“Don’t be so hasty, babe. We’ve known each other a long time, we’re friends, right?”
Hearing the endearment made her mouth flatten.
“Come on, Ivey. You were attracted to me once.”
Once...past tense. Yes, Geoff was a good-looking man. Fit, tall enough so that she didn’t feel gangly beside him, his brown hair neatly trimmed and his blue eyes sparkling.
She didn’t care anymore. Never again would she be romantically involved with him, but something more casual? If he truly meant mere friendship, she could probably handle that.
To make sure, she asked, “Friendship? Certainly. Not yet, but sometime in the future, that would be fine.” She pushed back her chair. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to discuss the finer points another day. I have patients waiting.”
When she started around him, he caught her arm. “Ivey, wait.” His thumb rubbed above her elbow in a not-so benign way. He stepped up close behind her. Too close. “If I have to start as friends, hey, I can work with that.” His voice dropped and his warm breath teased her temple. “But we could be friends with benefits, don’t you think?”
Oh good Lord. His attention now was so ironic, she could laugh. Seriously, she’d given him every opportunity to show interest, to find even a spark of chemistry, and he’d chosen to play games on his phone instead.
Now that she’d ditched him, he wanted convenient sex? Less than a month ago, she’d repeatedly offered convenient sex, and he’d turned it down.
She said with exaggerated humor, “No, I don’t think so. Thanks anyway.”
“We were good together, babe.”
She’d thought so, until he’d lost interest. Whenever she tried to initiate things, it had always been a toss-up whether he’d be agreeable or not. Lately, the scale had tipped to the negative and she had no desire to put herself through that type of rejection again.
“We might have been once.” Back in the beginning. “But not for a while.”
“Ouch. I’ll take that one on the old ego.” He put a smiling kiss to her temple.
Which prompted her to shove away from him. She was just turning to face him, ready to hit him with some hard truths, when another knock sounded on the door and it opened, bumping her in the back.
She moved forward, which brought her closer to Geoff, before she turned...and found Corbin and Justin standing there.
Corbin lifted both brows, and oddly enough, he appeared cheerfully determined. “Hope said it was fine to come on in. Maybe she didn’t know you were busy.”
Belatedly, Ivey realized that Geoff had both hands on her shoulders. She quickly shrugged him off and took a step forward again. Closer to Corbin.
Heart quickening in pleasure, she said, “Geoff was just leaving.” Had Hope sent Corbin in specifically to interrupt? Such a true friend. Pretending Geoff wasn’t there, she smiled. “It’s so good to see you both again. Come on in. I’m sorry I don’t have more room—Geoff, if you wouldn’t mind?” She nudged him away from the only extra chair.
Justin, being a sweet kid, jumped in with buzzing energy. “We’re here about a pet!”
It was nice to see him so animated. “Is that so?”
“You said you could give us some guidance?” Corbin casually stepped in front of Geoff beside Justin’s seat.
Really, there was no place for Geoff to go but out. He reached past Corbin and cupped Ivey’s cheek. “We’ll talk more about this later.”
Rearing back from his touch, Ivey said, “I’ll be busy all week.” The way she bared her teeth felt more like a snarl than a smile. “Thanks, though.”
Geoff’s face fell dramatically.
Yeah, she could have been a little smoother, but as she’d already admitted, that wasn’t her forte. Talking to animals? That she managed quite well. Dealing with worried pet parents? Piece of cake. Pushy exes? Not so much—especially in situations like this one where they were all crowded together in her office while her schedule backed up.
Geoff shot a look at Corbin, then an equally suspicious look at Justin before turning and dragging away. He acted like a defeated man, but she wasn’t buying it. He likely missed her comfy couch and the free food she provided more than he missed her.
The second he cleared the room, Ivey closed the door and fell back against it. “Whew. That was tense.”
“Was it?” Corbin asked, as if he hadn’t thought so. He glanced down at Justin. “What do you think?”
Justin shrugged. “I want a dog.”
Both adults laughed. The kid had a one-track mind that didn’t include adult problems.
“Tell you what. Give me fifteen minutes to catch up, then we can discuss it.”
“Or,” Corbin said, “we can come back when you’re finished here.”
“When I finish, I need to get home to Maurice.” So that Corbin didn’t misunderstand, she quickly added, “He’s my aging cat. Fifteen minutes?”
“Sure.”
“Perfect.” She opened the door enough to slip out. “I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
As she worked her way through two routine office appointments, Ivey wondered why she was so giddy. Absurd. The man was here to discuss a pet for his son, not to see her personally. None of that stopped her from smiling her way through a dog’s vaccinations and a follow-up with a cat who’d been stung by a bee. Both animals were doing well and the pet owners were lovely people.
On the return to her office, Ivey realized that she should have sent Corbin to the break room where he and Justin could have gotten a drink or a snack. She hastened her step, opened the door and found them studying the graphs on the wall, some showing the skeletal makeup of cats and dogs, another showing the devastation of heartworms, and another listing types of dogs and their temperaments.
“That was quick,” Corbin said. “I hope that means the vet appointments weren’t for anything serious?”
“So far today, it’s been busy but ordinary. Hope can handle things for a while, so let’s talk about dogs.” She smiled down at Justin. “Big or small?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Inspiration hit, and she said, “I have some puppies here. Would you like to see them?”
He nodded fast.
“This way.” As they walked to Daisy’s room, Ivey explained how she’d gotten her. “Her leg is okay now, but she’ll always have a scar because the fur won’t grow there. The puppies, however, are perfectly fine. They won’t be ready for adoption for at least another three weeks, but this way you’d have first pick.” She opened the door to the outside pen.