by Caroline Lee
Yep, Ambrosia’s smile was definitely that of a woman in love.
Had Marley ever smiled like that?
Whoa.
He reared back, surprised by his own thoughts. Where had that come from?
Still smiling, Ambrosia rolled her eyes. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” She clucked and shook her head. “You know I’m a firm believer in deep breaths and regular adjustments, but I can’t send you to yourself to get adjusted, now can I?”
“No, ma’am,” Dustin answered with a rueful smile. “But I do appreciate all the business you send my way.”
It was true. With the town’s focus on natural healing—thanks to the hot springs, the spa, and all sorts of other industries—Joint Ventures did booming business. Many of the locals, as well as visitors, knew the value of regular adjustments, and Dustin was all too happy to oblige. One of these days he meant to talk to Travis about taking on another chiropractor.
That was when he realized he’d drifted off again. He blinked and focused on the here-and-now, at Ambrosia, who was peering at him through her glasses, her head cocked to one side thoughtfully.
“Well, well,” she said quietly. “I never thought I’d see that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“The look of a man who can’t figure out a woman. I’ve seen it before. Of course, usually it’s the ladies who come into my shop, looking for a little help with love, but I’ve sold stones to my share of entangled gentlemen.” She waved one hand airily, which sounded like a drum set falling down the stairs. “Of course, I never expected you to need my help with the ladies. But that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
Dustin began to protest. “I was just walking—”
“And here you stopped, right by Earth Mother, because you knew I could help you.”
He wanted to point out she was the one who had stopped him, but by that time, she was already bounding up the steps.
“Stay right there, Dustin! I have what you need!”
And so he stood right there, in front of her shop, wondering if he looked as foolish as he felt. He was Dusty McIver. Ladies’ man, playboy, flirt. He did not need help with the ladies.
Did he?
“Here,” Ambrosia said triumphantly a moment later, popping back out of her shop with a small velvet bag in her hand.
With nothing else to do, Dustin took it from her and shoved it into his pocket. “What is it?”
“Quartz for clarity, because it’s obvious as the nose on my face you need some help through some muddle. Rose Quartz for love, of course. Just to give you a little nudge in the right direction. And a teeny sliver of Apatite for innervation, just because.” She shrugged. “Well, they’re all teeny, I guess. I’m gifting it to you, after all, so beggars can’t be choosers.”
Dustin knew natural healing worked. His profession was based in non-invasive healing, after all, and he believed that regular massage and meditation were vital to a healthy life.
But crystals? He knew some of his cousins were big believers in the woo-woo stuff, but he wasn’t sure where he stood.
Still, he smiled politely at Ambrosia. “Um, thanks. Innervation, you said?”
She was already halfway inside, but stuck her head back out. “Yep. Means to energize. You might need it.” She winked, then ducked inside again.
Innervation.
“Yeah, I know,” he whispered, feeling the weight of the crystals in his pocket.
In his business, he and Travis often spoke of the way nerves carried signals to certain muscles. To him, nerve innervation was an important aspect of, not just his job, but understanding the human body’s biomechanics.
But the word, in it’s basic form, meant to supply energy to.
To energize.
Dustin felt a ball of something forming inside his chest as he raised his chin. Somewhere in this town, Marley was going about her life, thinking he considered her no more than a buddy, assuming he didn’t think of her as a woman.
But she was wrong, and he was going to prove it to her.
The energy shooting through his system right now caused him to bounce on his toes a little. Yeah, he would prove it to her. Prove to her that, not only did he think of her as a woman, with a woman’s desires, but he wanted to date her. As a woman, not a buddy.
And tomorrow, at Impression, would be the perfect chance.
In his pocket, his hand closed around the crystals Ambrosia had given him. Apatite for energy, huh? Innervation.
And just yesterday, at River’s End Ranch, Jaclyn had told him he needed to open his eyes. Kinda like getting quartz for clarity, huh?
He smiled and began his walk home, already planning what he’d say to her tomorrow.
I guess those two crazy ladies were right!
CHAPTER SIX
Impressions, the restaurant in the hotel Dustin’s uncle owned, was fancier than Marley was used to. And some jerk had parked too close to the handicapped spot, which made getting out of her van kind of a pain. But she met him at the front door, only slightly flustered, and her irritation melted away.
“Hi, you,” he said with a grin, which showed that adorable dimple and made her heart flip.
Whoa, girl. He smiles like that at everyone.
So she returned his greeting and reminded herself he thought of her as a friend. Just a friend.
He held the door for her, and when she wheeled through, they were met by a hostess who greeted Dustin as “Dr. McIver,” and showed them to his “usual table.”
As Marley navigated between the white-cloth-covered tables, careful not to bump any and knock over the wine glasses or mess up the silver, she realized she was frowning a bit. In concentration? No, in the knowledge that Dustin came here all the time and probably brought his dates here.
So what did that mean? Was this a date, after all?
“What are you thinking about?”
His question snapped her out of her reverie, and she remembered he’d done the same thing Thursday night by the lake. She shook her head.
“Just wondering if you take all your friends here,” she told him bluntly, as he slid into his chair and she locked her wheels beside their table.
