Smiling smugly, Jacki said, “Oh no. Never.”
A few minutes later, Nicolette walked to the other side of the busy medical clinic. Ridge’s waiting room was full of patients, but after a quick call, the receptionist invited Nicolette to step back to his private office.
When Nicolette knocked lightly on the closed door and entered the small room, Ridge was sitting at his desk. But the moment he spotted her, he rose to his feet and hurried toward her.
“Nicci! You’ve surprised me!”
A broad smile lit his face as he reached for both her hands and clasped them in his.
Even if Nicolette’s resistance had been made of iron, his touch would have smelted it like a red-hot forge. Seeing his happy face again lifted her heart like nothing else could. In spite of all the reservations going through her mind, she felt herself smiling back at him.
“Hello, Ridge. I’m sorry to interrupt your work. It’s obvious you’re very busy. Your waiting room is stuffed.”
There was a sparkle to his brown eyes as they roamed her face. “Don’t worry about it. My patients would all go into cardiac arrest if they didn’t have to wait for me.”
She chuckled softly, then, clearing her throat, she eased her hands from his grip. “Uh, thank you for the roses. They’re incredibly beautiful.”
His fingers reached up to touch her cheek. “Not nearly as beautiful as you.”
The thought that she should be scolding him raced through Nicolette’s mind, but just as quickly, she pushed that thought away. She’d chosen to be here, even while knowing he wanted more than a platonic relationship with her. In showing up at his office, she’d crossed an invisible line and moved to a place where she couldn’t turn around or back up. All she could do now was face him and wait to see what happened.
The idea was terrifying, but then so was the notion of sitting at home or in her office tortured with what-ifs and loneliness.
Swallowing away the lump that had suddenly thickened her throat, she said, “I also wanted to thank you for the dinner invitation. When do you plan to do all this cooking?” Then she teased him with hopes of lightening the moment. “And will it be safe to eat?”
He chuckled and she could see from the look on his face that she’d made him a happy man. The thought empowered her and left her feeling so bubbly she wanted to laugh out loud.
“Tonight. Seven o’clock. And trust me, Nicci. It may not be quite as good as one of Cook’s meals, but in my next life I’ll be a gourmet chef.”
Her eyes widened. “Seven tonight! I have a late appointment this evening, Ridge. I don’t know if I can make it out to the ranch to change and then back to your place by then.”
His hands cupped her shoulders before they slid lightly down her arms. “You don’t need to change,” he insisted. “Besides, you don’t know where I live. I’ll wait for you to finish up here at the clinic and then we’ll go together.”
Shaking her head, she said, “That’s too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. I’ve got plenty of work right here.” He gestured to his desk. “When you finish up, just walk down here. Okay?”
Feeling a reckless excitement she hadn’t felt since she was a teenager, she nodded. “I’ll try not to be too late.”
She turned to leave and he quickly caught her by the hand. She looked around in question to see the teasing sparkle in his eyes had faded to a simmering glow. A shiver of anticipation slipped down her spine.
“Just in case you didn’t know, Nicci, you’ve made me very happy.”
But for how long, she wondered. Hours? A day? A week? Or would this thing that was budding between them turn out to be something more lasting, like Jacki had suggested? No. Nicci wouldn’t dare let herself think in those terms. For now she would think of Ridge Garroway as a one-evening event.
“I have patients waiting, too. I’ll see you later,” she said, and hurried out of his office.
Hours later, Ridge was sitting at his desk, plowing through a mound of paperwork while he waited for Nicolette, when his cell phone rang.
Seeing the caller was his mother, he almost didn’t answer. He was in a good mood and he wanted to stay that way. But with Nicolette having dinner with him tonight, he didn’t want to be bothered with the phone continually ringing. And, if anything, his mother was persistent. She’d dial repeatedly until he answered.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Ridge, honey, I was beginning to get worried!” she wailed in pitiful relief. “You haven’t answered my calls all day.”
He could hear the faint slur of alcohol in her voice, but that was nothing new for Lillian Garroway. Where most people looked to a hobby for relief and relaxation, she turned to gin or vodka. In all his twenty-nine years, he’d never seen his mother in a state of intoxication, but there had been times she’d come damn close. The most prominent image Ridge had of his mother was her wandering listlessly through the house with a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He hated the fact that she was wasting precious hours and days, not to mention the physical damage she was doing to her body. But she seemed bent on ruining the very things she’d been blessed with.
“I’m a doctor, Mom. There are times when it’s impossible for me to answer the phone.”
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, yes, I know. I’ve heard all the excuses before.”
Realizing he sounded like his own father, he grimaced as he tossed down the ink pen and leaned back in his chair.
“Sorry, Mom. It’s just that I’ve had a busy day. I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”
She sniffed. “Well, I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I’m not exactly a barrel of laughs these days. What with you gone, I don’t have much to look forward to.”
Ridge silently groaned. “You have everything to look forward to. You just need to wake up and realize it.”
