Could he ever understand how alone she sometimes felt, losing both of her parents in such a short time? How she just needed someone to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay?
“The mayor’s redevelopment plan has garnered a lot of press over the past several months. I think I moved to Bay Point at the right time.”
Anthony took a long pull on his beer and sat back in his chair. “My only fear is that redevelopment and gentrification go hand in hand. I didn’t grow up here. I grew up in Miami, and I think you’ll agree that the downtown area here is very charming. That’s not something we want to lose to big-box retailers and chain restaurants.”
He offered her the bread basket that the waitress had just set down.
Liza nodded. “Yes, but when I move into my new house, I’m not sure I’ll be hanging around downtown that often.”
She picked up a piece of corn bread and buttered it.
“I will say this, I’ll take Ruby’s coffee any day rather than over-priced stuff that tastes like jet fuel.”
He laughed. “Bay Point grows on you. You’ll see. The mayor assures me that he’s going to do whatever it takes to maintain the small-town feel. You’ll meet him when you pitch your design.”
Though she had just swallowed a piece of the corn bread, it felt like it was stuck in her throat. She took a couple of sips of beer.
“The mayor will be there?”
“Yes, I invited him because I value his opinion. He’s actually become a good friend of mine, and I try to go to his wife’s flower shop as often as I can.”
Liza felt her insides churn with disappointment. A man going to a flower shop often could only mean one thing: he had a girlfriend. She was dying to confirm, but doing so would open her up for the same line of questioning, so she decided to keep her mouth shut.
“I’m glad you support small businesses.”
“I’m about to be a small-business owner myself, though not for long.”
“What do you mean?”
“If things go well, and I am fully expecting that they will, I want to franchise the clinic into other areas of California, and ultimately, nationwide.”
Liza felt her eyes widen. If Anthony was going to franchise the clinic, her design would be replicated, too, making the opportunity to work with him more appealing than ever.
“That’s terrific news. Now that I know you want to franchise, it will help me better plan the architectural design from the very beginning. I can make sure it will work in any area of the country.”
Anthony smiled. “Then I’m glad I brought it up. It’s not something I’ve discussed with anyone else other than my business partners.”
Her palms tingled with excitement. If she was the only one who knew that valuable piece of information, it meant she had an advantage over the firms that were pitching designs for the clinic.
Why did he decide to tell her and not her competitors? She wasn’t about to ask.
The waitress set down their orders: a pulled pork sandwich and French fries for her, and a rib eye steak for Anthony. They were just about to dig in when a woman appeared at their table.
“Hello, Dr. Marbet. Remember me?”
The woman was clearly drunk, smelling of whiskey and looking unsteady on her super-high platform heels. She looked familiar, like Liza had seen her on television or in a bit part from a movie.
She put her hands on their table, and Liza was shocked when, without waiting for an answer from Anthony, she leaned in close to him and practically shoved her large boobs in his face.
“After all these years, these babies are still holding up,” she announced, cupping her breasts.
She turned to Liza, who hid a smile at the woman’s outrageous behavior.
“This man saved my bustline and my marriage.”
With the woman’s attention diverted, Liza watched as Anthony took the opportunity to move his chair back, ever so slightly.
“You his wife?” the woman slurred.
Liza was so shocked at the question she couldn’t speak.
“You’re a lucky woman. Dr. Marbet has some very skilled hands.”
Without another word, the woman staggered away and went back inside.
“That was...interesting,” Liza said, with a wry grin. “Does that happen to you often?”
“Actually, it doesn’t. Most people like to keep their cosmetic surgery private.”
He glanced at the open door leading to the restaurant and shook his head.
“Others don’t. I’m glad she didn’t stick around. I’ve had so many patients over the years that I really don’t remember her name. I do remember that she’s an actress, and a pretty bad one.”
Liza laughed. “From the way she’s been drinking, she probably doesn’t remember her name either.”
She clucked her tongue at him. “She thought I was your wife.”
Anthony grinned, picked up a knife and cut into his steak. “Maybe she thinks we’re a cute couple?”
She popped a fry into her mouth and chewed, pondering his response.
“And what if she does?”
Anthony leaned his elbows on the table and laughed. “She’d be right. Think you can keep up with me, my dreams of grandeur and my cowboy hat?”
Liza’s heart raced at his flirtatious challenge. “Perhaps,” she responded, playing along.
When they finished their meal, he got up and extended his hand toward her. “Care to join me in a dance to work off all these calories? I hate making a fool of myself alone.”
Liza told herself that it was only the sound of the infectious music that got her out of her chair rather than the chance to be close to him.
She took his hand and locked her eyes with his.
“It’s been a while,” she cautioned as he led her inside. “And bluegrass was never my thing.”
Anthony slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“What happened to the woman who would try anything once?”
