“Hello, Liza.”
She ignored him, and turned her attention to Eloise.
“I didn’t know you were invited,” she said.
Eloise pursed her lips, clearly offended. “Of course I’m invited. Why wouldn’t I be? This gala was my idea. There’s certainly no money in the city budget for something like this, so I’m practically footing the bill for this whole affair.”
Liza wanted to laugh in her face, and she bet the only reason Eloise funded the party was so she could continue to find favor with Anthony. “Let’s go freshen up,” Eloise said, before turning to Anthony. “Why don’t you go and check on the guests.”
A rowdy, boisterous voice was heard in the corridor where Liza had emerged a few moments earlier.
She cupped her ear. “I think I hear our friend Jack now.”
Liza caught Anthony’s eyes, and she thought she saw his head shake back and forth slowly, but couldn’t be sure in the low light of the room.
Eloise touched Liza’s elbow. “Follow me, before we have to listen to one of Jack’s corny jokes.”
They walked in the opposite direction, down another low-ceilinged corridor until they came to the powder room.
Liza didn’t have to use the facilities. She only wanted to get Eloise away from Anthony, but while she was there, she figured she might as well check her makeup.
She opened up her small purse and brought out a nude lipstick. As she was applying it, she got the sense Eloise was waiting for her to finish before she started to talk.
Sure enough, as soon as Liza had replaced the cap, Eloise spoke.
“That’s a lovely dress,” she said.
“Thank you,” Liza replied. “Yours is, too.”
This was a flat-out lie. Eloise’s gown, which appeared to be yellow silk, was embroidered with white butterflies. Liza thought it was the ugliest thing ever.
“Yellow is my happy color,” Eloise said, peering at her reflection in the mirror. “But black hides everything.”
She slanted her eyes toward Liza, and in the mirror, she could see Eloise staring at her scar.
“Well, almost everything,” Eloise finished, with a hint of a sneer.
Liza felt her cheeks get hot at the cutting remark. What did this woman have against her? Was it her relationship with Anthony? Or something else?
She lifted her chin, ignoring the urge to touch her scar.
It doesn’t matter, she told herself. Despite her jealousy, she knew she had to ignore her feelings and play nice with Eloise. The woman was a key investor in the clinic, and it wouldn’t do to make her angry. She had to keep the peace.
More importantly, Liza knew she had to keep believing Anthony cared about her.
She masked a smile, as the memories of her and Anthony, and what they had done together, flashed back into her mind.
If the passion he’d displayed for her previously was any indication, she didn’t have to worry that Eloise Bradshaw and her manufactured breasts and filler-enhanced face would steal his heart.
Anthony Marbet was hers, and hers alone. He couldn’t stay away forever, and neither could she. Liza knew she loved him and it was about time she admitted her feelings to him, even if he didn’t love her.
“Would you excuse me?” Liza asked, and she left before Eloise could respond.
She returned to the courtyard and discovered that more guests had arrived, so she followed the throng to the outside patio, where everyone else had gathered. She looked over the crowd, trying to spot him, or at least a familiar face, and saw none.
There was a jazz band in a far corner near the home, while opposite them, under a bright red-and-white striped awning, were tables lined with platters of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres.
Liza felt her stomach burble with hunger, but she knew she couldn’t eat a thing until she’d had a chance to speak to Anthony.
She was on her way to the open bar set up beneath three huge palm trees, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She turned and saw Vanessa, holding a champagne flute filled with orange juice. She wore a black-and-gold minidress that tastefully accentuated her baby bump.
“Enjoying the gala?”
Liza smiled. “I just got here, and was just on my way to get a glass of wine.”
Vanessa saluted her with her glass. “Have one for me?” She reached back and pressed her hand against her back. “I can’t wait until this child is born. I feel like I’m about to burst.”
Liza didn’t know whether to laugh or agree. Vanessa did look much larger than she did the last time Liza saw her, but she was one of those women whose beauty was enhanced by pregnancy. She simply glowed.
“Good thing Anthony is here,” Liza remarked. “Although I’m not sure if he knows how to deliver a baby.”
Vanessa gave her a conspiratorial grin. “All doctors know how to deliver a baby. They just don’t want you to know it.”
Liza laughed and looked around. “Where are the future grandma and grandpa?”
She was referring to Gregory’s mother and father, the owners of the estate. She wanted to meet them and inquire about the architect who built their home. As a small business owner, it was necessary to network, whenever and wherever she could.
“My in-laws are in Hawaii, so they aren’t here.”
Liza gasped. “I’ve always wanted to visit there.”
The two women strolled to the edge of the patio. The Langston home sat on a high cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The sun was beginning to set, painting the blue sky with slashes of pink and orange.
“I know. Me, too. I guess we’ll both have to be satisfied with this fabulous view,” Vanessa giggled. “I think I fell in love with the view first, and my husband second.”
