did you have in mind?”
His scowl wasn’t enough to mar his good looks, and she was filled with regret. She should’ve kept going to the big impersonal vet clinic even if they had muzzled Peaches on her last appointment there. Mindy wouldn’t mind seeing Eric a lot more often than twice a year at her dog’s checkups, but by now he probably thought she was nothing but a nuisance. And here she was again, trying to use him to solve her problem.
“I shouldn’t have come. You’re busy, and you’ve already done more than I had any right to expect.”
She started to leave, but he stepped in front of the door and put both hands on her shoulders.
“But you did come, and I’m glad.”
What did he mean by that? She met his eyes and was even more confused. She shrugged, but he didn’t remove his hands.
“I’ll fake a breakup on the phone. I should’ve thought of it before I barged in on you,” she said apologetically.
“You didn’t barge. I told Della to send you in as soon as you got here.”
“But your waiting room is full.”
“Happens sometimes. I try, but…” He dropped his arms and turned away from her. “So your dad’s not leaving as scheduled, and he expects to see me….”
“Often, I’m afraid.”
“Then you and I had better strike a deal,” he replied, facing her again.
“A deal?”
Her shoulders felt warm where his hands had rested on top of her silky cherry-red ruffled blouse. She’d worn it with dressy gray slacks and low-heeled black pumps in anticipation of meeting a new client, hoping she’d look businesslike but imaginative. She looked good in red and hoped what she saw in Eric’s eyes was at least a trace of admiration.
“Maybe we can help each other out,” he said slowly.
The last time she’d heard that, her date had been trying to wiggle his fingers between her thighs. She looked at Eric’s hand, strong but gentle and soothing with his patients, then at his face. Who knew eyes could actually twinkle? Maybe he was only teasing about a deal, although he seemed too busy for games.
“Helpful is nice,” she said wanting to kick herself for sounding so clueless.
“There is something you can do for me.”
She dropped her eyes to the apex of his legs, which was not quite covered by the lab coat, then realized what she’d done and was mortified. She hadn’t intended to check him out, certainly not in his examining room where the air was heavy with disinfectant and tension.
He reached out, the back of his wrist brushing against her breast, but all he did was flip over the cameo pendant she was wearing.
“The backside was showing,” he said, his grin reminding her of the way she’d straightened his tie.
“I’m in a bind myself.” He sighed. “You can see how busy I am, but my mother has involved me in a big charity event to raise money for pet adoptions. Of course, she had an ulterior motive. She’s hoping I’ll meet the future mother of her grandchildren among the single women working in the event. She put me on the committee and expects me to help bring the thing together, thinking I’d be thrilled to get involved. Party planning isn’t my forte even if I had time to kill. But you’re a professional organizer…”
“It’s what I do for a living,” she said cautiously.
“I don’t want to let Mom down in front of her friends, but my idea of organizing is putting everything in a pile to worry about later.”
“What’s your deal?” she asked.
Once, as a kid back home in Pennsylvania, she’d been sliding down a snow-covered hill on a plastic sled when she hit a bump and headed straight for a tree. This felt the same way, but she didn’t have the option of wiping out on purpose and landing on soft snow.
“I’ll play Dr. Boyfriend if you’ll help me out on Mom’s charity event. Quietly. She doesn’t need to know you’re involved. I’ll go to the committee meetings and volunteer for as little as possible. Naturally most of the planning was done months ago. I call my mom’s group the committee for last-minute disasters. It doesn’t matter how far in advance they plan, something inevitably goes wrong. You handle what I’m supposed to be doing, and in exchange, your dad and I will be best buddies. He’ll go home sure you’re in good hands.”
There was nothing wrong with Eric’s proposal, but she couldn’t believe two competent adults were scheming to hoodwink their parents.
“Maybe we should both fess up instead,” she suggested.
“Take our medicine, get the spanking over with?” he asked.
“At least insist we’re mature adults who want to run our own lives.”
“Well spoken,” he said solemnly, “but I can’t do it without hurting Mom’s feelings, a lot. That’s just the way she is.”
“I can’t, either,” she admitted. “Dad misses Mom so much, he doesn’t want me to end up lonely and alone. It’s just that he’s so—so insistent.”
“So do we have a deal?” Eric asked.
She knew it was the answer to both their problems, at least temporarily, but it was only a little over six weeks until Christmas. She had parties to plan, people to consult, lists to cross off….
On the other hand, she hadn’t seen her father so happy and animated in a long time, even with his bum ankle keeping him housebound.
“Okay.” She said it with deep reluctance, but he smiled broadly.
“Shake.”
She lifted her hand to meet his. Strong fingers pressed against hers, and his firm palm felt wonderful. When his fingers brushed against her wrist, she felt ripples of pleasure course up her arm. One part of this charade would be a snap. She wouldn’t have any trouble pretending Eric was sexy and appealing.
He dropped her hand, and she had a terrible thought.
“You’re not involved…that is, seeing anyone else, are you? I wouldn’t want to interfere….”
“They’re lined up ten-deep to be with me,” he said with a grin, “but they’re all four-footed and furry.”
“Oh, my gosh, I forgot all those people in your waiting room. They must be ready to lynch me by now.”
“I’ll see you safely out.”
He opened the door, let her step through, and put his arm around her shoulders.
“Glad you stopped by, sweetheart,” he said for the benefit of his crowded waiting room.
He walked her to the outer door, opened it for her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
She
