Always(Time for Love Book 4)(18)

He shrugged. “A bacon roll or something. And a coffee.”

She stood up and grabbed her handbag. “Coming right up. And breakfast is on me,” she added when he pulled his wallet out.

“No. All food is on me,” he said with deadly seriousness, getting some money out. “Don’t even think of arguing, Brenna Ward. I don’t like that you’re here too early. This is simply another compromise so you don’t starve.”

“Fine,” she said grabbing the cash from his hand. She grinned when her back was turned to him. It may not be a big thing, but he just showed he still cared.

*

Ash’s office door was open when Brenna came back with his breakfast.

“Here you are, honey,” she said, placing the food on a clear spot on his desk.

Hopefully, the term of endearment would have some effect. She’d called him that a few times in the past, just like she’d often used the word on her best friends. But after she’d kissed him on the lips last night, she hoped he’d pick up that it meant something more this time.

“Thanks, babe. I’ll eat it while I work,” Ash said, smiling at her before turning his attention back to the open folder in front of him.

Babe? She stared at him, dumbstruck, her heart hammering. What did ‘babe’ mean? He’d never called her that before.

After a moment, Ash looked up at her again. “Sorry, Bren. I really need to go over this patient file. Promise I’ll eat at the same time.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” she said, flustered.

“Where’s your breakfast?”

“On my desk.”

“Good. Don’t work too hard.”

“Only if you don’t work too hard,” she quipped, heading for the door. “I’ll bring you lunch at one-thirty.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” he said.

Wha-at? He had never called her sweetheart before. She gaped at him, but he was already concentrating on some document, frowning at it. She went back to the reception desk, totally stunned—in a good way. A very good way.





CHAPTER SEVEN


Ash chuckled silently as he watched Brenna walk back to her desk. He’d shocked her. That much was obvious.

Well, tit for tat. She’d shocked him last night, too.

That kiss on the lips had floored him. He’d stared at her closed door for interminable seconds, wondering what it had meant. But since she’d immediately gone back inside her apartment, he’d turned around and gone home.

He’d regretted leaving it at that, though. He should have banged on her door, pulled her in an embrace and resumed the kiss. Unfortunately, when it came to Brenna and his heart, he was a coward.

He’d lain on his bed and stared at the ceiling for hours last night, replaying in his mind Brenna’s actions these last few days.

If it had been some other woman, he’d say she’d most definitely been flirting with him—even being seductive at times. But it was hard for him to believe that Brenna ever meant to intentionally flirt and seduce. She’d been oblivious to his feelings for years, and had never indicated she wanted anything other than a platonic relationship. Why would things be different all of a sudden?

He couldn’t even hazard a guess... until this morning, after he woke up.

Brenna must have noticed something the day he carried her to the water at Bondi Beach. He did discern a change in the way she’d been acting around him since then, but he’d refused to look deeper into it. She must have picked up on his wordless signals, and had finally realised he had feelings for her.

Knowing Brenna, she would be feeling guilty if she thought she’d been hurting him, albeit unconsciously. Her MO had always been to overcompensate for her perceived misdeeds by doing helpful things, just like the time she’d worked for hours organising his mother’s kitchen after she broke some plates.

He now suspected that the main reason why Brenna had taken annual leave to help at his clinic was exactly that—to make up for breaking his heart.

But he didn’t want her guilt, pity or sympathy. He wanted her love.

And it was the kiss on the lips that thoroughly confused him. He could see no reason for it—unless Brenna had become open to the idea of them being a couple, and was giving him hints.

Of course he’d love for that to be the motivation for the kiss. But he couldn’t allow himself to get too excited. It was all conjecture on his part.

So he’d come to a decision before he left home that morning. Since Brenna probably already suspected he had feelings for her, he’d show her that he did like her a lot. But he had to be careful not to overwhelm her. If she didn’t feel the same, it would be easy to play down a mere like. They should still be able to keep a friendship then. But if Brenna found out he was in love with her and couldn’t return those deeper feelings, it might be impossible to remain friends. He’d rather walk around with a wounded heart than lose her altogether.

Even if she could never love him back the way he loved her, he would never choose not having Brenna in his life. It would be like cutting out a part of his heart. Sure, that part might be all wounded and scarred, but how could he live without a full heart?

So for now, keeping it fun and light was the order of the day.

*****

Ash was escorting a patient out of the testing room when he saw Brenna walk in with a carry-bag. He smiled. The ever-efficient Miss Organiser had lunch ready in time—like she’d said she would.