A Dose Of Passion

“What the...”

Ignoring the rest of Keith’s comment, Derek bolted for the front door. He cleared his four concrete steps with no effort and stomped across his yard and the neighbor’s double-wide driveway, not stopping until he was in front of the lawn mower.

“Hey!” Macy yanked out her earbuds and snatched off her sunglasses. “What are you...?” Her voice trailed off and surprise registered on her beautiful, sun-kissed face. “What...what are you doing here?” she yelled over the rumble of the mower before shutting it off. “How did you know where I lived?”

“Like you don’t know.” The words flew out of Derek’s mouth impatiently. He folded his arms across his chest, anger darting through his body. He didn’t like games, and apparently she and Noah had a game of their own going on. First, the medical complex project, and now this. “Why didn’t you tell me the house Noah left me was next door to yours?”

Her mouth dropped open and she leaned away from him as if he had struck her. “I didn’t know Noah left you a house, and I sure as heck didn’t know it was that one!” She jabbed her glove-covered finger toward his home. “And how dare you step to me like some crazy madman?” she seethed, her eyes boring into him like a laser beam. “I don’t know what your problem is or what you have against me, but I’m sick of it!”

She snatched her gloves off and stepped around her mower, standing only inches from him. He could feel her anger seeping through her pores, right along with the perspiration coating her skin. “You have been a big, brooding...lug,” she yelled, frustrated, her hands on her hips. “From the day I met you, you treated me like a piece of gum you’ve had stuck on the bottom of your shoe. What have I ever done to you?”

Derek studied her, trying to decide if she really didn’t know what Noah had been up to. By the way she was shooting daggers with her eyes, it was safe to say she hadn’t been a part of Noah’s little game.

Instead of answering her question, his gaze traveled the length of her, from her messy ponytail propped on the top of her head to her thin tank top displaying her more-than-a-handful breasts. He stopped at the tiny shorts. When he should’ve been trying to come up with an answer to her question that wouldn’t make him sound like a total jerk, he instead had an overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms and taste her pouty lips.

Damn, he had it bad. The woman’s gaze cut into him and all he could think about was having her body rubbed up against his, sweat and all.

“Oh, so now you have nothing to say?” She slapped her gloves against her thigh, seeming to be madder than before. “You are unbelievable. You come over here making this big fuss about something I have no knowledge of and now you’re standing there ogling me.” She turned and went back to her lawn mower. “Well, I guess that’s better than the permanent scowl you wear.”

Derek sighed and rubbed his hand over his head and let it slide down the back of his sweaty neck. He didn’t know if he would ever get used to the ninety-degree temperature. It was only July. He didn’t want to think about how hot it would be in August.

“I don’t scowl,” he finally said. His words sounded wimpy even to his own ears.

The sharp edge to her humorless laughter made him want to snatch back his words. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She used her forearm to dab at the sweat on her forehead. “I can understand you being concerned about Noah, but that constant frown you wear on your face whenever I’m around is a good sign that you have a problem with me.”

“I don’t have a problem with you!” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts and stared down at his shoes, trying to come up with something intelligent to say. What the hell was wrong with him? He was acting as if he were still in high school. She was right about one thing, though. He did have a problem with her. She was too damn fine for her own good and he was seriously attracted to her. And he hated it. Now what to do about it was the question.

* * *

The last thing Macy needed was to live next door to the man she couldn’t stop thinking about. She didn’t want to believe Noah was playing matchmaker from the grave, but what else could she think? First he created a situation in which she would have to work with Derek over the next few months, and now this. How was she supposed to have peace of mind when she knew the tall, dark, brooding man with the sexy, intense gaze was sleeping next door to her? He had already caused her some sexually frustrated, sleepless nights. Now she would probably have to move if she ever wanted to get any rest.

She slipped her gloves and her dark shades back on. She so wanted to be angry at Derek, but how could she be when he towered over her like some sex god? Tall, lean and gorgeous. He looked good enough to make her want to drop her panties, no questions asked. Damn her body for betraying her. His blue fitted T-shirt stretched across his solid chest, hugged his thick biceps and lay flat against his abs. The cargo shorts he wore hung low on his hips, and his thick legs were muscular, like those of a football player. Her gaze finally edged back up his body and landed on his intense eyes. Damn him and his sexy eyes.

