by Amy Woods
“Why do I have to talk about my education?” Or lack thereof. “I’d be willing to bet that yours was much more interesting.”
His eyes bore into hers for several long seconds and she wondered what he was thinking, what picture he was forming of her in his mind.
It’s better this way, she thought.
If he didn’t know the truth—that despite her heavy and eclectic reading habit, her attempt to give herself the knowledge she hadn’t been able to formally obtain, she’d never be as smart as he was.
She would never fit into his world, even if she had reason to.
At one point, she’d had a chance to be as successful, but that had been stolen from her.
She would get it back—oh, yes, she would—but each time her car broke down or she made another rent payment, she gained fresh understanding that it might well take the rest of her life to do so.
Ethan Singh did not want to hear about that. Heck, she didn’t, either. She’d much rather go back to the beginning of the evening when their only subject of discussion was a pair of precious fur babies.
“Really?” he asked, skepticism written all over his face. “You seriously want to hear about my time at a boys’ boarding school and then my grueling years as an intern in the biology department of a university that spent the bulk of students’ tuition hiring new football coaches?” He moved his face closer to hers. “I think not.”
“Oh, come on. You’ve lived all over the world, while I’ve been digging my heels in good ol’ Peach Leaf, Texas.” She injected an exaggeratedly thick drawl into her words. “So, tell this country girl what it’s like in them big, fancy cities.”
She was teasing, but when he gave a short laugh in response, it wasn’t the full, loose sound it had been before. Was it possible that, in making fun of herself, she’d unintentionally offended him?
How could that be? Wouldn’t he have to care for her to be affronted by something she’d meant to be self-deprecating?
“So you really want to know about my past, huh?” Ethan asked.
She nodded, a tad too vigorously.
“All right, then, but this is a two-way street, you know.”
“Fair enough,” June said, biting her lip. There was something mischievous in his tone.
“So let’s make a deal, then, shall we?”
Chapter Six
June forgot everything around her except being there with him, listening to that accent that melted over his words like butter and, of course, sinking deep into those decadent eyes.
It shouldn’t have surprised her by then that his charm came with a generous side of cunning. The rules he’d proposed were simple on the surface; she was allowed to ask one question at a time, which he would answer truthfully, but then it was his turn. The problem was, every time he started to speak, follow-up questions popped up in her mind like whack-a-moles, and she was forced to wait until it was her chance to ask another.
It was just that his life had been so starkly different from hers. His father had come to the US to live with family while attending veterinary college and met his mother, who’d been working as an intern at the Library of Congress. Despite their cultural differences—he was from India and she was American—it was classic love at first sight. The couple married quickly, and a son, Harry, and daughter, Sani, had followed before they finally had Ethan.
Because the senior Dr. Singh had become renowned in the field of veterinary science, specializing in the prevention of infectious disease, he was frequently asked to speak at conferences and even to work on long-term research projects abroad, always opting to bring along his family.
“Sounds like a dream childhood,” June said, her voice sounding wistful even to her own ears.
“It was certainly interesting, I’ll give you that.” There was a hint of sadness in his tone.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “You didn’t like it?” Such a thing was hard for her to imagine. It wasn’t until adulthood that June had even set foot outside of Peach Leaf. She’d never had reason to complain, and she knew she was fortunate for the blessings in her life. But one thing had always bothered her: her world had always been very small, and she wasn’t sure why, but for some reason that fact made her self-conscious and overly careful, as though she feared saying something that would reveal a deficit in her intelligence.
He pondered the question for a bit before answering. “I suppose I did like it sometimes, but like anything else, it wasn’t always perfect.”
“What do you mean?” To June, endless opportunity for travel sounded like a dream come true.
“Well, it was lonely, for one thing, moving around so much. Seeing the world was a lovely gift my father gave me and my siblings, but it’s not exactly easy to make and keep friends if your address changes frequently.”
“That makes sense,” she said, not about to remind him that he seemed to have forgotten his own rules and she’d sneakily asked more than one question in a row.
“I suppose there are two sides to every coin.” She paused. “I guess I am lucky in that I’ve always lived in the same place, so I’d have to really make an effort to get away from my friends,” she said, chuckling. “Small-town life has its ups and downs. You can’t exactly run away from your mistakes, and if you try to forget them, someone else will inevitably be there to fill in the gaps, whether you want them to or not. It’s almost like the whole town has a collective memory. Everybody knows everything about everybody else, including all the bad stuff.”
He watched her carefully. “You don’t seem like someone who would have any bad stuff you’d like to forget, June.”
How wrong he was there.
“In fact, you’re one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
His words came out slow and with intention, as though he’d been planning them for some time, a thought that made her knees a little weak.
She swallowed, careful not to meet his eyes. “You can’t possibly know that about me. We’ve only just met.”
