She turned back and put her hands on her hips. “It’s all about you, isn’t it, Anthony?”
He approached her slowly, and she fought the urge to open her arms and welcome him into hers.
“No. It’s all about the clinic.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “And then, it’s all about me.”
She glared at him, and uttered an exasperated sigh.
“I’m joking,” he said, chuckling lightly. “But, to be honest, it was important to test your mettle under pressure.”
Liza went back to the railing. “Why? I know how to handle myself.”
Anthony met her there. “But not in a commercial building situation.”
“How long are you going to keep throwing that in my face?”
His bare arm pressed against hers, gently claiming.
Being close to him heightened the swirl of confusing emotions inside her, and she found that her anger was beginning to ebb away.
“Until you believe that I’m giving you the chance of a lifetime.”
His brown eyes studied her face, and she felt her cheeks warm under his scrutiny.
She turned her body, leaned her hip against the railing and crossed her arms.
“Not like this, Anthony. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but I feel like you tricked me.”
As she was saying those words, he ran his hands down her arms until they fell limply at her sides.
The feel of his hands resonated throughout her body, leaving her with a wave of desire that nearly rocked her off her feet.
“I didn’t trick you,” he insisted. “I just didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
He touched the tip of her nose with his finger, and she wanted to melt. The breeze lifted her skirt and caressed her legs, almost tickling her in its gentleness, exciting her in places that were hidden from view.
“And neither did you.”
She looked away. Anthony was right. She hadn’t told him the whole truth about her mother, and how alone she’d felt losing both of her parents in a short amount of time. And she had no intention of doing so. She had moved to Bay Point to start a new life, and nobody was going to stop her.
“Knowing what you know now, why do you want to work with me?”
“Because you’re smart and talented, and I loved your design.”
He shrugged, his smile nonchalant. “But if you don’t want the project, so be it.”
Anthony started moving away again, as if the matter was settled, leaving the decision up to her. The air shifted with him, leaving an invisible void in her heart she couldn’t explain.
Liza found herself following him. Suddenly, he turned around and walked back.
He planted his bare feet in front of her sandaled ones, then ran his finger along the underside of her jaw.
She kept her eyes straight ahead and poised on his T-shirt, expectant and not knowing what to expect at the same time.
Suddenly, he lifted her chin as his lips came into view and touched her own. The pressure light and hesitant, asking more than taking, and she felt her lids blink shut.
With her heart pounding in her chest like it was beating for the first time, she succumbed to his kiss. His lips, moist and slightly plump, drew her lips closer at the same time his hands threaded through her hair.
The wind tousled her skirt, and the breeze felt strangely chilly against her thighs. Anthony gently backed up against the railing. She was glad for the support, since her legs felt as loose as a rubber band.
The roaring in her ears was no longer the waves, but an incessant buzz that nothing would be the same between them, no matter if she took the project or not. But in that moment, she didn’t care. Nothing mattered but the soft dance of their mouths.
Noses swooping briefly against the apples of their cheeks. Tongues dipping in and out of each other’s mouths. Gently stroking and discovering. Rolling forth and crashing through, forever changing the landscape of their relationship.
She cradled her arms around his waist, allowed her hands to travel under his shirt and up his tightly muscled back. Through his swim trunks, she could feel his long, hot flesh throbbing against her abdomen, making her moan as he drew her even closer to him.
Liza was immersed in a sensual pool of desire, the depths unknown, beguiling them both to explore.
A seagull cackled as it landed on the railing near them, and the intrusion forced them apart.
Liza saw that the bird had a small fish in its beak before it took off, wings flapping as hard as she was breathing. She took a step back and could see the heavy bulge, elongated and enticing underneath Anthony’s swim trunks, and she longed to feel his flesh upon hers. In hers.
No clothes. No regrets.
He was staring at her, and she looked down, her chest heaving slightly. Her nipples puckered almost painfully inside her lace bra as he traced a finger down the buttons of her white silk blouse.
He ridged his thumb against her lips. Despite the interruption, the air between them was still hot, and warm. Salty with promise, and that, Liza decided right then, was a problem.
She ran her hands over the front of her blouse, hoping to calm herself down, but it had the opposite effect. So she took another two steps back, and watched as he adjusted the waistband of his swim trunks.
“I’ll accept the project, Dr. Marbet, with one caveat.”
She took a deep breath, still tasting his lips upon hers, his hot breath in her mouth, and hoped she wouldn’t regret her words.
“That you never, ever kiss me again.”
He slipped a hand under his shirt, exposing his rock solid abs.
“Didn’t you like it?”
She tucked her hair behind her ears, and tapped her foot nervously.
“That’s a trick question.”
She looked away only a moment, and the next thing she knew, Anthony was in front of her again, and it was as if they’d never been apart.
He tilted her chin up with two fingers. “A trick question, with only one answer.”
