Always(Time for Love Book 4)(15)

The clinic was doing very well now, though. He had three other ophthalmologists renting the consultation rooms and using the facilities. He also had a consistently long list of surgical patients at the eye hospital. With his current income now well above the higher end of his expectations, his busyness these days was due to demand, not necessity.

“But what, Ash?” Brenna prodded.

“But I only follow whatever I see on my calendar. It’s always full,” he said weakly.

Brenna rolled her eyes at his pathetic excuse. “And you forced me to have breakfast this morning,” she said accusingly.

“You weren’t supposed to start work yet,” he said, his lips curving. It was a nice feeling to have Brenna worry about whether he was eating his lunch or not.

“Well,” Brenna said, sitting back on her seat and folding her arms. “From tomorrow, I eat when you eat.”

“What? Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

“Why?”

“Because most of the time, I’m not sure when I would eat.”

Brenna shrugged. “So I’ll wait for you.”

“No,” he said authoritatively. “Doctor’s orders.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“Why not?”

Brenna leaned forward, giving him a stern look. “Ash, if that’s what it takes to make you look after yourself, then that’s how it’s gonna be. It’s silly that you’re a doctor, yet you don’t look after your own well-being.”

He sighed, touched by her care. But he couldn’t agree to what she wanted to do. “How do you even know when I eat? What if I have to have lunch in my office while I’m poring over patient files?”

“That’s no problem. When I know you’re eating, that’s when I’ll take my lunch break and eat in the staff room. Dora won’t mind. I’ll work it out with her.”

“Lunch break? You’re only supposed to work for half a day, Brenna, not for a full day. Today is an aberration.”

“Well, I was talking to Dora about that too. She said she was glad I was able to work from ten o’clock today, and that it would help if I did it for two weeks.”

He raked his hair, glaring at Dora’s office door.

“It’s all sorted, Ash. It’s your admin manager’s role to work these things out. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to undermine her.”

He sighed in defeat.

“So, getting back to you eating lunch at a reasonable hour...” she said in a slightly victorious tone.

“Bren, I really don’t think—”

“You can’t be like this every day, Ash,” she interrupted, scowling fiercely.

He shook his head mockingly, rolling his eyes. “She’s been here a day and she’s already organising me,” he muttered good-naturedly.

“I have two weeks to get you out of your bad habit, Dr. Payne. And I take my job seriously,” she said, still frowning.

“So how do you propose to make sure I have lunch at a decent time, when my schedule’s probably full for the next few weeks?”

Ash’s breath hitched when Brenna’s face split into a wide smile. Not that she didn’t look beautiful when frowning, but knowing he could make her smile like that filled him with warmth. And heck, he wanted to climb over the counter and kiss her.

“I’ll check your daily schedule and find a half-hour slot when you’re not seeing patients,” she answered. “I’ll go get your lunch for you and you can have it in your office if you need to continue to work. For the days when you’re not booked up yet, I’ll block out the time in your calendar. I suggest asking your receptionist to get your lunch. Otherwise, I’ll have to block out forty-five minutes if you’ll be getting your own lunch after I finish up here.”

Disappointment stabbed him at the thought that Brenna would be gone in a couple of weeks. Lord, she’d only been here a day and he was already anticipating missing her when she finished up. He had to watch himself around her or he might end up paying big for his foolishness down the track.

“Well, it’s five o’clock,” he said, checking his watch. “I still have a few things to do before I finish up for today. Do you want to go home first, and I’ll pick you up at seven for dinner?”

“Turning my computer off... now,” she answered, clicking away, then getting up from her seat. “I’m looking forward to tonight, Ash,” she added as she put her jacket on.

“Me, too, Bren,” he said softly, excitement stirring within him. Seriously, where was his self-control? Hadn’t he committed to moving on from her?

It’s not a date, Ash, he berated himself. Be careful, or you’ll get your heart all wounded again.





CHAPTER SIX


Brenna’s heart pounded when she heard the knock on her door. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she went to answer it. She rubbed her cold hands together, blowing on her palms, which were sweaty from nervous anticipation. Since she’d left his clinic, her mind had been busy imagining a flirtatious and romantic night with Ash.

Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned the knob and opened the door.

There he was, looking oh so hot. He must have gone home first, since he wasn’t wearing the same clothes he’d worn at work earlier today. Unless he had a change of gear stashed somewhere in his office.