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Warmth seeped through Amy. “I thought of going, but Aunt Mary and I were figuring out what to fix for Thanksgiving.” It was only a few days away.
“Throw on some clothes and come join me.”
She’d rather he took off his clothes and joined her. Uh-oh. She hadn’t said that aloud, had she? “I’d better not,” Amy said. “I’m tired and it’s raining.”
“It’s stopped. Besides, we have some unfinished business.” His tone wasn’t exactly suggestive, and he certainly wasn’t applying pressure. It was more of an open invitation, leaving the decision to her.
Amy knew how she had to respond. “It’s best left unfinished.”
“We’ll see.” A couple of short breaths revealed that he was yawning.
“You’re tired,” she said. “Go home.”
“I needed somebody to tell me that,” Quent admitted. “I hope I’m not getting too old to party hearty anymore.”
“You’re nearly thirty.”
“Ouch!”
“A little maturity will look good on you,” she said.
“That’s encouraging.” In the background, someone turned up the volume. Nearly shouting, Quent added, “That could damage my hearing!”
“You’re definitely too old for that scene,” Amy said. “Go put on your tasseled nightcap and heat a water bottle for your tootsies. I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Count on it,” he said.
After ringing off, Amy couldn’t resist picturing what might have happened if she’d accepted his invitation. They’d have ended up alone at his apartment, stroking each other, kissing, sinking onto the couch with no one to interfere and no inconvenient tree to collapse on top of them….
She pushed the image away and picked up a psychology journal from the bedside table. It was half an hour before her eyes drifted shut again.
SHOES. Who knew they could be such a problem?
Amy’s size must have been wildly popular, because on Sunday her favorite department store was out of stock in all the pumps that appealed to her.
She didn’t blame Quent. She hadn’t mentioned packing her shoes, although heaven knew what the guy had been thinking.
Uh, wait. She did know. He’d been thinking about their hot-and-heavy madness on the couch. What else was a twenty-something guy supposed to think about?
Not to mention a thirty-something woman.
Amy tried not to survey the men as she raced down the mall to a specialty shoe store. She didn’t want to compare their butts—unfavorably—to Quent’s, or to notice how their hair lacked the wild springiness of his.
She was not going to view him as a sex object. He was her buddy and her respected colleague. And way too eager to make love to the woman of the world he assumed her to be.
If only they had met in an alternate reality where mindless fun carried no consequences, they could indulge themselves and go right on being friends and coworkers. If that were true, her images from last night would already have become a sizzling reality.
Giving herself a mental slap, Amy entered the store and picked out several pairs of pumps. At last, she found a pair that fit and finished paying barely in time to meet her two closest friends for their appointment at the bridal shop.
Natalie Winford, a blond divorcée with a wicked sense of humor, was getting married in two weeks to the administrator of Doctors Circle. A pediatrician who’d left his practice to work full-time as director, Patrick was the son of the clinic’s late founder.
Natalie, his longtime secretary, had nursed her secret love for years until the two of them got carried away one night after a party to raise money for the center’s Endowment Fund. Now here she was, due to deliver a baby next May and deliriously happy after discovering that Patrick had been secretly in love with her, too.
Several weeks earlier, the attendants had picked out their turquoise bridesmaids’ gowns along with matching hats. The problem, once again, was the shoes.
“I’m sorry,” the store proprietor said, holding up a pair of emerald pumps. “They came out the wrong color. I called you as soon as I saw them.”
“Dye another batch,” Natalie said promptly.
“The company we use is backlogged, and so is everyone else,” the woman said. “I’m terribly sorry. I’ve called all over Orange and Los Angeles counties and I haven’t had any luck.”
“We could wear white shoes,” suggested their friend Heather Rourke, an obstetrician who was on two months’ leave for personal reasons. “Or would we be stepping on the bride’s toes?”
“If that was an intentional pun, I’m going to stick you with a diaper pin,” Amy said.
Heather laughed. “I don’t think they make diaper pins anymore. Everything’s got Velcro or tape.”
“You should know.”
“Just call me Diaper Lady!”
