Page 17 of Do Opposites Attract?

Brianna sighed as she watched him stalk out. Bugger, she’d embarrassed him. Who would have thought the tough doctor was capable of being embarrassed? ‘I’d better go and apologise.’

Jane looked at her sympathetically. ‘You shouldn’t have to. Calling him sexy was hardly an insult.’

No, Brianna thought, it wasn’t. She found him outside, leaning back against the wall and staring into space. ‘I meant it, you know,’ she said as she walked up to him. ‘You would look great on a billboard.’ He ignored her, staring stonily into the distance. ‘Haven’t you been called sexy before?’ Brianna was intrigued.

‘No.’ The word had to be prized out of his clenched jaw.

‘Well it’s about time you were.’

Finally he turned to look at her. ‘What is it you want from me, Brianna?’ he asked softly.

The sexual chemistry that had bubbled dangerously between them right from the start flared into life and suddenly the air felt hot and heavy. ‘I call a man sexy and all of a sudden he assumes I want something from him.’ She tried to smile, but the joke fell flat.

What would he say if she told him the truth? That what she wanted was for him to take her to bed. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly that, but faltered at the harsh expression on his face. Even she, confident in her ability to attract the opposite sex, couldn’t be that bold with him. ‘Look, I didn’t mean to upsetyou. I happen to think you would do a great job at selling the charity. But you clearly don’t want to get involved with that, which is fine.’ She shrugged. ‘I might not be able to put any of my plans into action, anyway.’ Turning away from him, she started walking back into the bar. ‘Come and finish your drink.’

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, though the atmosphere between her and Mitch remained. She desperately wanted to know if he found her attractive, too. If he wanted to sleep with her as much as she wanted to sleep with him. So far, she’d shown her hand, but he’d kept his well hidden.

Chapter Eight

The following morning the team huddled together in Mitch’s tent to go over the plans for the day.

‘The final item to discuss is the temporary school,’ Mitch was saying, his eyes skimming through his notes. ‘They’re looking for English speaking volunteers to do a stint with the children.’ He glanced fleetingly at Brianna. ‘I thought it was something you could help with.’

‘Because I’m useless here?’

His expression changed from bland to irritated. ‘No. Because nobody here talks the Queen’s English better than you do.’

It was another dig at her background, but Brianna held back a retort. After last night, she needed to find a way back into his good books. ‘Okay, no problem. I’d love to help. I can give them the rest of the bears I brought.’

He looked like he was going to add a comment about that, but thankfully he didn’t get a chance because Dan spoke. ‘I’ll go with you. Can’t have them all talking like posh people.’

Mitch narrowed his eyes and glared at the logistics man before seeming to pull himself together and nodding. ‘Okay.’

When the meeting was over, Mitch pulled her to one side. ‘Make sure you take some water bottles with you. I presume you read all the bumph about never drinking water that isn’t out of a sealed bottle?’

Really, did she look stupid? ‘Of course.’

Dan appeared at her side. ‘Hey, don’t worry about her, boss. I’ll make sure she’s okay.’

Mitch thinned his lips. ‘I’m sure you will.’

When he was out of earshot, Dan whistled. ‘What’s got into him this morning? He’s even grumpier than usual.’

Brianna had a horrible feeling it was down to her meddling last night. She’d told the guy he was sexy enough to be billboard material and now he hated her. Go figure.

Shrugging off Mitch’s irritation, she went to gather the box of remaining bears from her tent and followed Dan to the jeep. As he drove she thought about the day ahead. Talking with the school children would be fun. As would being in the company of Dan. What a flipping shame that next to Mitch, Dan was like a young boy, still wet behind the ears. It wasn’t just the difference in ages, though there was probably ten years between them. Dan was all on the surface. What you saw was what you got. Mitch was deep, complex. He intrigued her. Where did he get his mental strength from? Why was he so unwilling to let down his guard? Why did he find it so hard to smile?

‘Here we go.’ Dan jumped down from the jeep and went round to open the door for her.

Thanking him, she scrambled down and surveyed the school tent. ‘I’m amazed they’re bothering with schooling at a time like this.’

‘It helps the kids to have some sort of normal routine in their lives.’ He grinned. ‘And gives the parents a bit of a break.’

Quietly they crept into the back of the tent, but in no time at all they were spotted and drawn into the conversation. Brianna had worried whether she’d even be able to talk to the children, but she found between her limited grasp of Spanish and their surprisingly good English, they managed fine. And the teddy bears went down a storm. So there, Mitch.

In between the smiles and laughter there were some touching moments, most particularly when the children haltingly described when the tornado had hit. Brianna wasn’t the only one with tears in her eyes. Thankfully the teacher called a temporary break after that and Brianna escaped outside for some much needed air.

‘You want drink?’

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