by Kit Kyndall
She managed a small giggle, though her fears were nowhere near allayed. “I’m sure that would go over well with the committee. I think it’s best if you don’t speak up on my behalf.”
He looked slightly wounded. “If that’s what you prefer.”
She hated hurting him, but she felt it was wisest not to admit that they had been in a relationship for a while. If she wanted to have any hope of retaining her license, she had to lie like crazy. It was an unsettling thought, and she dreaded the hearing more than she could say.
***
It was worse than she had expected. They had a full board convened, with all twelve members staring down at her severely. They were elevated on a second level at the front of the room, while she sat at a single table in front of them, having to look up to meet their gazes or answer their questions. She wasn’t even allowed representation, though she hadn’t bothered to reach out for a union rep anyway. What could they tell her that she didn’t already know? She had broken the rules, and unless she was able to convince them she hadn’t, she was going to lose her license.
Each of the board members had a nametag in front of them engraved on a wooden placard, so she was able to know who was interrogating her, though she had never met any of them before.
“This is a serious allegation against you,” said Sid Green, identified as the chairman by his placard. “I’m sure you’re aware of the guidelines and rules required for professional licensure by the American Academy of Physical Therapists. It’s unethical and highly inappropriate to have a romantic relationship with a patient. Even after discharge, it would be frowned upon, but if it occurs during an active client-patient relationship, it’s automatic grounds for permanent suspension of your license.”
“I know.” The words sounded like they had been croaked from a frog instead of spoken by her, and she winced when they amplified around the room in an eerie fashion.
“What sort of explanation can you offer for these allegations?” asked Susan Tarhill, third from the left where the chairperson sat. Her placard didn’t identify her as anything besides a board member.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say?” She was grateful for Bennet’s presence in the gallery behind her. He was the only one present besides her, the board members, and someone who was recording the minutes of the meeting in the corner.
“You could start by telling us if they are true?” said Tad Rian. He held up one of the photos they had provided to her along with the letter summoning her for the hearing.
She opened her mouth, preparing to lie, but couldn’t make herself do so. Taking a deep breath, she said, “The allegations are true, but it didn’t keep me from giving Bennet my best care. Our relationship is strictly separate from our physical therapy sessions. When I’m working with him, I treat him just like any other patient, and he’s thanked me for helping him reach his full potential. I’ve done something that’s against the rules, but it hasn’t impacted my performance as a physical therapist.”
“You’ve taken advantage of a vulnerable man,” said Elizabeth Gray. The board member sneered at her. “Have you extorted gifts and money from him?”
She let out a gasp that filled the courtroom even as she heard his wheels moving closer toward her. A couple of days ago, she’d asked him not to say anything, but now she was happy to have him beside her, offering support, when he slid in and angled his chair to reach her. His hand in hers was strong reassurance, and it helped her answer the outrageous accusation. “I’ve accepted nothing more than my salary, along with transportation to this hearing.”
“You’ve admitted to the ethics violation, so there’s no need to continue.”
“I’d like to say something,” said Bennet before the chairman could finish his statement.
The board looked uneasy, but none of them dared deny the prince his opportunity to speak. Harper was cynical enough to assume that if he’d been someone else, someone without the power he wielded, they would’ve ignored his request and pressed forward.
“Harper’s become very special to me, and we are involved in a relationship, but as she said, it hasn’t shortchanged my care in any fashion. She’s alternating between tough on me and encouraging. She’s damn good at what she does, and I wouldn’t be in the state I’m in today if it weren’t for her. If you strip her of her license, you’re making a huge mistake. I’m not vulnerable, and she didn’t take advantage of me. If the truth were told, I probably took advantage of her.”
He flashed her a small grin before returning his attention to the board members, and his expression went serious again. “I see the need for the rule that forbids relationships between clients and physical therapists, but I assure you that we were acting as fully consenting adults, and what happens outside of our session hours has no bearing on the care she gave me during.”
Harper’s stomach dipped when the board didn’t even bother to withdraw to consult for a moment, and they barely seemed to pay any attention to Bennet’s words. She was certain they had already reached their decision before instituting the hearing, which was merely a formality. She wasn’t at all surprised when the chairman spoke.
“Your license is permanently suspended, and you’re no longer allowed to practice physical therapy in this state. Furthermore, we’ll be placing a notation on your record that will be visible to any other states who request information about this action. You must immediately cease care of Prince Casparian, since you’re no longer legally licensed to treat him.”
As Bennet broke into an angry shout, she put her hand on his thigh. After a moment, he calmed down, and they sat there as the board members filed out. None of the dozen bothered to look their way again, and she felt lower than gum on someone’s shoe as she squirmed in her seat.
“We’ll appeal this. You will get your license back.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if there’s an appeal process, but it doesn’t matter. The truth is, they’re right. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. I still broke a significant rule.”
He frowned, his gaze probing hers. “I thought you weren’t going to tell them. Wasn’t your plan to try to hide it?”