“I barely know you, but you and the mayor seem insanely happy,” Liza confided. “What’s your secret?”
Vanessa thought a moment. “He accepts me for who I am, and I accept him. Faults and all.”
“It sounds like hard work,” Liza commented. “Or an impossible dream. Or both.”
“With the right person, it’s neither. It’s just love.”
Liza stared out at the horizon, where it seemed like the ocean just stopped. But beyond her vision, the Pacific went on for thousands of miles, until its waves crashed upon the shore of another land.
Just love.
If it were only that simple.
With my mother and my father.
With Anthony and me.
“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
She recognized Mayor Langston’s voice and turned around to see him embracing Vanessa.
“I don’t know how you could have missed us,” Vanessa laughed, rounding her hands over her baby bump.
He gave her a kiss so tender that Liza blushed, and she almost turned around to give the couple their privacy. Instead, she cleared her throat.
Vanessa and Gregory separated, but he kept his arm draped over her shoulder.
“Liza, it’s great to see you again.”
She nodded her greeting. “I’m happy to be here.”
“I certainly hope so. You’re the woman of the hour!”
Liza raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
A waiter suddenly appeared and Gregory placed Vanessa’s now-empty flute on his tray.
“Dr. Marbet has your renderings of the clinic displayed inside, and everyone is raving about the design and it’s not even built yet.”
The warm glow of acceptance curled inside her. “It’s not often that people appreciate the aesthetics of a building so soon, or at all.”
“Sounds like you’re not going to have any problems establishing yourself in Bay Point,” Vanessa said.
“I’d also like you to consider being o
n our building and land committee,” Gregory added. “We need someone like you to ensure that the historical integrity of Bay Point is maintained throughout the town’s redevelopment process.”
Vanessa shushed him. “This is no time to talk about work, honey. You promised me a dance.”
“I promised you two dances,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Liza, will you excuse us?”
She nodded and waved goodbye as Gregory whisked his wife away to the dance floor. The band was playing an old R & B tune, not too fast and not too slow. She tapped her foot in time with the beat, as she watched the couples bump and sway, ignoring the urge to go look for Anthony.
Liza pursed her lips. As far as she was concerned, he should be looking for her.
She decided to continue on to the open bar, to get the glass of wine she’d been wanting all along, when she spotted a familiar face mulling over the choices at the hors d’oeuvre table.
“Doc Z! I didn’t know you would be here!”
She gave him a hug. He was thinner than she remembered, but his embrace was just as strong.
“I told Anthony that if he didn’t invite me, I’d reverse the A plus I gave him back at Harvard.”
Doctor Zander’s raucous laugh lifted a few heads around them, most of them older females.
Liza smiled. “How are you doing?”
A smile crinkled the edges of his deeply tanned face. “I’m hanging in there as much as these old bones will let me.” He shrugged. “You never know. The night is still young. I may run away with one of these beautiful ladies yet.”
“If Mama was alive, she would have been first in line,” Liza said, her smile fading. “And who could blame her for wanting to chase after you? My father never paid her any attention.”
Liza had tried to keep her voice light, but could still hear an edge of bitterness in it.
She loved her father, and though he was kind, by his actions, he’d driven a wedge in the family. He had chosen other women over his wife. Lots of them.
Doc Z led her away to a corner of the patio. It was getting darker now and the tiny white lights strung along the low hedges lent a festive glow. But right now, she felt anything but happy.
“Your mother had a lot of issues.”
Liza crossed her arms. “Yes, and my father was one of them.”
“I know...and I know it hurt your mother deeply,” Doc Z admitted.
She stared at him, and then sank against the cream-colored stucco of the house. She’d always suspected Doc Z knew about her father’s infidelities. The two men had been the best of friends. But to have it confirmed was a blow.
Liza dropped her chin, eyes burning with tears.
She focused on her toes, the nails painted bright red, not wanting to believe what she was hearing, but knowing it was true. Doc Z had no reason to lie to her. It was time she admitted the truth, at least to herself.
“Despite his faults, he loved her,” he continued. “Perhaps too much.
Her head shot up. “And yet, he cheated on her, even though he knew how fragile she was about her looks?”
He nodded, and she shook her head in disbelief.
“Maybe if he hadn’t cheated on her, she wouldn’t have felt she needed all those fillers. All those surgeries,” she said. “She wouldn’t have died trying to keep looking young.”
Doc Z shrugged and leaned against a white column. “We all knew she was beautiful. She was a former model. But she didn’t. She just never believed it herself—on or off the runway.”
Liza looked away and was rubbing at her jaw with the ridge of her knuckles, something she did out of habit when she was upset, when Doc Z reached over and brought her hand in front of her face.
“Don’t fall into the same trap as your mother did,” he warned.
Liza feared it was too late. Instead of focusing on her inner beauty, she’d concentrated on her physical flaws, often to the detriment of her own happiness and relationships with men.
