“Well, Ash, if you think buying me breakfast is enough, think again. I’m free for dinner tonight.”
His lungs filled involuntarily. “Dinner then. Tonight.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said softly with a sweet, sweet smile.
He could have stood there and gaped at Brenna all morning. But duty called. He had patients waiting. “Remember, one hour before you turn up to work,” he warned as he walked to the exit.
“One hour from five minutes ago,” she called out.
He strutted to the clinic, grinning like an idiot. He’d be too busy to have a chit-chat with Brenna during the day, but at least he’d see her. And he was having dinner with her tonight. Oh, he knew damn well it wasn’t a date, but it didn’t stop him from getting all excited.
*****
Ash came back to the clinic after performing surgery on a patient at the nearby Sydney Eye Hospital. As usual, it had been a busy day, and he hadn’t had a chance to speak with Brenna at all since leaving her at the café that morning. Hopefully, she’d had a good day.
“Hi,” he said as he approached the reception desk. The waiting room was empty of patients, since it was closing time.
“Hey, Ash,” Brenna said with a grin. “How was the operation?”
“Went well, thanks. How’s your day been?”
“It’s been good. I’ve had lots of help from everyone.”
“She’s done so well that I want to keep her,” Dora said from behind him.
“That’s great. The important question is, did you enjoy today?” he asked Brenna.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Don’t lie,” he said, narrowing his eyes.
She laughed. “I did! It’s not as exciting as my regular job, but I still enjoyed it.”
“If only all receptionists were like you,” Dora said with a sigh as she walked back to her office.
Ash leaned on the counter and stared at Brenna. “Still keen to do it again tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“I really appreciate this, Bren. Thank you,” he said quietly.
“It’s my pleasure, Doc. Anyway, I was talking to Dora about the fact that you hardly had a break today, and that I didn’t think you had lunch. She said you’re like this most days. So did you even get to eat?”
“Yeah,” he said a tad defensively. “I had a ham and egg sandwich.”
“When?”
“When I was walking to the eye hospital.”
“You ate on the run?” she asked incredulously. “That’s not good, Ash.”
“I was just really busy,” he said.
“You should get at least half an hour blocked on your schedule each day so you can have a decent lunch.”
“Yeah, but...” Truth was, it had become the norm for him to work like this every day. When he’d set up the clinic three years ago, it had been imperative to work hard and get the cash flow coming in. His mother’s house had been a guarantee for the business loan he took, and he couldn’t let himself rest until he was absolutely sure that there was no chance of his mum losing the roof above her head.
The clinic was doing very well now, though. He had three other ophthalmologists renting the consultation rooms and using the facilities. He also had a consistently long list of surgical patients at the eye hospital. With his current income now well above the higher end of his expectations, his busyness these days was due to demand, not necessity.
“But what, Ash?” Brenna prodded.
“But I only follow whatever I see on my calendar. It’s always full,” he said weakly.
Brenna rolled her eyes at his pathetic excuse. “And you forced me to have breakfast this morning,” she said accusingly.
“You weren’t supposed to start work yet,” he said, his lips curving. It was a nice feeling to have Brenna worry about whether he was eating his lunch or not.
“Well,” Brenna said, sitting back on her seat and folding her arms. “From tomorrow, I eat when you eat.”
“What? Come on, that’s ridiculous.”
“Why?”
“Because most of the time, I’m not sure when I would eat.”
Brenna shrugged. “So I’ll wait for you.”
“No,” he said authoritatively. “Doctor’s orders.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“Why not?”
Brenna leaned forward, giving him a stern look. “Ash, if that’s what it takes to make you look after yourself, then that’s how it’s gonna be. It’s silly that you’re a doctor, yet you don’t look after your own well-being.”
He sighed, touched by her care. But he couldn’t agree to what she wanted to do. “How do you even know when I eat? What if I have to have lunch in my office while I’m poring over patient files?”
“That’s no problem. When I know you’re eating, that’s when I’ll take my lunch break and eat in the staff room. Dora won’t mind. I’ll work it out with her.”
“Lunch break? You’re only supposed to work for half a day, Brenna, not for a full day. Today is an aberration.”
“Well, I was talking to Dora about that too. She said she was glad I was able to work from ten o’clock today, and that it would help if I did it for two weeks.”
He raked his hair, glaring at Dora’s office door.
“It’s all sorted, Ash. It’s your admin manager’s role to work these things out. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to undermine her.”
He sighed in defeat.
“So, getting back to you eating lunch at a reasonable hour...” she said in a slightly victorious tone.
“Bren, I really don’t think—”
“You can’t be like this every day, Ash,” she interrupted, scowling fiercely.
He shook his head mockingly, rolling his eyes. “She’s been here a day and she’s already organising me,” he muttered good-naturedly.
“I have two weeks to get you out of your bad habit, Dr. Payne. And I take my job seriously,” she said, still frowning.
“So how do you propose to make sure I have lunch at a decent time, when my schedule’s probably full for the next few weeks?”