The beautiful redhead had recently admitted to her two closest friends, after swearing them to secrecy, that she’d given up a baby for adoption while in her teens. Following the deaths of the adoptive parents, her daughter Olive had contacted her, and they’d become close. Then Olive became pregnant.
Heather had taken leave to coach her daughter through childbirth while Olive’s fiancé served overseas in the marines. Now the new mother and baby Ginger were staying with Grandma, which seemed to Amy an absurd title for such a young-looking thirty-six-year-old. No one else at the center knew anything about the situation, and Heather, who prized her privacy, intended to keep it that way.
“I wish my sister hadn’t had to work today so you could all pick out your shoes,” Natalie said. “We’re getting awfully close to the wedding.”
“Candy doesn’t have to wear the same shoes we do,” Heather pointed out. “She’s the maid of honor.”
“I don’t see why any of our shoes have to match,” Amy said. “Who’s going to notice? We’ll look weird enough as it is, wearing turquoise at the reception. I assume the Barr mansion will be decked out in red and green as usual.”
Every year, Patrick hosted the Doctors Circle staff and supporters at a holiday party the first week in December. Since he and Natalie had become engaged at the end of October, they’d had such a short time to prepare that they’d decided to let the annual event do double duty.
“I thought about having a Christmas-themed wedding,” Nat admitted. “But red is too far out and I couldn’t stick you guys with bright green dresses.”
“Thanks, more than you’ll ever know,” Amy said.
She couldn’t imagine how brides kept track of all the details and conventions, anyway. If she ever got married, she’d have to elope, because otherwise she would make a whole series of embarrassing faux pas.
“I’m glad you picked turquoise and silver,” Heather said. “The church will be beautiful.”
“Silver! That’s it!” Although Amy had the fashion sense of a sea slug, she knew she’d hit on something this time. “Last year at Patrick’s Christmas reception, there were silver bows on the staircase. If we wear silver shoes, they’ll work at the wedding and the reception.”
“Silver would be lovely,” Natalie agreed.
“I don’t suppose you have any silver shoes on hand, do you?” Heather asked the proprietor.
“I’m afraid not.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon traipsing around the mall, and found two attractive styles of silver sandals that would look fine side by side. Heather’s had a higher heel, which evened things up a bit, since she was five inches shorter than Amy.
“Candy can pick up a pair next week,” Natalie said. “Hooray! We’re done!”
A few minutes later, the bride waved farewell, since she’d parked near a different exit than her friends. As Heather and Amy sauntered in the opposite direction, Heather said, “Now that we’ve got a moment alone, I’d like to ask a favor.”
“Is it baby-sitting? I don’t have much experience, but I’d be glad to give it a try.” Amy had been fascinated by the babies she’d seen through the nursery window en route to talk to Quent on Friday.
“Thanks, but it’s not baby-sitting,” Heather said. “It’s about the Moms in Training program.”
Both women volunteered at a program for pregnant teenagers. Amy offered counseling and collected donations from the community to help the young women. Heather gave advice about healthy pregnancies. In private conversations with some of the girls, she had also confided about her own experiences as an unwed mother and how adoption had helped her get her life on track.
“What can I do?” Amy asked.
“I’d like a pediatrician to come discuss child development. The director asked me to try to set something up for next Saturday. It’s Thanksgiving weekend, but most of the girls want to meet anyway.” Heather tore herself away from the shop window. “I’d also like you both to talk a little about child discipline.”
“Great idea,” Amy said. “I’d be glad to help.”
They were passing her favorite video-game store, and she couldn’t resist eyeing the display. Half hidden in one corner was a copy of Global Oofstinker, a goofy game about a cartoon skunk trying to take over the world.
The reviews had been mediocre, and so were the sales. Too bad. The manufacturer, WiseWorld Global Productions, had promised a donation to the Doctors Circle’s Endowment Fund drive, but the size of the donation was pegged to the game’s success.
“The favor I’m asking involves more than just your participation.” Heather gave an embarrassed cough.
“Well, don’t have a hacking fit on my account,” Amy said. “Spit it out.”
Heather laughed. “I should have known to get to the point with you.”
“Always!”
“I’d like you to ask Quentin Ladd to give the talk,” her friend said as they strolled. “Whoever joins us is likely to hear about Olive and Ginger. You know how strongly I feel about my privacy.”
