Page 10 of Mended Fences

“Hello.” God, her voice was sultry, sexy. Or maybe it was just a little rough because she was clearly hungover.

Either way, my cock twitched in my pants. How many times would I need to get off to this woman to stop my dick from acting so desperate?

“How ya feeling this morning, Sweetness?”

She scowled and moved around me toward the counter. “Need coffee.”

I followed her like some sort of lost puppy. Fuck, I’d let her collar and leash me if she so pleased.

“Coffee. Black,” she ordered.

“Hey, me too!” I raised my cup to her, and she looked at me as though I was gum beneath her shoe.

I chuckled, and it came out a little nervous. Shit, when was the last time a woman made menervous?

Elena paid for her coffee and took the offering from the barista with a muttered, “Thank you,” before she turned to look at me. “You’re still here?”

Damn, she was sassy. I liked it. A lot.

“I am. Wanna sit?”

She shrugged but stepped toward a booth in one corner of the café. I slid in opposite her, and it was so much like our encounter last night at Callaghan’s, I almost felt as though I was getting a second chance to get this right—without any pesky blondes to interrupt us.

“So, how do you know Tessa?” I asked.

She took a long sip of her coffee before answering. “We were assigned as roommates freshman year of college, and then lived together by choice for the last three years of undergrad. Never could get rid of her.”

I grinned.

“I hear you’re going into business with her,” Elena stated.

“Nuh-uh, not me.” I held up my hands. “That woman terrifies me”—that earned me a smile—“and I have nothing to do with the family business.”

“Why not?”

It was my turn to shrug. “Black sheep of the family and all that,” I said, waving off the topic. “How long are you in town?”

“One more night,” she said. “I have to be back at the hospital tomorrow night.”

“Nurse?”

“Doctor,” she said pointedly.

Doctor.

Hot. As. Fuck.

“Nice.”Nice? Really?

We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. I drummed my fingers on the table while she downed her coffee, perking up bit by bit. If I looked in the mirror, I wasn’t sure I’d recognize myself.

This woman had me so spun up.

“Hey, what are your plans for the day?” I asked, an idea sparking.

“Die a slow death thanks to tequila and a meddling best friend.”

“Nah, you’ll survive, Doc. You’re already looking better.”