Chapter 20
IT’S SATURDAY, Dr. Solomon.” Kenya held the phone between her shoulder and ear. Warmth spread through her core as he chuckled.
“Is there something wrong with calling you on a Saturday?”
She shifted from her closet to her accent chair, thankful for her progress but still not trusting herself to multitask her movements. Thankfully, this man had a subtle way of helping her regain her balance.
“It is a rest day. So that means no work, even the work involved in maintaining a fake relationship. And don’t you have something to study for?”
“I did this morning. But are you up for a spontaneous invitation?”
“I’m all ears.”
“Can you meet me downtown? Or better yet, how about I pick you up?”
“Oh, wow, moving fast. If only your mother could see us now.”
“I’m scared.”
“Don’t be, Doctor. And yes, you can pick this bored-out-of-her-mind woman up. I was over here color coding my closet, for goodness’ sake. Who does that?”
He remained silent.
“Oh, you do!” She giggled, trying to stifle it with her hand. “Of course you do.”
He growled playfully. “Be ready in fifteen.”
Thirty minutes later, Kenya let Solomon help her out of his car. The charge as he held her hand quickly dissipated when she saw the building they were about to enter.
“Why are we here again?”
Getting dragged to the library with Solomon was not at the top of her fun list, or even her fake-dating fun list.
“Why do you look like the thought of the library creeps you out?”
She tried to play nonchalant. “It’s not my favorite place in the world.”
“Too boring for you?”
“You could say that.”
“Don’t be so nervous. I haven’t led you into a den of criminals, Rapunzel.”
Kenya jerked her neck so hard, she almost needed a chiropractor. “Was that a Tangled reference I just heard?”
Solomon didn’t look at her. “Maybe.”
“Dr. Anruchi, you are full of surprises. I would have never guessed you would watch Disney princess movies, much less know the references.”
He pushed open the glass doors. Kenya’s curiosity trumped her trepidation, for now.
“Please tell me how.”
“I have a sister.”
“Aww, so you watched it with your sister.”
Quiet.
“Wait . . . or you watched by yourself!”
“Shhh.”
They stepped into the double doors of the Hope Springs Library. The strong AC made her shiver.
She hugged herself. “Solomon! That is so cute.” Her whisper came out louder than she intended.
“I thought the guy character was cool, okay? It was the first princess movie I didn’t fall asleep on.”
“Flynn Ryder was pretty dope.”
“Agreed.” He glanced back at Kenya, probably wondering how he’d gotten caught in that conversation.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone, Doctor.”
“Great. And my sister was there, by the way. Just had fallen asleep.”
“So big brother saved the day by finishing the movie for her.”
“Shhh, no talking in the library.”
Kenya giggled as she pictured him tucked in on the couch with his sister, watching, in her opinion, one of the best princess movies of all time. With all the adventure, singing, and romance in the movie, it was really cute to hear this über-masculine man admitting he liked it. So sweet.
She inhaled and set her gaze on her surroundings. “Ugh.” This, not so sweet. Books were harmless and immobile, but the abundance of them made her skin crawl.
“Why are we here again?”
“Because it’s my turn to read for story hour, and you are going to do it with me.”
She gripped the front of her shirt. “Oh no, no. That’s not a good idea. Instead, how about we relive your Tangled era and go watch it together?”
“Oh, there you are.” A bright-eyed librarian who looked like she was barely out of high school approached them. Somehow in their discussion, Solomon had led her into the children’s section of the library, and now twenty pairs of young eyes stared at them expectantly.
“Solomon,” she whispered out the corner of her mouth, “what in the world have you brought me to?”
“To a room full of kids, obviously.” He grinned and waved.
Despite the hands that waved back, unease crawled up her spine. “I’m aware of that, but what are we doing here? Like me, with you. Here.”
She already didn’t like the fact that they were in a library. Felt like she was back in school when she was called upon in class without the faintest idea of what to do.
“Since we didn’t get to really meet last time, I wanted to make it up to you by bringing you along with me to read to this amazing group of kids. Several doctors I know rotate in different areas of the community.”
“Yes, okay, but—”
“And now it’s my turn.”
The young librarian must’ve been following their lips because she jumped into the conversation.
“We love having different community members join us for our weekly story time. It’s a great way for the kids to not only hear an amazing story but also to see somebody in a field that they may want to work in later on.”
Kenya breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, what a great idea for Dr. Solomon to read to them.”
She shifted toward an open chair at the back of the group, wondering how she would maneuver to keep her foot in a safe zone. Either way, she would keep her smile ready and inwardly gush at this handsome man who obviously enjoyed being around kids.
“Not so fast.” Solomon held her arm before she could get too far. “You’re doing this with me.”
Her stomach flipped. “I don’t know if I should . . .”
The librarian’s smile was encouraging, but clueless. “Oh, it will be great! What is it that you do? I’m sure the kids would love to know that as well.”
Kenya’s eyes bounced between both of their beaming faces nodding in agreement. If she didn’t have a ridiculous crush on the doctor, she might tell them that they needed to go on a date. She choked. I have a crush on the doctor.
“I think that an event planner is”—cough—“a little bit hard to explain.”
“Oh, we’ve never had an event planner here. That sounds fun and is a perfect fit for our story. I would love to introduce you to the kids.”
Before Kenya could stop her, the librarian stepped toward the front of the room.
Dr. Anruchi grinned, pleased as a peach. If he didn’t look so adorable, she would tell him where to stuff that smile.
“Oh, dear fake boyfriend.” She tugged at his arm, until he leaned down far enough for her to speak into his ear.