Liza looked up at him, and when their eyes met, her lips quivered.
“She hasn’t gone anywhere. She’s right here. In your arms.”
His grin seemed to stretch ear-to-ear, and zoomed straight to her heart.
He took her hand in his. “Then let’s get to it!”
The boot-skipping rhythm had their feet moving, even as they laughingly tried to keep from stepping on each other’s toes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other dancers move out of the way to allow the clumsy couple some more room.
Anthony bent down, his lips grazing her ear, sending a thousand tingles down her spine.
“Not as easy as the Electric Slide, is it? I think I’ve stepped on your feet more than you’ve stepped on mine.”
Liza shook her head. “No. Your dancing is fine.”
She took a quick glance around the room, and it seemed like they were the center of attention. “However, we may be making a spectacle of ourselves.”
“Perhaps we are,” he said low in her ear. “Who cares?”
Anthony pulled her even closer, and her breasts became instantly aroused. She laid her head against his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him percolating through his shirt.
Crisp sandalwood. Simmering heat.
As they rocked and swayed together to the music, the strength of his embrace and his own physical reaction to her signaled that something had changed between them. And she wasn’t sure she could handle it.
Her heart pumped wildly in her chest, and she worried what would happen if she began to care about him too much.
He tilted her chin up with the tip of his finger, and leaned in close to her face.
His full lips were tempting enough to kiss, to bite.
Did she want to? Yes.
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Did she dare?
His face blurred out of focus as he lowered his chin, blending his lips with hers.
Her eyes slid shut as she relaxed into the feel of his soft lips on hers. Tender and sweet, making her smile inside. Still swaying together, slower now, he pulled her closer, and she could feel his desire.
The room seemed to fade away. All that mattered was now, this moment with Anthony. His mouth so hot, his tongue probing her own, and the helpless sense that she was falling into him, into something she couldn’t control.
She moaned, knowing that the sound of her pleasure was hidden beneath the harsh twang of the music, but he’d felt it. The vibrations of her need. His fingers stroked her cheek lightly, as if to draw her into him. Into a place all their own.
Somewhere she could lose herself.
She pulled away, before the song could end, before she would beg him to never, ever stop. He released her, and she wished she were back in his arms.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I need some air,” she replied, in a voice sharper than she intended.
“Can you take me home please?”
“Yeah.” The hurt in his voice was subtle. “I’ll find the waitress and pay the check. Meet me in the parking lot.”
Liza went back to the patio for her purse. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was actually there. Though she had hidden it under the table, leaving her personal belongings in a strange place was just another sign that she was in over her head.
The deck had a separate exit, so she took it, thankful she could avoid the crowd inside.
It wasn’t until they were back at the bed-and-breakfast that Anthony spoke. He pulled in front, turned off the car and glanced over at her.
“What happened back there, Liza?”
Though it was difficult, she met his eyes.
“I was having fun,” she admitted. “Then we started acting like a couple of potential lovers, not potential business partners, and...”
Her voice fell away, and she looked out the closed window.
“It wasn’t fun anymore?” he said, his tone slightly mocking. “That’s not how I read things.”
Liza turned back, her eyes flashing.
“Oh? And how did you read things?”
Anthony’s hands tensed, but his shoulders slumped a bit.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
He glanced over at her, and his eyes roamed hers. “You’re right. Let’s set the record straight. Neither of us should read anything into this.”
His words cut straight to her heart. Like so many times before, she’d already gone down the path of a relationship before there was even a hint that one existed.
Liza was shocked when Anthony got out and walked with her to the front door. He was a true gentleman. She was about to retrieve the keys from her purse when he touched her hand.
“Wait. I owe you an apology.”
She swallowed hard. “What for?”
His eyes roamed her body again, heating her up in all the right places.
“I’m sorry the kiss couldn’t last longer.”
Chapter 5
Anthony sank back into his leather recliner, wiggled his bare toes and let out a slow breath. This was the first time he’d been off his feet in over twenty-four hours, and it felt like heaven.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Now, if I only had a good woman in my lap, I’d be in paradise.”
The only one he’d even consider fulfilling that fantasy with was Liza. Just the thought of her luscious lips upon his and her equally luscious backside sliding against his thighs, both of them naked, made him groan.
He slipped his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor.
After dancing with her at The Pickled Egg and seeing how good she felt in his arms, talking to her was no longer enough. Not only did he want her in his lap, he wanted her in his bed.
His mind captured the visual of the two of them making love in his favorite chair and held on. He found it difficult to let go of it.
Too bad she didn’t want the same thing, he thought, rubbing the heel of his hand against his temple.
After several restless nights where he’d woken up hard as a rock and needing release and not getting it, he realized she had been right to pull away.
He liked Liza. A lot. But there was no way he was going to lift his personal ban on workplace romance. The clinic was too important.