Anthony had told her he thought she was beautiful, but had she unconsciously driven him away by thinking she wasn’t?
She inhaled a deep breath. “In some ways, I think she sabotaged herself. Unlike me, she wasn’t a strong person. Once her modeling career was over, she had nothing but her looks to fall back on.”
“Count your blessings. You’re young. You’re intelligent. And you’re gorgeous.”
Liza grinned. “And you were always so wise.”
“Yeah? Better grab on to my advice now, before it disappears into my softening mind.”
She laughed and gave him a grateful hug.
“Just because you were my favorite teacher in med school, doesn’t give you the right to steal my woman.”
Liza stepped back, as Anthony approached them. Her heart swelled in her chest at his words.
My woman.
“Oh, pardon my intrusion, kind sir,” Doc Z said, in a mock British accent. “I thought she was just your architect.”
“And I thought I saw a scotch with your name on it at the bar,” Anthony shot back.
Though his roughened tone was good-natured, there was no doubt in Liza’s mind that Anthony meant business.
Doc Z raised a brow. “I can take a hint as well as I can tie a suture. But if I were you, I wouldn’t let this woman out of your sight.”
Anthony adjusted his black bow tie, his gaze piercing hers.
“I don’t plan on it.” He took her hand in his. “Come on, Liza. I’ve been waiting to speak with you all night.”
* * *
Anthony took Liza by the hand and led her down a sandy path. There was an enclosed gazebo at the far edge of the Langston estate, which would give him the privacy he needed.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Just trust me, okay?” he answered, in an irritable tone.
As they made their way down the path, the music got softer and softer, sounding a bit mournful in his ears.
Since his self-imposed “break” from Liza, he’d missed her terribly. Though his concentration was better, his mood had taken a turn for the worse.
“Can you slow down,” Liza demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m getting sand in my stilettos.”
Anthony stopped and huffed out a breath. “How come every time I see you, you’re wearing inappropriate shoes?”
Liza tilted her head, as if she were trying to think of the shoes in her wardrobe. “What do you mean, every time?”
“Forget it. I’m carrying you the rest of the way.”
He picked her up and she pummeled her hands on his back. “Put me down, Anthony!”
But a smile crossed her face and he refused.
Minutes later, they reached the white-clapboard gazebo. He was sweating from rushing, and from nerves, and he loosened his bow tie.
Anthony had every intention of just talking to her, but when he looked at her beautiful body in his arms, his desire for her could no longer be ignored.
He set her down gently on a fabric-covered bench and when he opened his mouth to speak, she grabbed onto his neck and drew him to her lips in a passionate kiss.
It wasn’t long before he was sitting alongside her, licking her neck, and drawing down the straps of her bra with his fingers.
He lifted her dress, not bothering to take it off, and removed the thong from her rear.
“I’ve missed you, Liza.”
The only sounds that mattered were her moans, as she straddled and moved and clung, driving them both into a wild frenzy, while the waves spilled onto the shore far below.
After they had come, he had laid her gently back on the bench. Kneeling before her, with slow and deliberate licks of his tongue, he made her climax once more.
She’d grabbed his head, gritted her teeth a
nd held on, and he felt the pleasure he’d invoked reverberating through her entire body.
Liza tasted so good that he wanted to continue, but she was moaning so loud, he was afraid they’d be discovered.
Liza gasped, sat up and smoothed down her dress. “What do you think you’re doing, Anthony? We’re supposed to be at the gala.”
He slipped back into his pants and zipped up. “I think we’re having a lot more fun right here, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, but I don’t understand,” she said, running her fingers through her hair. “I thought you wanted a break from me, from us.”
He put his shirt on, but left it unbuttoned. “I was wrong, Liza. Over these past several months, I’ve had a lot of time to think.”
“Me, too.” Her lips trembled. “What are you saying, Anthony?”
He knelt before her and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. “I’m saying that I love you, Liza, and I don’t want to lose you. Not ever.”
“But what about your work at the hospital, and the clinic? You said I was distracting you, and a relationship with me would only make it worse.”
Anthony looked deeper into her eyes, praying he could make her understand. “I know. But I realized that being apart from you was a mistake. I was just scared you would leave me. Not many women can deal with my hectic schedule and lofty ambitions.”
Liza gave him what appeared to be a tentative smile. “I would never leave you, Anthony. I told you, I’m your partner. We have a written contract, remember?”
“Yes, of course, but let’s put business aside, okay?” He took a deep breath. “I feel that we could work better together as a couple than as two individuals trying to deny our feelings for each other.”
He cradled her face gently between his palms, and gave her a gentle kiss.
“You do love me, too? Don’t you, Liza?”
He watched her eyes well with tears. “Yes, I love you, Anthony. So much that it hurts.”
“I know I can cure your pain, all of it, past, present and future, if you’ll let me,” he told her, brushing the wetness from her cheeks with his fingers.
Winning the Doctor Page 16