The Doctor's Dating Bargain

by Teresa Southwick

  “Friend of yours?” he asked her.

  “Stan Overton. He’s a guest at the hotel. He’s never been to Blackwater Lake before and was asking me about the sights.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That I haven’t been here long enough to see the sights,” she said wryly.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t add that you don’t intend to be here long enough.”

  She smiled up at him. “I kept that to myself.”

  The bell over the door rang again and Adam Stone walked in with a pretty redhead. He spotted his clinic coworker and smiled. “Hey, Ben.” The family practice doctor did a double take when he noticed Ben was with Cam. Clearly he knew who she was. “You’ve met my fiancée, Jill.”

  “Nice to see you.” Jill had grown up in Blackwater Lake but was younger and their paths hadn’t crossed then.

  “This is Camille Halliday.”

  “I didn’t know you knew each other.” Jill looked from Ben to her and smiled. “So, you’re the competition.”

  Cam shook her hand. “Sorry?”

  “I’m sort of in the hospitality business. I rent out the apartment above my house. Adam was my tenant when he first came to town last year. It’s how we met.” She looked a little self-conscious in the presence of the Halliday Hospitality heiress. “Bad comparison. No way I’d put you out of business.”

  “I’m relieved to hear that.”

  Cam flashed a charming smile that would fool the general public but Ben knew better. Jill’s rental apartment wasn’t really competition, but Cam was concerned about the property’s future in a less than robust economy.

  “Do you two want to join us?” Adam asked.

  Ben met Cam’s gaze and shook his head. “Thanks, but we have some things to talk about.”

  “Another time,” Jill said, holding her fiancé’s hand. They wanted to be alone, too, but probably not for the same reason.

  “Dr. McKnight?” Bev walked over to them with two menus in her hand. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table.”

  “Thanks.” Again he settled his hand on her back. Partly it was being a gentleman, but mostly he just wanted to touch her. He liked touching her and not just her back. A blast of pure yearning poured through him when he thought about touching her everywhere.

  The path to their table took them past the counter with swivel stools, then all the way to the back of the diner. He felt Cam’s body tighten with tension as people stopped talking to look first at her, then him.

  He leaned down and whispered, “Everything will be fine. You gotta have faith in me.”

  “Words that strike fear in a woman’s heart,” she said under her breath.

  So the lady had trust issues. He could win her over. His plan was foolproof.

  She looked relieved when they were finally seated at a table across from each other. After unrolling her paper napkin from around the silverware, she put it in her lap.

  “Smells good in here,” she admitted. “I’m hungry.”

  “Me, too.” He looked at her lips, full, defined and incredibly kissable. The lust not only hadn’t subsided, it compounded. “I think you’ll like—”

  “Ben?” A woman passed the table, then backed up a step. “Ben McKnight?”

  He recognized the brunette. “Hey, Tanya. How are you?”

  “Fine. I heard you were back in town.” She looked at Cam, speculation in her green eyes.

  “This is Camille Halliday. Tanya Smithson. We went to high school together,” he explained.

  “Nice to meet you.” Cam’s eyes were cool as she looked at the other woman.

  “I didn’t know you knew our Ben,” Tanya said.

  “We met at the lodge. How’s your store doing?” he asked, wondering when he’d become “our Ben.”

  “Hanging in there. I own the gift store next door. Tanya’s Treasures.”

  “Right,” Cam said. “I saw you at the Chamber of Commerce meeting.”

  “That’s why you look familiar.” There was a hint of nerves and a suggestion of guilt in her voice. “I didn’t know you and Ben were acquainted.”

  Cam slid him a flirtatious smile. “We’ve become good friends.”

  “Really?” She glanced at her watch. “Unfortunately I have to run. Just took a quick break for a bite to eat.” She smiled at Cam. “I hope you’ll drop by the gift shop and say hello.”

