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“My head hurts,” she muttered.
He laughed and it was such a rich, surprising sound, it startled her. Looking up at him, she saw that his eyes were shining and the wide smile on his face displayed a dimple she was fairly certain didn’t show up very often.
“You’re thinking about this too much.”
“It’s very hard not to,” she told him, shaking her head. “I’ve never been in this position before and I’m not really sure what to do about it.”
“Do what you want to do,” he advised.
Want was a big word. She wanted a lot of things. World peace. Calorie-free chocolate. Smaller feet. Her gaze drifted to Sage’s mouth and locked there. And she really wanted to kiss him.
As that thought settled into the forefront of her mind, Colleen cleared her throat and tried for heaven’s sake to get a grip. Honestly, she’d been alone so long, was it really so surprising that a man like Sage Lassiter would tangle her up into knots without even trying?
“Everything okay?” He was frowning now.
“Fine. Fine.” She breathed deeply and repeated, “What I want. Do what I want.”
“Not so hard, is it?”
“You wouldn’t think so...” But she’d been raised to consider more than her wants. There was doing the right thing, and in this case, she just didn’t know what that was.
“You know,” he murmured, “once you show people you don’t care what they think, they usually stop talking about you.”
Wryly, she asked, “And if you do care what they’re saying?”
His lips quirked into a quick half smile that tugged at something inside her. “Well, that’s a different story, isn’t it? But why would you care?”
“Because I have to work here. Live here. If people think—” She swallowed hard. Everything she’d worked toward, everything she’d built in the past five years. Her reputation...her hopes and dreams. It could all disappear.
Suddenly, the windfall from J.D. looked like more of a curse than a blessing.
“You’re giving other people all the power here,” Sage said, drawing her attention away from her thoughts.
“I don’t want to, but...” Shaking her head, she folded her hands together on her lap. “Ever since this morning, my mind’s been filled with questions. And now I don’t know what to do about this.”
“Not much you can do about it.” Sage walked around her, pushed the open suitcase out of his way and took a seat beside her on the bed. “The will’s a done deal.”
“But I could donate the money.”
He shrugged. “People would still talk. The only difference would be you wouldn’t have the money.”
She sighed heavily and turned to look at him. He was so close to her, his muscular thigh was just a bare inch from brushing against hers. Heat rushed through her and Colleen forced a deep breath as she met his gaze. His eyes weren’t as frosty as they had been earlier, yet they were still unreadable. As if he’d drawn shutters down, to keep others from sensing his emotions. He was so closed off—much like J.D. had been when she’d first come to take care of him. But, she reminded herself, it hadn’t taken her long to bypass the older man’s defenses and get him to really talk to her.
The difference was, Sage wasn’t her patient. He was a strong, completely masculine male who made her feel things she hadn’t felt in far too long. Which was, of course, not only ridiculous, but inappropriate. He was the son of her patient. A family member who’d just gone through a devastating loss. He wasn’t interested in her and she would only do herself a favor if she found a way to tamp down the rush of attraction she felt every time he came close. Of course, way easier said than done.
“Look,” he said, his voice quiet, “why don’t we have dinner tonight? Give us a chance to talk some more.”
She blinked at him, so stunned she could hardly manage to croak, “You’re asking me out?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m asking you to have dinner with me.”
Not a date. Of course it wasn’t a date. Idiot.
“Why?” And why are you questioning it, her mind demanded.
“Well, I still want to talk to you about J.D.,” he said. “And it’s been a long day. For both of us.”
Of course. That explained it, Colleen told herself firmly. He wanted to talk about his father and all she’d managed to do was talk his ear off about her problems.
