Between Me & You: An Enemies to Lovers Workplace Romance (Remington Medical Book 3)

by Kimberly Kincaid

  “That’s understandable,” Harlow said, and God, in her own way, she could so relate. Moving on was a bitch, but sometimes, not moving on was even worse.

  Evie looked surprised. “You don’t think I should go after my ex for what he did?”

  First things first. “I think your ex should burn in a fiery hell-pit for what he did to you. But as for what happens now…that’s not up to me,” Harlow pointed out. “That decision, that power? That belongs to you alone. You have to do what’s right for you, Evie. And as weird as it might seem to Tara Kingston, or anyone else, if making a deal and skipping a trial will help you heal, even though your ex will do less time that way? Then, yes. I think that’s the best thing you can do to take care of yourself.”

  For a minute, Evie was quiet. When she looked up, the tears rimming her eyes made Harlow’s pulse skip, triple-time. “I feel like I haven’t had any power for a long time.”

  “Well, you do now,” Harlow said. “And I’m here for you, no matter what you decide.”

  “You’ve been really nice to me, and you and Connor took care of me when I didn’t think anyone would. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  A tear that had been gathering tracked down Evie’s cheek at the words. Emotion filled Harlow’s rib cage, but rather than try to control it or pack it away, she took a deep breath and embraced every feeling.

  “You don’t have to thank us.” She reached out to give Evie’s non-injured hand a squeeze. “This is what Connor and I are here for.”

  “You guys are a really good team,” Evie said. “I know it’s kind of dramatic, but with how everything is turning around for me right now, you two saved my life.”

  Harlow smiled even as her cheeks warmed. “Oh, that part is mostly Connor. He’s the one who provides the care.”

  But Evie shook her head, completely firm. “You’re the one who got me to stay so he could. This place needs both of you.”

  Even though she hadn’t thought it possible, in that moment, Harlow’s resolve to save the clinic grew even deeper roots.

  And so did her feelings for Connor, who had shown her how important it was to care with her whole heart.

  26

  The weird feeling that had parked itself in Connor’s chest a week ago hadn’t budged. In fact, he thought as he slid the last chart he’d needed to update back into the charging station, if anything, it had gotten stronger. Between Evie’s healing, the good press the clinic had gotten from the interview he and Harlow had done for a local podcast (okay, okay, so not all PR was bullshit), and the small but real headway they’d made with their budgets and efficiency—not to mention the nights he’d spent celebrating those little victories with Harlow in his bed—Connor had to admit it.

  Everything was finally working the fuck out.

  Aiming himself at the office, Connor made his way down the hall, his big, goofy heart slapping faster at the thought of seeing Harlow. Yeah, they’d touched base a few hours ago, and more yeah, she’d looked lighter and less stressed about getting the clinic’s budget back on track this week. But still. Her steady, no-nonsense presence bolstered him, reinforcing how much of a team they really were.

  He couldn’t imagine this place without her. Damn, he was so far gone for the one woman he’d have sworn he’d never even trust, let alone fall for.

  What’s more? He wanted it.

  He wanted her. In his bed, in his life.

  In his heart.

  “Hey,” Connor said, grateful that no one could climb into his cranium and read his thoughts, because his friends would never ever let him hear the end of the one he’d just sprouted, even if it was true. Of course, the feeling only jabbed harder at the sight of Harlow’s smile as she looked up from her desk, pushing her glasses higher over the bridge of her nose. “You nearly ready to call it quits for the day?”

  “Almost.” Although she nodded, she waved him farther into the room. “But come here for a second. I think I have an idea.”

  Connor grinned, but he couldn’t resist giving up an, “Oh, hell. That sounds dangerous.”

  “Actually, it might be,” Harlow said, and whoa.

  “Seriously?”

  “What can I say?” She lifted a shoulder beneath her thin, black sweater, but the flush on her cheeks gave away her excitement. “You’re rubbing off on me.”

  Nope. Not touching that one eeeeeven a little bit. At least, not while they were here at work. “Okay, so what’s this idea of yours?”