Ash’s breath hitched when Brenna’s face split into a wide smile. Not that she didn’t look beautiful when frowning, but knowing he could make her smile like that filled him with warmth. And heck, he wanted to climb over the counter and kiss her.
“I’ll check your daily schedule and find a half-hour slot when you’re not seeing patients,” she answered. “I’ll go get your lunch for you and you can have it in your office if you need to continue to work. For the days when you’re not booked up yet, I’ll block out the time in your calendar. I suggest asking your receptionist to get your lunch. Otherwise, I’ll have to block out forty-five minutes if you’ll be getting your own lunch after I finish up here.”
Disappointment stabbed him at the thought that Brenna would be gone in a couple of weeks. Lord, she’d only been here a day and he was already anticipating missing her when she finished up. He had to watch himself around her or he might end up paying big for his foolishness down the track.
“Well, it’s five o’clock,” he said, checking his watch. “I still have a few things to do before I finish up for today. Do you want to go home first, and I’ll pick you up at seven for dinner?”
“Turning my computer off... now,” she answered, clicking away, then getting up from her seat. “I’m looking forward to tonight, Ash,” she added as she put her jacket on.
“Me, too, Bren,” he said softly, excitement stirring within him. Seriously, where was his self-control? Hadn’t he committed to moving on from her?
It’s not a date, Ash, he berated himself. Be careful, or you’ll get your heart all wounded again.
CHAPTER SIX
Brenna’s heart pounded when she heard the knock on her door. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she went to answer it. She rubbed her cold hands together, blowing on her palms, which were sweaty from nervous anticipation. Since she’d left his clinic, her mind ha
d been busy imagining a flirtatious and romantic night with Ash.
Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned the knob and opened the door.
There he was, looking oh so hot. He must have gone home first, since he wasn’t wearing the same clothes he’d worn at work earlier today. Unless he had a change of gear stashed somewhere in his office.
“Hi,” Ash said, his eyes sweeping her from head to toe. She blushed, hoping Ash liked her outfit. She’d deliberately worn one of her sexiest dresses and matched it with a pair of equally sexy high heels. She’d been looking forward to his reaction.
His gaze went back to her face and he gave her a tight smile. “Ready?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Uh, sure. Let me grab my purse,” she replied, leaving Ash standing in the doorway as she retrieved her handbag.
Well, she wasn’t expecting that response, was she? She’d imagined him telling her she looked great. Then she’d thought he’d kiss her hello—almost on the lips—while giving her a tight, lingering hug. Because wasn’t this what he’d been waiting for for so long?
Yet he hadn’t done any of those things. In fact, he looked uncomfortable. Wasn’t he looking forward to a hot date with her? Doubts crept in, making her question the wisdom of her plans to flirt outrageously with him tonight.
She exhaled gustily and walked back to him, smiling widely.
“Do you have a particular place in mind for dinner?” Ash asked as they left her apartment.
She swallowed her disappointment, keeping her smile in place. How silly of her to assume that Ash would arrange to take her somewhere romantic for their first date. Yes, she should have been the one to book a place. After all, she had done the asking out.
“Actually, no,” she answered. “I’m sure we can find plenty of places to go to without a reservation.”
“What do you feel like having?” he asked.
She shrugged.
“Let’s go to one of your favourite restaurants,” he said. “After all, this is a thank-you dinner for all your hard work today.”
Ouch. So this wasn’t even a date for him.
She forced out a chuckle, not wanting him to see that something was wrong. “Does that mean I get free dinners every night for the next two weeks? I intend to work hard every day, you know.”
Ash laughed. “Sure. It’s the least I can do.”
Darn, maybe her friends had been wrong all along. Maybe all Ash felt for her was an itsy-bitsy crush that he never intended to act on. Or maybe he preferred Sophie.
Unfortunately for her, it was impossible to stop the tidal wave of emotions. Ash was so very easy to fall in love with. All it took was one final flick of a switch and here she was, free-falling.
She breathed deeply, trying to rally herself. She still had a chance, didn’t she? Weren’t these two weeks all about getting him to consider a romantic relationship with her?
She just hoped this sudden ache in her heart would go away soon. It was making her feel weepy—and weepy didn’t go hand in hand with flirtatious.
*****
“Are you doing anything on the weekend, Ash?” Brenna asked as they reached her door after their fourth dinner in a row. “Are you seeing Sophie?”
“No. I’ve no plans to see her,” he responded. “So what do you think of Dora so far, now that you’ve worked with her for four days?”
Brenna repressed a sigh. While it was good news that Ash didn’t have any plans to see Sophie, he was diverting the conversation back to work again. He’d been doing that for the last four nights, and it was frustrating the hell out of her. Worse, he hadn’t responded to any of her flirtations. Either she’d been so subtle that he simply hadn’t noticed, or he’d chosen to ignore them. Regardless, he was keeping his distance.
“I really like Dora,” she answered, unlocking her door. “I think she does a very good job.”
“Yeah, I agree. She’s an asset.”
“Would you like to come in, Ash?” she asked.
“I better not. I’m a bit tired,” he said with an apologetic smile.
