Healing Touch: Play Doctor, Book 2 (18 page)

After dozens of laps, she glanced up from the bouquet and her gaze landed on her new favorite recipe. Cooking was a skill she’d mastered in her seven-year sentence at Casa Brad.

Ah, that wasn’t fair. She was ashamed to admit she’d been hiding from the world behind those bars. The precise measures and rules of chemistry that governed culinary pursuits had helped structure her life and give her control. Of something.

Maybe she’d enroll in a few classes in the evenings and take her hobby a little more seriously.

It was time to try something different.

A few things even. Instead of waiting for Luke to come to her, why not give chase?

Who could resist America’s Test Kitchen’s brown sugar cookies? Oodles of sweetness, crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle, with browned butter for a rich nutty flavor. Absolute perfection. Sure, they were finicky and time consuming, but well worth the effort.

Besides, if she made some for him, she could taste-test a couple herself. Benefits all around.

It wasn’t like she would be going to bed anytime soon.

With a huge grin plastered on her face, she snagged her apron off the hook beside the pantry and started laying out the ingredients in precise order.

“Hi.” A timid finger wave accompanied Brielle’s greeting.

“Good morning, Brielle. Can I help you?” Kurt had regressed to the epitome of professional. Was it because he was sitting at his e-fucking-normous desk or because Luke had confided a change of heart?

Stop being so paranoid.

“Is Becca around?” Shifting from foot to foot beneath his definitely odd gaze, she wondered if she should bolt. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

“I’m here.” The muffled response grew louder. “Hang on a second, I…uh…dropped something.”

Brielle rolled her eyes when the cute therapist popped out from beneath her husband’s workstation, licking her lips. “Seriously, you two!”

“Well, it is lunchtime.” They both laughed.

She slapped her hands over her eyes lest she be blinded by the syrupy affection oozing from them both. Sweeter than her cookies, it made her teeth ache. Envy threatened to turn her a very unattractive shade of green.

“Were you just stopping in to chat, or did you want to go out for lunch or something?” Becca approached, frowning slightly. She ran her fingers lightly over the long sleeves of Brielle’s blouse, inappropriate given the heat. Neither of them mentioned the unsightly state of her arms.

“Actually, I kind of had a favor…” Nibbling her lip, she wondered again if she was making a mistake.
Be bold, Brielle.

“Sure, no problem.” Becca smiled.

“You don’t know what I’m going to ask yet.” Her head tilted as she considered the woman’s genuine willingness to help.

“Spit it out, honey.” Kurt rested his chin on his fist as he gauged her reactions. His scrutiny unnerved her.

“I was wondering if I could get a ride over to Luke’s office. I would take the bus, but I can’t make it there and back in an hour and a cab—”

“Is out of the question,” Becca cut her off. “No need. Luckily, my boss owes me one. So…I’m taking a break.”

Kurt laughed. “Fine. You girls have fun making mischief, ambushing my poor slob of a best friend. Make sure you tease him, Brielle. A lot. He doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Will do. And here…” She reached into the tote bag on her shoulder. “A thank-you present. For Wednesday night. And for lending me your wife.”

“Mmm. I like the way that sounds.”

“You pervert.” Becca laughed.

“What’s this?” Kurt accepted the plastic sandwich baggie Brielle handed him.

“A sample of the cookies I baked for Luke.”

“You
made
these?” One of the circles had already been stuffed in his mouth and bitten in half. Even a logical man like Kurt couldn’t argue with scrumptiousness. “Like from scratch?”

“Hey, I want a taste. I’m chauffeuring fresh cookies across town. I deserve to know what kind of quality we’re talking about here.” Becca crossed the room, again her shoes were tall enough to be stilts, and accepted the morsel Kurt fed her. “Holy shit, Brielle. These are better than the ridiculously overpriced stuff the lady on the corner of Henderson and Lane sells. People would kill for these.”

