Hunks Too Hot To Touch (12 page)

Turning away from the filing cabinet with two files in her hand, Shauntie found Ann Cater, one of the Saturday cleaning ladies standing behind her a worried expression on her face. Two weekends a month, the cleaning crew came in and gave all of the offices a thorough cleaning.

“Ann, how are you doing?” Shauntie asked as she closed the filing cabinet drawer. “Is your son enjoying college?”

“He sure is.”

“Excellent. I decided to come in and get a few things to work on this weekend. You know how I am when it comes to work and my patients. I only want the best for them.”

“Yes, ma’am, I do.” Ann smiled coming further into the room. “Malcolm called me last night. He told me he’s having a great time and is even thinking about joining a fraternity. I’m nervous about that one, but I know he won’t do anything too crazy to become a member.”

“I bet you’re right. The few times I’ve met Malcolm he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.” Shauntie felt a hint of jealousy that she couldn’t talk about her family or kids.

“What about you? Is there anyone special in your life? I noticed you don’t talk about a man anymore. I have a nephew who’s single. I think the two of you might hit if off quite well. I think he’s only a couple of years older than you are. He’s a podiatrist.”

Ann wanted to fix her up on a blind date!

Shauntie’s stomach knotted at the thought of going out with a stranger. Thank God she already had plans with Nash for tonight. At least, she had known him long enough that their date wouldn’t be considered a blind date. Now, she had to think of way to turn down Ann’s offer without insulting her.

“Ann, thank you. I’m sure your nephew is a really good guy, but I already have plans tonight with someone. It’s going to be our first date.”

Ann grinned at her. “Finally. I thought I’d never hear about you getting back out there into the dating world. You’re way too pretty to be at the office all the time. Hopefully, this date of yours will lead to something more. But if it doesn’t let me know and I’ll tell Dillon about you.”

Shauntie couldn’t promise Ann anything because she didn’t know what was going to happen with Nash tonight. She wasn’t expecting to fall in love with him, but she did hope to have a good time at least.

“How about we just wait and see how things turn out with my date tonight before we discuss anything about me going out with Dillon?” she suggested.

“I’m sorry,” Ann apologized, quickly. “I think I might have overstepped my place by bringing up you going out on a date with my nephew. I didn’t mean any harm by it. I only wanted to help you.”

She suddenly felt bad for making Ann feel uncomfortable. Over the last year, they had become friends and friends did try to help each other. Ann hadn’t done anything wrong by wondering if she might be interested in going out on a date with Dillon.

“I think it’s very nice of you to be concerned about me, but there’s no need to be. When I see you next week, I’ll be able to tell you about how my date went with Nash. You never know I might have a great time with him.”

“I’m going to be on vacation all next week. My niece is going to be filling in for me to get some extra money for college. I guess you’ll have to wait and tell me about it later. I hope you have a good time,” Ann told her before spinning around and leaving the office.

Shauntie couldn’t recall the last time she truly had fun with anyone. Nash promised her a night that she wouldn’t ever forget and she hoped it was true. Making her way back over to her desk, she slid the files into the open brief case sitting on the top.

She tried to keep her conversation with Ann in the back of her mind, but parts of it kept coming back to the surface. Was she truly working such long hours that the cleaning lady even noticed how she wasn’t having a social life outside of these four walls?

Sapphire and Emerald were constantly on her back about getting out and having fun, but they made it their business to be involved in her life when nothing else was going on in either one of theirs.

Now, since both of them were busy looking for their men they would leave her alone for a little while or at least give her enough free time to figure out what was going on with her and Nash.

He was so complex, but slightly open at the same time. He didn’t have a problem telling her what he was thinking or needed. But there was still a part of him that Shauntie sensed he wasn’t telling her about.

Not knowing was what piqued her curiosity. Even more to the point, she wanted this date tonight so she could learn more about Nash. Her handsome roofer wasn’t the only one who had unanswered questions floating around in his head. She had the same unanswered questions when it came to him.

Sitting down at her desk, Shauntie snapped her brief case shut before placing it on the floor next to her chair. Being at work even like this was fantastic because it was such a part of her soul. A majority of her employees and especially her two best friends thought she tried to juggle too many details at once, but she didn’t agree with them.

Emerald constantly told her to discover herself by bringing all of who she was to anything she was doing, instead of trying to find who she was through every single experience she encountered in life. At first, Shauntie hated Emerald’s suggestion to her because she didn’t feel like it had anything to do with her but could fit any random person she walked past on the street. Yet, after she gave herself time to cool off and think about it so more, she admitted to herself that Emerald was right.

Work and her other interests, like gardening, were being used to fill a deep void in her life that a good, healthy relationship could take care of if she allowed more people to see the true her. Somehow, Nash seemed to be able to see the part of her everyone else thought she was purposely hiding from the world.

. More than once Shauntie wondered if she would ever find a man who saw past her title of doctor and the tough act she put on, to the person buried deep inside.

Most of the dates she’d gone on usually got pretty boring and stifling by the end of the night and she had no interest in seeing any of those guys again for any reason. Certain times, she still considered herself a big kid who only wanted something fun and interesting to keep her going through the day.

Could Nash be the man that would do that for her
? Shauntie knew tonight was going to be her first look at finding out what Nash Wentworth was going to mean to her life.

Chapter Fourteen

Sitting outside in his truck, Nash stared at Shauntie’s front door wondering if what he had planned for her was good enough for her. What if she hated it and wouldn’t give him another chance to prove himself? Shauntie wasn’t the usual woman he dated. She was rich, successful and used to having dinners at five star restaurants. What if his date was too low key for her?

Nash shook the doubts from his head. Wait a damn minute! He wouldn’t allow his sudden doubts to cloud his judgment. He knew he had planned a good first date and Shauntie was going to love it. She would experience something tonight none of those rich men had been able to show her.

