Page 12 of Doc Showmance
“You okay if I head out, Wade?” I asked. “It’s been a long day. Mac’s in good hands overnight.”
Wade stood, too. “You sure he’ll be okay without you here? You trust the doctor who’ll be watching him?”
“She’s great. She’ll call me if she’s worried. I promise. If he needs it, I’ll come in and check on him. I’ll call you if that’s necessary.” I scribbled a note on Mac’s order sheet to indicate it was okay for the staff to call me at any time.
“You’ll be here tomorrow, Doc?”
I nodded, only half my attention in this conversation. “I’ll be in first thing. I’ll call you and let you know our plan for the day.”
“Thanks for saving his life.” He jumped forward and pulled me into a hug and whispered, “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I forced myself not to squirm and not to pull out of the hug too soon. But he smelled of sweat, and I felt trapped. I wasn’t a hugger. Me freaking out coming in five, four, three…
Thank God, he let go.
My gaze sought Ian. Why? I wasn’t sure. His eyebrows had moved upward, and there was a smolder of fire I couldn’t interpret in his gaze. Screw him if he was being judgmental. Wade had just lived through hell.
I mouthed to Ian:Dillweed.
I said to Wade, “We’re going to take the best possible care of him tonight. You’re welcome to spend another few minutes here with him. If you have any questions or worries, I’m sure you have Joley’s number. You can send her a message and she’ll relay it to me.”
I forced myself not to look Ian’s way again. In a total chicken move I hightailed it to the communal doctors’ office.
“That was quite a show,” Ian said from the doorway.
Jumping, I held my oversized bag against my chest like a shield. Damn it, his radiant good looks sucked me in before I refocused my brain and reminded myself who this was. Those gray eyes were so intense on me, as if there was no one else more interesting. I managed a throat clear, but my voice came out hoarse. “It wasn’t a show. I did what was right for my patient.”
He grinned. “It’s over. You don’t have to keep acting for the cameras.”
Be cool. Be tough.My emotional tank had hit empty an hour ago. All I had left was defensive grumpiness, which meant my mouth filter wouldn’t work. “Ineverpeacock for the fucking cameras. I refuse. Actually, I can’t act. It’s why this, with you here and whatever the hell they plan to make us do, is a nightmare. I can’t pretendto likeyou.”
“You think pretending to like you is going to be a picnic for me?”
“Then go. Quit. Please. Let’s not do this.” I lowered my bag and glared. “Go back to what you’re good at in those set up wild animal scenarios.”
His smile fell. “You don’t think I can do this. You think I can’t do emergency medicine.”
Oh, good Lord. I’d forgotten if I pushed him by disagreeing, he’d dig his heels in and do whatever the hell it was simply to annoy me and prove he was better at it. “I’m sure you’re a great vet to dolphins and elephants. Won’t see a lot of those here. What you will see is a lot is life or death scenarios. If your medicine is rusty, those split-moment decisions might not be the right ones. Then your patient dies.”
Okay, not exactly the right thing to say to inspire him to leave.
His cheek muscle spasmed as he stalked close to me. He had a solid foot on me, not that I was intimidated. “You don’t hold the monopoly on good medicine, Amber.”
“Go prove you’re Mr. Super Sexy Smart Vet somewhere else. Anywhere that’s not here.”
He was in my space, and oh, God, he smelled good. Fresh and spicy aftershave. In a job rife with terrible odors, this was heavenly.
Not heavenly. Snap out of it.
He cocked his head and scanned down my body. Softly, he said, “You think I’m sexy?”
Oh, my. The purr of his tone made my stomach clamp. I managed to tug my gaze off his. “I’m not doing this insanity of you picking apart every word I say. Not tonight.”
I marched out of the office, only to spin around and march back to grab my cell phone off the counter. Damn Ian for putting me off my game. This frazzled, scatterbrained behavior was about to become my new norm if he was in the vicinity.
Ian smiled a radiant expanse of white teeth. “You’re scared.”
I froze. I turned back to face him.