He bent until his lips were hovering over hers. “And that answer is yes.”
Liza didn’t say a word. She couldn’t, as she could barely breathe, let alone speak. Was he going to kiss her again? Oh, but she wanted him to, how desperately she wanted to feel him again.
“But you don’t have to say anything,” he continued in a low, sexy tone. “Because I can tell that you liked it very much. Your lips are parted right now, waiting for me, and those beautiful eyes of yours are closed like you are in the middle of a dream.”
Anthony tilted her chin a little higher, and she opened her eyes, which she hadn’t realized were closed. He caressed her cheek, and she reveled in it, because she knew that it wasn’t forever.
“But I have no problem keeping this all business. Just as long as you and I agree on one thing—I want you and you want me. That’s not going to change. As long as you can handle that, there won’t be any problems, and no more kisses.”
He let go of her chin and she stared at him, too shocked at his brashness to say anything in return. He started to walk away and she put her hands on her hips.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
With the hint of a smile, Anthony turned and drew his T-shirt over his head. He took his time. The slow and sinuous movement allowed her to take his whole body in and commit it to memory.
“For another swim. I feel like I need to cool off.”
Chapter 8
The delicious smells emanating from Ruby’s Tasty Pastries, Bay Point’s most popular gourmet coffee shop and bakery, should have been illegal. Liza couldn’t walk within one hundred feet without gaining at least five pounds, or at least it seemed like it.
Every time she left with her stomach f
ull of delicious treats, she felt like she had to run a half marathon. But she always came back for more.
Today was Tuesday, and it was as good a day as any to indulge in her favorite no-no: chocolate croissants. Plus, it was her first official day of working with Anthony, and she needed to be appropriately sugared up for the task.
Liza scored a table next to the open windows. An unexpected bonus, considering the place was packed.
Ruby approached. With her thin figure, short jet-black hair, sienna-colored skin and somewhat pointy ears, she reminded Liza of a ’70s television actress.
“I’m going to make you pay for the next scale I break,” she joked. “How do you stay so slim?”
“I stick to nibbles and licks,” Ruby advised.
She set a plate of pastries Liza had ordered at the counter down in front of her. She picked up one of the croissants, her mouth salivating.
“I don’t know how you restrain yourself.”
Ruby laughed and removed a steaming cup of café au lait from her tray. “Not my pastries, silly. I was referring to my husband. He’s all I need to satisfy my sweet tooth.”
Liza giggled. “You’re a blessed woman.”
Ruby and her husband lived in the apartment above her shop. She’d never met the man, but she heard he was some kind of salesman and that he traveled. A lot. When he got home rumor had it that you could hear the couple’s exultant lovemaking sessions all the way down Magnolia Avenue.
When Ruby left, Liza took one bite of her chocolate croissant and moaned with delight.
Food often had a calming kind of effect on her, especially when she was stressed. Since her mother passed, she’d gained a little weight that she’d put off losing for months.
Liza felt safer with a little bit of padding, the slight rounding of her curves that caused some men to stare, others to turn away. But she didn’t mind. Her weight protected her from men who, in their hearts, wanted perfection.
She sipped her café au lait, and then took another bite out of her croissant. Today was going to be a good day. The faint smell of salt water, always prevalent in the air, floated into her nostrils, and she thought about the beach, and the last time she saw Anthony.
The contract to design his cosmetic surgery clinic was hers, and with one last passionate kiss, they’d agreed that their relationship was at a stalemate, and would remain that way, as long as they were business partners.
Liza wasn’t happy with their mutual decision, and yet, somehow she knew it just had to be this way.
She put her elbow on the table, splayed her fingers on her cheek and rested the curve of her jaw against the palm of her hand, hiding her scar once more.
Despite her physical flaw, Liza was fairly self-confident. She knew she wouldn’t appeal to every man, and every man would not interest her. But when a man did find her attractive, she rarely accepted it at face value. She found herself probing his reasoning as the words of her mother swirled in her head.
You’re ugly. You’ll never find a man.
Liza tossed her hair in attempt to rid her mind of the hateful words, like she had done countless times before. Sometimes it worked.
Her mother, who was a famous model, couldn’t stand growing old. Even when Liza was a child, she’d been jealous of her own daughter’s youth.
Liza didn’t understand, until after her mother died, how much her mother had suffered through the years from low self-esteem, made worse by the fact that her father worked all the time, putting his career at the hospital ahead of the needs of his wife and daughter.
If her mother were alive today and she knew about her brief encounters with Anthony, she likely would have felt that her mean words were justified. She would have claimed Anthony rejected her because of her scar, or because she wasn’t as thin as a stick or any number of ridiculous reasons.
The thought saddened her, and she squeezed her eyes to stop the tears and refocused.