“No,” he said in a serious tone, as he took his menu from the hostess and thanked her with a nod, “but I take a lot of my dates here.”
Hmm.
Marley opened her menu, but the words swam in front of her. “I thought we agreed this wasn’t a date.”
His grin flashed again. “I didn’t agree to that. But I really like that you don’t mess around, Marley. You cut right to the chase and say what you mean.”
“I…” She closed her mouth, her confusion about whether he thought this was a date or not was totally derailed by that compliment. “Thank you?”
He was chuckling at her confusion. “You look great tonight. Thanks for getting so dressed up for me.”
Flustered again, Marley glanced down at herself. Caroline had told her Impressions was pretty upscale and let her borrow a little white sundress to wear. Her friend’s small apartment was on the second floor, and wasn’t easily accessible, so Caroline had gone to her hotel room that afternoon and helped her get ready. Marley was staying in another nearby hotel, although she was considering moving here, to the Quinn Hotel, to make use of the spa..
And now, Marley had to admit, she did look pretty awesome. Her skin tone made the white dress really pop, and the neckline drew attention to the silver pendant she always wore. But Dustin…
“You’re looking choka yourself, dude,” she told him with a grin. He wore a charcoal suit without a tie, and somehow managed to look classy and casual all at once.
“Thank you. I do try.” But then he looked concerned. “Are you going to be cold? I can go out and get your sweater or something if it’s in the van.”
She shook her head, remembering he hadn’t known her long. “Nah, it’s a side-effect of the accident. Spinal-cord injury means I sweat less.”
“Of co
urse!” His eyes widened. “It has something to do with the spine itself, right? I remember reading about that in school, but it’s never come up in the real world.”
She chuckled. “Well, now you have a real-world example. It manifests differently in patients, but for me, I don’t sweat as much as others do, which means I have a harder time losing heat, so I prefer to be cool, if at all possible.” She reached for her water glass. “Another fun fact: because my nervous system doesn’t recognize anything going on below my hips, I don’t grow hair on my legs.”
“Now, I have run into that before! One time…”
They continued swapping stories of medical oddities, which had them alternating between laughter and gasps. But once their food arrived—a steak for Dustin and a lobster salad for her, because why not?—they settled down into regular conversation.
“Caroline was telling me more about this town, and how Travis is related to so many people. Do you know anyone here?”
Dustin shifted around in his chair, scanning the room. He caught someone’s eye and nodded, but kept looking. Finally, he turned back to his food. “I recognize about half of them. Either patients or church members or”—he jerked his chin towards the back corner—“I’m pretty sure that’s an old babysitter. But I don’t see any immediate family.”
She was nodding. “It’s like that in the Keys where I grew up. Half of the locals have been there forever. There’s this disconnect between the new bloods and those of us who were raised there. You can hear it in the way people speak, mostly.”
“Which Key?”
“I was born on Big Pine, but we moved to Marathon when I was a kid, so Mom could find more teaching work. Dad crewed on a shrimper, but he’s mostly retired now, just does the occasional charter.”
Dustin seemed so at ease as he played with the stem of his water goblet. “So you got your love of the sea from him, I’m assuming?”
She grinned. “Yeah, I guess so. My younger brother—he’s a cop down there—isn’t as into it as we are. But that didn’t save him from being named Tarpon.” When Dustin chuckled, she continued, “Dad wanted to name me Marlin, after the sportfish, but Mama said that was a boy’s name. They settled on Marley, because she was a fan of Bob’s music.”
He was still chuckling and shaking his head. “They sound like a lot of fun.”
“They are.” She stared down into her salad. “I need to get back down there. Maybe after the wedding, I’ll start the drive home, just to hang out.”
She shook her head, pulling herself back to the here-and-now. “How about you? You grew up in this town, obviously.”
“Not quite.” He punctuated his correction with a stab at his asparagus. “My mother was a Quinn before she married Dad. I grew up coming to all the extended family events here in town, but we actually lived nearby, on McIver’s Mountain.”
“Whoa, whoa! You have a mountain named after you? That is so cool!”
He shrugged. “Well, it’s my father’s family property. His great-grandfather, or somebody, bought the land. I’m not as into it as some of my other relatives.”
“Tell me about these family events you went to.”
So as they lingered over their meals, Dustin made her laugh and cringe as he told her about the big gatherings his grandparents hosted for each holiday, and the shenanigans all the cousins had gotten into over the years.
“So then Travis, who had to be eleven, tops, headbutted Bobling in the stomach! And the kid basically got a concussion, because Bobling’s got muscles like rocks—”
She was laughing so hard picturing an angry little Travis, she had to hold her hand up for him to stop. “Wait, wait,” she said, as she struggled to get her breathing under control. “Bobling?”
Dustin wiped tears from his eyes, he’d been laughing so hard at the memory himself. “He’s like six and a half feet tall, and the whole family still calls him that. He just got engaged, actually. To the chef here.”
Marley’s brows went up. “Really? So she’s like family?”
“Well, now she is. She wasn’t when I dated her.”
