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“I don’t want to be pushed around like a feeble old man,” he grumbled.
“It’s too far to walk on a sprained ankle. The doctor said it’s important to stay off it.”
“I plan to. I called the airline and canceled my ticket. I’d rather wait for my ankle to heal before flying home. It’ll cost me fifty dollars to reschedule, but it’s worth it to get to know your boyfriend better.”
“Dad! I’d love to see more of you, but you’ll be bored silly sitting around here alone. I do have to work. It’s my busy season.”
This was very bad news. How could she continue the fantasy about having a boyfriend until Dad’s ankle healed?
“You do whatever you need to. Don’t worry about me. I can entertain myself. You’ve got a computer and a TV I can use, and there must be a bookstore somewhere in the area. I’ll give you a list of books I’ve been wanting to read.”
She couldn’t say, Dad, go home, you make me crazy. She loved him, but she couldn’t continue seeing Eric. It wasn’t fair to him, and she was embarrassed enough already.
“You’ll miss your only grandson’s birthday Wednesday,” she reminded him.
“Sam will only be three. He won’t care when I present my stack of presents, and I’ll get out of going to the party Carly has planned at Bucko’s Pizza Palace. Have you ever been to one of their birthday orgies? Corny clowns, noisy game machines, kids screaming and running.” He shuddered. “I went to Kim’s fifth-birthday party there. A sledge hammer couldn’t give me a worse headache.”
“You love sharing your grandchildren’s big events,” she said. “Cake, candles, hugs and kisses for Grandpa.”
“The nice thing about retirement,” he said, speaking from his weeks of experience, “is I have plenty of time for the grandkids plus time to get to know my future son-in-law better.”
“Dad, we’re not that serious!”
“I know chemistry when I see it,” he said smugly. He started leafing through the TV listings, and she dejectedly began her day.
BY MIDMORNING Mindy was the one with a headache. She had to check with the woman who was catering the Robinson family Thanksgiving reunion, twenty-two people and counting, then run to the party store outlet for orange napkins and table decorations. After that, she had to meet a new client at two and make sure the carpenter had come back to finish the shelves in Mrs. Konkle’s home office. People paid her to worry, and she was good at it.
Unfortunately, with her dad dropping his bomb on her head, she couldn’t concentrate anymore. How could she work with her father in the house? Even before she left to run errands, he was busily using her computer to e-mail everyone he knew, however slightly. She could bump him, of course, but then what would he do all day? She remembered his book list and tried to figure out a time for a library trip. No point in buying thirteen books unless they weren’t available to borrow.
“I have to talk to Eric,” she said resolutely to herself.
The bogus romance had to end. Telling her father it was a hoax was no longer an option, not when he’d be there with her day and night expressing his disappointment with sad, mournful pronouncements. He took her single status as a personal affront because she rejected his opinion of it. He refused to believe she was happy the way she was and in no hurry to rush into a relationship just to satisfy him.
She dialed Eric’s office on her cell phone while she waited her turn to drive through a construction area. How she loathed those two-sided signs carried by the bored workers who reduced a four-lane road to one lane. There seemed to be a rule that the busiest lane had to wait the longest.
“Kincaid Veterinary Practice,” Della answered. “How may I help you?”
“Della, it’s Mindy Ryder. I desperately need to talk to the doctor.”
“Sorry, honey, he’s in the middle of a procedure. I can have him call you when office hours are over.”
“No, I need to talk to him now.”
“Has something happened to Peaches?” Della remembered pet names better than most people remembered people names.
“No, she’s fine. What about lunch? When does he take a lunch break?”
Traffic in Mindy’s lane started inching forward.
“I never know for sure. Sometimes he runs upstairs for a bite. Other days he’s so busy he just skips it.”
“Can you work me in anytime today?” She’d pay for an office visit if that was the only to talk to him.
“It must be really important.”
Della was curious. This was good. No doubt she remembered giving Eric the directions to her house.
“It is.”
“Tell you what, if you come over right now, I’ll squeeze you in as soon as humanly possible.”