  “Well, I’ve been giving more thought to what you said a couple of weeks ago, about trying to find a private donor to offset a large amount of the debt we inherited from the previous director.”

  Connor’s brows slung upward. “I thought you said that wasn’t a viable option.”

  “I did, and it still might not be. A fundraiser is definitely out—we don’t have the time, resources, or funds for that. But if we’re smart about it, we might be able to come up with a strategic list of people who’d potentially offer a significant gift and see if they’d meet with us.” Sitting back in her chair, she gestured to her laptop, where she’d clearly already started to research local business owners and philanthropists. “We’d have to come up with one hell of a pitch, and even then, it’s a gamble. Asking for donations outright in a one-on-one isn’t exactly orthodox, and the clinic’s financial track record makes it a risky investment. But I think we have something now that we didn’t have before.”

  “And that is?”

  “Each other.”

  Of the million things he’d expected she might say, that one clocked in just shy of the seven-digit limit. But Harlow was either too excited or too comfortable with the thought to notice his shock, because she kept going without pause.

  “That interview we just did, the way we took care of Evie—God, the way we ran yesterday’s staff meeting, even—all of that got me thinking. The whole time we’ve been here, you and I have had this division of labor.”

  “Well, yeah,” Connor said, the gears of his brain kicking into motion. “But that’s the point, right? We both bring pretty different strengths to the table.”

  She nodded. “That’s true, but eventually, this position will belong to you. It’s meant to be streamlined.”

  The reminder that she wasn’t slated to stay pinched, like he’d tried to wedge his foot into an old shoe that didn’t fit. “I suppose.”

  “So, what if we do that now, with the pitch?” she said, her eyes sparkling. “We’ve spent all this time dividing. You’ve implemented ops changes. I’ve revamped budgets and analysis. Yeah, we’ve consulted, and of course, we’ve communicated. But maybe it’s time to conquer by showing what we’ve accomplished together, on that next level. Like we did for Evie. Like we can for so many other people if we get the right funding to stay open and keep making strides. The way this clinic really needs.”

  Connor paused. Processed. Paused again, and…

  Holy. Shit. “Harlow, that’s fucking brilliant.”

  “It’s a fucking long shot,” she countered. “But I’ve turned these numbers inside out. A large influx of funds is really the only way we can get the momentum we need to ensure stability and longevity in our given timeframe. The only way we can reach that goal is to come up with a pitch that emphasizes our most marketable assets. And our very strongest asset, the thing that sets us apart and makes us worth investing in—”

  “Is personal. It’s us,” Connor finished with a laugh. “You’re the only person I know who can make a business plan sound sexy, you know that?”

  “We’ll have to make it sound perfect if we want to land someone willing to take a chance on us. And we’re going to have to rely on each other—probably more than ever.”

  The warning of how hard the work would be, how much trust they’d have to put in each other in order to craft a pitch that would land a donor, hung in her words.

  But Connor didn’t stand down or shy away. “I get that this is a long shot, and it’s a long shot we need. If you think th
is is the best plan to save the clinic, then I trust you, and I’m in. I’ve already told you, sweetheart. I’m here for it. All of it.”

  Harlow smiled, and God, she was impossibly beautiful, all lit up with promise. “I am, too.”

  Time slowed down for a beat, or maybe it was twenty, or maybe two hundred. Somehow, it didn’t seem to matter that moments were surely passing, or that there was a new task in front of them, or even that the plan she’d come up with was a pretty big out-of-towner.

  The only thing that mattered was him and Harlow, and the hope brimming in her eyes.

  She believed in this. Believed it was more than a business. In leading with her heart.

  This was going to work.

  Finally, Connor blinked himself back to reality. “So, ah, did you want to skip heading out to The Crooked Angel tonight so we can get to work on researching potential donors, then?” He’d miss seeing Mallory and Jonah and the rest of his friends, but he knew Harlow. When it came to business, she was all business.