“How? I don’t have a husband. Not really. And my son has moved to the ends of the earth. This house is like a tomb. Ivy slips through the rooms like some damn ghost. She’s scared me so many times, I’ve threatened to put a bell around her neck.”
Ivy was the longtime Garroway housekeeper. Over the years the woman had become more of a caretaker than anything. She handled everything in the household that his mother wasn’t capable of coping with, which was becoming most everything. Ridge was amazed the woman had the constitution to deal with Lillian on a daily basis.
“You need to get out of there, Mom, do something productive. It will make you feel better.”
“Are you giving me advice as a doctor or as my son?” she asked with sarcasm.
“Both.” He glanced at his watch and wondered how much longer it would be before Nicolette showed up. Soon, he hoped. He didn’t want to start the evening being dragged down by his mother’s sour attitude.
“Well, I don’t have anything to do right now,” she whined. “Except pick out a dress for the mayor’s inaugural ball. And I don’t have the heart for that. Not with all this weight around my waist.”
Ridge closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Lillian had never known how to talk to a son. He wasn’t sure she knew how to have a meaningful exchange of words with anyone. Her conversations always began and ended with personal pronouns. I, me, my. Those were her favorite subjects. But perhaps that was because she was so hungry for attention, he thought sadly. Ridge’s father, Richard, had never really treated Lillian as a wife. She was more like a possession he could put away or take out according to his whims.
That idea had his thoughts suddenly turning to Nicolette and the members of her family he’d had the pleasure of meeting at the Sandbur dinner. Even though they were a wealthy family, they were all hard working, compassionate people. True, they were obviously ambitious, but they were motivated by love and devotion to keeping the legacy of their ancestors going. Greed didn’t fit into their thinking.
If only the Garroways had followed a more humble trail, he thought wistfully.
To his mother he said, “I’ve encouraged y
ou to join a gym. It would be a good way to deal with your weight and, at the same time, get you out of the house. And as for something to do, I’ve invited you to come visit my home.”
She let out a laugh that was both nervous and mocking. “Home! Ridge, honey, that place isn’t your home. From what you’ve told me it’s little more than a shack. Do you honestly think I want to see you in those conditions?”
“I do have indoor plumbing, Mom.”
“Okay, go ahead and make light of the situation. But we both know your home is here in Houston. And it’s high time you got yourself back here!”
Leaning forward in the chair, Ridge propped his elbows on the edge of the desk. “Sorry, Mom. That’s not going to happen. I’m sinking roots here.”
A snort blasted his ear. “Roots, hell! The Garroways have always had their place in this city. Your daddy’s great-great ancestors moved here from Virginia when Texas was still a republic and they’ve never left Houston soil! They made their mark here! Except you,” she said with pointed accusation, then added wearily, “God knows I’d have to be the one to sire a deserter. Richard certainly never lets me forget it.”
Having any sort of meaningful relationship with Richard, his father, had ended long ago when the elder Garroway had realized his son was not going to follow directly in his footsteps. Now the two of them traded little more than cool hellos.
Struggling to push down the dark resentment he harbored toward the man, Ridge said, “I’m sorry you and Dad feel the way you do. But I’m a doctor and we’re supposed to go where we’re needed. With Dr. Walters retiring, this town needed another cardiologist. And I’m here to serve the people.”
“Serve the people!” She was practically yelling now. “If you’re going to stay in that Podunk town you might as well go into missionary work. And for what? When you could be in an elite circle here. You’d be making real money. And your father could hold his head up with pride.”
Ridge’s teeth clamped together. He loved his mother, but there were times he couldn’t abide her views or her behavior.
“Unlike my father and grandfather, I’m not in this for the money,” he clipped coolly.
“Hmmph!” She let out another cynical snort. “Since when did you become so righteous?”
“I don’t know,” he said with all honesty. “But thankfully, somewhere along the way, I was blessed with a spark of decency. Maybe you ought to pray for a little yourself, Mother. In the meantime if you want to see me I’ve given you my address. The door will be open.”
There was a long pause, and Ridge knew she was thinking over all that she’d just said to him. And more than likely she was already regretting half of her words. But that was Lillian. She always spoke before using her mind.
“Ridge, I—”
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” he wearily interrupted. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He shut off the phone and slipped it into his pocket. With the phone call out of the way, he tried to focus on the waiting paperwork, but his mother’s words had stirred things inside of him that wouldn’t let him rest.
Shoving the papers to one side of his desk, he rose from his chair with the intention of leaving the office. A light knock sounded on the door.
Before he could respond, Nicolette stuck her head around the wooden panel. “Here I am, finally,” she announced. “Are you ready to go?”
The sight of her smiling face was just what he needed to put his world back on its axis, and as Ridge hurried over to her, he realized with each day that passed, she was becoming more and more important to him.
“More than ready,” he said as he joined her out in the hallway. “Just let me lock up and we’ll be on our way.”
Moments later, after he’d secured his office and the outer door leading to the waiting area, the two of them exited the building.
