with that.

When the doorbell rang, she felt ridiculous for the sudden uptick in her pulse rate.

Just a date, Aubry. Remember? Light and simple.

She opened the door and swallowed at the sight of him wearing dark jeans and a button-down shirt.

“Hi,” she said.

His lips ticked up. “Hi yourself.”

“Come on in. I’m just about ready.”

He walked in and she closed the door behind him, trying not to stare at his ass. Or imagine her hands on said ass. While he was naked.

Get a grip, woman.

Instead, she focused on what he was wearing, assessing the overall look. There was something about men in button-down shirts and blue jeans that really got to her. Maybe because she’d been surrounded by men in either suits or scrubs her entire life.

Plus . . . Tucker. Thick black hair and those glasses, and the eyes behind them. Deep, green eyes he fixed on her when he turned around.

This was what happened when she didn’t have sex for a really long time. Katie and Marie were right. Her libido was definitely coming out in full force right now.

She’d have to remind herself to keep her focus tonight.

It was a date. They were going out for dinner. Nothing more.

“Nice place.”

She shrugged. “Just a condo. It’s really nothing much. I didn’t want to buy a house—not right now, anyway, since I don’t spend a lot of time here.”

“Because you’re always at the hospital.”

She nodded. “Yes. How about you?”

“The same. I’m on the road a lot, and I want to make sure a team is going to keep me before I decide to invest in a house. So I’m leasing a condo. I don’t live too far from you, actually. Just a few miles down the road.”

“The new complex? The one they finished up last year? The Shenandoah Heights neighborhood?”

“Yeah. That’s the one.”

“I love those condos. Big porches and a great park and pool. I have a friend who lives over there. The square footage is awesome.”

“It’s pretty nice.”

“Did you get the two bedroom or three?”

“Three. I have a big family and some of them like to visit. Between Grant and me, we can put them up.”

“I’m very jealous. The floor plan for the three bedroom is very generous for a condo.”

He walked into her living room. “Your place has decent space. I like your kitchen. Do you cook?”

“I hardly remember what it’s like to have the time to fix a decent meal. And to be honest, I don’t really know how to cook many things. How about you? Do you cook?”

“On the grill outside. Steaks and burgers and things. I do make fantastic pancakes. Plus, I can microwave the hell out of anything.”

She laughed. “So your awesome kitchen is going to waste.”

“Pretty much. Like tonight.”

He was giving her a look, when she realized they were just standing there in the living room.

She obviously didn’t entertain enough, either. Her mother would be appalled. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I’ll be just a minute. Please sit down.”

She dashed off to the bedroom, finger combed her hair, applied lip gloss, then took one last look in the mirror.

Decent. Okay, she looked hot. Good enough to get laid, if that’s what she had in mind.

Which she didn’t. At all. Much.

Okay, maybe a little.

“This is ridiculous,” she whispered to herself as she grabbed her purse, her sweater, and opened the bedroom door. She pasted on her best smile and decided whatever happened—happened. She was tired of the inner war she was having with herself.

Tucker stood as she came out.

“Did I mention you look gorgeous tonight? Though you look pretty damn hot in those scrubs you wear at the hospital, too.”