CHAPTER THREE
Ash dropped his fake smile as soon as he was out of Connor and Amanda’s apartment. Talking in front of Brenna about meeting a woman he was dating made him feel like he was doing something wrong. But then Brenna never had the same problem, so why should he continue to feel that way?
He figured it would benefit him to make this group think he was getting serious with Sophie. Sophie could be his good excuse for why he couldn’t turn up to future gatherings—especially the ones where Brenna would be bringing Lance along with her.
But what had happened with Brenna and Lance? It sounded like something had gone wrong. Did she get a phone call? Was that why the girls took an inordinately long time to come back from the kitchen?
When Brenna had smiled at him when he’d asked her if she was okay, he saw the vulnerability in her eyes. Her expression had tugged at his heart with a force that had scared him, and he had to forcibly remind himself he was done hoping.
How many times in the past had he comforted Brenna when she’d had her heart broken? He had hoped against hope that because he was there—right in front of her—she’d finally see she should be with him instead. Well, she never saw him that way. He’d be the biggest fool on earth if he let himself believe it would be different this time.
So he left early, even though he wasn’t due to pick up Sophie until much later. He had to leave before he succumbed to his heart’s plea to hold Brenna and make her feel better. It might get him hoping again, and he didn’t want that. Besides, he knew Brenna. She was someone who stuck with a relationship and made it work. After her words on the beach that morning, he was sure she wouldn’t be giving up on Lance so easily—just like it took her six years before she finally called it quits with her idiot ex, Darren.
His heart constricted, and he sighed with annoyance. He still ached at the knowledge that Brenna had been so in love with Darren for six long fu-cking years. That was why he wasn’t going to hang around to watch her fall in love with a new man.
That’s right, Ash. fu-cking move on. For good, this time.
*****
“Thanks again for picking me up and dropping me off, Ash. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Ash said, giving Sophie a smile.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”
Ash shook his head regretfully. “Sorry. I have to go.”
Sophie pursed her lips. “You know you’re my rebound guy, right, Ash? And we’re only in this for the sex?”
Ash chuckled. “Yeah.”
“I want you to know that you can call me any time you need me—even if it’s just to talk.”
“Thanks, Sophie,” he said with a sigh. “I’m sorry I’m cutting this date short.”
“Well, I’d been hoping for some sex today,” she said teasingly, “but it’s obvious you’re not in the mood.”
He gave her an apologetic smile. The way he was feeling, he didn’t think he’d be in the mood for a long, long while with Sophie. Perhaps it was because he’d come to think of her as a friend. He was only able to have sex with women when it was one hundred percent casual with absolutely no view of forming any relationship whatsoever. Otherwise, the guilt would have gotten to him—because every single time he was in bed with a woman, his heart and mind were with Brenna.
But he expected that to change soon. He was committed to moving on from Brenna, so surely it was only a matter of time before he was over her. Then he could be present with whomever he was having sex with, right? That would be freeing.
“This woman’s really messing you up, huh?” Sophie commented.
He opened his mouth to make a joke, but a confession came out instead. “She’s been messing me up for years. It’s about time I end the madness.”
“So if you want to end the madness, wouldn’t a rebound romp be just what the doctor ordered?”
“A great idea. But I’m ashamed to say I might not be able to perform tonight,” he answered.
“I could suggest a pill for that.”
Ash laughed out loud. “Now you’re really embarrassing me.”
Sophie shook her head at him. “You got it bad, Ash.”
“Damn it,” he said mildly. “Is that your diagnosis?”
Sophie smiled. “Well, I myself know what unrequited love feels like. But don’t worry. It does get better with time once you truly mean to leave it all behind and move on.”
“I’m glad to hear that. That acceptance started for me this morning, so I hope to make good progress soon.”
“Great. Keep at it. Now, are you sure you don’t want to stay?”
“Not tonight. Thank you.”
*****
Ash parked his car in front of his mother Tracy’s house, right behind a convertible which was identical to his own. Connor and Amanda were obviously there already for a middle-of-the-week family dinner to catch up with Tracy, who’d just come back from a solo one-month overseas trip.
His mum had made noises about having met a man—another single traveller who was part of her tour group.
Well, it was about time. It had been four years since his stepfather had passed away. Time for his mum to start dating again.