“Okay.” She smiled to hide the sadness she felt. He’d also declined all her previous invitations to stay for coffee. “Thanks again for dinner. You know you don’t need to take me out every night.”
“A deal’s a deal, Bren. I promised I would.”
“I could cook for us instead.”
He laughed. “No way. You’re not cooking for me while you’re working for me.”
“You’re making it sound like you’re not paying me for my temp job,” she said, making a face.
“I don’t think I’m paying you enough for what you’re doing, Bren. I think you deserve much more.”
“We’ve already discussed this, Ash. Dora does the payroll, and you can’t have her wonder why I’m not getting paid receptionist rates. I’m only there for two weeks. You don’t want unhappy staff because of me.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “That’s why I’ll continue taking you out to dinner until the end of next week.”
She smiled. “Well, I’m not complaining.” Ash might not consider these nights with her as dates, but she did. And she wasn’t giving up this opportunity to spend more time alone with him.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ash.”
“Goodnight, Bren,” he said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.
Well, she’d had enough of this friendly treatment. So she grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips instead. Then she opened her door and went inside, not game enough to see his reaction.
She waited, hoping he’d knock and at least demand what that kiss was about.
But he was gone.
Another ouch.
*****
Brenna pressed Rebecca’s number, praying that her friend wouldn’t mind her calling while she was on her honeymoon. It was mid-afternoon in Paris, and Brenna assumed the newlyweds were doing touristy things instead of... well... being in bed.
“Hi, Bren!” Rebecca answered, sounding delighted.
“Hey, Bec! How’s the honeymoon?”
“Heaven,” Rebecca gushed. “We’re sitting in a café now, relaxing after a morning of sight-seeing. How are you?”
“I’m okay. I hope I’m not interrupting something, but can you talk for a couple of minutes?”
“Sure,” Rebecca replied, sounding worried.
“Bec, do you think Ash ever had feelings for me?” she blurted out.
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“The other girls think so,” she continued, suddenly feeling foolish for calling Rebecca to ask that one question. “But I was wondering if they were mistaken. So I thought I’d ask if you’d noticed what they’d noticed.”
“What brought this up?” Rebecca asked, the eager curiosity in her voice obvious.
She told her friend everything, from that day at the beach—omitting the part where she’d seen Ash naked at Connor and Amanda’s—to her dinner with him that had just finished. “I think that if he ever had feelings for me, they seem to be gone now,” she said sadly.
“Oh, Bren.”
“But I still want to know if you think he ever felt anything for me at all. Because maybe it’s not too late?” she asked hopefully.
She heard Rebecca’s loud sigh. “Yes, I think Ash has feelings for you. I think he’s had it for a long time.”
“Has, not had?”
“Well, as far as I could tell, it was still there when Zach and I left for our honeymoon.”
“How could you tell?”
“He asked me about seating arrangements for our wedding reception. He tried to be vague about it, but it was obvious to me that he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to be sitting at the same table as Lance. Of course I knew not to sit him at the same table as Lance. I wouldn’t have done that to him. I was glad you were at the bridal table with us, so he didn’t have to watch you sit next to your boyfriend at my wedding.”
Tears sprung to Brenna’s eyes. She co
uldn’t imagine ever hurting Ash, but from what her friends had said, including this new tidbit from Rebecca, she’d done it many times in the past. “I wish I’d known this before,” she murmured.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before, Bren. But you didn’t seem to return his feelings, and I didn’t want to open up a can of worms.”
“I’m not blaming you or the others, Bec. I totally understand why you all kept it quiet. You were just protecting him.”
“And you feel differently for him now?”
“I think I’m falling in love with him,” she admitted.
“Wow,” Rebecca said after a pause.
“But he’s keeping me at an emotional distance. Why is he doing that if he’s really interested in me? He’s totally ignoring my flirtations.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s not sure of how you feel? Maybe he’s scared he might be misreading your flirtations for something else?”
“Or maybe he doesn’t want to encourage me,” she said despondently. “Maybe he’s really interested in Sophie.”
“Who’s Sophie?”
“This woman he’s supposedly seeing. Although he tells me he has no current plans to go out with her.”
“What are you gonna do?”
Brenna thought for a moment. “I’m not giving up on him that easily, Bec.”
“Way to go, honey. I’m cheering for you.”
*****
Brenna turned up at the clinic at eight, two hours earlier than her arranged start time. Even Dora and the morning temp weren’t in yet. Fortunately, one of the doctors was already there, and she let her in.
Ash would be turning up in about ten minutes. She wanted to be there before he got busy with work. She couldn’t wait to see how he’d act around her after she’d kissed him on the lips last night.
After her conversation with Rebecca, she’d made up her mind to continue flirting with him. She wasn’t ready to give up yet.
She turned on her computer, then started going through Ash’s schedule for the day, figuring out when she could bring him his lunch. She enjoyed this part of the job the most. She loved looking after him.
The front door opened and Ash walked in.
“What are you doing here so early, Bren?” he asked in surprise.
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