Marrying The Boss (4 page)

Spencer Stelanos rolled his broad
shoulders. "Because this is where I work." His frowning gaze
assessed her open mouthed expression. "I didn’t mean to startle
you. Surely Edith told at your interview that I’m one of the senior
partners in the practice?"

Oh heavens, no!
It couldn’t be
true!
Kate
set her lips, tamping down her sense of unease and gathering her
scattered composure. "I’m afraid Edith neglected to mention any
names, only that you were both absent that day."

Spencer released a brusque sigh and
thinned his lips. "Ah, I see. No wonder you looked so startled."
The rich accents of his voice deepened into impatience. There was
now a hint of steel in his tone. "I’m glad it’s nothing serious.
You don’t look overjoyed to see me again."

Struggling for a calm she didn't
feel
, Kate
reminded herself of exactly who he was; a man who could dismiss her
on the spot, if he thought her in any way incompetent. She needed
this job, this new beginning. She couldn’t afford to fail so soon.
How would that look on her glowing resume?

Her wary eyes settled on the precise knot
of his tie. "It’s just I wasn’t expecting to encounter you here in
a professional capacity, that’s all."

She lifted her gaze just as he thrust back
his sleeve to glance at his watch. Their eyes clashed once more.
She could see his rising frustration mirrored in his brooding
expression.

This certainly wasn’t the man she had met
in the garden with the dog and the sweet little boy. The darkly
attractive, sinful pirate whose strong presence had appeared too
often at the edges of her thoughts since she’d last seen him. For
one thing his deep, attractive accent was less
pronounced—irrationally something she missed—though the clean scent
of his skin was a pulse-jumping reminder of their first
encounter.

Kate looked away, feeling heat rising into
her cheeks. This man was somebody completely different.

Almost
unrecognizable
. A senior medical practitioner well used to giving
commands to junior doctors and having them obeyed, reminding her
even more of her ex-fiancé than she cared to admit. Her heartbeat
began to race, thumping painfully in her ears.

She drew a steadying breath and released
it slowly. Spencer’s thick dark hair had been trimmed and tamed
into rigid order. Gold, wire framed glasses sat securely on the
strong thrust of his nose while the firm, square cast of his chin
was now smooth and clean shaven.

The finely pressed fabric of his dark grey
of his trousers contrasted well with his cream shirt and the
subdued tones of his silk tie. Around his neck hung a stethoscope
and his shirt pocket was home to a number of pens and other
paraphernalia. He looked every inch the efficient and successful
medical professional.

Kate swallowed tightly and
wondered how she could have ever mistaken him for anything
else.
Someone more approachable and understanding.
Her first morning,
which had begun so well, now seemed doomed to failure.

"
If I startled you, then please accept my
apologies." Spencer disliked sensing the tension in her. He felt a
quick surge of impatience. "I think we should start again. For a
moment, Dr. Martin, you looked ready to bolt."

He watched the rich color in
Kate Martin’s cheeks deepen with confusion.
Why does she always look so
scared?
Like
she was half expecting him to shout at her, or strike out at her
slender body
.
Her
slim shoulders were tensed as if anticipating a blow.

He expelled his breath sharply when she
didn’t reply. Someone had done a number on her and the thought
disturbed his sense of fair play. He felt the same reticence in her
back in the garden when they first met.

It irritated him that she had
seemed unaware of exactly who he was. He knew she
didn
’t want
him or Jamie getting too close to her. Maybe, despite her protests,
she really didn’t like children. A real problem if you’re a working
as family doctor.

But there were
no problems with her
competency or compassion, he conceded. The reports that had been
filtering to him throughout the morning were glowing and full of
praise. The whole problem was with him, he was forced to
acknowledge reluctantly.

In the last few
days, since he’d
first encountered Kate, his sleep had been disrupted. Remembered
dreams had made it difficult to recapture oblivion. He’d finally
given up and worked on his laptop instead. Writing complex medical
articles for the journals usually did the trick.

But not this time.

He
certainly didn’t have need any kind of
romantic complication in his life; erotic dreams or slender, blue
eyed reality. No matter how tempting. Besides, his taste in women
had always been tall and long legged, full bodied and
passionate.

Kate Martin stood barely as high as his
shoulder. Almost too thin, she was still softly rounded in all the
right places.

He
remembered that troublesome blob of
sunscreen; the softness of her cool pale skin against his fingers.
Her unsteady breathing moving against his inner wrist.

He marshaled his thoughts, deeply annoyed.
He had to admit, with her short crop of shining copper curls and
smooth, lightly freckled complexion; she appeared hardly old enough
to hold any sort of medical degree, let alone such an impressive
list of past employment.

Edith had jumped at the chance
to snap her up before some oth
er practice got in first. She'd assured him of
Kate’s complete suitability for the position. Pushed to find a
suitable replacement for their last locum, he'd trusted his
colleague’s judgment.

But Kate’s crisp white shirt and elegant
black skirt only added to the illusion of slender youthfulness,
underscored by her soft, breathy voice. He liked the way she
talked, framing her words with an attractive accent that definitely
intrigued him. The whole impression was one of warmth and
attractiveness, except for the troubling gleam of caution in her
blue eyes.

Spencer pulled in a long breath. He’d
lived in Chicago for some months, several years ago on a medical
exchange and he’d enjoyed working in the city. He began to wonder
if somewhere he and Kate had met before. Maybe that was why she
looked as if she didn’t enjoy seeing him again. As if he’d already
let her down in some way.