Tracy was a true romantic. She’d said that even though her first marriage with their dad didn’t last, it didn’t mean that love didn’t work. She might have had her heart broken, but she hadn’t given up on love. And she’d found her second husband, who’d made her very happy. Unfortunately, their time together was cut short by illness.
Ash could only hope his mother would find someone else again. He worried about her living alone in a big house—like she worried about him still not having someone special in his life. He’d never taken a girlfriend home to meet his mum. Unfortunately, he had no doubts she’d be putting more pressure on him to do so now that Amanda had gotten engaged.
He rang the bell and Amanda opened the door.
“Hey, sis. Sorry I’m late,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Things were a bit crazy at the clinic again today.”
“Why? Didn’t you get a temp to fill in for your morning shift receptionist who’s on leave?” Amanda asked as they made their way to the back of the house.
“We did. But we got a call from the husband of our afternoon shift receptionist. She’s having pregnancy complications, so her doctor has ordered her to finish up with work even though she’s only six months along.”
“Oh, that’s not good.”
“I know. I spoke to her on the phone. She’s fine, but it’s better if she stays home and doesn’t tax herself to ensure she carries the baby to full term.”
“So you only had one receptionist today, and she was a temp?”
“Hello, Ash!” Tracy interrupted from the kitchen.
“Hi, Mum,” Ash said as he entered the room, only to freeze in surprise. His mother had three extra helpers. Connor he was expecting to see. But not Gemma. And Brenna.
It was funny how, when he’d been so committed to avoiding her, she kept on turning up when he least expected it. A couple of days after their get-together at Connor and Amanda’s place, Amanda had invited him for dinner. He should have guessed that Amanda had also asked the rest of the gang to come, but only Brenna was able to make it that night. Then, last weekend, he’d thought they were only having a boys’ night in at Jeff and Sarah’s house to watch the Formula One race. But the girls had hung around there, too. It was like fate was conspiring against him with his intentions to stay away from Brenna. At least he was relieved to notice that Lance was nowhere about.
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, darling,” Tracy said.
“Okay,” he responded. “Glad to see you girls here tonight,” he said to Brenna and Gemma.
“We haven’t seen your mum for so long, so we thought we’d invite ourselves and hear about her trip,” Brenna answered with a smile as she stirred a pot.
He went to kiss his mother before turning to the other women. Gemma, who was making a purée of something, offered her cheek as she continued to work the blender. When he got to Brenna, his breath hitched. She dropped the ladle she was holding to give him a big hug and a kiss. Sure, her lips only landed on his cheek, but as usual, it didn’t stop his stupid body from reacting.
“Glad to see you again, Ash,” Brenna murmured.
“You too,” he responded, unable to help himself from squeezing her tight. He shook his head at himself, annoyed that his self-control was deserting him again. Honestly.
Before he did anything more idiotic, he let go of her and hurried to Connor, who was a picture of concentration as he carefully chopped some carrots.
“Is this the first time you’ve done that, bro?” he queried.
Connor sighed. “Apparently I’ll get in trouble if I don’t cut them in equal length.”
“At the speed you’re going, we won’t be eating till midnight.”
“Think you can do better?” Connor asked with a challenging grin.
“Better? That would be an understatement—”
Amanda bumped Connor away from the chopping board with her hip. “I’ll take over. You two can sit over there and just watch us, or you guys will end up engaging in some silly game when we should be cooking.”
“Is Ash as hopeless in the kitchen as I am?” Connor asked hopefully, kissing Amanda’s forehead as he handed her the knife.
“Nope,” Ash answered. “I’m a decent cook.”
“Unfortunately for you, honey, Ash is a decent cook,” Amanda told Connor. “But both you guys have had a difficult day at work, so you can have the night off. We got this.”
“So what’s the problem at the clinic, Ash?” Tracy asked.
Ash sat on a stool and updated them about the situation at the laser eye surgery clinic he’d set up three years ago.
“We did get a second temp from the agency today,” he said. “But unfortunately, she’s even more inexperienced than the first one. With four doctors working out of the clinic, we need people who can hit the ground running, but temps like that are few and far between, especially at short notice. So Dora—my admin manager—has been tearing her hair out.”
