“It’s an easy shot for me on the bus, Ted. There’s no sense in driving to my house only to drive back to yours.”
“I don’t mind.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him move toward her.
She finally looked at him. Big mistake. Even with his nerd glasses and lab coat on, he looked sexy. Crazy sexy. Like she-wanted-to-kiss-him-for-hours sexy.
“Are you all right, Sara Beth?”
Desire and guilt battled for control in her head. She couldn’t tell him how hot she found him, nor could she tell him that the moment she was allowed into the vault, she would do something completely unethical. For a woman who’d always prided herself on her integrity—
“Sara Beth?”
She sat. She didn’t want to come across as rude, but she really needed him to go away. “I’m just anxious to get to work.”
He didn’t go away. In fact, he moved closer, into her personal space, stealing her oxygen. “Have you changed your mind? Would you prefer not to help me shop?”
She shook her head. Once she made a commitment to someone or something, she followed through. But this would be it, she decided. One time only. “I just don’t think you need to pick me up on Saturday.”
He stared at her. She stared back, trying to keep her expression bland.
“Good morning, all,” Chance Demetrios said as he breezed through the door. He came to a quick stop and looked from Sara Beth to Ted. “Everything okay?”
“Apparently,” Ted said, then walked back to his computer.
Chance lifted his brows at Sara Beth. She smiled. “Something I can help you with?”
“I just sent Mrs. Jordan next door to be prepped for a C-section. I thought you’d like to assist.”
She hopped up. “Absolutely. If you don’t mind, Ted?”
“Someone special?” Ted guessed.
“Candy Jordan was my first patient when I started working here full-time. She went through seven implantations before it finally took, and now she’s pregnant with triplets. I’ve held her hand a lot.”
Ted gestured toward the door. “By all means, go.”
She hesitated, then looked at Chance. “See you in a few.” He left.
She waited for the door to shut. “I’ll come back later and work,” she said to Ted.
“You can skip a day. It’s fine.”
She couldn’t get a handle on his mood. Which was probably fair, since she hadn’t let him get a handle on hers. She moved up beside him. “I don’t want to skip a day. I’ll work later on.”
“Whatever works out.”
He hadn’t stopped staring at his screen. She wondered if she’d offended him. “Does it bother you that I turned down your offer in order to ride the bus to your home?”
He made eye contact. “You’re doing me a favor, Sara Beth. A big favor. The least you can do is let me pick you up.”
So he was upset about that. “You’re right. Thank you. Yes, I’d appreciate that.” She said goodbye then left.
So. They’d had their first fight. She smiled. She’d thought Ted was extraordinarily patient, but even his patience could be tested when he wasn’t getting his own way.
Frankly, she was glad to see this new side of him. And wanted to see a whole lot more.
Chapter Six
Ted considered patience his strongest asset, and his ability to concentrate a close second. He could spend hours doing one thing, and only one thing, not even taking time to eat. Patience intact, he got to Sara Beth’s house a few minutes early, hoping that parking spaces would open up along the crowded street of homes on Saturday morning as people went off for the day.
He didn’t have to wait at all, a car pulling out just as he got there. He parked but stayed in the car, knowing she would be watching for him, sure of that much about her.
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. She was surprisingly stubborn for someone known at the institute as a nurturer. He hadn’t seen evidence of any nurturing toward himself.…
Which was fine with him. He’d never liked women who hovered. Not only did Sara Beth not hover, she kept a good distance—except for that night at his parents’ house, and technically, he’d closed that gap several times. Having her working in the lab had been fine, unless she came to him with a question, her lemony scent breaking his concentration even before she talked.
He wasn’t used to having his concentration broken so easily. It should annoy him, he supposed, but instead he was comfortable. He’d felt comfortable with a number of women, but not ones he’d had interest in touching.
He wanted to touch Sara Beth.
The front door of her building opened. She came out wearing jeans and a beige jacket that came to midthigh. She was pulling on gloves. Her hair was down and tucked into her jacket. Her warm breath misted around her in the cold morning air. Something caught her attention overhead, and she stopped, shading her eyes, then smiled. A bird, probably.
He tried to remember the last time he had stopped to watch a bird.
All work and no play—Was he that dull?
He climbed out of his car, leaned on the top. “You’re prompt.”
“So are you.”
“You say that as if it surprises you.”
“I had a fleeting thought that you may get involved in something and forget me.”
“Not a chance.” Not a chance in hell, he thought, as she got into his car.
He climbed in, too, then held out a cup of coffee with cream, which he’d noticed was how she took it, and a chocolate doughnut with chocolate frosting. “Good morning,” he said.
She yanked off her gloves, tucked them in her lap, then accepted his offering. She toasted him with the coffee cup. “It is now.”
Her eyes sparkled above the rim. Something shifted inside him, not uncomfortably, exactly, although not completely identifiable.
Ted started the engine and pulled away, but caught her eyeing him. “What?”
“Do you even own a pair of jeans?”
“Of course I do. Why?”
“You’re always so dressed up, that’s all. This is Saturday. Play day.”
“I play fine in these clothes.” But it got him thinking. If clothes made the man, did that mean he never played? This would take some thought, he decided.
The trip to his loft didn’t take long and was mostly silent as he spent the time wondering if she saw him as being uptight, while she enjoyed the coffee and doughnut during the drive. He ate when he was hungry, didn’t much care what it was. It refueled him, which was the purpose of eating. But watching her savor the chocolate frosting by licking it off the doughnut—
He looked away and just drove. Hadn’t he been the one to chastise Chance for his dalliances in the past? In the end, it didn’t matter if you were innocent of making unwanted advances. If people perceived otherwise, you were dead in the water.
He pulled into his underground parking space, almost commenting about how quiet she’d been, then decided not to. She didn’t seem bothered by their lack of conversation. Her smile was as bright as usual. There was no stiffness in her shoulders, if she was