The reminder he was such a playboy should’ve sobered her, but Marley just shook her head ruefully, still chuckling at the story. “This whole town is something else.”
He took a deep breath to control his laughter, then smiled directly at her. “How was your lobster?”
Wow. He had a gorgeous smile, didn’t he? Wait, he’d asked her a question.
“Uh…” She blinked, trying to remember what she’d been about to say. Oh yeah. “It was pretty good. One of the best I’ve had outside of the Keys.”
“Did you get fresh lobster down there?”
“Yeah.” She smiled, remembering grilled lunches on picnic tables out by the beach. “There’s technically a season, but the locals don’t always pay much attention to that when we’re pulling up dinner. There’s nothing better than fresh lobster and conch fritters, with a heart-of-palm salad.”
“Oh man,” he whispered, pushing his empty plate aside. “That sounds amazing.”
“It is. I’ll have to take you down there.”
The words were out of her mouth before she could take them back. Not that she regretted them; she’d love to show him her home. But the offer was far too intimate. They’d only met last week. They were just friends.
Still, that didn’t stop her heart from giving a happy little flip when he whispered, “I’d like that,” with an intense look in his light eyes.
Just friends just friends just friends.
“So hey,” she blurted, “the ReWalk should be here the week after next!”
“Really? You were able to get one that quick? I thought they were special-ordered.”
She shrugged, suddenly modest. “It’s amazing what spreading some money around can do for you. I had my guy cash in some investments, or whatever it is he does, and called in some favors.” Forcing herself to relax, she blew out a breath. “So, I guess I can start practicing with it.”
“Do you want any help?”
“Like…professionally?”
Now it was Dustin’s turn to shrug, looking a little…nervous? “As a chiro, I’m not trained like Travis is, but I know he’ll need an assistant. I could be there. For you, I mean. If it’ll help.”
“You mean as a friend.”
It wasn’t a question, and Dustin didn’t answer it. He just looked at her, as if trying to decide how to respond.
Luckily, they were interrupted by their server bringing their desserts. The next several minutes were spent exclaiming over his double-chocolate lava cake, and her grapefruit-champagne bread pudding, each of them sharing with the other.
Sitting across from him like this, laughing and loving life, leaning forward to snag bites off one another’s plates…it didn’t feel like they were just friends.
That thought made her stomach suddenly feel hollow, so she tried to push it away. Just friends. That’s how Dustin saw her…right?
As if he could read her mind, he slowly grinned.
“You know, Marley,” he began, in a sexy voice low enough to send a shiver through her, “you’ve mentioned us being friends a few times. And last night on the phone, you told me I thought of you as a friend.”
Mutely, she nodded.
“Is that because you just want to be friends with me? Or because you think I only want to be friends with you?”
“You don’t?” she asked in a quiet voice.
His shrug looked lazy. “I’m just asking. Did you say that because it’s how you feel? Or how you think I feel?”
Her mind was spinning, trying to understand the implications of what he was asking. Did he think she was wrong to just be friends? Did he want something else? She didn’t want to say one thing, only to discover he was thinking another. She played it safe by just saying, “This is getting confusing.”
“Maybe.” He took a moment to pop the last of his cake into his mouth. “But I’m just trying to get an idea of your feelings.” He took a
sip of water, meeting her eyes over the rim of the crystal, and when he lowered the glass, he didn’t drop her gaze. “Because I’ve decided you’re wrong.”
“Wrong?” she squeaked.
He nodded. “I took a walk yesterday after our call, and I found some…” His lips twitched upwards. “Some clarity. Jaclyn told me to open my eyes, remember? Well…” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “I’ve decided you’re wrong when you told me I just wanted to be your friend. I don’t think of you as a buddy, Marley.”
“You don’t?” Her whisper sounded weak.
“Not anymore. I think you’re smart and strong and funny and really, really interesting.”
“You do?”
Gah, you sound like a parrot! Close your mouth, girlie, or you’ll look like a parrot fish too!
“Yes,” he said with a nod and a sexy smile. “And you might’ve noticed this is where I take my dates, right? So…I think it’s only fair to tell you that I’ve had an amazing time this evening, and in my mind, this has most definitely been a date.”
She forced herself to clear her throat. “So, not two buddies just hanging out?”
He held her gaze as he slowly shook his head.
And, Oh my Lord, but the heat in those pale eyes made Marley wish she did sweat. She sucked in a breath, trying to cool herself off, but it didn’t work. There was promise, and something else, smoldering in his gaze.
Wow, it was warm in here, wasn’t it?
And that’s when he reached across the table and took her hand in his.
Had she thought it warm before? The heat, the tingling, which crawled up her arm and across her skin and through her awareness…was like nothing she’d experienced before. Well, not since the last time he’d touched her.
She was probably staring at him with wide eyes, but couldn’t do a dang thing about it.
“So what I need to know, Marley Santana,” he said in a low, intense voice, “is if you feel the same way. I mean, I know you said you wanted to be just friends, but—”
“I said you wanted to be just friends,” she blurted in correction.
His lips twitched. “Clearly, you’re wrong.”
