A Doctor's Confession. Dianne Drake

Then there will be those, like Ivy Comfort, who won’t even acknowledge you.” She smiled. “Ever.”

      “Even if I prescribe an anti-inflammatory for her that does more for her than her herbs?”

      “Even if you prescribe an anti-inflammatory for her that cures her rheumatism. That’s just the way she is. The way a lot of people here are, and you’ll have to accept it. As in not taking it personally when Ivy walks in that door and instructs you to fix her a cup of coffee.”

      Alain laughed. “Actually, I make a pretty mean cup of coffee, so Miss Ivy and I might just hit it off.”

      “Don’t count on it,” Maggie warned, smiling. She liked this man. Liked his seriousness, liked the way he fixed on his task. And, Lord knew, she’d watched a good bit of that these past few days.

      “So what you’re telling me is that in order to get along in these parts, I’d be better off sticking to my carpentry work?”

      “Probably.”

      He smiled, and arched wicked, sexy eyebrows. “Then I guess that’s what I’d better get back to. If you need me …” He raised fingers to his mouth and faked a whistle.

      “Trust me, I will.” With a fair amount of pleasure, actually. “Oh, and, Alain, I’ll know more from my law firm tomorrow on whether or not they’re going to take on your case. The partners are going to have a meeting on it first thing in the morning.”

      “Any indication, one way or another?”

      She shook her head. “Although I can say that they usually go with my recommendations. In fact, the only thing they ever fully reject is my suggestion for the office Christmas party. I like glitz and glitter and all the trimmings, and they like to keep it … sedate.”

      “You don’t like sedate?”

      “For a holiday, it’s boring. And why be boring when you can be over-the-top?”

      “An over-the-top overachiever.” He gave her a slight bow as he stepped off the front porch. “I bow to your abilities.”

      “And I accept that bow,” she said, laughing. Yes, she really liked this man. Now all she had to do was get him out of the mess he was in. Which meant, if the partners took him on as a client, no mixing of business and pleasure. Too bad, as she had an idea the pleasure part could have been way over-the-top, as well.