Page 22 of Hold Me Instead (Elmwood Falls #1)
“Not ‘just the one.’” She released a wild laugh.
“You did the same thing last Friday, without explanation. And you know, I let it pass. That was a rough day, not sure if you recall, but your kindness was enough for me to let it slide.” So much so, she had forgotten until this moment. “Now another one? No.”
Zachary turned his chair to face her completely. “Trust me, it was better this way.”
She crossed her arms, shifted her stance. Waited.
“Today’s was a follow-up appointment. A quick one.”
“I’m well aware. Which means whatever you had to do wouldn’t have been delayed much. Or you should’ve talked to me, not gone through our staff.”
He rubbed his palms over his thighs. “I didn’t recommend a follow-up appointment. I think she just wanted to ask me out again.”
A burst of incredulous laughter erupted from her. “Are you fucking serious?” Her arms flew out to the side. “Grow the ‘F’ up, Zachary!”
He was watching her with such an amused expression, it pissed her off. He made it worse by speaking.
“Do you only allow yourself one F-bomb a day or something?” he asked.
“Oh my God !” She spun toward the wall, grasping her hair. When she turned back to him, she felt crazed. “You’ve been acting like a…a…”
“An idiot? My sister likes to use that.”
“No, no—don’t you dare help me call you out! It makes you even more of an—”
“Ass?”
“Ugghhh!”
The man had the nerve to smirk at her.
“This isn’t funny!”
His smile immediately dropped. “Sorry.”
She huffed, pacing the small room, then pivoted and took firm steps toward him.
“Stop undermining me. I don’t care that Daniel is your dad.
I don’t care that you used to be in charge of me.
That was years ago. You haven’t worked here in years.
I’m not about to let you come in and change whatever the hell you want.
” She heaved out deep breaths, his notebook of lists somehow waving in her hand.
He looked from it to her.
She lowered the notebook and her voice, tossing the pad in front of him. “If you have an issue with a client, come talk to me.”
“Okay. I have an issue with my client.”
She gritted her teeth. “Too late now, isn’t it?”
He clenched his beautiful jaw, their eyes locked in an even louder war that was interrupted by a rapid knock.
“Doctors?” Sheila poked her head into the room. “We have kittens.”
Charlie blinked her gaze back to Zachary, then spun around to follow Sheila to the main desk, Zachary right behind her.
“Oh my heavens, this is the cutest package I’ve ever seen,” Maura cooed, standing over a cardboard box on her desk. “We have five little sweeties here with their mama,” she said as Charlie reached her.
She peered inside, a spread of sleeping kittens nestled together and a cat that looked around two years old curved around them, watching carefully. One gray tabby lifted its head and squeaked, then burrowed against its neighbor.
“I called Jasmine. She’s getting things set and will come back for them,” Maura said.
Zachary let the mother cat sniff his hand, and after an approving lick, picked up a squirming black fuzz ball. He gently rubbed its head with his thumb. “Does she foster?”
“Yes,” Maura answered. “Just cleared out her last litter, in fact.”
“What do we know about these?” Charlie pulled her gaze away from the purring poof licking Zachary’s chin.
“A woman brought them by, said she found them living under her front porch a few weeks ago. She’s been trying to get them to a rescue, but so many are at capacity. Someone told her to come to us.”
The kitten squeaked and promptly fell asleep in Zachary’s hand.
“Alright, let’s bring these cuties to the back for a quick check,” Charlie said.
Sheila nodded and scooped up the box. “I’ll help out until Jasmine gets here.”
“You sure?” Charlie asked.
“You want one, don’t you?” Zachary said with a small grin.
“I already promised my wife I wouldn’t bring home another animal, even to foster,” Sheila said, her cheeks pink. “That’s how we ended up with five!” Her laughter filled the hallway as she carried the kittens to an exam room.
“I’ll lock up on my way out after Jasmine arrives,” Maura said.
“Thanks, Maura,” Charlie called, making her way toward the back.
She ignored how Zachary still carried the kitten, whispering to it the whole way .
Positioned at the exam table across from one another, they assigned codes to each cat, and Sheila created their charts, entering notes as Charlie and Zachary called out vitals and details.
Charlie ignored the way their hands brushed when they both reached into the box, the heat that shot up her arm and through her core.
Charlie ignored the grin on Zachary’s face, the little greeting he gave each new kitten as he picked it up for inspection.
Seriously, she worked with animals, and she saw people loving on their pets every day. Seeing him like this shouldn’t be a turn-on, and yet, she was imagining those hands stroking her body, that voice whispering in her ear.
Finally, Jasmine swooped in, eyes bright as she calmly approached the litter, and Charlie and Zachary returned to their office.
“It’s freezing in here,” Zachary murmured, pulling on his fleece as he sat to finish paperwork and phone calls.
They’d started having problems the winter prior, but Charlie didn’t want to mention it. He’d add it to his list anyway.
His chair creaked behind her, and she sensed Zachary’s heat as he leaned back. “You’re right,” he said softly.
Her shoulders loosened, but she didn’t turn around.
“I walked in here acting exactly like the son of the owner instead of a new hire—and a temporary one at that.” He sighed.
“Not that it makes a difference, but the appointment last week was an old family friend. He’d sent me a wedding card that basically told me off for bailing on my dad.
Didn’t think either of us would want to see the other. ”
She turned at that, watching as he scrubbed his face with his hand.
“That’s my problem, though,” he added.
“You can’t keep avoiding them, Zachary,” she said softly .
His eyes found hers again. The pain, the distance in them, tugged at her instincts to comfort. She felt her face soften the longer they sat, staring.
He seemed to struggle over what to say next, his mouth opening and closing a few times. Finally, he said, “Let me make it up to you?”
She looked away, out at the dark sky, the cold wind whipping past the windows. “Cookies?” she mumbled softly.
He chuckled, and she couldn’t help herself as her gaze whipped back to catch him smiling. Now she saw he had more laugh lines on his face, ones that suggested years of happiness, someone who still enjoyed laughing. She ached to trace each and every one.
His smile shifted to a nervous uncertainty. “Cookies are a given. I still owe you, remember? Dinner, tomorrow night?” He blew out a sigh. “Let’s get to know each other again.”