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“Want to drink here or take them with us?”
Sawyer glanced at his watch and swore to himself. He’d planned to go to the chamber of commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new surgical wing at St. Mary’s Regional, where he’d interviewed. Dr. Tennyson would undoubtedly be there, and not only would it score points and hopefully boost his chances at the job offer by being seen, but if he did get that position, this new wing would be a big part of his future. Going was a no-brainer.
The ceremony started in … five minutes. It was a fifteen-minute drive from his car to the hospital if he hit all the lights right. Once again, he’d gotten carried away with this woman, this time watching her dance.
“What’s wrong?” Mariah asked, her hand on one of the chairs at a table by the window. She looked up at him with green eyes that were naturally sultry. “You don’t like the Triple Berry?”
It took him a second to realize he hadn’t even tried the concoction yet. His mind spinning in a handful of directions, he raised the straw to his lips and sipped. The sweet, creamy, berry flavor seduced his tongue — or maybe that was the woman standing inches away from him. The woman he didn’t want to leave just yet. “It’s really good. Potentially addictive.”
“Tell me about it. I get one every day I work. So…?” Her eyes questioned him again.
Screw the ribbon cutting. Either he’d nailed the interview and was the best candidate for the job … or not. Showing up for some face time with Dr. Tennyson wasn’t going to change the outcome. The chief of surgery didn’t know Sawyer had planned to show up, so he wouldn’t know the difference when Sawyer skipped it.
He could allow himself a few extra minutes with this bewitching woman. And then, when he walked away, he’d walk away for good. One evening, just a few minutes, would not change the direction of his future.
“Let’s walk over to the fountain on the square,” he suggested, not wanting to hurry their time together and unwilling to have Tanner listen in on their conversation. They said good-bye to the clerk and went back out into the humid Texas night.
“Does everybody on the island know you?” Mariah asked once they’d started walking.
Sawyer chuckled. “Hardly.”
“We’ve been together for about ten minutes now, and we’re two for two.”
“Weird night, I guess.” Weird week.
“I think it’s cool. You’re, I don’t know, this big-time important guy in the community. Looked up to. Almost like a mini-celebrity. Can’t even get a juice without your public finding you.” Her voice had become louder and animated as she poured it on.
“It’s a tough existence,” he said, smiling. “If they’d just let me drink in peace.”
She laughed and the sound touched something inside of him again.
Sawyer cleared his throat. “I’ll actually miss that a little if I get the job I interviewed for. Running in to patients. Being able to see how they’re doing.”
“The job. Director of surgery at St. Mary’s, right?”
He whipped his head toward her. “How’d—”
“You told me all about it Saturday night. Apparently during the part of the night you don’t remember.” There was no derision in her voice, only lightness and good nature.
That didn’t make him feel any better.
“There are parts of the … conversation that night that are a little hazy.”
Hello, understatement. He still hadn’t gotten back a ten-hour chunk or so. That he’d been passed out for part of that — without his clothes — was not reassuring.
“As first dates go, it wasn’t my finest hour either,” Mariah said. “So I was thinking maybe we need a do-over.”
“I…” He couldn’t. Regardless of how much he liked the flirty arch of her brow as she matched his pace with her long legs. When you got down to it, he could barely look at her without feeling like a guilt-ridden teenager. Starting anything intentionally with Mariah would be pointless.
“Not an exact do-over. No fancy clothes, no wedding insanity, no tequila.”
They reached the square, a courtyard in the middle of a shopping district with a dolphin fountain as the centerpiece and various flowering bushes and perennials scattered among quaint, wrought-iron benches. Without discussing it, they sat on one of the benches facing the fountain.
It was time to level with her. He’d indulged himself by bringing her to the square, spending more time with her, but he had to stop. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he forced out.
Mariah’s head tilted. “The no fancy clothes? Or the do-over? Maybe do-over isn’t a good word for it. I just meant—”
“I can’t go out with you, Mariah. Fancy or no. It’s… We wound up together during an ill-advised night. Like I told you, that wasn’t me at all.”