Her clear, vivid blue eyes were regarding
him with an odd mixture of wariness and lurking censure, as if he
disappointed her. How, he had no idea. If they had some kind of
history, surely he would remember. She didn’t seem inclined to
share her thoughts and he didn’t know how to tell her what he
saw.

Her close likeness to someone else he’d
once cared for was uncanny. He couldn't get past it.

He lifted a denying shoulder. He fully
intended keeping his distance, so it didn’t matter what she thought
of him. He compressed his mouth, shrugging inwardly as he folded
his arms across his chest and waited for her to speak.

Talk to him
! Kate inhaled, feeling trapped
in his darkly critical gaze. Her heart thumped against the cage of
her ribs.
Stop being ridiculous
. He was her boss, nothing more, and he was
waiting impatiently for her reply.

"
Good heavens, what a really strange
thought." She managed a small, light laugh. "I’m not about to run
away. You simply startled me." She extended her hand. "Good
morning, Dr. Stelanos."

"
Good morning." Spencer watched her square
her slim shoulders as he enclosed her slender hand within his
own.

The satiny softness of her skin he did
remember—too well. And the erratic beating of her pulse, leaping
like a startled bird beneath his questing fingers. His thumb-pad
moved absently against her warm flesh.

Kate sucked in a sharp breath before
managing to remark brightly, "I’m glad we finally get the chance to
meet. I’m only sorry we haven’t had a more formal meeting before
this."

Before the incident in his garden, her cool tone
implied.

He saw the brisk professionalism swamp the
panic in her eyes. She had drawn a curtain, masking everything she
was thinking and feeling. Gone was the wary, winsome woman he’d
glimpsed in his garden.

So be it
.

He felt a fleeting moment of regret at the
necessary change. But he also needed to keep their relationship
confined to the strictly professional. After all he and Jamie had
been through in the last couple of years, it was for the best.
Involvement with any woman was not on his agenda.

Kate noticed his gathering frown even as his
long fingers tightened around hers, like he would never let her go.
His idly caressing thumb was doing strange things to her pulse
rate. Her heart went swooping through her chest, leaving her
feeling strangely breathless.

Don
’t be silly
. He’s a married man with a young
child and large responsibilities. She would do well to remember
that fact. Besides he seemed far too arrogant and very sure of
himself, very male and almost overwhelming.

She felt a renewed desire to pull back and
escape. Before his gaze met hers and he could see the warmth of his
touch was affecting her as it had back in the garden.

"
Well, Dr. Martin." He matched her cool,
brisk tone. "Welcome to Mountaindale. I trust you’ll find
everything in order here. If there’s anything you need, you only
have to ask."

"
Thank you, I will." She knew he must feel
the rapid pace of the pulse in her wrist where his long hard
fingers lingered.

She jumped, quickly retrieving
her hand from his grasp, a deep shudder running through her. No
man—
not even
Eric
—had ever
affected her in quite this way, confusing her ability to assemble
coherent thought with a single long look and a warm, devastating
touch.

The new sensation was unsettling, especially
since she was going to be working with Spencer Stelanos on a daily
basis. She resolved to keep her distance from him as much as their
working relationship would allow. She linked her fingers behind her
back and waited.

Spencer grimaced and removed his glasses,
folding them into the crowded pocket of his shirt. "So, now that we
have that finally sorted out, I know I could use some caffeine. Are
you coming for coffee?"

"
I..." She snapped her attention back.
"Yes, thank you. I was just heading that way. Coffee sounds
wonderful."

"
Good, then we’ll go together." He turned
to walk with her, but keeping his distance. "I have a couple of
questions I want to ask you."

"
Of course." She felt grateful for the room to
breathe.

She was starting to feel a
little foolish. The coolly remote and enigmatic Dr. Stelanos was
simply being polite.
Attempting to put her at her
ease
.

The
pirate man she’d met in the garden
had been an illusion. He was obviously a very good doctor with a
terrific bedside manner, successful in putting nervous people at
their ease. The other man simply couldn’t—
didn’t
—exist. Well, not outside of her troubled
imagination.

Her cheeks warmed beneath the intensity of
his angled gaze. "Oh, please. Ask me anything you like. I make sure
I keep my reading up to date."

"
Excellent." He nodded, his face settling
into deep thought.

Her breathing eased
further.
It
was going to be all right.
She could expect nothing less from this man than
complete professionalism. It was almost a welcome relief. At least,
then she knew where she stood. He may be her landlord, but that
enforced relationship too, could be kept within strict
bounds.

It was as if the episode in the garden
hadn’t happened. She was grateful to forget that first meeting. She
recaptured her shattered poise. Theirs would be a purely a business
arrangement, something over which she would maintain firm
control.

A deep sense of relief flooded
through her. Having dinner with the man and his family was
certainly not an option, of course.
She must make that perfectly clear right
now before—

"
The offer still stands, you know."
Spencer’s sudden comment cut across her musings.

Concentrating on her thoughts, she almost
missed her step. "I’m sorry? I don’t understand." She looked up
blankly.

"
Baked beans and toast with Jamie." His
narrowed gaze studied her expression. He didn’t sound too pleased
to be re-issuing the invitation. "You remember, the boy and the
dog? My son won’t let us forget you’re invited to our place for
dinner. He was nagging me about it again just
yesterday."

"
Thank you, Dr. Stelanos." She pursed her
lips.

How could he
? She felt a stab of deep
distaste. So her instincts had been right in the first place. It
made her feel nauseous to realize this man was no better than Eric.
Finding enjoyment in playing devious emotional games.