The evening was still terribly warm with hardly a breeze to stir the humid air. Nicolette’s brown hair was coiled and fastened to the back of her head with a tortoiseshell clamp, but the tendrils framing her face had turned into damp corkscrews. A straight khaki skirt with a slit up one side exposed a glimpse of shapely thigh, while her white shirt with the sleeves rolled up was buttoned just low enough to tease him with a glimpse of cleavage. She managed to look both prim and sensual at the same time.
“I’m glad you didn’t go home to change,” he said, as he settled his arm against the back of her waist. “You look very sexy tonight. I’m just wondering, though, about the poor male patients you saw today. The sight of you must have sent their blood pressure skyrocketing.”
She scoffed at his compliment with soft laughter. “None of my patients saw me like this. I was covered with a lab coat.”
“Good,” he purred. “I wouldn’t want any of the men to get ideas about my girl.”
By now they had reached his pickup truck and she looked up at him with wary speculation. “Your girl, huh? Where did you get that idea?”
Smiling, he dug the key out of his pocket and punched the automatic locking system. “You’re here with me. That gives me a little hint.”
He opened the door and gestured for her to get in. She looked at him with raised brows.
“I’m going to drive my car and follow you,” she told him.
He shook his head. “No. I’ll bring you back later to get your car. It will be fine here in the parking lot.”
Nicolette didn’t argue. There were two very capable security men who patrolled the building and parking lot. She wouldn’t worry about her vehicle. And it would be nice to rest from the day’s work before she had to deal with traffic.
“All right,” she agreed. “But this is a lot of trouble for you.”
He offered her a hand up into the passenger’s seat. “Don’t start thinking of me as nice,” he said with a teasing grin. “I’m really selfish, Nicci. I’d do anything to have you with me this evening.”
She took his hand and he brushed a quick kiss on her cheek as he helped her into the cab. With a silent groan, Nicolette watched him skirt the hood and take his seat behind the wheel. How could she possibly act her age, when he was so young and full of life? Everything about him pulled her spirits into a joyful skip. When she was with him she didn’t want to be wise or serious. She wanted to laugh and feel the blood humming through her veins.
“Well, actually, I was going to turn down your invitation. But Jacki, my assistant, talked me into this,” she admitted.
He started the engine before casting her a look that held amusement crossed with a dash of censure. “Three cheers to Jacki. But why weren’t you going to accept? Or should I even ask?”
Crossing her legs, she tugged at the slit on her skirt. Any other day she would have worn a safe, sedate pair of slacks. Instead, she’d gone for coolness, and now bare skin was showing everywhere.
“You should know enough about me now, Ridge, to know that I usually like to play things safe. And spending time with you is definitely not safe.”
One brow arched above his brown eyes, and she watched a dimple come and go in his cheek. Dear Lord, he was too much for any woman’s senses to deal with.
“Hmm. I like the sound of that,” he drawled. “A man never wants a woman to consider him as safe. I must be doing something right.”
Something right? He was doing everything right. And she was falling into his hands like a ripe peach just waiting to be eaten. How soon would it be before he gobbled up her heart?
Chapter Eight
Once they departed the parking lot, Ridge drove south until they reached Rio Grande Street, then he turned west until they crossed the Guadalupe River and hit the highway heading toward Goliad. They were just leaving the river bottom, when he turned south again on a farm-to-market road. On either side of the blacktop road, the flat fields were green with knee-high cotton that was presently in full white bloom.
The farmland went for several miles before the scenery returned to cattle grazing among the mesquite and wesatch bushes.
“Are w
e there yet?” she teased.
“Actually, we are. See that corner post right there? That’s where my property starts.”
Her gaze followed the direction of his pointing finger. The barbed wire fence was sagging, but the posts were still upright and the H braces intact. She didn’t see any cattle, but since he’d told her he owned two hundred acres, the animals could be elsewhere.
“I’m still just getting things going,” he warned. “So don’t expect too much.”
Smiling, she tried to assure him. “Ridge, I’m not a critical person. My staff says I’m a perfectionist only because I demand the best care for my patients. Outside of that, I don’t expect everything to be perfect.”
A faint look of relief crossed his face. “I’m glad. ’Cause you’re definitely not going to see another Sandbur.”
Feeling the need to reassure him, she reached over and gently touched his forearm. “I don’t want to see another Sandbur, Ridge. I want to see your home.”
That place isn’t your home. From what you’ve told me it’s little more than a shack.
His mother’s words sounded in his ears, and though he quickly shoved them away, he couldn’t help but wonder if Nicolette’s rich background would have her seeing his property in the same judgmental way. He didn’t want to believe she was in the same league as his parents. But then, he’d been fooled before. Especially where Brittany was concerned. When he’d first met her, he believed a place like this was her heart’s desire, especially if the two of them were sharing it together. It had taken a hard slap of reality to make him see she was all about herself.
“We’re almost there,” he said.
When Ridge turned into the short drive leading up to the house, Nicolette leaned eagerly forward in the plush bucket seat.
The Best Catch in Texas Page 10