Practice Makes Perfect (9 page)

He was quiet a moment. “I don’t get it. You’re not dating anyone. The message you left Jade said you don’t have other plans tonight. Why do you wanna play the hermit?”

Sighing heavily, she turned back to him. “Look, my being here isn’t going to work out if you keep badgering me.”

He gave her his best choirboy look. “I don’t badger.”

“Ian, it’s your middle name.”

He shrugged. “I just don’t know why you won’t let yourself have a little fun.”

“I’m going home to swim. That’s fun.”

“Alone?”

“Ian...”

“No, I’m not meddling. I’m concerned. You’re swimming alone again?”

“I’ll ask Darcy to come over. Okay?”

“Well, that’s better. If you change your mind, we’ll be at Rascal’s. I’m going home first to let out Scalpel. He hates being cooped up all day.”

“Oh, Scalpel isn’t joining you for a drink?”

He chuckled. “No, he’s on the wagon. He tied a big one on when this sexy little cocker spaniel down the street dumped him and he hasn’t touched a drop since.”

Once again Paige couldn’t help herself. She laughed.

“That’s nice,” he said.

“What?”

“That happy laugh.”

She shook her head. “Go away, Prince Charming.”

They dealt with their paperwork in silence, but Ian’s thoughts kept straying to Paige. He didn’t understand why she’d want to live her life alone. No family. No boyfriend. Few friends. His mother and father had been an integral part of his life, and he loved his brother dearly. He also had good friends he liked to socialize with. He’d been engaged once and come close a second time. To him, Paige Kendrick was truly an enigma.

When he’d finished his memos, he stood, stretched and glanced over at her. Her back was hunched, her hair lying softly around her shoulders; he was tempted to go over and massage her neck. As he approached her, he saw that she was engrossed in a file. He touched her shoulder.

She jumped. “Damn it, Ian, don’t sneak up on me.”

He drew back. “Sorry.”

Caught unawares, those baby blues were filled with sadness. Was it just Jade? Or Mary Ellen? Something—other than the girl’s circumstances—seemed to distress Paige today. But Ian hadn’t dared ask her about it.

“I’m leaving. I really wish you’d come with us.”

He saw that she was weakening slightly. It seemed natural to reach out and run his knuckles down her cheek. “You can trust me, Paige. I just want to get to know you better. No ulterior motive. No demands. No pressure.”

For a minute she allowed the caress, then she drew back.

“I promise. I won’t pressure you for anything more. Just a couple of drinks with friends.” He almost had her convinced, he could sense it. Again it was time for the big guns. “Let’s celebrate the opening of Elsa’s center.”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“All right,” she said. “I’ll go home and send Jade an e-mail, then I’ll meet you there.”

“No way, Rapunzel. If you go back to your tower, you won’t leave it.”

“But I want to send Jade an e-mail, and I don’t have an account on our computer here yet.”

Before she could object, he rolled out her chair with her in it and wheeled her over to the computer station. In a few seconds he had his own account called up on his screen. “Send it from here.”

“Ian, you really are a bully.”

“Send it. I won’t look.”

Taking several steps back, he waited. She’d just dashed off the e-mail when the ping for an instant message sounded.

“You have an IM, Ian.”

“Don’t accept it. I want to get out of here.”

“The sender’s a woman. Lady Greatlegs. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your love life.” Under her breath she mumbled, “Two can play at bullying.” She pressed the accept button.

He muttered something and came to stand over her. As they waited for the message, he braced his hands on either side of the chair, effectively trapping her between his chest and the desk.

The intimacy of the position hit him instantly and he savored it. He could smell the lemony scent of her hair and see strands of blond in it. He was aware of how slight she was next to him. A primitive male urge went through him.

The message came on. After a moment Paige stiffened, then gasped. He focused on the screen. The note read, “I’ve been expecting a call from you, Ian, honey. I’ve tried your cell a couple of times and your office downtown. You owe me, handsome, for that information I gave you on Rob Roberts. It’s how you got the illustrious Dr. K to work with you. Don’t you think you should call me? Love, Marla.”