“Thank you, Della, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
WHEN SHE GOT to Eric’s office, the prospects for seeing him very soon seemed grim. Half a dozen people were crowded into the area with a Noah’s ark of pets. The biggest gray cat she’d ever seen was perched on an elderly lady’s lap, glaring at a Saint Bernard waiting with stoic resignation. Mindy eyed a square red cardboard box barely large enough to hold a teapot. It had holes punched in the top. Did Eric treat snakes? She shuddered and hoped the hidden creature was something soft and furry like a gerbil.
“Mindy Ryder.” Della solemnly announced her name after only a couple minutes of waiting, giving her a nod.
She self-consciously walked to the door of the examining room, not at all comfortable about cutting to the front of the line.
“The procedure took longer than expected,” Della explained. “Please be as quick as you can. We’re really backed up today.”
“Thanks, Della. I appreciate this so much.”
She went through the swinging door to Eric’s examining room. It was empty, but only seconds later he came through another door that led to his hospital wing. He made eye contact for a second or two, and her heart thumped as enthusiastically as her dog’s tail usually did at the sight of the vet.
“Mindy, I didn’t expect to see you today. Where’s Peaches?” He went to the sink and started scrubbing his hands with pink liquid soap from a wall dispenser.
“I won’t take much of your time, but I had to see you. We really should’ve broken up yesterday.”
“You know, Mindy, I’m overbooked today.” He dried his hands on a paper towel. “Exactly why are you here?”
He sounded pleasant enough, but she hated the feeling that she was only a nuisance to a man who could turn her on with a smile.
“Dad’s decided to stay.”
“How long?”
“He didn’t say, but he canceled his flight home. He wants to get to know you better.” She paused. “Hey, is there a snake in your waiting room?”
“Doubt it, unless one slithered in by itself. About your father…”
“Yes, what about my father? If I calmly announce that we’re no longer an item, he’ll probably try to get us to reconcile. He won’t let it rest unless you do something unforgivably mean.”
“What did you have in mind?”
His scowl wasn’t enough to mar his good looks, and she was filled with regret. She should’ve kept going to the big impersonal vet clinic even if they had muzzled Peaches on her last appointment there. Mindy wouldn’t mind seeing Eric a lot more often than twice a year at her dog’s checkups, but by now he probably thought she was nothing but a nuisance. And here she was again, trying to use him to solve her problem.
“I shouldn’t have come. You’re busy, and you’ve already done more than I had any right to expect.”
She started to leave, but he stepped in front of the door and put both hands on her shoulders.
“But you did come, and I’m glad.”
What did he mean by that? She met his eyes and was even more confused. She shrugged, but he didn’t remove his hands.
“I’ll fake a breakup on the phone. I should’ve thought of it before I barged in on you,” she said apologetically.
“You didn’t barge. I told Della to send you in as soon as you got here.”
“But your waiting room is full.”
“Happens sometimes. I try, but…” He dropped his arms and turned away from her. “So your dad’s not leaving as scheduled, and he expects to see me….”
“Often, I’m afraid.”
“Then you and I had better strike a deal,” he replied, facing her again.
“A deal?”
Her shoulders felt warm where his hands had rested on top of her silky cherry-red ruffled blouse. She’d worn it with dressy gray slacks and low-heeled black pumps in anticipation of meeting a new client, hoping she’d look businesslike but imaginative. She looked good in red and hoped what she saw in Eric’s eyes was at least a trace of admiration.
“Maybe we can help each other out,” he said slowly.
The last time she’d heard that, her date had been trying to wiggle his fingers between her thighs. She looked at Eric’s hand, strong but gentle and soothing with his patients, then at his face. Who knew eyes could actually twinkle? Maybe he was only teasing about a deal, although he seemed too busy for games.
“Helpful is nice,” she said wanting to kick herself for sounding so clueless.
“There is something you can do for me.”
She dropped her eyes to the apex of his legs, which was not quite covered by the lab coat, then realized what she’d done and was mortified. She hadn’t intended to check him out, certainly not in his examining room where the air was heavy with disinfectant and tension.