“And we both know how the tongues can wag at Doctors Circle,” Amy noted.
“Natalie says everyone’s been speculating about the reasons for my personal leave. It would be too good a tidbit for one of the older doctors to keep to himself.”
“Whereas Quent’s new on the block,” Amy finished for her. “And he’s a great guy. He won’t shoot his mouth off if we ask him not to.”
“Exactly,” Heather said. “So you’ll talk to him?”
“You bet.”
Amy didn’t know why, underneath her confidence, she felt a tremor of uncertainty. She and Quent were buds, right? Why shouldn’t she ask him?
She and Heather emerged into crisp sunshine, yesterday’s bad weather having vanished with the sea breezes. Amy said goodbye and didn’t give the subject of Quentin another thought for at least, oh, thirty seconds.
She wasn’t thrilled that Heather had asked her to include him in yet another aspect of her life. They’d have to work closely together on their presentation about discipline.
Talk about discipline! When it came to Quent, Amy needed some of her own. She’d thought of him first thing this morning, kissing her until her lips were swollen. Pulling her onto his lap. Rubbing her breasts.
Still, inviting him to speak was for the good of the young moms-to-be, so she’d do it. Amy got into her car and sat there enjoying the warmth after the briskness of the November day. Heck, she told herself, she could deal with Quent and any feelings that might crop up.
Her dad had always told her that, whenever she found herself in a difficult situation, she should take charge. “Don’t wait for other people to come to your rescue,” he’d said. “If you want something, go for it.”
That advice had helped Amy become a star in high-school sports. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked as well when, tired of being the gawky kid who sat home on Saturday nights, she’d applied it to boys.
After she’d commandeered a couple of dates for school dances during her sophomore year, the guys she liked started to edge away when they saw her coming. At last someone admitted that she’d earned the nickname “The Bulldozer.” Embarrassed, Amy had decided to back off and wait until a boy asked her out first.
She’d spent the rest of high school waiting. After a while, she’d been accepted back as one of the guys, but she never seemed to light any romantic fires.
Well, she wasn’t going to ask Quent to a dance, Amy reminded herself. It was his professional skills she required, nothing more.
HER FIRST CLIENTS on Monday morning were parents whose three-year-old son had become disruptive after the recent birth of a baby sister. They were happy to receive a list of suggestions, including spending time alone with the preschooler and making sure visitors paid him plenty of attention.
“We think of him as grown-up in comparison to the baby,” the mother said. “Now I realize he’s still a baby himself.”
Amy was glad to help. She wished she had more personal experience with young children to contribute, but thank goodness there were experts to rely on. Plus, she’d always had an instinctive sympathy for kids, a sensitivity to the needs and emotions they weren’t able to voice.
When she opened the door at the end of the session, the sharp smell of paint wafted in from the hallway. Her clients said goodbye, then picked their way out through a maze of stepladders and spattered drop cloths.
The whole complex, including the east and west office wings and the three-story Birthing Center, was getting a face-lift. Amy liked the new colors of yellow, aqua and mint green, although she wasn’t crazy about the odor that pervaded the west wing, where she worked.
She especially wasn’t looking forward to the disruption when her own office got painted. Still, the beige walls could use freshening and she’d decided to have the worn couch and chairs recovered. Also, she was tired of the framed photographs of children and young couples, and this would give her a good excuse to replace them.
The idea of redecorating reminded Amy of her condo, so she put in a call to her association’s manager. The news was not good.
The weekend’s storm had done considerable damage around town, and most repairmen had more work than they could handle, he told her. Although the tree had been removed and his handyman had nailed boards into place, no roofers would be available for several weeks.
There was some good news, though, he said. The building inspector had left word that she could move back in during the interim.
Sure she could, Amy thought, as long as she didn’t mind a mildewing carpet and the messed-up ceiling. She planned to replace them, but that would take time, too.
Until the place was finished, Aunt Mary’s house was a better bet for her peace of mind. Although her aunt ran a small day-care center downstairs on weekdays, the large, comfortable home was quiet at other times.