Ian blanched. “Shit!”

o0o

YOU CAN TRUST ME, Paige. I just want to get to know you better. No ulterior motive. No demands. No pressure.

She pushed back on her chair and met with a wall of resistance. “Let me up, Ian.” Just moments before she had felt safe with his arms braced on either side of her. Now his woodsy aftershave was suffocating.

“Paige I—”

“
Now
.”

He freed her, and she swung around and stood.

He straightened in front of her. “You have to let me explain this,” he said.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself not to overreact. Not to let him see how upset she was. Her throat felt tight and she cursed her reaction. “I don’t want to hear excuses.”

She was too close to him. The summer sun had turned his cheeks golden. His features were so finely crafted, so angular. But it was the determination in his eyes that sobered her. He thought he could fix this, manipulate this.

He was talking. “…no secret I wanted you for the Center. You’re the best. Girls like Mary Ellen need the best doctors, just like slow learners need the best teachers.

“So you tricked me. You and your girlfriend, Marla.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. We date occasionally. We happened to be out the night you had the problem with Jimmy Linstrom. She asked if Rob Roberts was being considered for the peds position here and told me what happened that day.” His expression was sincere. “At least believe that. Marla was not telling tales on you. It just slipped out in easy conversation.”

In bed, probably
.

Paige nodded at the computer. “Her note says otherwise. She says it’s how you got me here. Damn it, Ian, I have to deal with this now. Her behavior was unprofessional.”

Ian’s eyes flared. “Please, Paige, don’t blame her.
After
she told me, I laughed and said I’d be forever grateful she’d given me the ammunition to get you to work with me.”

“Then why is she bragging about it now?”

His face reddened. The male blush made him even more attractive. “She, um, she wants more from me, I guess. She’s using it to get another date.”

“How nice for you.” Paige tried to edge away, but he grasped her arm. “Let me go, Ian. I’m angry at you.” Angry and hurt. And embarrassed. What had she been thinking, letting him in?

“All right, Paige. But first accept my apology. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have used that information to get you here. Like I said, I wanted the best for the Center. And you’re the best. I’m sorry. How can I make this up to you?”

“By leaving me alone.”

“You’re upset.”

“Yes, but don’t worry, I’ll leave quietly. I don’t make scenes.”

“I’d rather you screamed and yelled and threw things at me.”

“Is that what women usually do when they’re angry at your machinations?”

His look said yes. Oh, for God’s sake. The guy was something else. No doubt he was surprised that he couldn’t smooth talk his way out of this. Disgusted, she shrugged off his hand and crossed to her desk. Removing her purse from the drawer, she picked up her briefcase and strode to the door. She’d just reached it when he said, “Are you coming back?”

This was a perfect excuse to quit the Center, she told herself.
Say no, say you’re done with this place that cuts to your soul and this man who’s making inroads to your heart
. But an image of Mary Ellen’s face came to mind. She pivoted. “Yes, Ian, I’ll be back. I’m a person of my word, unlike you.”

His eyes widened. He seemed genuinely hurt. No matter, Marla Simmons could cheer him up.

“But understand this. We’re colleagues and nothing more. No more crap about trusting you or being friends. Or I will quit.”

“All right.”

She turned again, and this time she got the door open before he spoke. “Paige?”

Exhaling an exasperated breath, she asked with her back to him, “What?”

“What happened to you to make you this unforgiving, this distrustful?”

Even if she wanted to tell him, she wouldn’t know where to start. She left the office without another word.

CAREFULLY AND WITH PERFECT control—the way she’d lived most of her life since she’d turned seventeen— Paige drove home, parked her car and entered the house. She wouldn’t allow herself to think about Ian. She’d swim. Then do some research on the Net for an article she was writing for the AMA Journal. Work, as always, was the best medicine.

Her phone rang just as she reached her bedroom. Dropping onto the sleigh bed she’d ordered from Denmark to match her other teak furniture, she picked up the receiver from the bedroom extension. “Paige Kendrick.”

“Hi, Paige. Surprise. This is your sister.”

For some stupid reason, tears misted her eyes.
It’s just you and me, Jade
. “Hi, Jade.”

Silence. “Are you all right? You sound a little... sad.”