“Why are you still here?” she snapped. “I have work to do.” Mama Adel would have a fit if she heard her being this mean to anyone. She would always tell her foster daughters there was no excuse to stoop to someone else’s level if they were acting a fool.

He looked as if he was trying to determine whether or not she was telling the truth, but said nothing. His shoulders dropped and he rubbed his forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “I was surprised to see you out here.”

“Probably no more surprised than I am to see you standing on my grass, blocking me from finishing my yard.” She slipped off her work gloves again and shoved them into the back pocket of her shorts. It seemed as if he was in no hurry to leave her alone.

Swiping her arm across her forehead for what seemed like the hundredth time, she wiped away the perspiration beading at her hairline. Noah, what are you up to? Derek moving in next door wasn’t a coincidence.

“Are you saying you didn’t know that Noah purchased that house and insisted I move into it?”

“I didn’t even know the house was for sale. My neighbor, a sweet older woman who was always a pleasure to have living next door, told me she had sold the house about a month ago.” Macy didn’t try to hide the bite in her words. She wanted him to know she wasn’t any happier than he was about this new development. “She said someone had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. And despite what you might think, Noah didn’t always check with me whenever he decided to do something crazy.”

“So you didn’t know he was leaving me that house in his will and insisting I move into it?”

Macy’s hands flew to her hips. “What part of ‘I didn’t know’ don’t you understand? You come over here yelling like you’ve lost your mind because you think I’m playing some game? Well, I’m not. I don’t play those types of games.”

“Daddy!” Macy heard the high-pitched voice before she saw the cutest little boy running across the yard toward Derek, not stopping until his arms were wrapped around his leg. “Hi. What’s your name?” the little guy asked, hiding slightly behind his father.

A smile tugged at Macy’s lips. There was no way this cutie-pie could be related to the big lug. She bent down to his level. “My name is Macy. What’s yours?”

“Jason.” He finally released Derek and approached Macy. “I’m four. How old are you?”

“Jason.” Derek’s warning tone caused Jason to glance up at him. “What did I tell you about asking grown-ups their age?”

Jason lowered his eyes and bit on the tip of his finger. “You said it’s not appopiate,” he said, butchering the word. Macy was impressed he had even gotten that close to saying it correctly.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jason.” Macy stretched out her hand for a handshake. Jason glanced at his father before accepting her hand and grinned, showing off two missing front teeth and making Macy fall in love with him instantly.

“You want to be my girlfriend?”

“Jason!”

Macy burst out laughing and tipped backward on her haunches, catching herself with a hand behind her before tipping all the way back. She stood to her full height and dusted her hands on her shorts. She didn’t know what was funnier, the fact Jason knew anything about girlfriends or the horror on Derek’s face.

“What did I tell you?” Derek lifted his son effortlessly, holding him out in front of him. “You are too young for a girlfriend and you are not to ask another grown woman to date you. Do you understand me?” Jason nodded slowly and Derek threw him over his shoulder, clearly frustrated but eliciting a giggle from his son. “I’m sorry,” Derek said to Macy. “Apparently I need to break some of the bad habits he’s learned from one of his uncles.”

Macy waved him off. “No harm done. He’s absolutely adorable.” Thanks to Jason, some of the tension between them seemed to have dissipated.

They stood there in awkward silence. Like her, Derek was probably wondering what was on Noah’s mind when he’d purchased the house for Derek to move into. They continued to stand there, each in their own thoughts, until they heard a ton of noise coming from the movers.

“Listen, I’m sorry about yelling. I just—” he shrugged “—was surprised to see you.”

“Yeah, you said that.” Macy put the left earbud in her ear and started to put the second one in. “Next time maybe you can think twice before coming onto my property and yelling at me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned and Macy grinned when Jason, who was still hanging over Derek’s shoulder, waved at her.

Such a cute kid. Too bad his father is a jerk.

Chapter 4

“Daddy, Macy is pretty,” Jason said when Derek set him on his feet but held his hand as they walked back to their house. “Do she have some kids?”

“It’s ‘Does she have some kids?’ and I want you to call her Ms. Macy.” Derek stopped when they made it back onto his property and bent to his son’s level. “And, Jason, I don’t want to have to keep talking to you about this girlfriend nonsense or about you asking grown-ups how old they are. Do you understand me?”

Jason kept his head bowed and kicked at the grass beneath his feet.

