Forever's Promise. Farrah Rochon
leave?” They both turned at the sound of the gravelly voice calling from the counter.
“No fritters for you, Mr. Henry,” Shayla said. “Imogen told me your cholesterol was up last week.”
The older gentleman grunted and paid for the bran muffin.
“Sacrificing a sale for the well-being of your customer?” Xavier asked. “He could have just taken his business elsewhere.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Doctor, when it comes to coffee and baked goods, I’m the only game in town. And I’m not willing to contribute to the rising health problems here in Gauthier just to make a few bucks.”
“That’s pretty noble of you.”
“But not completely altruistic. The longer I can keep them alive, the longer I can have them as customers,” she said, sending him a sassy wink. “I am a businesswoman, after all.”
He laughed. “I need to adopt that motto. It works in my line of business, too.” He followed her over to the tables and chairs and watched as she began wiping down the tabletops.
She looked up at him. “You’re still here?”
He nodded. “And I will be until you accept my apology.”
“Going to be a long, lonely night in this coffee shop for you. And if I find any inventory missing in the morning, I’m charging you for it.”
“Why are you giving me such a hard time?”
“Because you accused me of jeopardizing my niece’s health as a ploy to meet you. You’d better be grateful I haven’t punched you in the gut. That was my first instinct.”
“I am begging you to accept my apology for that. It was out of line, and I truly am sorry.”
She spun around and planted the hand with the towel on her hip. “What could possibly make you jump to the conclusion that I was the one who’d given Kristi the dye?”
He held his hands out, pleading with her to understand. “Look, I’ve had an—” he tried to think of the right word “—an interesting introduction to this area. I seem to be very popular with the single ladies in Maplesville and Gauthier. I thought you were another one trying to sneak your way into my E.R.”
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me about your popularity,” she said, moving to another table and resuming her task. “I happened to catch a gossip session yesterday that was all about the hot new doctor. I cannot believe how the women here are scheming just to get closer to you. It’s ridiculous.”
“Ouch,” Xavier said after a pause. “Way to hurt my feelings.”
She halted in the middle of wiping down the table, looked up at him and burst out laughing.
“That sounded awful, didn’t it?” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean that it was ridiculous that women would try to get closer to you. It’s just the lengths they’re going to that seem over the top. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Dr. Wright.”
The self-deprecating grin inching up the edges of her lips was as edible as any of the pastries in the display case. Xavier would bet it tasted better than any of them, too.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I’ll accept your apology if you accept mine.”
Her grin broadened. “Nice try.”
The smile made her already gorgeous face even more alluring. For a moment, her full, gently bowed lips held him captive. She’d gathered her curly hair into a ponytail, making her regal cheekbones more pronounced.
“Shayla, I—”
He was cut off by a loud voice that yelled, “Auntie Shayla!”
The two little girls from last night ran out from a short hallway toward the rear of the coffeehouse.
“Auntie Shayla, is it almost time to dance?” the younger one asked. She looked no worse for wear after last night’s E.R. visit.
When she spotted him, her eyes widened. “Dr. Wright!” She ran up to him, nearly crashing into his legs. “I’m not throwing up yellow stuff anymore.”
“That’s because he gave you medicine to make you feel better,” the older girl said in that soft voice of hers.
“I’m happy it worked,” Xavier said. “And we learned a lesson, right? No eating Easter egg dye, even if it is your favorite color?”
They both nodded.
“Dr. Wright is right,” Shayla said, running a hand down each girl’s head. “Dancing starts in a few minutes. Why don’t you ask Ms. Lucinda to get you each some chocolate milk?”
“I want mine first,” the youngest yelled as they both sprinted for the kitchen.
Shayla turned her attention back to him. “This has been fun, but in about ten minutes I’m going to have a bunch of women here looking to get their Zumba on, and I need to have this place ready.”
She started clearing the middle of the floor, dragging the chairs over to the wall. Xavier picked up a table and carried it over.
“Thanks, but you really don’t have to do this.”
“I know. It’s all a part of my master plan to get in your good graces,” he said with a wink. He got a glimpse of that grin again. Damn, but that grin was nice.
“So, there’s a plan?” she asked.
Xavier nodded as he carted another table away. “Oh, yeah. I’m determined to get you to accept my apology.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at him for a moment.
“What?” Xavier asked.
She shook her head after another beat. “Nothing. Continue on. I’m usually doing this by myself, so it’s nice to have some help.”
He moved the last table, then walked up to her, stopping just inside of personal-space territory. “I’d be happy to come by in the evenings and help you move furniture around. Just let me know when to be here.”
She didn’t step back, which he took as a good sign. It meant that she was okay with him being in her personal space. A very good sign. He rather enjoyed her personal space.
The front door opened and two women walked in. Xavier recognized them as members of Gauthier’s Civic Association. They stopped in at the clinic at least once a week to see if there was any help they could provide.
“Hey there, Mrs. Eloise and Mrs. Clementine,” Shayla called. “Glad you two could make it.” They both waved, but headed to the counter where the cook was packing up the leftover baked goods from the display case.
“That would be your cue to leave,” Shayla said. “My class will be starting in just a few minutes.”
“Have you accepted my apology yet?”
She pitched her head back and sighed dramatically at the ceiling. “Fine. I accept your apology.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” Xavier said. “I think maybe I should apologize over dinner.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. It seemed as if she was experiencing the same shock he was. Had he really just asked her out to dinner?
“You move pretty quickly, don’t you?” Shayla asked.
No, he didn’t. These days, when it came to women, he was the exact opposite of quick, especially after the way things had ended with Nicole. But now that he’d asked, he wasn’t backing down. In fact, he was dying for her to say yes.
“I want to make up for last night’s blunder.” He reached for her hand. “Let me take you to dinner, Shayla.”
When he touched her a current of electricity sparked between them. Xavier