  So the fact that she shook her head? Threw him for a loop and a half. “We can start planning tomorrow. We promised everyone we’d see them tonight, and we’re going to need to go into this relaxed and ready to work. Anyway, I’m kind of dying to talk to Tess.”

  “Oh, about the Observation Care seminar she went to last week?” Harlow had mentioned wanting to learn more about offering their doctors and PAs the opportunity for continuing education courses.

  “That too, I guess,” she said, standing to grab her coat from the hook by the office door, then waiting as he followed suit with his own. “But really, I just wanted to hear how her Tinder date went.”

  Jesus, there was so much to unpack there. Just as soon as he was done laughing, Connor would get to it, but for now, he settled on, “Tess went on a date?”

  “Three of them, actually. But the other two were a bust. This guy had potential, though. I believe her exact quote was, ‘He doesn’t have four ex-wives and he didn’t ask me to send him pictures of my feet’.”

  He’d never been huge on dating apps, but… “People do that?” His jaw unhinged.

  “Apparently so. Anyway, she had coffee with the third guy this morning, and she promised to give us all the details tonight.”

  Harlow held up her phone, likely in response to the look of pure WTF that had to be plastered to his face. “What?” she asked. “Tess and Charlie and Natalie and I have a girls-only text thread.”

  “Are you serious?” Connor wasn’t sure if he should be pleased or panic, especially when her brows went up in shock that mirrored his.

  “Yeah. Don’t you have one with Parker and Jonah and Emmett?”

  “Not really, no,” he said, following her down the hallway to the now-empty main area of the clinic. “I mean, we text sometimes to make plans to grab a beer, or bitch about hockey if the Rogues are losing, but…what else would we talk about?”

  Harlow lifted a shoulder, just as easy as you please. “I don’t know. Our threads usually end up focused on either work or sex.”

  Connor’s pulse tripped. “You text with Tess and Charlie and Natalie about sex?”

  “Mmm hmm. That new book that came out this week, with Declan on the cover? Inspired a huge conversation about multiple orgasms,” she said, and okay, yeah, that was it.

  “I’m going to change the subject now.”

  Harlow’s brows furrowed, and she stopped short on the linoleum. “Are you upset that I talk about sex with our friends?”

  “Not at all.” He reassured her by closing the distance between them until there wasn’t any left, slanting a suggestive kiss over her mouth to capture the tiny gasp she’d let loose at the contact. “But if words like ‘multiple orgasms’ keep coming out of your pretty little mouth, I’m going to be far too tempted to take you home and make life imitate art.”

  “Oh,” Harlow breathed. “Well, I’m all for giving that a try later, but you should probably know that the woman in the book had four.”

  Connor grinned against her lips. “Guess we should eat a good dinner then. For stamina, and all.”

  The trip to The Crooked Angel was loaded with laughter and shared, sexy glances. Connor barely felt the chill of the late winter air as he and Harlow walked the handful of blocks up Marshall Avenue to the brightly lit bar and grill where all of their friends were currently gathered.

  And it didn’t take long at all to find some familiar faces. “Connor! Harlow!” Addison waved from the table close to the front entrance, where the detectives from the Thirty-Third precinct always camped out. “You made it.”

  “Of course,” Connor said, lifting his chin at Detectives Liam Hollister and Matteo Garza as Addison hugged Harlow in greeting.

  “Long time, no see.” Hollister stood up to shake Connor’s hand, then followed the move with a shoulder bump. “Heard you’ve been busy down at the clinic, yeah?”

  He had to laugh, but whether it was at busy being the understatement of the year, or the pure happiness he felt at the mention of the clinic, he couldn’t be sure. “Very. Hey, I meant to thank you two,” he said, sobering a bit. “For going to pick up that jackhole last weekend on our domestic abuse case.”

  “You don’t have to thank us,” Garza said, his dark eyes glittering. “A guy like that deserves to be thrown in the tank.”

  Connor nodded in agreement. “We’re still grateful.”

  “Well, then you’re going to love this,” Addison said, pointing to the nearby hostess stand. “You’re just in time to check out The Crooked Angel’s very newest employee.”

