“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because we’re not dating.”
“One could argue that technically we’re on a date at this very moment.”
She seemed to consider that a moment, then met his gaze again. “I’m not your usual fare.”
“Exactly.”
She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He laughed at her expression, quite enjoying how her every thought was broadcast so plainly in her eyes. “Quit looking so perturbed, Ellie. I meant it as a compliment.”
If anything, her frown deepened. “Don’t call me that.”
“What? Ellie? It fits.” He spooned another bite of the cheesecake, but she wouldn’t even look at it, just shook her head, practically wincing.
“I don’t want any more and, no, that name doesn’t fit.”
He started to tempt her, knew he could, but realized there was more going on than she was telling him, something profound.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” he offered, watching every emotion flicker across her lovely face.
“What’s that?”
Had her voice broken? Her eyes were sparkling and not from looking at him but as if she was fighting back tears.
Ty reached across the table, took her hand in his and laced their fingers. “I’ll only call you Ellie when you steal my breath with your beauty.”
Not looking at him, she snorted. “That’s a deal I’ll gladly make, because I don’t want to be called that.” She took a deep breath, pulled her hand free of his and slipped on what he supposed was her game face. “Now, tell me more about this trip to Texas.”
Ty wanted to dig, wanted to know what made Eleanor tick, to know what had upset her, but now wasn’t the time for digging for details. At least, not into Eleanor’s life. His was another story altogether as he’d promised her the goods.
Eyeing Eleanor’s quiet expression, he couldn’t resist saying, “For the record, I wouldn’t count on not hearing me call you Ellie again. You’re a very beautiful woman. On the inside and the outside.”
She ignored his implication and his compliment. “So the trip’s for an entire weekend?”
“We’ll fly up on Thursday morning and can safely sneak out on Sunday afternoon under the need to get back to our patients. Should be a breeze, right?”
* * *
Four days with Ty Donaldson. Could she survive it? Because the man was a natural-born charmer and she really wasn’t equipped to deal with the likes of him. It would be so easy to believe in his quick lines.
To believe in the way he looked at her.
Because he looked at her as if he found her attractive. If she’d thought she’d imagined it the night of the ribbon-cutting, she’d been wrong. He was looking at her the same way right this minute. As if he found her interesting, desirable, beautiful—inside and out.
When he’d fed her, she’d almost died. No man had ever fed her, ever taken pleasure in doing such a simple act, but Ty had. When she’d opened her eyes after that first bite, she’d seen the pleasure in his eyes. He’d enjoyed feeding her every bit as much as she’d enjoyed him doing so.
Don’t read anything into it. You’ve seen how he’s gone through women at the hospital. You’re just this week’s flavor.
“Where I come from,” Ty continued, “the local rodeo is a very big deal. My brother and I grew up wanting to be rodeo stars, but we’re too tall.”
“Is that like one of those carnival rides where you have to be this tall to ride, only in reverse?” she teased, trying to picture Ty as a young boy.
He grinned. “You’re funny. Actually, most cowboys on the rodeo circuit are under five and a half feet tall.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s pretty short for a man.”
“But just right if you’re going to ride a bronco.”
If he said so. In her mind, she preferred thinking of cowboys as tall, dark, ruggedly handsome. Like Ty, actually. Which set off a whole slew of cowboy fantasies. Not good.
She could see Ty in worn jeans that fit just so, in a Stetson that sat upon his head just so, with no shirt on, of course, because in her mind he was all six-pack-and-muscle bound. And feeding her some light and flaky calorie-free delicacy that only paled in comparison to him.
She picked up her napkin, started to fan her face with it, realized what she was doing and dropped the cloth back into her lap.
“My father said you grew up on a ranch so I imagine you do ride, even if you are too tall to be a rodeo star,” she said, taking a sip of her water in the hope of moistening her dry mouth and cooling her libido, which was in overdrive.
“I was riding a horse before I could walk.” His grin widened, making her wonder if he could somehow read her thoughts and knew exactly the effect he was having on her body.
“Well,” he continued, his eyes twinkling, “not alone, but I’ve seen the pictures of me sitting on a horse in one person or another’s lap. Donaldsons pretty much go from birth to horse.”
“What about cows?”
“Nah, we don’t ride cows until we hit at least elementary-school age.” His lips twisted with amusement. “My nephew’s competing in the sheep-riding competition.”
“Sheep-riding? How old is he?” For the life of her, Eleanor couldn’t picture a wild bucking sheep trying to throw someone off its back. But what did she know about ranch life or rodeos?
“Don’t look so horrified. William is four. Feel sorry for the sheep. That kid is hell on wheels.”
The love in Ty’s words was strong, making Eleanor wonder yet again why he’d stayed away from Texas so long. “Takes after his uncle Ty?”
“Nah, that would make him the black sheep of the family.”
His answer startled Eleanor.
“I can’t imagine any family not being proud of your accomplishments.” Then again, didn’t her own parents look at her as if she was demented for working for a living?
“I should prepare you. My father and I had a disagreement, shall we say, about my career choice and where I chose to work.”
“Because he wanted you to practice in Texas?”
Ty’s face lost its playful edge. “Something like that. Quite frankly, darlin’, the man scares the daylight out of me.”
He said it jokingly, but there was no humor in his voice.
“Because you’re easily scared?” Her fingers toyed with the napkin in her lap, twisting one end back and forth.
“There’s a reason I work with babies.” Although his tone was teasing, something told her there was more to what Ty said than his actual words.
“I’m glad you work with babies, Ty. You’re an excellent doctor and your patients are very blessed to have you overseeing their first few months in this world.”
His smile was genuine and her compliment softened his eyes. “Ditto, Ellie.”
She frowned at his use of the nickname, but his grin held and he shrugged as if to say he couldn’t help himself.
“A deal’s a deal,” he reminded her.
Right. Because he’d looked across the table at her and she’d stolen his breath by her beauty and had felt the need to let her know.
“Tell