“You have a point,” he said, “but I don’t know many people who would have driven to this office in such a terrible storm to try to save a couple of puppies. Not to mention your reluctance to take food from the Bauers, even though it was compensated fairly.”
He was grinning, only teasing her; nevertheless, her cheeks went suddenly warm.
“In fact, I don’t need to see much more to believe that the world would be a much better place if there were more like you in it, Miss Leavy.”
The next few seconds seemed like an eternity, as the absolute last thing she’d ever expected to happen, happened.
Ethan leaned forward and kissed her—the softest brush of his lips against hers. It was so sudden and so surreal, and over so quickly, she couldn’t swear it had even actually occurred. That is, until she opened her eyes and found his face still very near her own, the pleasing scents of sandalwood and lemon blended with something male and uniquely Ethan, tickling her nose. She couldn’t keep her eyes from those lips as the corners kicked up in a sultry smile.
Finally, he pulled them away. This was a good thing because June was pretty sure that if he’d left them lingering much longer, achingly close to hers, she would have wrapped her hands around his neck and devoured that mouth, and possibly anything else she could get her hands on.
It had been such an innocent kiss in its softness, yet somehow it had sparked a flame that had rapidly caused her to burn for more.
“You’ve cheated me, June.”
“Hmm?” Apparently he’d rendered her unable to form words, much less full sentences.
“I said you cheated.”
“What do you mean?”
“And there you’ve done it again. Asking questions of me without letting me have a go.”
Ah, so he
had noticed. Evidently she wasn’t as sneaky as she’d assumed.
“All right, then. Go ahead.” Great, now her voice was embarrassingly creaky.
Way to keep it cool around the hot guy, June.
If she kept this up, he’d regret having kissed her at all, a thought she couldn’t bear because now she wanted more, more, more of him.
She glanced up into dark, soulful eyes.
“Here’s my question, then. What is it that you’d like to forget?”
“Way to keep it light, Dr. Singh,” she joked, but he wasn’t having it.
“You know the rules,” he said.
She licked her lips, the chocolaty taste of his kiss still lingering there; it took a concentrated effort to refrain from touching them, just to see if the buzz she felt would spark against her fingers.
She focused on the question, organizing her response carefully. Since Clayton had left with everything she had, June had not talked to anyone about how painful that experience was, how badly it had broken her. Her friends pressed from time to time, but she knew her role among them. She was the positive one, the upbeat girl. Letting herself be vulnerable might change how they saw her, and she worried it might scare them away.
She wasn’t the one who let her tears show, who wore her heart on her sleeve. She was the one who’d always been the romantic—who’d truly believed that love was out there in some form for everyone, and they just had to find it. She couldn’t let anyone see how wrong she’d been, how naive.
“Come on, June. What is it?”
She hesitated. Why did he want to know? And what about that kiss?
Part of her wanted to force the subject, to make him talk about why he’d done it, but the other part was content to just let it be. It would go down in her history as one of the best kisses of her life, possibly the best, as it had been completely unexpected, sweet and without any strings attached.
Couldn’t she just leave it at that?
No, she could not, and she knew the reason as well as she knew, from an evening of charting them like stars, the pattern of gold flecks in Ethan’s brown eyes.
“All right, then. Fair enough.” She glanced up at him again, as much to make sure he wasn’t something she’d dreamed up as to see if he really did want to know.
“It’s a really short story,” she started. “There was a guy. I loved him. I gave him everything I had and planned to spend the rest of my life with him. He broke my heart. The end.” She waved a hand, emphasizing the relationship’s finality.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed and appeared to be full of pain, which was impossible. They were not friends; they certainly weren’t lovers. So why did he look so sad? Further, why did he appear as if he knew exactly how she felt?
“I’m very sorry to hear that, June. I truly am. And trust me when I say I’ve been there myself.”
Somehow, she didn’t find that the least bit comforting.
“You have?”
“I have. Same song, as they say, different tune.”
“Why would anyone...?” She stopped, placing a hand over her mouth. She’d been so caught up in the moment, so enraptured by the feel of those eyes on her, that she’d almost said too much. Her bruised heart needed protection, not more exposure to potential harm, so it was good she hadn’t blurted out her confusion over how any woman in her right mind could possibly ruin a chance to be with a guy who, she was quickly learning, was kindhearted, gentle, attentive and thoughtful.
And whose kisses came straight from a fantasy.
“Why would anyone what?” There was a tinge of hopefulness in his expression that she could not have explained for the life of her. So when she heard a low, buzzing sound that startled them both and interrupted their conversation, she almost shouted with relief.
“That’s me,” she said. “I’d better get it.”
Pushing away from the counter where they’d been standing so long her legs were a little wobbly with use, she began following the sound. Finally, she reached her purse, discarded earlier in the reception area, and grabbed it on the last ring.
“Hello?”