  “I’ll do that.” When the woman was out of earshot, Cam’s eyes narrowed. “That was quite an about-face. She went out of her way to ignore me at that Chamber of Commerce meeting. She had to walk around me to get to the refreshment table and didn’t bother to introduce herself. Whatever happened to courtesy and old-fashioned friendliness?”

  “Like I told you. There’s the heiress intimidation factor.” He grinned. “And you weren’t with me.”

  “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed it.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I’ve been here for weeks and no one smiled at me. But with you it’s like something shifted in the universe. Attitudes altered. You’re the cool guy. The hometown hero.”

  “Stick with me, kid. You’ll see that we can really help each other out.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “If you can work that kind of magic at the lodge... I mean, change attitudes and rally cooperation just by being my pretend boyfriend, I just might be able to pull off salvaging that property.”

  “Does that mean what I think it does?”

  “Before I give you an answer, you need to know that this isn’t a joke to me.”

  “I never—”

  She held up her hand. “My brother was the Hallidays’ young prince. He was being groomed from birth to take over running the corporation. When he died, the job fell in my lap and I didn’t want it. After that I made choices and they weren’t good ones. But now I’m all grown up and it’s important to me to step up. For my family. For my brother.”

  “I understand. And I’m sure you’ll do a terrific job.”

  “Maybe.” She folded her hands and set them on the table’s paper placemat. “I don’t know how to do it right. Dean Junior would have aced being the boss. He’d have made our father proud if he’d lived. I can’t do it as well as my brother, but I’ll do my best. And if that means winning hearts and minds in Blackwater Lake by pretending to be your girlfriend, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  “Let’s shake on it.” He held his hand out across the table.

  She put her fingers into his palm and her eyes widened. Clearly she felt the sparks, too. She was more fascinating every time he talked to her and talking wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

  He was sick and tired of all the women throwing themselves at him, but this woman could come on to him any time she wanted. He would be very willing to oblige.

  Chapter Six

  At the Grizzly Bear Diner cash register, Cam stood beside Ben while he paid for dinner. Later she would settle with him for her half of the meal, which had been delicious, and worth being here for more than just the food. She couldn’t swear to it, but her impression was that the friendliness quotient from people in the diner had gone up by a lot since she’d walked in beside the handsome doctor. With luck this—liaison was the best word she could come up with—would thaw out her stubborn, opinionated employees and convince them to help her save their jobs here in town and get her a better one somewhere else.

  After signing the credit card receipt, he took her elbow and ushered her out the door. Spring was on the way, but the air was still cool and she shivered.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Just for a second.” And thanks to him not as much as she’d been since coming here. “The fresh air feels good.”

  “Would you like to walk a little? I can give you a guided tour of downtown Blackwater Lake.”

  “I’ve seen it. But walking sounds good. I’m so full.”

  They strolled past Potter’s Ice Cream Parlor and its brightly lit in
terior. There were little round tables with chair backs shaped like hearts. Colorful prints of sprinkles, cones and scoops were scattered on the walls. A glass case was filled with different flavors of ice cream.

  “So I guess you don’t want dessert,” Ben said.

  “Not even the best seven-layer chocolate cake in Montana.” She groaned. “I can’t believe I ate the whole Mama Bear burger.”

  “I can’t believe you ordered it.” He slid his fingers into the pockets of his jeans. “I have to admit I misjudged you.”

  “How so?”

  “I figured you for a gourmet greens and goat cheese kind of girl. That hearty appetite of yours was a pleasant shocker.”

  “Why pleasant?”

  “Because there will be more dinners and I’m not a fan of eating with someone who takes one bite and pushes the rest of the food around the plate.”

  Cam liked to eat. She liked good food. But she tried to make sensible choices, not deprive herself. She was glad he favored a normal, not stick-thin type. But what pulled her up short was the mention of more dinners.

  As they walked she glanced up at him. “I don’t understand. Why do we need to go out to dinner again? We’ve been spotted. As the cops on all those TV shows say, we’ve been made.”