Don’t be sad, Paige. You still got me
. She wondered if Jade’s green eyes still sparkled like gems, if her hair was still sun-washed and as straight as her own.

“I’m fine. Just a long day. And some disappointments,” she couldn’t help adding. After all, that was what Ian’s showing of his true colors was. Merely a disappointment.

“Well, maybe this will cheer you up. I’m coming home.”

“For Nora’s wedding? Oh, Jade, that’s wonderful. When will you get here?”

“Sooner than July. I, um...oh, dear, just a second.” Jade dropped the phone. Paige heard in the background, “What the...honestly...” Then Jade laughed. Happily. Giddily, almost. Was a man there? When she came on the phone again, there was true joy in her voice. “Sorry.”

“What was that all about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Jade, I—”

“I’ll be coming soon. I have some business to take care of in Hyde Point.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Yeah, Paige, you can help.” Jade’s tone was mysterious.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll know when I get there.”

Realizing Jade wouldn’t say any more until she was ready, Paige decided to concentrate on the good news. Her sister was coming home. “Well, I’m really looking forward to seeing you. I’ll get the guest room ready. You haven’t even seen my new house. It’s huge, plenty of room—”

“I won’t be staying with you, Paige.”

The hurt she’d kept at bay since the revelation of Ian’s trickery surfaced. “You...you won’t be staying with me?”

“Paige, are you all right? You sound, I don’t know, vulnerable.”

I am.
But she didn’t respond.

“Paige, has something happened to you?”

I just forgot for a little while why I’ve lived my life alone
.

“No, I’m fine. But I feel bad that you don’t want to stay here.”

“It isn’t that I don’t want to stay with you, sis. You...won’t want me there, is all.”

Hope fluttered in Paige’s stomach. “Of course I will. Why would you say such a thing?”

“I’m not perfect, Paige.”

“I know that. I don’t expect you to be.”

“Yes, you do. You need everybody and everything to be perfect. You have ever since we left Serenity House.”

Silence.

“Look, I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. We need to talk. About several things.”

“Then stay with me. We can do a lot of talking.”

A longer silence. “I tell you what. I’ll make a reservation at the Carlton Hotel. If you still want me to stay with you after I get there, I will. If you don’t, I’ll have a place to go.”

Paige swallowed hard.
We don’t have any place to go
, Jade had sobbed a week after the terrible night when their parents had been killed and Paige had given birth. Jade had climbed into Paige’s bed, and they’d spent the whole night there, huddled under the covers and afraid. They’d fallen asleep holding hands.

“I told you a long time ago, Jade, you’ll always have a place to go.”

She could hear her sister draw in a breath. “All right. I’ll e-mail you with details. I gotta go.”

Her heart clenched. “Jade?”

“Uh-huh?”

“I love you.” God, she sounded so desperate.

“I love you too, sis. Take care.” Jade clicked off.

Paige fell back onto the silk duvet and sighed. What the hell could be going on with Jade that would keep her away from Hyde Point for three years and then hesitate to stay with Paige?

You expect everybody to be perfect.

What happened to you to make you this unforgiving?

Weary and feeling very alone, Paige closed her eyes.

o0o

“ALL RIGHT, all right. Stop yapping at me.” Ian rubbed his temples and avoided looking at the big brown eyes that stared up at him with accusation. “I know I was a jerk.”

Scalpel barked once again as if confirming the comment, then turned away from Ian and pranced to the door. His big paw scratched at it.

“You can’t go out without me, and I don’t feel like a run.”

The dog gave Ian the canine version of a disgusted look, then sauntered into the kitchen and out to the porch with a huff.

Ian rolled his eyes. Even his dog was mad at him. Man, he’d really blown it. Getting up from the couch, he crossed to the bar and poured himself three fingers of scotch. He wasn’t normally a drinker, but he wasn’t on call and he’d phoned Rascal’s to tell Elliot and Carol and Marcus he wasn’t coming. He was feeling like hell about what he’d done to Paige. So he took his drink, wandered over to the windows of his dining room and stared out at the river.

The doorbell rang. He debated whether to answer it, but finally crossed through the house and swung open the door.