He reached out, the back of his wrist brushing against her breast, but all he did was flip over the cameo pendant she was wearing.
“The backside was showing,” he said, his grin reminding her of the way she’d straightened his tie.
“I’m in a bind myself.” He sighed. “You can see how busy I am, but my mother has involved me in a big charity event to raise money for pet adoptions. Of course, she had an ulterior motive. She’s hoping I’ll meet the future mother of her grandchildren among the single women working in the event. She put me on the committee and expects me to help bring the thing together, thinking I’d be thrilled to get involved. Party planning isn’t my forte even if I had time to kill. But you’re a professional organizer…”
“It’s what I do for a living,” she said cautiously.
“I don’t want to let Mom down in front of her friends, but my idea of organizing is putting everything in a pile to worry about later.”
“What’s your deal?” she asked.
Once, as a kid back home in Pennsylvania, she’d been sliding down a snow-covered hill on a plastic sled when she hit a bump and headed straight for a tree. This felt the same way, but she didn’t have the option of wiping out on purpose and landing on soft snow.
“I’ll play Dr. Boyfriend if you’ll help me out on Mom’s charity event. Quietly. She doesn’t need to know you’re involved. I’ll go to the committee meetings and volunteer for as little as possible. Naturally most of the planning was done months ago. I call my mom’s group the committee for last-minute disasters. It doesn’t matter how far in advance they plan, something inevitably goes wrong. You handle what I’m supposed to be doing, and in exchange, your dad and I will be best buddies. He’ll go home sure you’re in good hands.”
There was nothing wrong with Eric’s proposal, but she couldn’t believe two competent adults were scheming to hoodwink their parents.
“Maybe we should both fess up instead,” she suggested.
“Take our medicine, get the spanking over with?” he asked.
“At least insist we’re mature adults who want to run our own lives.”
“Well spoken,” he said solemnly, “but I can’t do it without hurting Mom’s feelings, a lot. That’s just the way she is.”
“I can’t, either,” she admitted. “Dad misses Mom so much, he doesn’t want me to end up lonely and alone. It’s just that he’s so—so insistent.”
“So do we have a deal?” Eric asked.
She knew it was the answer to both their problems, at least temporarily, but it was only a little over six weeks until Christmas. She had parties to plan, people to consult, lists to cross off….
On the other hand, she hadn’t seen her father so happy and animated in a long time, even with his bum ankle keeping him housebound.
“Okay.” She said it with deep reluctance, but he smiled broadly.
“Shake.”
She lifted her hand to meet his. Strong fingers pressed against hers, and his firm palm felt wonderful. When his fingers brushed against her wrist, she felt ripples of pleasure course up her arm. One part of this charade would be a snap. She wouldn’t have any trouble pretending Eric was sexy and appealing.
He dropped her hand, and she had a terrible thought.
“You’re not involved…that is, seeing anyone else, are you? I wouldn’t want to interfere….”
“They’re lined up ten-deep to be with me,” he said with a grin, “but they’re all four-footed and furry.”
“Oh, my gosh, I forgot all those people in your waiting room. They must be ready to lynch me by now.”
“I’ll see you safely out.”
He opened the door, let her step through, and put his arm around her shoulders.
“Glad you stopped by, sweetheart,” he said for the benefit of his crowded waiting room.
He walked her to the outer door, opened it for her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
She could feel the hostility in the waiting room turn to curiosity. They forgave her line-jumping because they thought she was Dr. Eric’s love interest—or at least one of them.
“See you later,” he said.
He grinned broadly as a finale to his act just as she stepped outside. She stared after him as he walked back to the examining room. How sincere was he about this deal? Was it just a ploy to get rid of her? She’d hate the additional stress so much she’d bail? She couldn’t resist the sudden urge to test him.
“Eric!”
She held the door open as he turned to face her again.
“Dinner tonight at my house, seven o’clock?” she asked in an expectant tone.