Shauntie wasn’t going to get the same tired old date when it came to him. Taking a deep breath, Nash got his nerves back under control before getting out of his vehicle. He slammed the door behind him and made his way towards his destiny.

****

Shauntie jumped back from the window hoping Nash didn’t see her peeking out at him. She was nervous which surprised her since she never got nervous about anything. In addition, she had actually changed clothes at least eight times before deciding to wear what she had on. How could a simple date turn into something so stressful for her?

After leaving work earlier she spent the better part of the day driving around thinking about tonight. Nash took her completely by surprise this morning challenging her to go out with him tonight on this date.

Nash thought she wouldn’t go through with it, but he was so wrong. Shauntie Kane wasn’t about to back down from anything. He’d made her very curious about where he was taking her tonight if it wasn’t the regular dinner and a movie. Nash acted like he was going to do something for her other men hadn’t.

The sound of the doorbell ringing drew Shauntie’s attention to the front door. She couldn’t back out now. Nash was here and ready for their date. She thought she might have butterflies or have a hint of uneasiness, but truthfully she was ready for this. Tonight was going to be the first step of her getting back out there in the dating world. Blowing out a deep breath, Shauntie got her game face on and then headed for the door.

“Hi,” Shauntie said softly after she opened the door.

“Hi, yourself, gorgeous,” Nash answered, smiling down at her. “You look good in your hot pink t-shirt and jeans. I like this look on you. You seem more approachable and relaxed. I think you’re going to fit in quite well with my plans for tonight.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what this date is?” Shauntie asked excited now that Nash was standing in front of her.

“I’ll rather show you than tell you. Are you ready to hit the road?” he asked her.

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this date all day,” Shauntie admitted. “Let me grab my stuff and then we can leave.” She gave Nash another smile before heading back into the house. Minutes later, she came back to the door and walked out closing it behind her. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go.” Nash grabbed her by the hand and walked her to his truck parked next to her BMW in the driveway. Once they were both inside and their seatbelts was locked in place Nash pulled out of her driveway.

Shauntie took a peek from the corner of her eye; she noticed how Nash’s t-shirt strained against the muscles in his arms while he was driving. She had so many questions in her head that she wanted to ask, but she didn’t know which one to start with first.

“How old are you?” she blurted out.

Nash’s took his eyes off the road for a minute as he glanced over at her. “I’ll be thirty-nine the day after Christmas. Why, do you think I look old?”

“No, you’re very good-looking,” Shauntie answered quickly making Nash’s face spilt into a huge grin.

“Thank you. I think you’re quite gorgeous yourself, sweetheart,” he told her as he turned his eyes back to the road. “Is there anything else you want to know about me?”

“How long have you been a roofer?”

“I used to work in construction first while I worked to get my roofing business off the ground. After I got the money I wanted saved up I became a roofer full-time. So, I haven’t owned my business for that long, but it was my dream job and I wasn’t about to give up on it until I achieved it. What about you? Have you always wanted to be an eye doctor?”

Nash used to be a construction worker. Suddenly, Shauntie had a quick flash of J.T. in her head, but she placed it where it should be in the back of her mind. He had no place on her date tonight.

Shauntie crossed her legs and got more comfortable in her seat. “Yes, ever since I was a little girl I wanted to do this as my career. I think my parents didn’t think I knew what an optometrist was at eight years old, but I did.”

“You were one of those brainy kids that never talked to me while all while I was going to school,” Nash laughed as he turned left at the corner and continued on down the street.

“I wouldn’t consider myself a brainy kid, but when I got to high school I did have to take algebra, health and medical courses. I mean most of my time was put towards studying which kept me from going out a lot.”

Stopping at a stop light, Nash gave her his attention again. “I can’t believe you weren’t a cheerleader and involved in all of those extracurricular activities after school. You seem like the girl I had a crush on in school, but she never noticed me.”

“No, The cheerleaders never found the time to learn my name until we had a class together and they got put into my group. I wasn’t totally a nerd, but I think I was pretty close back then.”

Nash raked his eyes over her body lingering on the slit in her t-shirt. “I can promise you that the girls might have thought you were a nerd, but the guys saw you in a totally different way,” he said, surprising her before pulling away from the green light.

Shauntie was tired of talking about herself. She went on this date to learn more about Nash. “Enough about my past. Tell me more about yours. How were you as a kid? I can’t believe you weren’t popular. I bet you had girls following behind you wanting dates.”

“I wasn’t the guy the girls at my school wanted to date. I was lanky with black hair that seemed to grow long and fall into my eyes no matter how many haircuts I got. I was a total outcast because I collected comic books and preferred to spend time by myself. I was a big introvert until I took up working out my last year of college.”

“I can’t believe you went to college.” The second the words left her mouth Shauntie was embarrassed for voicing them. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t right of me to say about you.”

“Don’t worry about it. My parents were surprised I got a full scholarship to go themselves and especially an academic one but since I didn’t have a huge amount of friends I took that time working on school work and graduated with honors.”

“What was your major?” Shauntie asked, surprised to learn Nash had a college degree. He was proving to her more and more that looks could be deceiving.

“Finance and business. I worked in the corporate world for about six years until I figured out it wasn’t for me. I got more pleasure from being outside in the fresh air than inside an air conditioned building. I left my six figure job and got hired at a construction site two weeks later.”

Turning her head, Shauntie gave Nash another once over and she couldn’t envision him wearing a suit and tie. He came across like it would have been too restricting for him. “How did you get hired at a construction site? Did you have any experience working at one?”

“Off and on I helped out my father at his construction site during college when I was home during the summers. I loved it then, but I never considered it a career because I was more invested in finance, but after I landed the job it got old after a while.”