I want to deny that there’s anything to Clive’s concerns. Ramsey isn’t my type. He’s burly. He’s gruff. He’s mean. He was clearly trying to intimidate me.
But . . .my inner voice whispers,Not in a creepy way.
He was more like a . . .
Like a porcupine.
All bristles and defenses.
I met a porcupine once at an animal rehab I’d volunteered at as a teenager. Despite all the quills on the outside, the poor animal still had a soft underbelly. That was where it had gotten hurt in a dog attack. Once the prickly creature had gotten used to humans, she’d been so tame she would roll over and let you pet her tummy.
Okay, yeah, I could see Clive’s point. I was a sucker for a wounded animal.
But that certainly didn’t mean I was going to fall for Ramsey. There was a huge difference between begging my mom to let me adopt a porcupine and falling for a grown man.
No matter what happened, I would be fine.
If anything, Ramsey’s similarity to a wounded animal actually worked in my favor. If I could pretend he was just a vulnerable porcupine, I could ignore the awareness that shot through my body when he stood so close to me. Now all I have to do is make sure I don’t get poked.
Chapter 4
Holly
As soon as I walk into Ramsey’s lab, I’m glad I wore my four-inch heels. Dr. Ramsey is nowhere to be seen, but I do see a woman who I assume is either one of his grad students or a coworker. She looks like someone crossed Merida from Disney’s Brave with an Amazonian warrior princess and then dressed her up like Scientist Barbie.
She’s at least five-ten, with curly red hair that she’s attempted to tame into braids. I say, “attempted to” because there are numerous escapees that she’s pinned away from her face with a variety of barrettes and bobby pins. She’s dressed in a classic white lab coat and has two pairs of glasses—one perched on her nose, and another shoved on top of her head. She is one makeover montage away from winning a Julia Roberts look-alike contest.
Thus my appreciation for my high heels. There aren’t a lot of things that intimidate me, but women who are tall, smart, and gorgeous definitely check off all the boxes.
Still, I’m a grown woman, too mature to let intimidation get me down, and too smart to assume that her unblinking stare means she’s not a perfectly friendly person.
So I march across the lab and hold out my hand to her. “Hi. I’m Holly.”
She blinks rapidly, as though she’s not sure how to react. As if no one has ever just walked in and introduced themselves before.
After a moment, she holds out her hand to shake mine. However, in the same moment she pushes her glasses off her nose up onto her head. Unfortunately, this knocks off the glasses that are already perched there. They tumble off the back of her head and fall to the ground. She whirls around, trying to catch the glasses, misses them and then bends down to pick them up. This sequence, causes her to knock a composition notebook and several pens off the counter and onto the floor. Through it all, she mutters a stream of words that start with a greeting and ends with several curse words.
“Hi, I’m— Shoot— Dammit— Fuck!”
I bend down to help her pick up the notebook and pens, but she snatches them out of my way before I can.
“No. I’ve got it.” She stands up, clutching all of the things that touched the ground in her hands, staring at them like she doesn’t know whether to throw them away or burn them.
“OCD much?” I ask with a smile, going for friendly teasing.
But in response she frowns. “This is a lab. And besides, OCD—”
I wave a hand to try to get ahead of the train wreck I started. “I'm sorry. That was a jerk thing to say. I know OCD isn’t just being particular about cleanliness. And that it’s a serious disorder. I was just—” I sigh and press my lips together. “I was nervous to meet you and trying to lighten the mood.”
The woman blinks, flinching in what I can only assume is surprise. “You were nervous to meet me?”
I chuckle. “Um, yes. Tall, gorgeous, and brilliant? Hello, intimidation!” I shrug. “And I make stupid jokes when I’m nervous. It’s an ADHD thing.” Too late I remember Max’s reaction to me putting my purse on his desk. “I guess cleanliness isn’t something you joke about around here.”
She gives me a hesitant smile. “Not so much. I’m Gwen. Dr. Ramsey’s lab assistant.” She looks down again at the things in her hands and then walks over to the counter by the door and sets them down with a sigh.
I guess she’ll have to disinfect them or something. I don’t offer to help. Obviously, this environment is not my comfort zone.
She turns back to me and makes another attempted smile. “You must be Holly Dolinsky.”