“Jason, look at me.” His son slowly lifted his head and looked at Derek. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“Good, because if we have to have this conversation again, there will be consequences.” Derek stood to his full height. His son was quickly learning about consequences since he’d had his handheld video game taken away twice last week for misbehaving.

Derek grabbed hold of Jason’s hand again, knowing there was a good chance he would take off in a sprint toward the movers. “Oh, and Jason—” his son looked up at him “—you’re right. Ms. Macy is pretty, very pretty.” They grinned at each other and proceeded to the house.

He still didn’t know how he felt about Macy living next door to him. No. Actually, he did know. He hated the idea. She was a distraction he didn’t need, especially when she wore shorts that barely covered her butt, showing off just how long her legs really were.

More than once he had caught a couple of movers glancing her way, checking her out. He wondered why she was cutting her own grass anyway. Surely it wouldn’t take much effort for her to talk some poor guy into doing it for her.

Jason jerked on his hand, trying to pull away. “Daddy.”

“Nope. You’re staying with me, at least until we get in the house. I don’t want you getting in the way.”

“What are they doing?” he asked of the movers.

“They’re unloading the truck and taking all of our stuff into the house.”

“My toys, too?” Jason asked, his voice pitched higher with excitement.

“Yep, your toys, too.” After speaking to one of the movers who was near the truck in the driveway, Derek headed into the house. “Jason, maybe you should hang out in the family room until they’re done. I don’t want you getting in anyone’s way while they’re bringing in boxes and furniture. All right?”

“Well, I see you’ve still got it goin’ on with the ladies,” Keith said when he strolled into the kitchen, a stupid grin on his face and his key chain spinning around his finger. “I started to go over there and introduce myself to Ms. Short-Shorts, but by the way she was glaring at you, I didn’t want any of those daggers to accidentally hit me.”

Derek tried to ignore his brother’s bark of laughter. He could only imagine what the movers were thinking of the exchange, since he was sure they had witnessed every bit of it. He clearly had overreacted. It was just that when he saw her and the way she was dressed, something inside of him snapped. Thoughts of her had been flitting in and out of his mind for weeks. He didn’t want to live next door to her, but in order to fulfill the stipulations Noah had left behind, he needed to stay put for at least a year.

It’s going to be a long year.

“It’s time, man.” Keith interrupted his thoughts.

“Time for what?”

“Time for you to get back out there and start living. Dating.”

Derek shook his head. “Keith, don’t start. I have been living. As a matter of fact, I have a wonderful life that just got better.”

“Yeah, you might have more zeros on the numbers in your bank account, but your social life sucks. I know Sam did a number on you, but four years is more than enough time to mourn your marriage.” Keith sat at the breakfast bar, across from where Derek was standing. “When was the last time you went on a date? I mean a real date. Not some booty call with a friends-with-benefits type of date.”

Derek didn’t speak. He hadn’t been serious about a woman since his wife walked out on him, ripping out his heart and leaving him with a baby.

“My goal right now is to raise my son and get acclimated to my new job and responsibilities. I don’t have time to date.” Hell, he wasn’t interested in dating seriously. The thought of getting back out there in that scene made his head hurt. Nah, things were fine the way they were.

“Well, you’re a fool if you don’t get to know your new neighbor. I mean, really get to know her.” Keith propped his elbows on the counter and rubbed his chin. “You know what? Since you’re not interested, maybe I should step to her.”

“Now you’re talking crazy. Your divorce isn’t even final. The last thing you need to be doing is trying to get with anyone.” Derek knew his brother was baiting him, but he had no intention of taking it. “Besides, she doesn’t seem like the type who would settle for a fling.”

“How would you know?”

Yeah, how did he know? He had only spent a little time here and there with her, but even with their small amount of interaction, he could tell she was the marrying type.

“I just know.”

“But seriously, dude, don’t let your ex ruin the rest of your life. My marriage might have fallen apart, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on love.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Good for you.”

“And I don’t think you should, either. You’re always saying that you’re doing this or that for Jason, but don’t you think he needs a mother?”

“Nope. He has enough women in his life and most important, he has me.”