She gave him a half-smile. “That was the plan, but when it came time to lie about our involvement, and how I felt about you, I couldn’t make myself do it. If I did, it was as if I was ashamed of it, and I have no shame and no regret about getting involved with you. It was a choice I made at the time, knowing the possible consequences, and I wouldn’t change it.”
“I still think you’re getting railroaded.”
It was adorable to hear him say that in his posh Montrovian accent. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m not. They’re enforcing the rules, and the rules exist for a reason. I might not agree with it, but I can’t fault them for their actions.”
He snorted. “You sound like you agree with them.”
Harper hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “I suppose I do. Our circumstances are different, and I’d like to think unique, but most of the time, I can’t see how a relationship between the patient and their physical therapist can’t have some kind of imbalance of power that suggests coercion or exploitation of the vulnerable. I’m sure there are other jobs I can do. I’ll figure it out.”
Fortunately, she had a generous amount left in her bank account from having accepted the position of Bennet’s physical therapist, since she hadn’t gotten around to paying off her student loans yet. “I don’t know if you’re planning to stay in a hotel, or if you’re flying back to Montrovia tonight. If you need to, you’re welcome to stay at my apartment with me this evening. It might be a bit musty, but we’ll be fine.”
He scowled. “We might stay there before we fly home tomorrow, but you’re coming with me.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I really can’t do that. I’m not allowed to work as a physical therapist anymore.”
He scowled. “You’re not allowed to work as a physical therapist in this state. That rule
doesn’t apply in Montrovia, and you’re not my bloody physical therapist any longer. You’re my girlfriend, and if I want you to play physical therapist with me, there’s not a damn thing the board can do about it.”
A combination of hope and reluctance filled her chest, until it felt like it might burst. “So you still want me to be your physical therapist, even though I’m not licensed?”
He let out a sigh, looking impatient. “No, I want you to be my girlfriend. Aren’t you?”
She hesitated again, the reluctance overpowering the hope, because she didn’t want to let herself get too excited. “I’m not sure what I am. We haven’t really discussed it, have we?”
He looked around the interior of the hearing room. “We haven’t, but this isn’t the place. We’ll have a long talk when we get back home, all right?”
“Home? You mean my apartment?”
He looked grim. “I mean the bloody palace, but we’ll start with your apartment. Either way, you’re coming home with me.”
Chapter Eleven
Her apartment was just as she’d left it, but with a stale odor that inevitably developed when a place was empty for too long. She moved straight to the balcony to open the door before hustling around to open the windows. She was conscious of Bennet watching her the entire time, and she couldn’t explain why was she was having such a hard time meeting his eyes. He seemed to be offering her everything she wanted, so why was she so reluctant to hear it?
She was scared. There it was, and no escaping the epiphany. She was frightened of what an escalation in their relationship might mean. He already meant so much to her that the prospect of losing him made her tremble. How much harder would it be to endure losing him if she loved him even more than she did already?
She stilled as the word love flittered through her brain, forcing her to turn and face Bennet. He was near the recliner, so she crossed over to it and sat down, bringing them almost to eyelevel. She was still feeling a bit of shock from her personal revelation, so it took her a moment to realize he had started speaking. She blinked and shook her head as though that would help clear her thoughts. “I’m sorry. I missed that.”
“I said I want you to come back to the palace with me. I know you can’t be my physical therapist officially, but you can certainly be my girlfriend.”
She lifted a brow. “Are you sure you’re ready for that sort of commitment? Your track record—”
“Isn’t important,” he cut in. “I’ve never felt the way I feel about you for anyone else, so of course everything before you was brief and meaningless. I don’t want to lose what we have.”
She nodded, taking the hand he extended. “I don’t either, but I’m afraid it’ll be so much harder to break up later than now.” A pang shot through her at the thought, making her doubt her own words. Would it hurt any worse to lose him in a few weeks or months than it would today? She didn’t think it would. It was going to devastate her either way.
He frowned. “And you might not lose me at all. I’m being candid with you, and I hope you believe me. I want this to last. I think we should see where it takes us. I love you, Harper, and I don’t want to let you go.”
She blinked, and her mouth dropped open for a moment. “You love me?” She almost stuttered the question when she finally managed to regain control of her mouth.
He looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted in his chair “Yeah, I do. How do you feel?”
For some reason, tears scalded her eyes, but she blinked them back and swallowed the lump of moisture that appeared in her throat. “I love you too, Bennet.” She sounded as hoarse as a frog with laryngitis and immediately repeated her statement to ensure he had heard every word. “I love you.”
He looked slightly smug, but mostly just satisfied. “I knew it. How could you not?”
She rolled her eyes even as she giggled at his attempt to lighten the mood between them. Things had gotten rather intense for a few moments there. “You’re pretty irresistible, Prince Charming.”
“So are you.” There was a gleam in his eyes that spoke of hunger and urgent need. “I assume you have a bed somewhere in this apartment?”