  “And we’ll need to build on that—otherwise the plan won’t work. It’s what a dating couple does.”

  Cam realized she hadn’t thought this through. She’d been so caught up in the power of his aura and how just walking in it gave her Blackwater Lake street cred. That’s what had convinced her to agree to the bargain. So far it was working, but she hadn’t considered what came after.

  “Hm.” She caught her heel in a sidewalk crack and stumbled a little. His steadying hand was warm, strong and masculine, and desire knotted in her belly. He was the kind of guy a woman could count on. Heck, the town counted on him. “Our Ben,” they’d said. But she wasn’t the kind of woman a hometown hero like him made promises to. “Maybe we should figure out exactly how this is going to work.”

  “We’re dating,” he said. “Don’t tell me a girl like you has never dated before.”

  “Of course. But it was spontaneous. Not calculated.”

  She glanced into the big picture window of Tanya’s Treasures. Ornate silver picture frames, collectible figurines, crocheted tablecloths and delicate crystal lamps decorated the window. It looked like a charming place. The owner was behind the register counting bills.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked.

  “This isn’t rocket science. We’ll just do the things a man and woman do when they date.”

  Her insides quivered at the thought of that. It was the whole sexy gray area of this bargain. Men and women did a lot of very physical things when they dated. But she wasn’t going there. Keep this conversation generic.

  “I know what people do in New York and Los Angeles. What is there to do here in Montana?”

  “Same things. Dinner. Movies. Watching movies at each other’s houses.”

  “We don’t have houses,” she reminded him.

  “You have no imagination,” he scoffed. “Your house is right next to mine. It’s handy.”

  That fact was beginning to concern her the most. “But sneaking back and forth between rooms won’t get us seen by the gossip-loving people in town.”

  “That’s true. But it would be fun.”

  “This is pretend dating,” she pointed out. “We’re not supposed to have fun.”

  “That’s too bad.” He grinned. “Because I’m having a great time.”

  So was Cam. That was the other problem. Too much fun in the past always bit her in the backside. “Let me rephrase. The whole point of pretend dating is to be seen in public doing public things.”

  At the end of the block instead of crossing the street, by mutual unspoken agreement, they turned and started back toward the diner.

  “I think we should hold hands,” he said.

  Really? Because shaking on their bargain and feeling the heat of his touch sizzle all the way to her toes wasn’t enough fun for him?

  “No one is watching us,” she protested.

  “You never know.” His voice was solemn, but laced with teasing.

  “There’s no one around.”

  “But the night has a thousand eyes.”

  “That’s just creepy. And Blackwater Lake may be many things, but creepy isn’t an adjective I’d use to describe it.”

  He laughed and slipped her hand into his, linking their fingers. They were strolling past the gift shop again. “Think of this as good practice. A chance to get used to each other. Make it look more real—”

  Cam was just beginning to relax with the touch when she felt him tense. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t believe it.” He was staring down the street at a woman waiting for the signal light at Main Street and Pine. “Of all people—”

  “Who?”

  Cam followed his gaze and saw the light turn green. The woman, tall and slender with dark hair, crossed the street. She passed the diner and glanced in the window as she walked.

  Ben leaned down and whispered into her ear. “It’s time to kick this bargain into high gear.”

  “What?”

  He stopped dead in his tracks, right under a streetlight, and pulled Cam into his arms. “This is another public thing dating people do all the time.”

  In the next instant his lips were touching hers. Even if her mouth hadn’t been otherwise occupied, she wasn’t sure forming a protest was possible. His fingers tunneled into her hair as he cupped her face in his palm and brushed his thumb tenderly over her cheek.

  His body felt solid and strong and wonderful pressed against hers. Her heart started a weird thumping as he nibbled quick little kisses over her mouth and jaw, inching toward her neck. His breath tickled her ear and raised tingles that raced over her shoulders and down her arms, settling in her belly. A moan built inside her, but the click of a woman’s heels on the sidewalk beside them trapped the sound in her throat.

