his words. “I didn’t know you worked here, Kasey. How could I? You never told me you were a doctor.”
A couple of nurses stood just out of line of sight, trying to busy themselves but allowing curiosity to get the better of them. Eric sighed. He’d come home to take on his responsibilities, to be near his mother, not to immediately immerse the clinic in gossip about his personal life.
“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”
“No.” Kasey shook her head, her eyes narrowed into accusatory slits. “I don’t want to talk to you, in private or otherwise. You aren’t supposed to be here.” She enunciated each word with great emphasis. “I don’t want you here.”
Had she audibly hissed at him, he wouldn’t have been surprised. What did surprise him was her reaction to seeing him. He was the one who should be feeling betrayed. She’d given him the best sex of his life, left without a trace, and then showed up as an employee at his family’s medical center. Why was she so upset?
He racked his brains, trying to recall what he’d last said to her during the night. Kissing the top of her head and whispering that she was amazing didn’t seem like something that would make her so prickly. Saying how beautiful she was, how special, how glad he was that she’d sat beside him at the bar, nope, that shouldn’t have agitated her, either.
Yes, she’d been upset about something on the night they’d met. And, yes, had he been a true gentleman he would have driven her home and gotten her phone number, not carried her to his hotel room and made love to her over and over. But, hell, he’d wanted her with an undeniable desperation and it had been a long time since he’d been with anyone. A long time since he’d wanted to be with anyone. Kissing Kasey, touching her, had felt right.
“What happened that night?” Jonathan asked, gawking at them, his lips twitching with laughter. “Sounds like more than drinks and dancing.”
Kasey shot Jonathan a lethal look. “Don’t you have a patient to see or something?”
“Right. I’ll go see a patient.” Jonathan nodded with a gleam in his eye that said he’d grill Eric for the lowdown later.
“We should talk,” Eric said, still trying to figure out why she was in attack mode. Sure, she’d left his bed without waking him, but she’d enjoyed the night, had been willing, more than willing. She’d been interesting, funny, sweet and sexy when they’d talked in the bar. Besides the phenomenal sex, he’d genuinely liked her. He’d planned to see her again, had been disappointed to wake, find her gone and realize he only knew her first name.
Having a woman use him hadn’t been a new experience, but he’d never been used in that particular way before.
“This isn’t the time or place for this conversation.” Kasey took another step back, looked like she might take off, but didn’t. Visibly, she pulled herself together, transforming before his eyes into a calm vision of cool professionalism. She stood with her shoulders high, regal. Only her expressive eyes betrayed the hint of inner turmoil.
“I have patients to see, too.” Expression pinched, Kasey reached up and pulled the stethoscope off her neck, fingering the tubing. “It was unexpected to see you, Dr. Matthews.”
She emphasized the word doctor, making it sound dirty, almost like an insult. Damn it, he had told her he was a doctor. He was more proud of his degree than anything else he’d done in his sorry life.
She turned, took a step away from him.
His breath caught. He didn’t want her to walk away. “Have dinner with me.”
She paused, then shook her head. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Why not?” He hadn’t consciously made the decision to ask her to dinner, but now that he had, he wanted her to say yes. Besides, they needed to talk about what had happened two months ago.
She hesitated, momentarily looking uncertain. “You’re coming to work at Rivendell, aren’t you?”
Now that he knew she was here, neither hell nor high water would keep him from Rivendell. A factor that shouldn’t have any influence at all, but suddenly did. “Yes.”
She leveled him with the steely green gaze beneath her glasses. “That’s why having dinner together isn’t a good idea. Fraternizing with colleagues is not conducive to my career goals.”
Battling a myriad of emotions, Eric watched her disappear into an exam room. At least this time he’d been awake when she left.
“Tell me everything.” Jonathan pounced the moment the door closed behind Kasey. Where had he been hiding? Behind a plant?
“I thought you were seeing a patient,” Eric pointed out, leading his friend toward Jonathan’s private office. “Besides, we’re in the hallway of the clinic where we work. Use some tact.”
He closed Jonathan’s office door. “I met Kasey two months ago, liked her and want to go out with her again.”
“And?”
“There’s nothing more to tell.”
Not that he was willing to share. Not even with someone he’d shared secrets with for years and who knew him better than anyone. Jonathan knew his darkest moments and had seen him through them. But some things were private. His night with Kasey fell into that category.
His friend leaned against his desk, arms crossed, expression confused. “You really want to go out with the Ice Queen?”
“Don’t call her that.” Eric glared, feeling oddly defensive of the woman who’d elicited strong emotions from the moment she’d plopped down next to him looking as if her world had crashed. “Why wouldn’t I want to go out with Kasey? She’s a beautiful woman.”
Jonathan looked flummoxed. “Yeah, but—”
“She’s intelligent, witty, has a great sense of humor and is a lot of fun to be around,” Eric interrupted before Jonathan could say anything else. What was wrong with his friend? He’d been working with Kasey for heaven only knew how long and yet he hadn’t noticed what a sexy misnomer she was? That she hid her passion behind too-tight hairstyles, don’t-touch-me designer clothes and I’m-smart-not-pretty glasses?
“Are we talking about the same woman?” Jonathan shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. Kasey’s a great coworker—steady, dependable, thorough—but she’s not your type. Too uptight and career oriented.”
“Those aren’t bad qualities you’re describing,” Eric pointed out.
“She has her sights set on the top, pal. She’s made no secret that she wants a seat on the board and she’s put in the long hours to make sure it happens,” Jonathan warned, pretending to shiver. “Plus, she gives off those subzero vibes. Could give a man permanent frostbite.”
Frostbite? Eric had come closer to suffering heatstroke in Kasey’s company than frostbite. Jonathan and apparently every other man in Kasey’s life were blind fools.
Just so long as she didn’t plan to use him as her stepping stone to the top, Eric had no problem with a career-minded woman. Particularly when that woman attracted him the way Kasey did.
“She’s