Heat from his arm pressed against hers. His expression turned to surprise and then his lips curved into something warmer.
In response, the arm she held moved around her back, tucking her into his solid side.
“Yes, dear fake girlfriend?”
He was quite distracting. Where were they again? Oh yes, at the library, to do the worst thing imaginable for her.
“I-I think you’ve made a mistake.”
“Why are you suddenly so shy? The Kenya that I’m getting to know doesn’t back down from a challenge. This is nothing, just reading to kids for a few minutes.”
He didn’t know it all. This was everything. The big rock that wasn’t a foundation but a boulder in her path, time and time again.
“I appreciate you trusting me, but this is something that I’m not very good at.”
How could she even explain to him the way words swam and ran together, especially when she was boxed in or overly stressed.
She loved being in situations where she didn’t have to prepare and where she could move with the flow and energy of the room.
Words on a printed page were her kryptonite, the bane of her existence.
But she couldn’t tell that to this doctor. Oh, Lord Jesus, help me. She looked up at him, his gaze tender and so warm she could almost feel the heat coming from him. She could almost forget that they were surrounded by children, and by the way his eyes lingered on her lips, he might have too.
She let go of him. He cleared his throat and dug his hands into his pockets as he turned toward the front.
No, ma’am, no kisses allowed in a library around kids. And most definitely not with a man she was fake dating.
A memory swam before Kenya’s eyes. A time in eighth grade when the assignment had been to write a three-page paper or present a project with an outline. Instead of reading from printed notes, she splashed images all over a board and presented each picture and image from memory.
This could be like that, or even like her pitch meetings. She was always applauded for how creative and out-of-the-box her presentations were. The exceptional work that they saw was survival for her. And she would survive this one too.
Kenya leaned against Solomon. Just enough to grab his attention again, nothing more. “If you’re making me do this, I have an idea. How about you read, and I act out the story?”
It was Solomon’s turn to look hesitant. Kenya widened her eyes in return, and perhaps her naturally curly lashes fluttered a little more than usual because Solomon’s reluctance melted into the cutest, slowest grin that spread across his face.
The face of someone looking forward to seeing an adventure unfold.
“Okay, boys and girls.” The librarian clapped her hands three times, and the room quieted. Kenya was impressed. “I would like to introduce you to not one but two special guests today. First, how many of you remember who we had last week?”
“Mr. Hoskins.” An eager beaver with a gap-tooth grin blurted out the answer before her hand had a chance to pop up.
“That’s right, and what does he do for his career?” The librarian leaned close, as if to pull out the answer with her sweet proximity. She set her eyes on one particularly shy boy. “Do you remember, Collin?”
“He, um, fixes toilets?”
She straightened with a big grin. “That is close! He is a plumber, and how fun it was to read that book about sewage and ocean water.”
“Is that for real?” Kenya scrunched up her nose and leaned close to Solomon, her shoulder making contact with his arm.
Another mistake. There was no time for her to get twitterpated over his rock-solid arm when she was supposed to pretend she could share a coherent story with these children.
What was up with her today? It was like she had been dragging her feet all over the carpet and Solomon was the metal object zapping her with each touch.
Solomon cleared his throat. “It’s a very interactive experience. Molly”—Ah, the young librarian had a name!—“tries to tie in books with the careers so that the kids can attach what they read to someone tangible.”
That was why he invited her. So thoughtful. But still not so much appreciated.
“Now I would like to introduce a doctor of physical therapy to you and an event planner. Is that right?”
Kenya nodded.
“What’s an event planner?” one brave child piped up.
Molly clasped her hands in front of her. “An event planner is responsible for the coordination and details of different types of events, like weddings, conferences, concerts, and so much more. Is that correct?”
Leave it to the librarian to have the dictionary answer.
Kenya affirmed and gave a small wave to the elementary audience. Molly gestured to a padded chair and another one that looked like it belonged in a high school classroom.
Solomon graciously offered her the comfy seat and then perched on the hard chair.
He lifted the book and read the title—Katie, Clyde and the Ambulance Ride. By the title, Kenya assumed it was going to be just that, uneventful. But that showed how much experience she had with this sort of thing.
As Solomon read, she jumped from one facial expression and hand movement to another. She kept her ankle out of the equation as much as possible, but the kids still seemed to get a kick out of the ways she acted out Katie and Clyde’s ultra-adventurous, albeit dangerous, day.
True to the title, the book related to the medical field.
The kids collectively gasped when the story turned from a walk to feed ducks and a party in a park to a trip to the hospital.
What started as trepidation over the turn of events unfolded into a poignant G-rated peek inside the inner workings of a hospital and the people who made it run.
As Solomon continued to read, Kenya lowered herself to her chair, as caught up in the story as the kids were.
Solomon’s voice flowed over every word, stringing phrases and sentences together like a melody.
His voice soothed and soared, drawing all of them into the story, cultivating a soundtrack of honor and gratitude that strummed in the background of the narrative.
It evoked a Reading Rainbow level of nostalgia.
How did a man who spent most of his time stretching and strengthening limbs evoke such emotion with his words?
Enraptured was an understatement. This was what reading was meant to be.
That’s what it has never been for me. As soon as the thought popped up, she snapped out of her reverie.
A sudden waking from a dream. So much for acting out more of the motions.
But the kids didn’t seem to care. And neither did the librarian nor some of the lingering parents, as their soft smiles indicated what a pleasure it was to be in the presence of such an orator.
Thank God all this was not supposed to last. Because how did she ever think someone like him would settle for someone like her?