“Luckily for you, I enjoy cooking. Maybe I’ll decree Friday Treat Day from now on.” She smiled wide.

“I guess I’ll just have to burn more calories to afford snacks like these.” Becca whistled innocently.

“I can help out with that. As long as I have cookies to give me enough energy to keep up with you.” Kurt spanked his sassy wife.

“Um, you know I’m still standing here, right?” Brielle couldn’t believe he’d done that. And Becca hadn’t run, or gotten pissed. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it, sidling closer to her husband for a sugary kiss.

“Uh huh.” Becca shook her head. “Let’s get going so you can spend as much time as possible
delivering your cookies
.”

They headed out of the office together. Before they made it to the parking lot, Becca asked, “Do you have any more spares in there? I’m serious. Those rock.”

“Of course.” Brielle withdrew another baggie, and didn’t mention it held the ones she’d intended to have for her midday meal after they got back. “Thanks so much for doing this. Is it dumb?”

“No no no.” Becca shook her head vehemently as she backed out of Kurt’s spot. “It’s a fantastic surprise. He’s going to love it.”

The ride over passed quickly as they chatted about everything and nothing. Talking to Becca was effortless. Would tomorrow bring awkwardness, especially since they’d seemed more like friends than therapist and patient these days? She truly hoped not. The foundation they’d built guaranteed Brielle would be able to share more easily than she could have with a stranger.

When they neared, Becca formulated a plan. “Parking out front is a disaster. I’ll drop you off then circle around to the supermarket a few blocks east on High Street. Call me when you’re ready to go and I’ll pick you up right where I let you out. You probably have about twenty-five minutes if you want to make sure we’re gone for no more than an hour.”

“Got it.” Brielle saluted. Anything to hide the nerves roaring to life now that she could see the glistening chrome and glass of Luke’s tower.

“Here we go.” Becca pulled over, ignoring a few honks in the process. “No time to second-guess yourself now. Get out of here, lady. Make sure he thanks you properly.”

“I’m on it.” She smiled as she hopped from the vehicle and strode into the lobby.

She’d crossed halfway to Mrs. Allerton’s desk when she realized she’d made it through the revolving door without even thinking about it.

“First try.” The mature woman raised her eyebrows. “Dr. Malone is pretty darn good, isn’t he?”

“You have no idea.” Brielle’s smug smile told the whole story. She didn’t care.

Excited and on edge, wasting precious time didn’t sound wise. Past the Ficus tree, she paused. Ten minutes was a huge chunk of her twenty-five ration. She’d much rather spend that time trading cookies for intel. Like whether or not Luke intended to come to her place again.

Tonight or any other.

Six deep breaths—hands on knees—and a serious pep talk later, she raced to the elevator before she could change her mind. Fortunately, the mass exodus from the building toward greasy goodness and the bitch at the café meant that Brielle would have the car entirely to herself heading up.

The doors opened. She had to try three times before she could force her legs to carry her forward, as if she were walking the plank. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

She imagined being in Luke’s arms again, his warm hand over her eyes. She closed them and put her palm over her lids. The trip seemed to take forever.

Each chirp of the elevator sounded like an alarm to her. She counted them, praying for the end to come quickly. Darkness encroached on her excitement. Panic loomed near. But she focused on slowing her heart rate, steadying her breathing, and she kept telling herself she was fine.

The doors slid open, releasing her from hell.

Hot damn.

Brielle practically tumbled out of the elevator and down the hall toward Luke’s office. Her heart dropped when she peered through glass, the waiting room, and more glass to find the space behind his desk empty. Oh no, what if he’d gone out? How dumb that she hadn’t thought to call ahead. Her shoulders slumped.

Just then his administrative assistant looked up. She smiled warmly at Brielle and pointed down the hallway.

Craning her neck, Brielle peeked around the corner. And drank in the sight of Luke’s long, powerful frame, leaning against the wall. His ankles crossed as he checked his watch. Oh, Mrs. Allerton! She’d given Brielle away.