If Liza’s fantasies were any indication, her need for Anthony was far from over. She could not let go of the fact that she’d felt more desired by him than by any other man previously, even those she’d trusted enough to love, which weren’t many.
Every night since his kiss at the roadhouse and then on the beach, her fingers roamed, trying to release her passion by her own hands.
It wasn’t the same, because every morning she awoke, frustrated and physically aching for him.
Though their kisses had been brief, she was dying to know what his lips would feel like elsewhere on her body.
If Anthony could see past his ego and his career into what really mattered, she could potentially fall in love with him, despite their pact to keep their relationship all business.
But could she trust him? That remained to be seen.
“Another café au lait, Liza?”
Roused from her thoughts, she shook her head and smiled.
“It’s delicious, Ruby. But if I have more than one, I’ll be doing cartwheels down Magnolia Avenue.”
“Then how about an emergency visit from your favorite doctor?”
Ruby gasped and stepped back, nearly colliding with Anthony.
She turned around. “Sorry, Dr. Marbet. I heard you, but I didn’t see you there.”
Dressed in clean scrubs, Anthony moved around her and sat down opposite Liza. He tilted his face up at Ruby, a dazzling smile on his lips.
“You can make it up to me by bringing me a steaming cup of your darkest roast.”
Ruby grinned. “You got it!”
When she walked away, Liza folded her hands in her lap and looked around. Folks appeared to be minding their own business, but in Bay Point, one could never be too sure.
She moved her chair in closer to the table and whispered, “Why do you have to be so loud?”
“What do you mean? That’s the way I normally talk.”
He looked around and lowered his voice. “What’s the big deal?”
At that moment, Ruby approached with Anthony’s coffee. Liza waited until she was gone before speaking again.
“People might think you’re my real doctor.”
His voice was almost down to a whisper. “You know I’m not. So, what’s the problem?”
She squeezed her hands together, barely hearing his words, as her fears jostled with the sounds of animated conversation and silverware clinking against plates.
“People might think...” Her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard. “People might think I need cosmetic surgery.”
“Why would they think that?” Liza arranged her hair with one hand around the curve of her jaw. The gesture was deliberate and involuntary at the same time. One of many ways she attempted to hide her flaw from other people, but she could never hide it from herself.
She saw his eyes flicker downward at her movements, but he didn’t seem perturbed, and she recalled when they’d kissed, that he’d caressed her jaw with his fingers.
Suddenly, he reached out, touched her hand and brought it gently back to the table.
She relaxed and felt like he was trying to comfort her as best he could in a public place.
“Who cares what people think. You and I both know you’re perfect.” With a smile on his lips, he squeezed her hand. “Especially for me.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his intimate words. They seemed genuine, but how could she be sure? And did she really want to find out?
The heat of his kiss seared through her mind and she felt a flutter between her thighs. The pleasurable sensation was a reminder to keep their conversations quick, informal and professional. That was the only way she would be able to tamp down, and hopefully cure, her desire for him.
Liza took a sip of coffee. “You shouldn’t be holding my hand.”
Anthony raised a brow. “Why?”
; “The agreement, remember?”
He leaned over and whispered, “That only covered kisses.”
His low voice tumbled into her ear, and he nipped her earlobe slightly with his teeth.
She stifled a yelp and looked around, but no one seemed to notice his flirtatious behavior.
Liza hid a smile and moved her chair away before he could get them both into trouble.
“What’s gotten into you this morning?” she scolded lightly. “Did you bring the contracts?”
He shook his head. “My attorney emailed them to you. Should be in your inbox this morning.”
She dug out her phone from her purse and navigated to her email.
“Don’t you trust me?”
Liza found the email and looked up. “It’s not a matter of trust. I want to forward it on to my attorney now because he’s leaving on vacation tomorrow. Ten days in Tahiti.”
“Do you think he’ll be able to review it right away?”
“He knows of the urgency, but if he can’t, I’ve known him to respond when he’s out of town. He’s the type of guy who can’t leave it at the office.”
“He sounds like me. Neither can I.”
Anthony took a sip of his coffee. “This is so strong it would wake the dead.”
His body would wake the dead, she thought, noticing how casually sexy he looked in his scrubs. His skin seemed to gleam in the muted light of the shop, appearing supple to the touch. As he set his coffee cup down on the table, his forearm contracted slightly, the muscles sleek and inviting.
Liza averted her eyes down to the menu printed on a paper place mat, and then slowly brought them back to his.
“I’m just curious. What would tear you away from the office?” she blurted.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized he might think she was flirting with him.
And maybe she was. Fact is, she couldn’t help herself.
The coffee shop was crowded, and nobody appeared to be listening. Besides, whenever she was around Anthony, she felt as if the world around her disappeared.
“I don’t know.” He ran a finger around the edge of his cup and shrugged, but his eyes twinkled. “Why don’t you suggest something?”
Winning the Doctor Page 9