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Levi crosses his arms over his chest. “There were a few details that needed polishing. I don’t like to leave any job half done.”
Gentry looks at her nails. “Interesting. That’s not what Braelynn said.”
Levi takes a step toward her. “That’s because I’m not interested in Braelynn. Somehow she got the wrong idea about me. Know anything about that?”
Gentry looks up at him, eyes wide. “Are you suggesting I got involved in your love life? I wouldn’t set you up with the devil himself, Levi Sullivan. Whatever happened with Braelynn probably happened because you can’t help smiling and fluttering those eyelashes at any woman you come across.”
“You’ve noticed my eyelashes?” Levi asks in a seductive tone.
I clear my throat, because Gentry looks like she’s about to stab him with a letter opener.
“Did you say you’ve finished, Levi?” I ask.
He turns to me like he forgot I’m in the room. His expression shifts to professional in a heartbeat. “I have. Would you like to see what we’ve done?”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
I follow along as he shows me his progress. Everything looks bland and unchanged, but it’s one of those invisible fixes. Because of this, my equipment will work without blowing a fuse. Everything working means Levi did a great job.
After he leaves, I settle into my office to make some calls to contractors about the next steps of getting the clinic in shape.
I can’t resist sending Daisy a text to find out how much fun she had at the bookstore. Lazy sent me a text earlier to let me know how many books she bought.
I can’t resist teasing her, asking if she’s reading in bed, but then I’m thinking about her in bed, and how much fun it would be to see if I could distract her from reading.
She shuts down my flirting almost immediately or, more likely, she didn’t even recognize it as flirting. Sometimes, I get a hint that Daisy might be attracted to me, but I suspect it’s all just wishful thinking on my part.
What the hell am I doing with Daisy?
It’s a mistake to play this game with her, but all I have to do is think about how sure she is she’ll drive me away to accept I’m not backing out. She needs to know how damn sexy she is and how amazing. She needs to be wanted and to understand how lucky any man will be to have her.
It’s wrong that she walks around in this world thinking anything else. If I can give her that, even if my heart gets broken in the process, maybe it’ll be worth it.
Gentry taps on my open office door, walks in and sits in the chair in front of my desk. My office still needs a coat of paint, so I’ve only got the basics in here at the moment. I’ve been ordering medical books from Lazy to fill the bookshelf I’ll eventually install and I’ll put pictures on the walls and plants on my desk to make the place look homey. Right now, it’s bare and boring.
“I just signed on another patient,” Gentry says. “That brings you to exactly six. All of them too young to need more than a yearly check-up. Unless we get more patients signed on, you’re going to have to fire me.”
“I’m not going to fire you. I can afford your salary until we have a full roster.”
She chews on her lip for a moment before squaring her shoulders. “I don’t want to get paid to do nothing all day, Noah.It would probably be a dream job for most people, but I want to do actual work. I want to see patients and help you out and feel like I’m serving the greater good.”
“Don’t you want to go to nursing school? Slow days would give you more time to study.”
“I don’t want more time to study. I want experience in a medical office.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “My mother would have a fit if she heard me talking to my boss this way, but I need to know what’s going on, because if I can’t get the experience I need here, I need to find another job.”
I sigh. She’s making a very good point. “What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room.”
She sits up straighter, her smile clearly excited. “I can keep a secret. You wouldn’t have hired me if you didn’t think I could.”
I nod. “Daisy’s not staying in Catalpa Creek. We’ll date for a bit, then make it official she’s my fiancée. A few weeks after that, she’s going back to her job in New York City. We’re going to break up and I’m going to choose Catalpa Creek over her.”
Gentry taps a pen on her knee, thoughtfully. “That could work. I can help spread the story of your break-up if you want.”
“Thanks.”
“Wait, does this mean Daisy’s not really your girlfriend? You’re lying to everyone?”
“You’re right about me needing to look more stable and pretending seems more realistic than trying to build a relationship overnight.”
