Her head was bent, her attention directed at the printed words. Riley couldn’t help but notice how the sunlight streaming through the window glinted off her hair, igniting it like golden fire. She looked like an entrancing goddess.
“Good nutrition,” he espoused verbatim from what he’d memorized since taking over as director, “is the foundation of good health.”
He let his gaze rove over her profile, along her high cheekbone, down her pert nose and the curve of her jaw-line.
“Choosing the healthiest forms of those four basic nutrients,” he continued, “and consuming them in the correct balance—” he took an instant to inhale the soft flowery scent of her “—will enable your body to function at its optimal level.”
Catherine Houston roused something in him. Something deep. Something basic. It was almost as if she were luring him—in a way he hadn’t been lured in a very long time.
Like a blaring horn, the dangerous thought snapped Riley out of the bizarre trance that had nearly ensnared him. He sat up straight, and with conscious effort, folded his hands into his lap.
Obviously he found the woman attractive. There was really nothing he could do about that. She was a beautiful woman. He was a red-blooded man. Physiologically, that was all it took.
She chose that moment to tip her head to the side and glance up at him. The smile she flashed beaned him like a two-by-four between the eyes, and his breath left him in a rush.
“Food is necessary,” he blurted.
Her smile magnified, and so did his internal reaction.
“What I meant to say is that good nutrition is necessary.” He slid his chair several inches from the table. “Look,” he told her, his tone sharper than he intended, “the information you have there in that booklet is self-explanatory. It’ll provide you with everything you need to know about nutrition and how what you eat affects your health. Read it at your convenience. If you have any questions, I’m sure Dr. Lassen would be happy to schedule another session with you.”
What poor business practice! Faye would be upset with him, for sure. But he needed to get away from Catherine Houston. She was short-circuiting his brainwaves and turning him into a blubbering idiot.
Her sexy mouth parted, her surprise apparent, and her full bottom lip became the all-encompassing focal point of his concentration. His gaze skittered across it, and he imagined slowly tracing the outline of the smooth, dusky skin, first with a soft caress of his thumb, then with moist strokes of his tongue.
He stood, his thigh hitting one corner of the booklet that overhung the table and sending it shooting a good foot toward the center of the table. He cleared his throat and raked his fingers through his hair.
“Are you all right?”
What was that accent? he wondered. Italian? Greek?
Riley patted his breast pocket with a shaky hand, and immediately wondered what the hell he was looking for. “Fine,” he said. “I’m fine. Like I said, read the book. And I’m sure Dr. Lassen will make herself available to you. She’d have been here today, but she was called to a meeting. And Sally’s out sick.”
“Yes,” Catherine replied quietly. “You said that.”
Great! As if uncalled-for rudeness weren’t enough, now he was looking downright dopey. The woman was turning him into a blubbering idiot!
“Of course, I did. I was just…” He nodded, letting the rest of the thought fade because he had no idea what the hell the rest of the thought was. He was just what? So preoccupied with this woman’s physical attributes that he’d lost track of what he had and hadn’t said? “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll point the way to the gym. I’m sure you can find it. You don’t seem directionally challenged.”
Directionally challenged? Where was his brain coming up with this crap?
“There’s a trainer wait—”
“Just a moment, please.”
Riley went silent. There was sudden authority in her voice he hadn’t heard before. He was just glad she’d said something that made him shut the hell up.
“I’ve been talking to some of the other clients,” she said. “They told me about a weight-loss aid that the clinic offers.”
“You want to lose weight?” He couldn’t keep the incredulity out of his query. It was really none of his business why she’d come to the clinic, and humiliating the clients with discourteously toned questions was a worse business practice than asking them to reschedule appointments. But…
Why on earth would she think she needed to lose weight?
Her cheeks tinged pink. “I’ve got these nagging five pounds.”
This was a prime example of why this job was going to send him round the bend. Helping to make perfect bodies even more perfect wasn’t his idea of practicing medicine.
“So buy bigger trousers.”
As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, Riley knew he’d made a terrible mistake.
But Catherine Houston didn’t tell him off as he expected. Even though she probably had every right to. However, she didn’t even seem insulted by his blunder. She remained amazingly composed.
No negative emotion tainted either her tone or her expression as she said, “Since buying bigger trousers isn’t an option for my next shopping excursion, I’d like to ask you about NoWait.” She paused, but not long enough for him to respond. “Everyone I’ve talked to just raves about the product. I’ve heard that it’s all-natural. Can you tell me about it? What’s it made of? How does it work? And how can I get my hands on a bottle?”
Riley pushed back the open facings of his lab coat and tucked his fists into his pockets. “I’m sorry to say the clinic isn’t endorsing NoWait at the moment. That could change, of course. And if it does, we’ll let you know. But—”
“Oh.” Her smile waned. “I’d heard such amazing things about it, though. I was told a dab of the oil behind the ears melts off the pounds.”
That was only one effect, unfortunately, Riley thought. The other one was a bit kinkier.
The decision to pull the oil made good sense. The change in the behavior of those who had been using NoWait was blatant. If word got out that the clinic was promoting a product that had people feeling uninhibited and spontaneously sexual, it could result in some very bad press for the clinic, and in this litigious day and age it could also mean lawsuits galore.
The silence grew awkward, and he realized she was waiting for more information. Well, she wouldn’t get it from him.
“Another way to accomplish your goal,” he said, “is by working out at our exercise facility.” Proud of his smooth transition, he continued, “The gym is on the second floor. Take the elevator at the end of the hall. You can’t miss it.”
From the look on her face, he could tell she recognized the dismissal for what it was. Her silky blond hair fell over her shoulder as she shifted to pick up the booklet from the table. She took her time sliding out of her chair, the muscles in her shapely legs tensing, long and lean.
Riley didn’t want to look, but he couldn’t help himself.
Placing her hands on the padded armrests, she raised up to her full height. She had excellent posture, he noticed, his gaze skimming along the flare of her hips, her trim waist, the lush curve of her breasts. His tongue stuck to the roof of his cottony mouth. He couldn’t swallow.
The woman was a knockout.
Her sapphire eyes flashed. “I want to thank you for the time you’ve spent