Amy thanked the manager, hung up and fetched a cup of coffee from the break room. Resolutely, she put the condo out of her mind and turned her attention to two job applicants who’d arrived for their screening tests. As the only full-time psychologist at Doctors Circle, Amy handled a range of tasks involving staff members as well as patient families.
While she waited for the pair to finish the written tests, she tried not to wince at the whine of saws echoing from across the medical complex. The east wing’s lower floor was being remodeled into an expanded infertility center, scheduled to open in April. An infertility expert named Jason Carmichael had been hired as the director.
After her two charges departed, Amy met with a new mother and her husband who needed help dealing with the woman’s overbearing parents. Talking earnestly, they overstayed their hour, and Amy was too absorbed to cut them off.
By the time they left, she had less than thirty minutes for lunch. From a drawer, she removed a packaged tuna salad kit.
“Eating at your desk isn’t healthy, you know.” Under cover of the racket from across the way, Quent had arrived in her doorway undetected. He didn’t have far to travel, since his clinic was down the hall.
Above the white coat and stethoscope, his blond hair flopped raffishly onto his forehead. Despite her resolve to keep her distance, Amy’s spirits leaped.
“Don’t tell me you have time to go out for a three-course meal,” she said.
“I planned to invite you to take your repast with me in the courtyard.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Want to come?”
The office wings flanked a center court. Its tiled fountain, coffee kiosk, benches and round concrete tables made it a popular spot for lunch.
“I can’t. I’ve got an appointment at one.” The way Quent was grinning at her, Amy wondered if she’d dabbed mayonnaise on her nose. She stifled the instinct to check a hand mirror, but she couldn’t stop herself from patting her French braid to make sure her hair remained in place.
“Why are you wiggling so much? It makes you look twitchy,” he said.
“Is that like bewitching?”
“It’s more like itchy,” Quent joked. “It must be all the noise and smell around here. You should come with me to the Casbah.”
“That sounds faintly indecent.” Oops. She didn’t want to ruin her “been there, done that” image. “Not that I’m against moral decadence, but not on my lunch break.”
“Okay. Why don’t you come over to my apartment tonight instead?” he said. “I’m working the late shift but I’ll be done by seven.”
Before Saturday, Amy hadn’t worried about giving Quent the wrong idea because he treated her like one of the boys, but that had changed. “What are you proposing?”
“How about Ping-Pong, followed by getting to know each other a little better?” He waggled one eyebrow suggestively, à la Groucho Marx.
“You have a Ping-Pong table in your apartment?” It didn’t fit with her mental image of a seductive bachelor pad.
“It was either that or a pool table, and Ping-Pong is more portable in case I have to move,” he said. “How about it?”
She’d love to play. But that wasn’t all he had in mind, and Amy knew where it would lead. “No, thanks.”
Quent regarded her with a crestfallen expression. “Is it my breath?”
“No!” Amy laughed. “It’s just…I mean, I’d rather keep it light. I already told you…” An idea hit her. “Actually, there is something I want to discuss.”
“Great!” He beamed at her, lighting up the room. “We can talk over pizza at my place.”
“We can discuss it now.” She checked her watch. Fifteen minutes to go. “It’s about the Moms in Training program.”
“Something I can help with?” Quent straightened. “I’d be glad to.”
Amy explained Heather’s request about the presentations. “You’re the expert on infant development. When it comes to child discipline, you could provide a pediatrician’s perspective and I could discuss it from a counseling perspective.”
Quent was all business now. “It would be my pleasure, but shouldn’t you pick a doctor who has kids of his own?”
Amy decided to level with him. “There’s another matter involved that calls for discretion, and I’m afraid the other doctors might be tempted to gossip. It concerns Heather.”
“What about her?”
She searched for a way to explain without revealing too much. “About the reason she took leave. It’s likely to come out when you visit the center.”
“What’s all the mystery?” Quent asked.
“It’s not my story to tell,” Amy said. “I’d just ask that you keep anything you learn confidential.”
“Okay. I promise not to blab any deep dark secrets.” After a moment’s thought, Quent added, “You realize we’re going to have to meet to prepare our joint program.”
