“Ouch,” she exclaimed loudly as she took a step forward.
He knelt on one knee and visually inspected her ankle.
“What happened?”
She grimaced as embarrassment mingled with pleasure at the caring look in his warm, brown eyes.
“I think I might have twisted it getting out of the car.”
He balanced his elbow on one knee and kept his gaze on her.
“Clumsy much?” he asked, his tone playful.
“Lots much,” she admitted. “I guess I’m overdressed. I probably should have worn flats, but I assumed this location would be paved.”
“You look fine,” he said, casting his eyes up her body, clad in a soft floral-print dress that hit just above her knees.
Anthony kept his eyes on hers. “May I examine you?”
Despite having grown up in a family of physicians, she never liked going to one. However, she would make an exception for Anthony. This was a chance to be touched by one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen.
For medical purposes only, of course.
Her ankle didn’t even hurt that much anymore, but she decided to keep that little tidbit to herself.
She nodded her consent and held her breath.
“Tell me if any of this hurts,” he instructed, before looking down at her ankle.
Anthony began to palpate her flesh, and she bit her lip as her loins began to quiver with every gentle touch. She could feel the low heat emanating from his palms and wondered what he would do to treat her if she fainted right on the spot.
The pads of his thumbs pressed and circled over her skin, little ripples of wonder that journeyed up through her body. She knew she shouldn’t be feeling this way. The man was a physician, and he was only doing his job, but she couldn’t help it. His fingers were skilled and felt so good that she didn’t want him to stop.
Anthony tilted his head up. “Any pain?”
Liza shook her head. “I think you massaged it all out of me.”
He slowly removed his hands from her ankle.
“See if you can rotate it comfortably.”
She did as he asked, and though there was a tinge of pain, she’d survive.
“I’m okay now, thanks.”
He stood up and dusted a few pieces of gravel from his dark blue slacks. As he did, she watched his muscled arms flex under his light gray T-shirt.
“Great taste,” she said.
Anthony looked down at his pants. “What? You mean these?”
“No, not in clothes,” she said. “In cars. You have great taste in vehicles.”
Puzzlement crossed his face, and she half covered her mouth, realizing that she’d just insulted him.
“Not to say that you don’t have good taste in clothes, too,” she said, trying to recover. “It’s just weird to see you in normal clothes, and not just a lab coat.”
He crossed his arms in a way that made her heart skip a beat. His biceps nestled against his sides in that casually sexy way that only some men could achieve.
“What’s so strange about it? I’m a regular guy who wears regular clothes,” he said, sounding off-put.
“I’m sorry. My dad and uncle were physicians, and I saw them so much in their hospital scrubs that whenever they didn’t have that stuff on, it always surprised me.”
He grinned, lowering his voice. “I guess I’m not used to having someone notice.”
The man had to be joking, she thought. Who wouldn’t notice a body like his?
Their eyes met, and a sudden spark was there. It was indefinable, yet she could feel it and knew he was aware of it, too. She made a show of brushing her hands together as if she could simply rid herself of what she’d just experienced between them.
“There’s a first time for everything.”
He laughed. “No kidding. I wasn’t expecting you to drive a truck.”
She put one hand on her hip. Now, who was insulting whom?
“Women can’t drive trucks?”
“Hold on. I never said that. But you should be wearing jeans or maybe a cowboy hat. Not a sundress and heels.”
Liza stared at him, openmouthed. “I know I’m dressed a bit formally, but I’m here for a meeting, not a hoedown.”
He laughed again, and she couldn’t help but smile, feeling exasperated and pleased.
“Actually, when I drove up and saw your truck, my first thought was that someone was trying to break in.”
She took a quick glance behind her and shivered. “Into this old place? It looks like the Bates Motel. Besides, do I look like a burglar to you?”
Anthony leaned against his own vehicle, an easygoing quality in his stance.
“No. Not at all.” He grinned, regarding her. Not in an offensive way but rather curiously. More appreciative of...what? she wondered. Something. It was the unknown that made her blush.
She cleared her throat and carefully picked her way over the gravel, being mindful of reinjuring her ankle.
“I’m surprised anybody would know this place is here. It’s near the highway but still pretty secluded. I even drove past it a couple of times.”
He joined her on the cracked sidewalk that led to the motel’s office. “I know. But the sale was listed in a few local papers several weeks ago. Ever since, there have been some issues. A few more broken windows to christen the ones already here.”
“The location will certainly give your patients plenty of privacy, that’s for sure.”
She pointed to the long entranceway. “Those trees lining the private road in here must be sixty feet tall!”
“Yes, I’ve been advised to get rid of them, but I never will. Privacy aside, those trees are home to hundreds of birds.”
“The property is still zoned commercial, I assume?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. I checked with City Hall before I purchased it, and we’re good to go there. Of course, once I decide on the final design, we’ll have to submit it to the commercial zoning board for approval.”
“And there will be construction and other permits to secure as well. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything,” she replied confidently, as if she already had the job.
Anthony glanced down at her ankle again. “If you’re sure you’re okay, I’ll give you the grand tour.”
“I’m fine. I just need to grab something from my truck.”
Liza walked back to her vehicle, ignoring the whisper of pain in her ankle, and retrieved her camera. Taking pictures of the existing property would help her get a sense of scale, although she wished the motel were already torn down. It would have made visualizing another building in its place a lot easier.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Due to his long legs, Anthony edged out a bit ahead of her. He slipped his hands into his front pockets, stretching the fabric of his pants over his tight buttocks.
“As you can see, the property has been vacant for a while,” Anthony explained. “Once you get past the trees, it doesn’t look like much from the front. But I bought this place fairly inexpensively, considering that the value is in