Page 6 of Do Opposites Attract?

Left on her own, Brianna sank down on the camp bed. Okay, she didn’t sink. That would imply a degree of give in the brick-like mat that was trying to pass for a mattress. Oh heck, she so wanted to cry, but that would be weak and she was determined not to act like the spoilt brat some probably believed her to be. Mitch for one. Then again, why should his opinion of her matter? He was just a jumped up doctor. If she wanted, she thought with a flash of anger, she could get him fired.

As quickly as it had arrived, the anger vanished and she was left feeling stupid and a tiny bit scared. That was exactly the type of attitude she hated. Sure Mitch had been less than welcoming, but at the end of the day her only real gripes were that he’d given her a box to carry and not opened the truck door for her. Considering what he had on his plate at the moment, they were hardly crimes of the century.

* * *

Half an hour and a cold shower later, Brianna was feeling a little more human again.

‘Have you managed to find everything you need?’

In the act of folding her towel over the end of the bed, Brianna looked up with a start, shocked to find Mitch walking unannounced into her tent. ‘Do you always come into a woman’s room uninvited?’

Mitch raised an eyebrow. ‘It depends on the woman.’

‘Well this woman wants you to wait until you’re invited.’ She didn’t want to act like a brat, but she wasn’t going to let him trample all over her, either.

‘But then I might be waiting a long time,’ he replied calmly, nonchalantly leaning against a tent pole.

Something she couldn’t deny. ‘What did you want?’ she asked somewhat churlishly.

Mitch sighed. ‘Look, I came to check you were all right, that’s all. I apologise for not knocking first, but it’s damn hard to do that on a tent.’

Against her will, Brianna’s lips twitched slightly. ‘Point taken. And yes, thank you, I’m fine. I feel a lot better after a shower and change of clothes.’

‘I’m sorry we couldn’t arrange an en suite for you.’ Mitch regarded her with steady brown eyes and she didn’t know if it was a joke, or a dig. Probably the latter, though this time she wasn’t going to rise to the bait. ‘What’s in those?’

Brianna followed the direction of his gaze, over to the two large brown boxes. At the time, her idea had seemed like a good one. Now, under Mitch’s tough scrutiny and having seen the grimness of the situation first hand, she wasn’t so sure. ‘Just something I brought from home I thought might be . . . useful.’ She tried to distract him. ‘Have you got time to show me the medical tent now?’

Mitch nodded. ‘Yeah. But not until you’ve shown me the boxes. I take it you checked with Margaret what to bring? We’re really struggling for some medical supplies.’

Oh wow, he really knew how to make her feel small. Then again, she couldn’t blame him for this blunder. It was entirely down to her own ignorance. ‘Umm, no, I didn’t think to ask. I only checked what I should bring in terms of clothes. For me.’

The disbelieving look he gave her said it all. ‘What on earth is in them then?’

She stared at her feet, way beyond embarrassed. ‘I guess you’d better see for yourself.’

When she dared to look back up Mitch was crouched down on his haunches, tearing open the first box with a penknife. After peering inside, he burst out laughing.

By rights, she should have been highly offended at his reaction, and some of her was. She may not have had the foresight to find out what they needed, but at least she hadn’t come empty-handed. But she found herself unable to muster any anger because she was too busy goggling at the sight of the attractive man crouched over the box. Gone was the harshness, the brooding. In its place was a youthful, almost boyish expression. God, he was positively gorgeous. A smile lit up his face, warmed his chocolate-brown eyes, and even created a set of cute dimples on either side of his mouth. She would never have put cute and DrMitch McBride together in the same sentence. But here he was, looking so damned sexy she almost couldn’t breathe.

‘Teddy bears?’ Mitch asked when he’d finally finished laughing. ‘Well, I’ll give you ten out of ten for originality, if only one out of ten for practicality. But then I don’t suppose someone like you knows much about practicality.’

The sting of his words brought Brianna crashing back down to earth and she immediately reversed her opinion of him. Not cute at all. For a moment she’d glimpsed someone else; a relaxed, attractive, fun-loving man. Now the harsh face was back and with it the sarcastic tone. ‘They aren’t for you,’ she replied stiffly. ‘They’re for your patients. I did bring some things for you and the team, but if that’s going to be your attitude, I think I’d prefer to take them home with me.’ Inside she cringed at the knowledge of what was in the other box. If he’d laughed at the teddy bears . . .

Mitch took in Brianna’s flushed cheeks and fiery green eyes. She really was a beauty and her temper only added to her sensuality. But for crying out loud, when he thought of all thethings she could have brought, and he was left staring at a box of ruddy useless stuffed bears. No, he was damned if he was going to apologise for laughing at her. He could, however, extend an olive branch. ‘I’m sure the kids will love the bears.’

She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. ‘But medicines would have been more useful and might have saved a few lives.’

He met honesty with honesty. ‘Yes.’

With a sigh she nodded over to the other box. ‘I suppose you might as well see what I got you.’

Intrigued, despite himself, he took out his penknife again and sliced open the second box, pulling out a couple of bags. ‘Shower gel and body lotion?’

She bit her lip. ‘No, that’s for the women. Jane and Tessa, right?’

He nodded and dived back into the box. ‘Whisky?’ He could see she was still embarrassed because her eyes weren’t quite meeting his now.

‘Yes,’ she replied diffidently. ‘A bottle for each of the men. Even you.’

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