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“Well?”
“Like what you see?” That cocky smile was as gorgeous as it was dangerous, and I refused to be sucked in again.
“Yes, Cal, you’re very pretty. Did you come out here for compliments, or because you needed something?”
His gaze darkened and focused in on my lips. “I do, and when you’re ready to give it to me, you know where I’ll be.”
He looked me over again, his blue eyes as heavy as a hand caressing over every spot they touched, and then he walked away, giving me plenty of time to stare as his ass until he—and it—disappeared from view.
“Idiot,” I muttered to myself because that’s what I was to be playing with fire like this. I knew Cal. I knew who he was, and I knew he wasn’t a man who was serious about women. Ever. Sure, his gaze was heated when it fell on me and there was lust in his eyes, but that was because he wanted to have naked fun times with me, not because he wanted me.
Would that be so bad?
Would it? Could I sleep with Cal and keep it casual? More importantly, could I just sleep with him one time and walk away? Maybe. But not until this house was done.
Not that it mattered; Cal probably wasn’t even serious about the sex. Or, if he was, I was sure he’d find a good excuse not to show up. No thanks—been there, done that, got the abandonment issues to show for it. As long as I remembered that, I could remain unaffected by Cal. Or, at least, I could appear to be unaffected by him. For now, that was good enough.
“Running away?” His deep voice stopped my feet instantly and I turned to face him with an arched brow.
“Not at all. It’s the end of the time allotted to you today. Problem?”
Cal took a step forward and then another, pressing his bare but freshly showered chest against mine. “I only have one problem, Teddy: you pretending like there’s not something happening between us.”
I laughed and pushed at his chest. “The only thing happening is that you are an incorrigible flirt, and you think you want me because I don’t want you.”
“Oh, but you do. You’re just trying to convince yourself that you don’t, or shouldn’t, want me.”
He was right, dammit.
“Or I just don’t want you, Cal. You ever think of that?”
“I’ve considered it.” He nodded. “But the way heat flares in your eyes and the way your pulse speeds up when I get close tells me otherwise. And that kiss the other night told me you want me at least as bad as I want you.”
“I have to go.” Arguing semantics would get us nowhere. “I don’t have time for your games, I have an appointment. We’ll be back tomorrow. Early.”
Suzie expected me at the hospital in about fifteen minutes, which meant there was no time to shower or change. I went straight there.
“Hey, Suzie, am I late?”
She looked up from her computer and pushed her pink glasses up her nose. “Teddy, you’re right on time.” She flashed a friendly smile and motioned for me to sit. “I really appreciate you agreeing to this. I know it’s a lot to ask, but the more the fundraiser looks and feels like one, the more willing people are to open their wallets. For a good cause, of course.”
“Of course.” I flashed a knowing grin and took the empty seat beside her desk. “I’ve worked up a few sketches to match what you said you need. Just take a look and let me know what you think so I can order supplies.”
Suzie took the sketches and looked them over in her quiet, studious way. “Rumor has it that you and Cal were sparking off each other this weekend?”
She didn’t look up, but I didn’t miss the knowing smile on her face.
“Don’t you have sketches to review?”
“It’s called multi-tasking,” she shot back. “So?”
“There were no sparks, trust me. Cal flirts with every woman with a pulse, the difference is that I don’t take him seriously. Ever.”
“Why not? Cal isn’t a bad guy, he’s just got an unhealthy attachment to his bachelor status.”
That was a polite way of saying he preferred to sleep around without any kind of commitment, which wasn’t a judgment, just not what I was looking for.
“I have no interest in changing his bachelor status, Suzie. All I want is to finish his house and move on with my life.”
The sooner his house was done, the better for my peace of mind. Everyone acted like I should be grateful for the attention of a handsome doctor, as if he was some big prize. But they didn’t know him like I did.
“Cal can be very persuasive when he wants to be, Teddy, and you are very beautiful.”
I laughed at her compliment. “Thank you, Suzie, but we both know I’m only beautiful now because I was such an ugly kid.”
