Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (70 page)

Ben
looked down at his crooked finger, remembering
.
“I get the message.
I’m t
aking the class you recommended,
about
professional distancing
.
”
He
took a
dee
p breath before continuing.
“
My
advisor
approved
your request about counting my clinical work
with you for some of the advanced requirements.
I’ve scheduled my Board exams for
November
, and
I
’m
start
ing my
pre-Board reviews
next week
.”

Ben sucked in a
nother
breath
, hoping his excitement didn’t show
.
“
And
I’d li
ke to take you up on your offer
if you’ll still have me.”

“Good
.
When do you think you can come out here so we can talk over how we’ll split up the work, the salary, and the like—you know
,
the l
ittle details that mean so much.
”

“I
plan
to come out over Thanksgiving
to see
Danni
. Can you wait that long?
”

“I think that’ll
work
.
Will you be here
at least four days? That sh
ould give us time to fine
-
tune things without feeling rushed.”

“I’ll do that—as long as I can reserve time for
Danni
and her folks.”

“
Not a problem
.
Why don’t you s
t
ay on my
boat
while you’re here
?
I’ll make sure there are clean sheets an
d things
.”

“
I’m touched you care about my budget,
but I’d prefer a place where I’m not likely to ram my head into the ceiling.
” Ben laughed
.
“
I’ll let you know when I expect to arrive as soon as tha
t’
s set. In the meantime, will
you do me a favor?”

“
Shoot.
”

“Could you tear up my letter of resignation?”

Joe
l
laughed. “I tossed that in the burn pile a couple of months
back
.”

Ben
whoosh
ed out a rush of air
. “
Good.”

“
Danni
, Ben’s
on the phone,” Anna called.

“Hi, Ben
.
Any news?”

“
The best
.
Joe
l
offered me a job—
as an associate.”

She screamed into the phone.
“Fabulous! Does that mean you’ll start
next
June
,
after
your board exams
?”

“Yes, after
my boards
, but not in June
—in January, assuming I pass in
November
.”

“
Wow! How did you work that out?”

“
Joel
pulled some strings, and
I’ve been keeping my nose clean.
”

“
Terrific!
Will you be able to come see me—us—sooner than you planned?”

“
I have Thanksgiving on my calendar—if your folks’ invitation is still open,”
he
repli
ed
.

“
It is
.
I can hardly wait.
”

Ben was silent for a moment
, debating whether to ask her
. “
Danni
,
I know I have to spend time with Joel, but c
ould you
arrange to
pick me up at the airport? I know it’s a long drive, but
then
we’d have time—just the two of us—on our way back.”

She smiled.
“I’ll see if I can work
it
out
.”

“I have lots
more
I want to
tell you
, but
not
now
.
I’ll write you with more details.
O
kay
?”

“You do that.
I
love
you, Ben.”

“I
love
you, too.”

Angela
star
ed
at the letter of acceptance
, an
eighteen
-month fellowship to start in January
. P
erfect timing
.

But how do I break the news t
o
Joe
l
?
She
’d
been toying with t
aking
the fellowship
for more than a year. She
love
d
Joel
, but she wasn’t sure she could be
,
wanted to b
e,
his wife
.
We get on so well, in and out of bed. But will we drive each other crazy with our work schedules and emergencies?

She had seen so many of her family practice colleagues begin marriages with the best of intentions and
then
watched how their work had taken precedence over their personal lives
. N
ow
some of them
were part-time parents and no-time spouses. She
love
d children and babies, but was unsure
how
they might fit in
to her lifestyle
. Was she being
selfish? Part of her said yes
—
like
her mother had
inferred
when
ever
she asked if
Angela
was ever going to settle down. Part of her knew it was better not to commit to a marriage that would
also
mean committing to a future with children
.
Joe
l
very much
wanted to be a father
,
but
she was
not
interested in her children becoming
latch-key kids.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.  She was greeted by a hand holding a large bouquet of yellow roses.

“Thank you, Mr. Hand.
”
She
took
the
flowers from
the hand
and pulled
on the attached sleeve.
“How can I kiss you if the rest of you won’t come in the door?”

“Exactly
what I was hoping you would say.
”
Joe
l
gathered her in his arms.

“Careful! You’
ll crush these beautiful blooms.” S
he w
r
iggled
away from
him
. “Let me put these in water.”

They sat on the couch and admired the
flower
s.
Joe
l
turned to
her.
“Do I have to get down on my knees to ask you this?”

“Not if you’re going to ask me what I
…” She interrupted. “
I have something to tell you
first
.”

“Oh, God. Don’t tell me you have a mother in labor with triplets and you
and
Kent
’ll need my ready hands to help catch the litter.”
His eyes danced with barely concealed amusement.

She grinned and pushed
his
forelock of hair out of his eyes. “You need a haircut,
Joe
l
. Besides, you
don’t
have the right kind of license to assist with the delivery of triplet
s
,
and I doubt
Kent
would let you near them
.
And
we
human doctors
don’t deliver
litters, you ninny
.” She kissed the end of his nose.

“Well, then, what is this news you have to tell me?”

“I’ve been accepted
.”

Silence
descended
.

Joel
groaned. “And
y
ou’
re going to take it.”
She saw
the disappointment in his eyes as
his shoulders
slumped
.

She nodded. “I know you probably think I’m foolish to do this—”

“I w
ould
never stand in the way of your car
eer advancement. It’s just that
…
where is this fellowship? In Seattle?”

“Not that close.”

“Does this mean you
w
on’t c
onsider a
long-distance, cross-country
marriage?”

“
No
t
even if we were on the
sam
e coast.”

“Then, what do you think I should do with this?”
H
e pulled out
a small
box.

She opened
it
.
Inside was a ring
they had once
picked out
together
.
Her heart clutched and she hated the timing of her news.
But I have to do this.
She closed the box and handed it back to him
, trying
to keep her voice cool, detached
, when her
pulse
was thumping loudly in her ears. Surely, he must hear it, too
. “As I see it, you have a couple of choices. Want to hear them?”

“Go ahead.
”
He kissed her cheek and nibbled her earlobe.

“You can
hold this
and see if our situation—whatever you want to call it
—
changes
eighteen
months from now.”
She angled her face just out of his reach.

“That’s option number one?”
He scooted closer to her.

“Or you could
return
this beautiful ring and get your money back.”

“Option number two.”  He sat up and
took
both her ha
nds in his. “
You know I’ve been holding on to it for close to five years already.
I suspect the statute of limitations on jewelry returns is long past.
” He
kissed
her lips
, taking his time before coming up for air
. “I
don’t suppose there’s a third option
?
”

“
Like what
?”
She eased away from him until her hip met the corner of the couch.

“
Maybe I should look up
Roxy
and see if she’ll still have me.” H
is eyes twinkl
ed at her
as he pressed close to her again
.
“You know, the one you were jealous of
,
after you left for med school
.” He stopped
talking
when she frowned and started to pull her hands away.

“
Or
,
better yet,
how about
option
number four
?
I throw myself into the Sound to drown my sorrows
,
and then let my body wash up on shore
so
y
ou can
cry over
it
.”

Roxy
.
The second time he’s mentioned her.
Maybe
th
eirs
was more
than
a
one-time fling
.
“If
Roxy
will have you
, go for it,
though I
’ve
never understood why you were attracted to her
. And
you can’t do
option
number
four. You have
far
too many clients who would we
ep bitter tears if you did that.” She kissed him back. “A
nd I would car
ry th
e
guilt with me forever. I know y
ou don’t want me to do that.”