Dazed by her beauty and a couple of beers that night, he would have carried her out of the restaurant and had her in the backseat of his truck, like a couple of teenagers, if she’d let him.
Good thing she was more in control of herself than he was.
Even more reason why he knew he should go against Doc Z’s request and hire a twenty-person architectural firm instead of the beautiful woman who had captured his mind and stimulated his body.
Tomorrow was Liza’s presentation to him and his board of directors. He drummed his fingers on the leather armrest in anticipation of her proposed designs.
He couldn’t wait to see them, couldn’t wait to see her, and because of her, he’d felt alive for the first time in a long while.
Anthony frowned, knowing that she had no idea what she was about to walk into the next day.
He reached for a tumbler of bourbon and took a long drink. The liquid burned all the way down and ebbed away the physical effects of his desire.
Settling back in his chair, he flicked on the television to his favorite sports network.
He flipped through the channels and found a basketball game that was just starting. He didn’t care what team was playing or how they ranked, pro or college, just as long as they played hard enough to erase his thoughts of the hospital, his clinic and Liza.
Hours later, Anthony awoke with a start and squinted at the screen. While he slept, the college game he’d started watching had morphed into a pro game. The doorbell was ringing incessantly. He grabbed his cell and quickly navigated to his security app and selected video intercom.
“About time you answered,” Doc Z said, mugging the camera.
What was Doc doing in Bay Point?
Anthony jerked his arms back into his shirt.
“Sorry, I’ll be right there.”
He closed the app and straggled out of his chair. Before opening the door, he grabbed the tumbler of bourbon just to have something to hold on to.
As soon as he opened the door, he propped his arm against the jamb, so that he wouldn’t slide to the tile floor. He was so sleep deprived that when he woke up, he felt like he’d been run over by a truck.
“Surprise!” Doc Z exclaimed.
“Indeed it is,” Anthony replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“I was on my way to visit a lady friend in Utah and decided to make a pit stop.”
Even in the twilight, he could see the twinkle in his friend’s eye.
Anthony twisted his lips into a smirk. “You’re about a thousand miles out of your way.”
Doc Z guffawed. “I am, aren’t I? She can wait. Besides, you told me your door was always open.”
“I said that back in med school, and I meant my dorm room,” he said, wryly, stifling a yawn.
Doc Z wagged a finger in his face and picked up his suitcase. “Let me in, and I’ll tell you why I had to disturb your beauty sleep.”
Once Doc was inside, Anthony closed the door and leaned against it.
“Why didn’t you let me know you were coming into town? I would have picked you up at the airport.”
“I rented a car.” Doc Z set down his suitcase. “But you can make it up to me by pouring me more than a thimbleful of the same stuff you’ve got in your hand.”
Anthony strode ove
r to the small bar, retrieved a glass and filled it halfway.
Doc took it, swallowed and grinned, before strolling into the living room.
“This is so good it should be outlawed.”
Anthony folded his arms. “I’m glad to see you. I really am, but why are you here all of a sudden?”
“Oh, just seeing the sights. I’ve heard Bay Point is a beautiful town with beautiful women.” He gestured toward the television with his glass. “Good game?”
“I wouldn’t know. I slept through it.” Anthony muted the sound. “So, why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
Doc finished his drink, and then peered through the empty glass. “To see all the beautiful women, why else?” he said, sounding a bit offended.
“There are beautiful women in Utah,” Anthony replied. “You wouldn’t happen to be checking up on Liza?”
Doc Z sat down on the leather sofa with a grunt and ran his hand over his smooth coffee-colored bald head. He had an innocent look on his bearded face, but Anthony wasn’t fooled.
“Now, where would you get an idea like that?”
“Because I know how you are,” Anthony insisted. “You’re an overgrown mother hen.”
Doc scanted his eyes at him, and then pointed to his empty glass to signal he wanted a refill.
“Father Hen.”
“So, what if I am? Liza is like a daughter to me, as much as you’re like a son.”
Anthony raised a brow, and while he appreciated his kind words, he wasn’t going to let Doc off the hook. “And you’re like a father to me. But Liza—”
“Won’t even know that I’m here.”
Doc tapped the rim of the glass with his thumb, and gave Anthony the stare-down. “What does a man have to do to get another drink in this place?”
Anthony ignored his request and wondered what Liza would think if she knew they were linked by this one man. He realized he could probably learn a lot about the woman by talking to Doc, but he decided to just leave curiosity aside and focus on the big picture.
His clinic.
“How are you going to manage that? Bay Point is a very small town.”
Doc steepled his fingers. “Liza’s presentation is tomorrow. You give her the gig a few days later, as we discussed, and I’ll be on a plane to see my girl in Salt Lake City.”
Winning the Doctor Page 6