  Ben lifted his head and stared at her as he drew in a breath. Deep down she felt a small flicker of satisfaction that she wasn’t the only one feeling something. It was a really good kiss. Unfortunately it didn’t last nearly long enough.

  The footsteps stopped. “Ben? Is that you?”

  He straightened and looked at the woman. “Judy Coulter?”

  His ex-girlfriend. The one M.J. had told her about. Cam stared up at him as the realization hit her that he’d recognized this woman before the kiss and that’s why he’d pulled her into his arms.

  “Ben McKnight.” She smiled up at him. Darn it, she had a beautiful smile. “It’s been a long time.”

  “So you’re back in Blackwater Lake?”

  “Yeah. And so are you. How long has it been?”

  “I’d have to do the math.” He laughed.

  “You were always good at it.” She finally tore her gaze from his and gave Cam a look she was all too familiar with. It said you’re the airheaded infamous heiress, the one whose only talent is turning outrageous antics into outrageous stories for the tabloids.

  Ben looked between them and slid his arm around Cam’s waist, intimately nestling her to his side. “Judy, this is Camille Halliday. She’s working at the lodge.”

  “I know who she is.” Unlike at the diner, this woman’s attitude didn’t warm up. That changed when she looked up at Ben. She was very warm to him. “Now that I see you, it seems like yesterday that we were prom king and queen.”

  “High school was a lot of years ago,” he said.

  “We used to date,” Judy informed Cam.

  And you’re the moron who threw him over for a ski bum, Cam thought. It might be a long time ago for Ben, but it was new to her and she wanted to get even on his behalf. She wanted to tell the witch what she could do with this walk down memory lane. She wanted to protect him.

  She snuggled against him and gazed adoringly into his eyes, seeing the amusement there. �
��Ben and I are dating now.”

  “Really?” Large, dark eyes glittered with dislike until she looked at Ben. “I didn’t realize that spoiled heiresses were your type.”

  When he started to say something, Cam put her hand on his chest to stop him. “I’ve got this.”

  “Oh?” Judy gave her a dismissive stare.

  “Yeah.” Cam gave it back to her. “If you were his type, honey, you wouldn’t be his ex.”

  “It’s getting late, sweetie,” Ben said to her. “We have work tomorrow. See you around, Judy.”

  They walked away and she knew the ex-girlfriend was watching because it was several moments before she heard the clicking sound of high heels on the sidewalk behind them. Cam was angry and upset, but mostly with herself. She wasn’t sure where the inclination to protect him had come from. He was nothing if not a nice guy, and a woman like Judy was a cobra. Still, he was a big boy and didn’t need Cam coming to his defense. He’d only kissed her to get his how-do-you-like-me-now? moment.

  He’d used her. At least it was for revenge, a cause she could get behind, but being used was never fun. Especially for someone like her, who’d been manipulated and tossed aside too many times to count.

  But not again. This time she was using him right back and would get something out of the bargain, too.

  * * *

  After clinic hours on Friday, Ben pulled his SUV into McKnight Automotive and stopped beneath the covered area connecting the office to the work bays with hydraulic lifts. That part of the business was shut down for the day with chains across the opening to keep cars out. It was ghostly quiet since all the employees had gone home. He planned to leave his car for servicing in the morning and get his sister to drop him off at the lodge on her way home.

  He opened the heavy glass door and walked into the office. There was a high counter where several computer monitors sat. On the wall was a Peg-Board with hooks to hold customers’ keys, numbered to link them with the correct vehicle. To the right there was a lounge with chairs and a TV. A side counter held a coffeemaker and a refrigerator underneath it was stocked with water and soda. A vending machine had candy, chips and nuts. It was a comfortable place to wait while your car was being worked on.