Amy was about to say they could do it at the office, when she realized it wouldn’t be appropriate. Although her involvement with the young mothers was good public relations for Doctors Circle, it was a volunteer job and shouldn’t be done on her work time. “I suppose so.”
“Which brings us full circle,” Quent said cheerfully. “Seven o’clock at my place. I’ll buy the pizza.” He wrote the address on a scratch pad and handed it to her. “We’ll keep it strictly on the up and up. Unless, by mutual consent, we decide to lie down on the job.”
“Don’t count on it.”
“A guy can hope, can’t he?”
A figure appeared behind Quent in the doorway. Gray of complexion, with pouches that gave his eyes a perpetual squint, Dr. Dudley Fingger wore the frown of a disapproving bureaucrat. “There you are, Dr. Ladd. You were due back from lunch five minutes ago.”
“Really?” Quent looked at his watch, then made a show of putting it to his ear, frowning and shaking it.
Amy hid a smile. Dr. Fingger was a fussbudget whose plodding sternness never failed to stimulate Quent’s penchant for teasing.
Seniority had led to Dudley Fingger’s appointment one month ago as temporary director of the Well-Baby Clinic. His predecessor, Dr. Spencer Sorrell, had been a pompous bully whose departure had been cause for celebration.
“The gift shop carries an excellent selection of watches,” Dr. Fingger said solemnly.
“I’ll check it out. Should I go there now?” Quent asked with pretended earnestness.
“You have patients waiting!”
“Oh, I see,” Quent answered. “I guess I should go back to work then, huh?”
“Yes, you should,” said his supervisor. “Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Ravenna.”
“No problem.” Amy wondered if she should suggest that the strait-laced pediatrician address her as “Doctor,” just to amuse Quent, but decided against it.
Given his nature, Dr. Fingger would no doubt go around insisting that everyone call her Dr. Ravenna. Although she’d earned her Ph.D., she didn’t like to use the title in case people got the mistaken idea that she was a physician.
Quent started off, then returned to poke his head in the door. “Tonight.” With a wink, he scooted away.
Amy chuckled. What a scoundrel!
She sobered at the realization that she would be spending the evening alone with Quent. She’d have to rely on her strength of will to keep him at arm’s length.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
Chapter Four
Amy tried on two outfits while deciding what to wear to Quent’s house. If she’d had any more clothes with her, she would have tried those on, too.
“This must be some hot date,” said her cousin Kitty, who’d popped in to visit and was reclining atop the brightly colored comforter on the double bed. At seventeen, she had an outgoing nature and plenty of curiosity.
Unfortunately, there was no question of borrowing her clothes. Not only was she shorter than Amy, but she preferred skin-tight pants and tops.
“I’m just going to see my friend Quent.” Amy turned sideways to study her jeans and pink turtleneck in the full-length mirror. “We’ve got some work-related stuff to discuss.”
If she wanted to look her best, she was going to have to buy a mirror like this when she got back into her condo, she decided. Or maybe she should give away every mirror she owned and put on her makeup by feel. There was much to be said for giving your appearance as little thought as possible.
“I’ll bet he’s cute.” Kitty flipped back a long strand of brown hair.
“He is,” Amy agreed. “But he’s not for me.”
“Why not?”
“Too much of a playboy,” she said.
“If he’s in love with you, he’ll change,” advised her cousin with wisdom accumulated from years of watching TV shows.
“He’s not in love with me.” Amy shrugged off the pink turtleneck and returned to her first choice, a blue work shirt.
“He never will be, either, if you dress like a boy!” Kitty said. “No offense or anything.”
“Don’t you have homework to do?”
Her cousin heaved an exaggerated sigh, the kind that teenagers reserve for grown-ups. “I do my homework after dinner.”
“Your mom doesn’t make you do it first? Lucky you! My dad was really strict,” Amy said.
“Mom says parents have to pick their battles. As long as I keep my grades up and help out with the day-care kids during school break, she doesn’t nag me.”
That bit of motherly wisdom made sense to Amy. She stored it away to share with the Moms in Training.
After tucking in the work shirt, she decided she looked fine for tonight. The only thing she lacked was a coat.
“Do you have a jacket I could borrow?” She made a mental note to stop by her condo and pick up more clothes, now that she was allowed inside.