“It’s not that small.” It was a reasonably sized one-bedroom apartment, but she could see way he might consider it small or cramped when compared to the conditions in which he lived.
“Why don’t you give me the tour, starting with the bedroom?”
She got to her feet, mentally calculating if she had time to change the sheets. They had been fresh when she left weeks ago, but they were likely to be musty by now. When he pushed forward, gently bumping into her legs so that she fell across his lap, she knew she didn’t have time to change the sheets. Her need was as urgent as his, and all thoughts of bed linen fled her mind when they were in the bedroom a few moments later.
***
They were on the plane back to Montrovia the next morning, and she snuggled into the seat, which was almost as comfortable as the bed she hadn’t slept in last night. There’d been snatches of naps here and there, but one or both had reached for each other several times, leaving her sated but exhausted. Bennet appeared to be in a similar condition, and there were light shadows under his eyes that revealed his lack of sleep. She had the same, but had dug out her rarely used makeup to hide the effects of their night.
Now, she warred between taking a nap and bringing up the topic of discussion she didn’t want to think about. It had to be done though, and she forced herself to take a deep breath before speaking as calmly as possible. “We need to figure out who reported my ethics violation. I did something wrong, but they violated our trust.”
He sounded a bit growly when he answered. “I still maintain we did nothing wrong.”
She shrugged, knowing she wouldn’t persuade him to accept she had violated the rules, though she had surprisingly little regret for doing so even though it had cost her the license she had worked hard to obtain. She’d loved her career, and she loved helping people, but she couldn’t regret having to give that up if it meant getting Bennet instead. There would be other ways to help people, but there might not ever be another Bennet for her. “Okay, but we still need to figure out who did it.”
“I’ve been thinking about that all night.”
She arched a brow. “When? There was barely time to sleep, let alone think.”
He laughed. “I can multitask.”
Harper let out a little harrumph. “You’re telling me you were thinking about that while we were making love?”
He shook his head. “I was thinking about it when I was supposed to be sleeping.”
“I actually didn’t think about it at all.” Maybe it had been a willful suppression on her part, or perhaps she’d simply lost herself in the moment with Bennet, but it wasn’t until early this morning, while she was applying makeup in the bathroom, that the question had occurred to her. Who had set all this in motion?
He looked reluctant. “I think I have a theory.”
For some reason, her stomach tightened before she asked, “What is it?”
“I think it had to be Tucker.”
She started instinctively shaking her head. “He wouldn’t do that to either one of us.”
Bennet held up a hand. “Normally, I don’t think he would, but this is different. He’s still in love with you.”
Harper shook her head. “He’s not, I promise you. You know how he feels about Fiona.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I know he told you that, but I don’t really believe it. How could anyone feel that way about Fiona? I think he’s been scheming to get you back since before you even came to Montrovia. He’s the one who hired you, wasn’t he?”
She hated to think it meant anything, but she had to nod. “He was the one who suggested that I take the job, and he emphasized the challenging aspect.”
“And he didn’t make a move on you at all until the swimming pool”
She shook her head. “Not at all.”
He arched a brow. “Not even
subtly?”
She opened her mouth to refute his words, but couldn’t make herself speak. She recalled a few times he’d seemed to suggest he missed her and wanted more. At the time, she just dismissed it, but now she was forced to re-examine those moments in a different light. “I’m not really sure.”
He sighed. “He’s my friend, and I hate to think it was him, but I’m trying to be realistic. I understand his need to have you back at any cost. It seems clear he was setting you up to need to flee to him. He expected you to be heartbroken for losing your license, and you’d need to turn to someone. He probably wasn’t expecting you to return to Montrovia, so he was going to swoop in as your hero and rescue you.”
She glared at him. “I don’t need anyone to rescue me. I might not have my license now, but I’m sure I can find a job helping people in some capacity. I don’t need a man to take care of me, Your Highness.”
“Whoa, don’t attack me. It’s just a theory, and I understand you don’t need anyone to take care of you, but I hope you’ll accept someone taking care of you if they want to.”
She hesitated for a moment before inclining her head. “I’m happy to have you to take care of me sometimes, as long as it’s reciprocal, and it’s not a constant thing. I don’t need to be kept by anyone, and I’m sure Tucker knows that. That makes me question your entire theory, simply because I know him well enough to know that he knows me. I needed a temporary shoulder to cry on, and I was happy to have you with me, but it wouldn’t have been a way for him to ingratiate himself back into my life. I’m sure he knows that.”
Bennet looked like he wanted to argue, but he just said, “Men do desperate and crazy things for the women they love.”
“I just have a hard time believing Tucker would do this to us. He’s your friend, and he knows what a betrayal of trust this is. He wants you to get well, and losing your physical therapist would be quite a setback.”
“If he did this, he did it because his thoughts were centered on you and not me. I was just collateral damage to his plan.”