“Oh, June, thank goodness.” Margaret sounded relieved to hear her voice. “I was worried when you didn’t pick up. It’s getting late and I hated to call, but I’ve got some news.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad to hear from you. It’s a long story, but I found some puppies behind the restaurant and ended up bringing them to the veterinary clinic. I’ve been stuck here with Dr. Singh’s son—” she gave Ethan a little wave as he joined her “—for the past few hours. Looks like I might have to spend the night.”
“Do you mean Ethan? I haven’t seen that boy in years, but last time he was home from college I ran into him at the market. Lord, he’s a handsome one.”
“That’s the one,” June blurted. “I mean, not handsome, just that, you know, you’ve got the right person.”
Margaret gave a low whistle. “Sweetie, you are one lucky girl. I’m telling you if I was still young, stuck overnight with a good-looking man like that, I’d make the most of it.”
“Margaret!”
“Oh, hush, Junie,” she said, but when she spoke again, her words had softened. “You’ve been hung up far too long on that damn jerk that broke your heart. It’s time you moved on, so if this guy is single...is he single?”
“Yes,” she reluctantly admitted, knowing the mess she’d walked into.
“Good, then take my advice—get back on the horse, kid.”
June refrained from pointing out the fact that, being in her late twenties, she was hardly a kid, but she knew all the same that her well-meaning boss had her best interest at heart.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“Oh, yes. Hank called a few minutes ago,” she said, referring to an elderly restaurant regular that lived in the neighborhood, across the street from Peach Leaf Pizza. “He told me that the power lines are out. Several people nearby have called the electric company and it looks like it could take several days to a week to get things up and running again.”
“A week?” June’s hand went to her forehead as a series of figures flashed across her mind’s eye. A week of no work meant...it meant she likely would not be able to pay her rent the next month without cutting into the minuscule amount of savings she’d managed to scrape together after Clayton had wiped her out.
“That’s right.” The older woman’s voice sagged. “I’m so sorry, honey, but listen, we’ll work something out. I did some math before I called you and I’d like to pay you three-quarters of what you’d make if you worked the week. I know it’s not the same, and you know I’d give you all of it if I could manage, but without the business coming in...”
“Margaret, stop. It’s okay. That’s more than generous, but I’ll manage.”
“Nonsense, June. I...”
“I mean it. I can’t take money from you without earning it. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t like this at all, dear.”
“Well, neither do I, but I’m not changing my mind.”
Her boss made a dissatisfied noise. “You’re allowed to change your mind, hon. Anytime. You know I consider you like my own daughter and it won’t do you any good to be proud among family, you hear?”
“I know,” June said, emotion welling up in her throat at her boss’s kindness. She desperately needed the money, so much so that with an ounce more prodding, any pride she had left would fly out the window. But she wasn’t about to take payment without working for it. “But this is final.”
“Well, I know stubborn when I see it, and you’re a gal after my own heart, but don’t you forget that I’m here if you need me. And I want to hear more about those puppies when we’re back at the shop. And more about you-know-who, of course.”
“All right, that’s it. I’m han
ging up.”
“Details. I mean it.”
“Talk to you later, boss,” June said, forcing back laughter. “Call me when I can come back to work.”
“Hint taken.”
“And, Margaret?”
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“Are you going to be okay? With all of this going on, I mean.”
“I’ll manage. I’ve got Vince’s little Social Security check every month for when the pizza business is slow. Besides, I’m as hardheaded as you are and I’ve been around a hell of a lot longer, so don’t you worry about me.”
When she hung up and tucked the phone back into her purse, Ethan’s hypnotic gaze was on her again. Her cheeks warmed, remembering that kiss.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“It has to be.” She sighed as the long hours caught up with her, knotting something awful in her shoulders. She’d been going full-force all evening and into the night—first with the puppy emergency, then braving the crazy weather to get something to eat, and finally enduring the shock of that world-rocking kiss. Intense longing for a hot shower and her lonely, albeit warm, bed was almost enough to send her into tears.
“It doesn’t sound okay,” he said, coming to her side. “And you look tense enough to crack in two.” He stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, the touch of them shooting electric warmth all the way down her arms. “Mind if I help?”
Did she mind? Did the man even have to ask?
“No, um, that sounds nice actually.”
When he began to rub her muscles, she had to bite her tongue to avoid moaning. Evidently, his skill wasn’t limited to healing members of the animal kingdom; he had expert hands when it came to humans, too. She closed her eyes as the knots loosened and her bones turned to jelly.
Maybe Margaret had a point. Maybe she should take advantage of her limited time with this sexy, tender, animal-loving wonder-god she’d accidentally stumbled upon. With his hands on her like that, did it really matter that he looked like he’d walked off the set of a magazine shoot, whereas her hair had probably frizzed into a puffball and she hadn’t set foot in a gym since college?