  Confused, he followed the trajectory of her gesture, and…no way.

  “Evie?” Connor gaped.

  Harlow’s face lit up like Times Square just shy of the New Year’s Eve ball-drop. “Oh, I didn’t know she was going to start so soon!” She pressed to her toes to wave at the younger woman, who waved back with a huge grin before turning to greet the couple who had just come into the bar and grill.

  “You knew about this?” Connor asked, swinging his shocked stare in Harlow’s direction.

  “I knew she’d had a couple of interviews. But she asked me not to say anything until she got the job for sure. She didn’t want to jinx anything.”

  A warm feeling unfolded beneath Connor’s T-shirt, smack in the middle of his chest. “Well, she looks like she couldn’t jinx things if she tried. This calls for a toast, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely,” Harlow said. “First round’s on me.”

  “I’m not saying no to that.” Connor grinned, then gestured toward the bar at the back of the dining room. “Lead the way, ma’am.”

  Connor pretended not to see the loaded glance Garza and Hollister shared when Harlow reached for his hand, or the way Addison pressed her smirk between her lips as she gave them both a friendly see-you-later wave. Their friends would get used to them being a couple soon enough.

  “Sweet griddle cakes, could you two be any fucking cuter?” came a familiar, female, and highly sarcastic voice as they neared the crowded bar, and apparently, their friends might need just a liiiiitle more time to adjust.

  “Hey, Tess!” If Harlow was put off by the reference to her and Connor’s relationship, she didn’t let it near her expression. In fact, her smile was prettier than the sun and stars combined. “How did the date go?”

  Tess’s dark brown eyes rolled in an exaggerated arc. “That conversation is going to require adult beverages.”

  “That bad?”

  “Let’s just say, I’m discovering who not to date in this city, one set of XY chromosomes at a time.” Tess drained what was left in her martini glass and grimaced. “The good news is, Charlie and Parker offered to babysit Jackson tonight, and Uber is a thing.”

  Harlow reached out to squeeze Tess’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. How about I buy you a drink to take the sting out of your shitty day?”

  Tess handed over her empty glass. “You’re a goddess. If I played both sides of the field, I would totally be propo
sing to you right now. I mean it.”

  “Mmm. Sadly, I’d have to let you down easy. I’m sort of taken.”

  Harlow sent one of those sexy, secret glances Connor’s way, and okay, yeah, this was going to be one hell of a short night out. The fact that she leaned in to kiss him? Didn’t help the state of affairs in his pants. “I’m going to go see Kennedy at the bar,” she said over a smile as they parted. “I’ll be right back.”

  He watched every step she made until she’d melted into the crowd before turning back to Tess. Of course, his friend wasted zero time nailing him with a smirk big enough to fill a football stadium.

  “I feel like I should shout ‘timber!’ so no one around you gets hurt,” she said. “Seriously, my friend. You are so far gone for that woman.”

  Connor’s smile was a foregone conclusion, and fuck if it didn’t feel perfect on his face. “I might be,” he admitted. But come on, this was Tess. She was far too sharp for him to dodge, and anyway, they were close friends. Family.

  She sighed. “I’m really happy for you. Both of you,” she emphasized. “I know you two had a rocky start at the clinic, and you and Harlow are definitely still polar opposites in a lot of ways. But somehow, you’re making that work rather than letting it yank you apart or try to throttle each other.”

  “We did kind of try to throttle each other in the beginning,” Connor agreed. Christ, was it really less than six weeks ago that they’d gone all main-event in that board room?

  Tess threw back her head and laughed. “I’m sure it won’t be nearly the last time you two go at it, either. You both have too much fire for that. The good news is, now you know you’ll survive. But you do seem kind of perfect for each other.”

  For a split second, a wistful expression flickered beneath her bravado, sending a pang through Connor’s gut. “I’m sorry your date didn’t work out,” he said. He might know what being single was like, but single after being burned by an ex that you trusted, and having to parent solo on top of that? Had to be rough as hell.