Sneaking up behind Luke, her heart was in her throat. She expected him to bust her at any second, but she made it within arm’s reach. Damn, he must be preoccupied. His height made it difficult, but she rose to her tiptoes and put her palms over his eyes from behind.

A startled jerk later, he spun around and captured her in his arms. “Brielle.”

A response became impossible when his mouth crushed down on hers. So she told him through her kiss just how much she’d missed him. When both of them struggled to breathe, they broke apart. Flushed. Eyes wide. It seemed the attraction between them grew stronger by the second.

That’s when she noticed. “You shaved!”

“You took the elevator!” he said at the exact same time.

They both nodded. Then laughed.

Luke bundled her into an enormous hug. “I’m so proud of you. Damn, Brielle. It hasn’t even been a week.”

“I had good motivation. I have to go soon. Becca’s waiting outside. I just wanted to give you something…” Okay, and she’d wanted to taste the brown sugar on his lips.

“Did the police drop off the additional documents? They called me about them earlier. I
hate
administrative crap.” He dragged his hands through his hair.

It might have been polite to stop staring at him, but she couldn’t manage it. With his smooth jaw exposed, he was so damn handsome she could hardly form a coherent thought.

“Brielle?” He stroked her cheek softly.

“Sorry.” A wry grin tugged at her lips. “No. Not paperwork. I didn’t know there was anything else we had to do for that.”

“I guess I missed initialing a page or something.” He shook his head.

“Actually, I sort of made you something.” She winced, suddenly wondering if her gift was lame. Totally high school. No choice now but to go forward. Reaching in her tote, she withdrew a box wrapped in crinkled foil, the best she could do to dress it up.

“What’s this?” His eyes lit up as he shook the package slightly. “Do I smell…? Are these cookies?”

Grinning, she nodded.

“Wait just a second. I haven’t taken a break all day and it was a triple-cup-of-coffee sort of morning. I also need to wash my hands before I dig in. You can make yourself comfy in my office.” Brielle laughed when he practically bounced from foot to foot. “Take care of my cookies a second longer. Actually, here, would you take my phone too? In case the cops call while my hands are full?”

A peal of laughter escaped her.

He kissed her again then whispered, “Be right back.”

She stayed rooted to the industrial carpet until he was out of sight, pushing through the men’s room door with a wink in her direction. Still beaming, she headed for his office, a little nervous about barging in with the admin right there.

“Good afternoon. You must be the ‘lovely, amazing, exquisite, funny and sweet’ Ms. Norris. I’ve been hearing all about you. I’m Heidi. Go ahead and make yourself at home. I take it you saw Dr. Malone in the hallway?”

Brielle blushed as she nodded.

“Thank goodness. He’s been grumpy all day. Impatient. Very unlike him.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She giggled at the other woman’s knowing smirk. “I brought him some of these. Try one?”

Heidi plucked a cookie from the overflowing box. She moaned as she tasted the creation. “Oh yeah, that should do the trick.
Have mercy
.”

The fancy-ass phone in Brielle’s hand began to buzz. She nearly dropped the gadget as she juggled both it and the foiled container. “Excuse me.”

She stepped into Luke’s office, set the cookies down and tried to figure out how to answer the damn thing quaking in her hold. Her basic-feature phone had a simple green TALK button. This contraption’s screen showed a gorgeous woman in a box, which jiggled in time to the pattern of vibrations.

Brielle tried poking her in the eye. A glowing circle surrounded the picture with a flashing arrow pointed in a clockwise direction. She traced it with her index finger.

“Hello?” A faint voice surprised Brielle. She held the phone up to her ear, but the exasperated lady was going off. “Jesus. Are you there, Lukey-poo? I listened to your heavy breathing last night. Wasn’t that session enough?”

Just before Brielle began speaking, her voice was stolen.

Maybe
Lukey-poo
hadn’t been so delayed yesterday after all.