Love Chronicles. Lissa Manley
The runaway mutt took a sharp right and leaped off the boardwalk and into the street, his huge paws flopping, his whip-like tail held high in the air. Just about the time Connor thanked heaven traffic was nonexistent in Oak Valley, the dog headed straight toward his office. In one mighty leap, the crazy canine cleared the step up to the boardwalk. Tongue lolling, he took another step and then skidded to a halt just in time to plant his huge front paws on the window facing Connor. He let out a huge woof, his tail wagging, his mouth pressed into what Connor would swear was a doggy smile.
Before Connor could recover from the attack of the humongous smiling dog, the woman with the sunshine-blond hair ran up, her brows knitted together, her pink lips pressed into a frown. She had high cheekbones and what looked like a smattering of freckles on her perfect nose. She wore a long, flowing pink skirt and gauzy white top.
She dropped her bag, grabbed the dog’s collar and pulled him off the window. She bent over, shaking a scolding finger at the delinquent mutt. Didn’t seem to faze the animal in the least. He playfully jumped around, barking, trying to get loose.
After her “scolding,” she hooked the leash on the dog, then straightened. She reached up with a noticeable huff and flipped her sunglasses onto the top of her head, exposing a strip of firm flesh at her waist where her top fell short.
Connor took his glasses off and stared, his blood heating up. She was beautiful. His last relationship, clocking in at a bare three weeks, had ended five months ago. He was due.
She turned his way and saw him, almost giving him a heart attack when her gorgeous topaz-brown gaze hit his. She stared back, the attraction clearly mutual; then her eyes refocused and she gazed at the words on the window. She mouthed the words Mr. Commitment.
He swore the flush on her cheeks deepened as she took in his white lab coat, then gave him a feeble little wave, as if it weren’t okay to swap stares with a doctor. Shaking her head, she pulled the dog to one of the wooden benches that lined the boardwalk, tied him up and then, surprisingly, made her way back toward Connor’s office.
Okay, maybe it was okay to stare at a doctor.
He returned to his spot behind the reception counter. June, his nurse/receptionist who would normally greet visitors, was having a problem getting her grandson to preschool and hadn’t arrived yet.
As the mystery woman opened the door and stepped inside, he got hold of himself and knitted his brow. Who was she? Not a scheduled patient; he knew everyone who had appointments with him this morning. He didn’t recognize her as a local, either. Although he had been in Seattle for a long time. Still, he’d been back for a month and he wouldn’t forget a woman who looked like her. Not in a million years. Besides, if he did know her, he sure wouldn’t be feeling a sharp lack of female companionship in his life right now.
Miss Sunshine stood on the other side of the oak reception counter, smiling, exposing straight white teeth. This close, he could see a there was indeed a light dusting of freckles on her nose, visible even through the pink blush staining her cheeks. Her smile made his blood surge, but it was her big brown eyes, the color of dark topaz, that really knocked him for a loop all over again.
He said the first thing that popped into his head. “What’s up with your dog?”
Her blush deepened. “Oh, I am so sorry. He’s a little…wild.” She bit her lip and glanced toward the smudged window. “I’ll be sure and clean up his paw and nose marks.” Her voice was distinctive—melodious and sexy at the same time.
“Don’t worry about it. Maybe he needs some obedience training,” Connor offered. “A training collar might help.”
She widened her eyes. “You mean a choke collar?” she said, horror studding every syllable. “That would hurt him.”
“A car nailing him would hurt more. Luckily, there’s no traffic in Oak Valley, or he might have been hit.”
She pressed her lips into a fine line. “I have my own ways of training my dog—”
“Ways that work?”
She snapped her mouth closed and glared. “My dog isn’t the issue here.” She stepped forward and grudgingly offered her hand. “You must be Dr. Forbes.” She sounded as if she thought he’d morphed into Dr. Frankenstein.
He took the proffered hand and shook it, liking how smooth and warm and small it felt in his, how its heat spread instantly into his body. “Uh, yes. Yes I am.” He tilted his head sideways and reluctantly released her, noticing her light floral scent in the air, wishing he could lean in close and sniff. He really hoped she wasn’t a patient. It would be unethical to have the sorts of thoughts he was having if he was supposed to treat her. “And you are?”
“Sunny Williams.” She scanned the area, her tight look fading a bit. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve looked forward to coming here, Dr. Forbes. I fully believe my holistic approach to healing will add a wonderful new dimension to your practice.”
He pulled in his chin, surprised by not only how fitting her name was, but also that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. “Holistic healing? You mean all of that ridiculous, New Age mumbo jumbo?”
She bristled again. “It’s not mumbo jumbo,” she replied, her eyes sparking. “I deal in massage therapy, yoga and aromatherapy.”
“And it will add a new dimension to my practice?” He laughed under his breath, shaking his head. “You’ve got the wrong guy.” He didn’t believe in that kind of garbage. Science was the backbone of his medical practice, not the touchy-feely theories that were making the rounds these days.
She pursed her glossy lips and frowned, creating appealing little lines between her dark blond eyebrows. “I don’t think so.” She put her tote bag on the floor and raised one brow. “You’re Connor Forbes, right?”
He widened his stance, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes, I am, but I don’t know who you are.”
Mild panic rose in her eyes; then, her face cleared and she grinned. “Oh, that rascal.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Why, your father, of course.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and gave him a funny look. “Who else?”
Connor stared at her, the bottom falling out of his stomach. “My father?”
Nodding, she said, “He met my parents at a marriage counseling workshop, found out I was looking to make a new start, and he invited me to come here and set up shop next door.” She gestured to the empty storefront next to his. “I guess we got off on the wrong foot.” She extended her hand again. “I’m Sunny Williams, your new partner.”
His partner?
Connor stared at her hand, trying to ignore how much he wanted to touch her again. He shoved his glasses back on. Raw anger began to bubble inside of him, along with a burning question he was damn sure going to find the answer to.
What in the heck was his dad up to?
Sunny withdrew her hand when the doctor didn’t shake it. She took a little breath to calm her racing heart, attributing her breathlessness to the fact that Rufus had been his usual naughty self this morning, leading her on a wild goose chase before she’d caught him. To make matters worse, he’d been naughty in front of her new partner, mortifying her in the process. It didn’t help at all that her new partner had never heard of her.
Struggling for calm, she noticed again that Dr. Forbes was one darn good-looking man, even with that stunned I-didn’t-know-I-had-a-partner expression on his handsome face. His deep green eyes, disheveled, dark brown hair and tall, muscular body made him look like her male fantasy come to life. She even liked his glasses, which gave him a scholarly air, and his rumpled tan corduroy trousers and light blue button-down cotton shirt looked appealing on him.
Then he’d opened his mouth. Choke collar! Ridiculous, New Age mumbo jumbo indeed!
But