Page 22 of Unraveled

Adalyn gathered her things and stood, holding one hand out to him. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” He shook Jaxon’s hand. “I’ll be in touch.”

He walked them to the lobby, then returned to his office and closed the door. Pulling his cell from his pocket, he flipped through the messages and emails, noticing that the one name he was looking for remained infuriatingly absent.

He set the phone on the blotter on top of his desk and sat back in his chair, pondering his next step. He wanted Audrey to reach out to him, but he had a feeling she never would. He’d have to take that step—but he had to do it carefully. If he came on too soon or too strong again, she’d bolt.

If there was ever a woman worth waiting for, it was Audrey Stanton. He’d never felt this way about a woman, not even as a teenager. He knew he wanted her from the moment she walked into his office more than six months ago. He’d spent a grand total of about twenty hours with her, but he knew—just knew—that she was it. Now that he’d touched her, tasted her, felt every curve beneath his hands, there wasn’t a chance that he was ever going to let her go.

Everything about her appealed to him—her intelligence, that wicked sense of humor, her fiery hair and temper to match. And then there was her passion, wild and unrestrained, giving as good as she got. God, how he wanted her—all of her—but he knew he needed to keep it slow and steady, acclimate her to his presence.

He knew how badly she’d been hurt by that idiot ex of hers, and he needed to prove to her that he wasn’t the same. He couldn’t risk moving too fast and spooking her. If he pushed too hard, she would run far away, and he would lose her forever.

He knew that whatever was between them wasn’t love, not yet. But it could be. He just needed to convince her to take another chance. He’d be here waiting until she was ready. After all, he’d already waited this long. What was a few more weeks, or even months?

Audrey Stanton would be his. She just didn’t know it yet.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Audrey smiled at the receptionist—Stella, according to the name tag pinned to her chest—and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Dr. Audrey Stanton. I just accepted a position here, and I’m supposed to start training today.”

The young woman returned her smile. “Of course. I’ll let Becky know you’re here.”

Audrey had spoken with the woman in the HR department during her initial interview two weeks ago, and she had given her a brief rundown of what to expect. It was strange for her to work in a practice like this that was government funded. She and Scott had opened their practice in the health center right after they graduated, so she had never had any experience working in a large practice like this.

She took a seat in the lobby and smiled at one of the patients nearby. Becky came out just a few moments later, greeting her with a smile.

“Dr. Stanton, good to see you again.”

“You, too.” Audrey shook her hand, then fell into step as they made their way past the reception desk and down a long hallway. Patient exam rooms lined both walls, and she nodded greetings to the nurses as they passed them.

“This will be your office.” Becky paused beside a door at the end of the hall and held out a hand, gesturing for Audrey to enter first. “There’s a key in the top drawer of the desk if you’d like to leave your things here. I have some paperwork for you to fill out, and I’d like to show you around.”

“Of course.” Audrey left her purse, and they began the tour of the facility. It was designed in a basic U-shape, with the receptionist desk front and center. Doors to the exam rooms were located on either side, and the patients would be directed through the doorways to either station A on the left or station B on the right.

A young male nurse in blue scrubs stood behind the desk, and Becky smiled at him. “Nate, this is Dr. Stanton.”

“Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand with a smile, and she shook it.

“You as well.”

“Are you new to the area?”

Audrey shook her head. “No, my husband and I actually had our own practice over in the health center downtown.”

Something flitted across his features at the mention of her husband—her ex-husband—but she didn’t bother to clarify that they were almost divorced. She had no intention of dating a man she worked with, and she saw no reason to give him false hope.

“That’s great. I’m sure you’ll like it here. Everyone’s awesome to work with.”

“That’s good to hear, thank you.”

Becky turned to Audrey. “I’ll introduce you to the others later, but if you don’t have any questions at the moment, I have some paperwork for you to fill out.”

Audrey nodded. “Lead the way.”

The remainder of the afternoon was spent filling out paperwork and studying the requisite training materials. She also met another dozen nurses and another physician, Dr. Elijah Kellerman. As good as she was with names, her head felt like it was spinning trying to absorb all of the new information. It was both the same and completely different from the small practice she and Scott had together. She truly felt like it was a good fit for her, though, and she could see herself there for a long time.