“When’s your receptionist coming back—the one who’s overseas?” Brenna asked.
“In two and a half weeks, so that’s still a long time. We’re worried that patient records might not be getting updated, or that surgeries and consults aren’t being scheduled properly.”
“So are you saying that the temps you were given by the agency didn’t know how to use your system?” Brenna queried.
“Oh, they’ve used the system before. It’s their inexperience at handling a busy medical clinic that’s the problem. They couldn’t seem to multi-task, and were constantly asking questions every minute.”
“Hey, I can help,” Brenna said, sounding excited.
Ash stared in surprise at Brenna’s animated face. “What do you mean?”
“We have a lull at work before we get cranking again for major events before Christmas. My boss has been constantly reminding me that I have way too many annual leave days up my sleeve. She suggested I take some in the next few weeks. So why don’t I take a couple of weeks off work and help out at your reception? As long as Dora’s there to guide me, I can help steady the ship. You know I’ll do a good job.”
Ash shook his head. It wasn’t that he doubted Brenna could do it. She was an event manager for a company which organised major conferences and international events. She dealt with deadlines, difficult people and problematic logistics every working day. Doing reception work in his busy clinic would be a walk in the park for her in comparison. “Thanks, Bren, but no. You should take your leave days, but not to work.”
“But I want to do it,” Brenna insisted. “And I can help get your other temps organised.”
Tracy chuckled. “I can still remember the time when Bren organised this whole kitchen when she was about fourteen. I thought I had everything in its proper place, but she made it so much more efficient.”
“I remember that,” Gemma said. “And she wouldn’t let any of us help.”
“That was because she dropped and broke three of Mum’s favourite plates and was making up for it,” Amanda said, laughing. “Anyway, Ash, if you’re desperate for someone who can hit the ground running, you know Brenna’s your girl.”
Ash shook his head again. “It’s a receptionist job. She won’t get paid her usual—”
“Oh, Ash. You know it’s not the money,” Brenna interrupted. “I don’t want to take time off work only to twiddle my thumbs. I could start helping you guys out from Monday.”
“Don’t be silly, Bren. You’re not taking time off from your job to work at my clinic. Your leave days are for breaks and relaxation. Save them for those.”
“But I have plenty, and I’m being asked to take some soon. I don’t need the break,” she said stubbornly. “I’m not stressed. Like I said, this is a quiet time at work for us.”
“So shouldn’t you be taking advantage of this quiet time to do things you enjoy outside of work?” he countered. “In a couple of months, you’ll be very busy again. It doesn’t make sense for you take on the stress at the clinic.”
Brenna left the stove to walk to where he was sitting. She stood in front of him—close enough that her leg touched his knee. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy working at your clinic, Ash. And I’d love to see what your days are like first-hand,” she said, her eyes wide and pleading.
He felt himself melting.
Damn it, Ash. Look away.
But he couldn’t. Not when Brenna Ward was staring at him with those beautiful brown eyes which were urging him to agree. Not when his knee was enjoying the contact with some part of her body. Not when she seemed to want to do something for him.
“Why do you want to do it?” he croaked, hanging on to a sliver of the self-control that was being rapidly wiped out by her proximity.
“I want to help you. And I think it’ll be fun,” she said, grinning and doing little claps with her hands.
Unbidden, his lips tugged up at her expression. “Hey, I didn’t hear me say yes.”
“But you’re going to,” she said with certainty.
He frowned. Was he that obvious? “No.”
“Oh, come on, Ash. Please?” Brenna said, blinking rapidly.
His eyes widened. Was she batting her eyelashes at him on purpose? She’d never done that to him before.
“Okay, I’ll mention it to Dora tomorrow,” he heard himself say.
“Good,” Brenna said with an utterly cute smile. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, then went back to her cooking.
“I still don’t understand why you want to do it,” he said, gathering back his composure that she’d so easily shredded with a look.
Brenna shrugged. “It’s a different kind of challenge. Besides, how could I resist when chaos is calling to be put to order? I’m already looking forward to it.”
Ash raked his hair, cursing himself for being so pathetic. Seriously, he’d have to work harder on his self-control. How on earth would he be able to continue cutting out his romantic feelings for her if she’d be around him every day for the next two weeks?