Free Diagnosis: Danger by Marie Ferrarella Page B

I promise. The next time I’m in the store, I’ll go down the nice girl aisle and pick one out.” He leaned down, bringing his face next to his mother’s. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Until then, enjoy the party. Remember, a kid only turns one once.” With that, he retreated before his mother could gear up for another round.
    He liked going over to see his family. He liked coming home to the peace and quiet of his apartmentjust as much. He loved his parents dearly but the moment he’d turned twenty-one, the age his father had married his mother, his mother started to drop hints. Initially they’d descended on him a drop at a time. At thirty, they were coming down with the intensity of a storm at sea.
    Tonight, she’d been in rare form. Eventually, to gain a little peace, he’d told her that he was actually seeing someone. His mother’s face had lit up and then turned suspicious as she’d asked where this so-called “someone” was. He’d placated his mother by saying that she’d had a prior engagement, making the commitment before he’d asked her to Alan’s party. Then, before his mother could say anything, he quickly tacked on that she was shy, so he wasn’t certain when a meeting would come up.
    It surprised him a little that the woman he’d summoned to mind when giving his mother the most cursory of answers had been the doctor he’d met yesterday. Natalya.
    Funny how she’d managed to stick in his head like that.
    But then, when a woman looked the way Natalya Pulaski did, if she hadn’t stuck in his mind he would have seriously had himself checked over for a pulse.
    So now he was stuck with a fictitious romance his mother was sure to ask about. He glanced at the phone. He had to admit he was surprised that itwasn’t ringing, that his mother wasn’t calling for more substantial details. He could only hope that the others would keep her busy.
    Two weeks. He was going to give the “romance” two weeks and then tell his mother that they broke up. She’d respect his space for a while, giving him sympathy and sending his brothers over with food, the way she had when he’d stopped seeing Brenda. With any luck, it would buy him a reprieve for about a month or so.
    Emptying his pockets, Mike tossed his wallet and keys onto the coffee table. A somewhat crushed card was peering out of his wallet.
    Her card, he thought as he picked it up. She’d given it to him so that he could call if there were any new developments. For a second, he just held the card, debating. And then he shrugged. What the hell? One way or the other, there was nothing to lose.
    Going with impulse, something he placed a fair amount of faith in, Mike dialed the cell phone number Natalya’d written on the back of her card.
    He counted off five rings and was about to hang up when she picked up. “Hello?”
    Her voice sounded low, sexy, moving in waves over the phone. “Doc?”
    He could almost hear her snapping to attention. Belatedly, he realized what she probably thought. “Did you find anything?”
    Feeling a little guilty he replied, “No. I was justwondering if you were up for a cup of coffee, or a nightcap.” When there was no response, a smattering of awkwardness seeped in. It was an entirely new sensation for him and it took effort to shut it down. “Never mind, bad idea.”
    “No.” The single word crackled as it shot out of her mouth. “Not a bad idea.” The volume of her voice lowered again. “A good idea.” She hesitated a moment, as if undecided whether or not to admit something. “I was actually thinking about calling you.”
    Maybe this wasn’t a mistake after all. “Oh?”
    “Yes, I just remembered a piece of information that might be able to help you.”
    A vague disappointment stirred through him. This wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. “Oh.”
    If Natalya didn’t know better, she would have said that was disappointment in his voice. Probably her hearing playing tricks on her. She