The noodles were cooked well, and the meatballs were flavorful. The sauce was great, too. They might not be experts and this dish certainly wasn’t restaurant quality, but for a first effort, Tucker was right. It didn’t suck.

“We might actually be able to handle this cooking thing,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Or maybe it’s just the wine talking.”

Patricia came by and filled a small plate with their main course and took a taste.

“It’s not the wine talking. You both did good.”

Aubry felt like she’d just aced her MCATs all over again. “Yes!” She high-fived Tucker.

“Now enjoy your dinner,” Patricia said. “And the wine.”

“Thanks,” Tucker said. “We will.”

Aubry wasn’t a foodie. She enjoyed eating, but most of the time she was at work and food was just whatever she could grab to keep from starving. Tonight, though, she savored every bite, wishing she could box it up, take it home and keep it forever.

She’d never been a cook. She’d spent all her time at the hospital, studying, or, before that, in school, so cooking had never been something she’d mastered. Now, though, she felt like it was a challenge she could devote more time to.

“I’m going to order some cookbooks and start fixing meals for us to eat,” she said.

“That’ll require gadgets,” Tucker said, sliding another piece of meatball into his mouth.

“You mean like pots and pans? I have some of those.”

“This homemade pasta is good. I’d like to work on that again. And this sauce is pretty damn good, too.”

She took a sip of her wine and nodded. “The sauce is incredible. The fresh herbs really made a difference. I wish I had a house with a big yard so I could have an herb garden.”

He laid his fork down and picked up his glass of wine to take a sip. “What’s stopping you from buying a house?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not something I’ve ever thought about doing. It’s just me, and I don’t really need the space. The condo has always been adequate for my needs.”

“Except you can’t grow a garden in those tiny backyards that come with a condo.”

“So true. What about you?”

“Same thing. Just me, and I lease the condo in case I get traded. In my business, unless you know you’re going to be with one team for the long haul, you don’t set down roots.”

“Good point.” And just the thought of Tucker being traded caused an ache in her stomach. She was enjoying her time with him.

Maybe too much?

That was something she didn’t intend to think about tonight. Not when she was having so much fun.

She took another swallow of wine and decided to ponder the thought of a house instead. She’d always intended to buy a house after she got settled . . . somewhere. After residency, when she figured out where she’d end up practicing medicine.

What prevented her from buying now, though? She could always sell if she decided to move for work. Just the thought of being able to plant a garden, grow some tomatoes and herbs, excited her.

It was a sudden epiphany. She could sell her condo and buy a house.

“What are you thinking about over there? You went quiet all of a sudden.”

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking about how I’ve put things on hold until after my residency. Things like buying a house. And then wondering why I couldn’t just do that now.”

He finished off his glass of wine, then set it on the table. “No reason you couldn’t buy now, is there? Unless you’re going to be moving.”

“I could apply for a fellowship to a hospital in another state. But I like the hospital I’m working in. And St. Louis is my home.”

“So your ultimate goal is to stay here.”

She’d never thought in those terms before, had always kept herself in the here and now, refusing to think that far down the road. “I don’t know. Maybe that is what I’m saying.”

“So buy yourself a house, Aubry. Do whatever the hell it is you want to do. You’ve worked your ass off these past few years in medical school and residency. Isn’t it time you reap the rewards of that?”

She stared at him.

He smiled back at her. “What?”

“No one has ever told me to just go for it before, to do whatever I want to do.”

He leaned forward and grasped her hands. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s the truth.”