“Mom once said you would make the perfect husband out of all of us. And you know Mom is never wrong.” That got a chuckle from Derek. That was his mother’s claim to fame—that she was never wrong. “Besides, you’re giving your ex too much power. You both were young when you two hooked up. Neither one of you really had a chance to experience life as an adult before marrying and having a kid. Don’t base your future on how your past was. Create the future you want.” Keith jiggled his keys. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours, but think about what I said.”

Derek’s gaze followed his brother to the door that led out to the garage. A new city, more money than he could ever spend in a lifetime and a beautiful neighbor. Maybe it was time for him to rethink his stance on dating.

* * *

Days later, Macy practically glided to the clinic’s back door, eagerness bubbling inside her. After operating the facility alone for three years with only a receptionist and a medical assistant, she could barely contain her excitement about bringing on another doctor.

She swung the back door open. “I could kiss you!” She threw her arms around her longtime friend, Dr. Rachel Thurston, and pulled her close. “I’m so glad to see you. Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

Laughing, Rachel stepped across the threshold. “You just saw me less than a month ago.”

“I know, but you weren’t a doctor on my staff then.” They walked through the hallway that led to the front of the clinic. “I am so hyped to have you here, I feel like dancing on top of the desk.”

“Does that mean that with this extra time on your hands, you’re going to run out on me and never come back?”

Macy grabbed them both some coffee and they sat in the small space that made up the receptionist’s area. Macy swiveled back and forth in the secretary’s office chair. For years she’d barely had a day off besides Sunday, and she couldn’t remember her last real vacation. Oh yeah, she was super happy to bring on another doctor.

“I won’t run away, but I can’t wait to see what it feels like to work only four or five days a week instead of seven.”

Rachel’s brows drew together. “I thought the office was closed on Sundays.”

“It is, though lately I have been using Sundays to catch up on paperwork. So that’s why I’m happy to see you.”

Macy grabbed her tablet from the tidy desk and pulled up her notes of things she needed to go over with Rachel. She had asked her friend to come two hours before the clinic opened in order to fill her in on the day-to-day operations and to play catch-up. A tentative work schedule, clients that would be transferred to her and information about the new medical complex were only a few of the items they needed to discuss.

“Once the medical complex is opened, we’ll be moving our operations.”

“Are you excited?”

“Very. I have always dreamed of having a facility that houses specialists in more than twenty medical fields under one roof.”

“I remember when you first told me about the idea of opening a medical complex, and it looks like you’re actually going to pull this off.” Rachel put her arm around Macy’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Macy smiled. For the first time, her dream seemed reachable.

For the next hour, they went over additional details of what Rachel could expect.

“Okay, I’m all set,” Rachel said and placed files back into the cabinet, slamming the drawer closed. “You know, I was sorry to hear about Noah. He was such a great guy and I know how much he meant to you.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe he’s gone.” Macy thought back on the man who had easily fit into her life and became the father she’d never had. “The world has lost a good man.”

“I’m glad you had him for as long as you did. My parents died when I was in middle school and I hate they didn’t get to see me grow up or see me become a doctor.”

Macy stood. “I’m sure they would have been so proud of you.”

Rachel shook her head and shivered as if trying to shake off the sadness. “All right, enough of this humdrum stuff. Let’s talk about something fun. How’s your love life?”

“Ha! Well, this is going to be a short conversation.” Macy refilled both their coffee mugs. Her gaze traveled around the colorful reception area and a portion of the waiting room. “This place has pretty much been my life. Between here, my days at the hospital and my volunteer work, there’s not much time for a social life.” She grabbed her tablet and made sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind. “Cindy should be here shortly and will probably kick us out of her space. Let’s head to my office.”

Rachel followed Macy down the hall. They turned the corner and entered the last room on the right. It wasn’t a large area, but Macy appreciated having a place to get away from the riffraff of her days.

“I hear you about the long hours.” Rachel sat in the cushioned chair against a nearby wall. “I was putting in sixty, seventy-hour weeks at the hospital. So, when you mentioned the doctor position here, I knew I had to go for it.”

“I’m glad you did. I’m sure Trey is going to be happy to have you home a little bit more.”

Rachel’s beaming smile spoke volumes. Macy only hoped one day she would be able to experience the same type of happiness her friend had in her marriage.

“That’s putting it mildly. We’ll have been married a year soon, and he’s ready for us to start a family.” Rachel sipped from her coffee mug. “So who knows? Maybe we can get started sooner than later.” She waggled her eyebrows and they laughed. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”

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