Page 46 of Totally Off Limits

“Only after you put a healthy dent in it.”

Sierra’s eyes widened as Austin handed her the plate with the chicken wrap and a plastic fork. “Thanks.”

“But that’s not all. I have a selection of beverages here for you.” How this man managed to make a picnic lunch this fun, she wouldn’t know. Five minutes ago, she’d been ready to tear her hair out and now she felt calm and almost giggly. The twinkle in his eyes told her he noticed. “Bottled water, a gallon of iced tea if you wanted a glass, Dr. Pepper.”

“I’ll take a—”

“I’m not done yet.” The sparkle in his eyes made her bite down on her lower lip. Reaching into the cooler, he grabbed something and slowly lifted it up. With a whisper, he said as he slowly revealed a brown bottle, “Blue Moon.”

Sierra grimaced. “I better stick with the water.”

“That’s fair. I didn’t know how you felt about a lunchtime drink.”

“It might take some of the tension out of my muscles—but I don’t dare.” Even though she suspected the doctor had a liquid lunch on occasion. In all fairness, though, it washispractice. It was his ass on the line if anything happened due to malpractice. Sierra had never so much as come into work with a hangover, much less actively imbibing during her breaks. “But don’t let me stop you.”

“Nah. I’m good with tea.”

Sierra took a swig of water from the bottle he handed her, waiting patiently while he loaded up his plate with a little of everything.

“Don’t wait for me, Sierra. You said you only have half an hour, right?”

Now that area was where she was maybe okay with bending the rules a little bit, especially after the day she’d had so far. An extra five minutes wouldn’t kill anyone, especially since she’d still be there before the afternoon patients arrived—unless they had super early birds, not unheard of. “Give or take.” With a wink, she took a bite out of the wrap as Austin handed her a paper napkin. Nodding, she chewed and swallowed and said, “Thanks. This is really good. Where’d you get it?”

“A guy’s gotta have his secrets.” Grinning, Sierra shook her head, taking another bite. “I got all this at the supermarket deli.”

“No kidding. I always dart right past there. I’m impressed at the healthier options.”

“I was, too, and I brought them—but just in case you didn’t mind a little naughty…”

Jesus. That was all she’d been lately, she thought, picking up her water bottle and swallowing. What the hell was she thinking? She couldn’t say she was dating Mickey, and she really wasn’t dating Austin, either. But she most certainly was courtingboththeir affections.

What did that say about her?

But Austin didn’t seem to notice the story behind her eyes. “Brownies.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t even tell you to clean your plate.” With a wink, he said, “I wanted to spend a little time with you because I’ll be out of town for a few weeks.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So I don’t know how much you know about mines…”

“Next to nothing.”

“That’s fair. Why would you? So when we mine the gold, it doesn’t come out ready to shape into jewelry, right? It’s raw ore, mixed with other metals and stones—and so we partner with a refinery here in Colorado. They take the raw materials and, well,refinethem so we end up with pure gold.”

“Makes sense.”

“I know my dad has been in business for a long time using the same partners throughout the entire process—and I get that. But if I’m going to be taking over the whole operation, I want to make sure that we’re not only getting the right deal, but that we’re working with state-of-the-art businesses. So I’ve set up several meetings with other refineries—not just here in Colorado but in neighboring states. I’ll be touring their facilities and meeting with them—and maybe even negotiating if I like what they have to say.”

Sierra’s thoughts immediately went to her own family. If they had been like the Ackermans who owned a business, she’d never have the balls to step in and start changing everything—or even question the status quo. In a way, it made her admire the man across from her, simply that he had the confidence to even try. But it also brought up a question. “And your dad’s okay with that?”

“He has to be.” But Austin was looking at his potato salad, not her…making her feel like he was hiding something. Was he maybe not as confident as he made it seem when it came to his father?

Or was it something else? Did Austin maybe have another woman on the side, testing the waters with them both like Sierra seemed to be doing with both him and Mickey?

Or was it just her guilty conscience?

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