Reluctant Romance (14 page)

Pulling onto his street she felt twitchy, nervous. Her stomach went through a somersault and cartwheel routine. Anger at what he had done spread through her veins, pushing out all other emotions.
 

Turning the corner, she felt a jolt run through her as his house came into view. Something was off. The house was dark, its windows empty. Then she saw it, and it hit her like a punch in the gut. The “For Sale” sign had been placed in the center of the front yard.

Smacking her steering wheel with the palm of her hand, she let out a string of curse words with Connor Dunn’s name attached to them. She would never get the chance to vent her anger at him in person. He was already gone.

Chapter Fourteen

Connor stood in the empty house and looked around, his heart shrinking in his chest.
So much for a new start
.
 

He shrugged and packed the last of the silverware into a box, marveling at how much stuff he had actually moved in. A final sweep through the cabinets, fridge, and drawers found them empty. He picked up the box and turned to leave but not before taking one final glance out into the back-yard.

The mighty oak tree stood in the corner. Was he imagining it, or did its leaves seem sad and droopy? An adolescent memory of Risa by the tree floated to the surface, and his heart lurched. He shook it away. Best not to be thinking about Risa Kennedy right now.
If only things had been different.
 

His eyes found the on the missing boards in the fence and he was glad he hadn’t put any work into fixing them yet. Then he realized he didn’t see Picasso in the back yard.
 

The sudden squeal of brakes outside the house told him why. His heart jerked as he heard a sickening thud and a gut-wrenching high-pitched yelp.
Picasso!

Adrenaline shot through him. Dropping the box with a thud, he ran to the front door, ripping it open. His heart stopped when he looked out into the street.

Picasso lay in the road, his leg at an impossible angle, his fur smattered with blood.
 

Connor ran to him. His heart squeezed with relief when the big dog lifted his head and looked him in the eye.
He was alive!
 

“It’s okay, boy.” Connor stroked the dogs head reassuringly. He looked over his body, trying to determine where he’d been hit. There was a lot of blood near his hip and back. His leg was obviously broken. He hoped there were no internal injuries, but he couldn’t be sure.

“I’m so sorry, he ran out in front of me. I couldn’t stop in time." A voice wailed beside him.

Connor turned to see a young girl who appeared to be even more distraught than he was. Tears streamed down her face, her wide eyes darting from Picasso to Connor and back again. Her car stood ten feet down the road, engine on, the driver’s door hanging open.

“It’s okay,” he said. Then turning his attention back to Picasso, he added, “Maybe you can help me get him into my truck.”

The girl nodded, staying with Picasso while Connor backed his SUV out of the driveway, pulling up next to the dog. He lifted the Picasso gently, wincing at the howl of pain while the girl spread a blanket in the back.

He waved off her offer to go with him, assuring her everything would be okay. Then he sped away, tires squealing to the one place he knew would be open for emergencies where the staff would do their best to save Picasso: the Healthy-Pet clinic.

###

The gallon of chocolate ice cream she’d consoled herself with roiled in her stomach as Risa stood at the admitting desk in the lobby of the clinic. She fought back tears, realizing this was one of the last days she’d be working there.

Behind her, she heard the door swing open. Her brow furrowed when she heard the familiar voice.

“Can you help us?”

Risa turned. Her eyes grew wide at what she saw. Her body tensed and anger threatened to bubble over when she recognized the owner of the voice. Connor Dunn.
How
dare
he show his face in here!

But then she noticed he was holding Picasso in his arms, his muscles bulging under the weight of the big dog. Her mouth went dry when she saw the blood. Picasso had been hurt!

Her instincts to help the dog took over. Rushing to them, she pushed down the anger she felt for Connor.
 

“What happened?”

“He was hit by a car.” The pained look on Connor’s face made Risa’s heart clench. Just for a second.

“Let’s get him into an exam room so I can take a look.”

She led the way to the closest room. Connor followed, still holding the dog. She helped him gently put the dog on the table-no easy task, considering he weighed over one hundred pounds.
 

“Will he be okay?” Connor’s eyes pleaded with hers and for a moment she almost reached out to comfort him. Then she remembered how he had betrayed her, and her emotions snapped off like a steel trap.
 

“I don’t know. I’ll have to do some x-rays to see if there is internal bleeding. He got hit pretty bad.”
 

Connor shifted on his feet, rubbing his hand through his hair.
 

“It will be better if you wait out in the waiting room. There’s paperwork you need to fill out. Someone will let you know what I find when I’m done.” She turned her attention back to the dog.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him hesitate at the door.

“Risa…”

She looked over at him. “Go,” she said, pointing to the door. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
 

Bailey stood at the table near Picasso’s head and let out a little whimper. Risa saw Picasso’s eyelids flutter open, and the two dogs touched noses. Bailey turned her liquid-brown eyes on Risa.

“Don’t worry, girl, your friend will be okay.”

Risa shooed the dog out of the room, then hurried to get things ready. Picasso was in bad shape, and she needed to do x-rays and get him into surgery right away. She pushed all thoughts of Connor Dunn and the acquisition out of her mind and focused solely on the dog, determined to do everything in her power to make sure the Great Dane had a full recovery-no matter what her feelings were toward his owner.

###

Connor shifted his weight in the small plastic chair. His gut churned with anxiety. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost Picasso; the dog’s unconditional love had gotten him through a lot of tough times.

He jumped when his cell phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the display, a sigh rushing from his lips. It was his father. Connor realized he was probably calling to update him on the Healthy-Pet buyout. It was the last thing he wanted to talk about, but if he didn’t answer, his father would probably call every ten minutes.

He snapped open the phone. “Hi, Dad.”

“Son, I think you made a big mistake.”

“What?” Connor wrinkled his brow.
What was his father talking about?

“About Risa Kennedy.”

Connor ’s pulse quickened. He glanced at the door to the examining room where Risa had Picasso. Seeing Risa tonight had been like rubbing salt in his wounds. Even though the evidence that she was a manipulative liar had been right in front of him, he couldn’t deny the feelings he had for her. And he knew she couldn’t be all bad-she was a good veterinarian, good enough for him to trust with Picasso’s life.

“Dad, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“We had our meeting this morning. It turns out all those things your investigator turned up had a reasonable explanation. Risa explained everything. Boy, was she mad. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned in her resignation.”

“A reasonable explanation?” Connor felt his throat go dry, his stomach flipping over.
 

“Yes. Turns out Risa was actually helping an employee as well as sponsoring an artist. You totally misjudged her, Connor. And to think Dan and I had hopes the two of you might get together.” Connor heard a sigh over the phone. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. She was fit to be tied. Especially after we told her that we were closing down the clinic.”

Connor felt a tightening in his chest. The clinic was being closed down on
his
recommendation. The very same clinic he sat in right now, where he had rushed Picasso when he needed help.

He swallowed the acid that was forming in the back of his throat. Why had he been so quick to judge Risa? Sure, he’d been burnt by Francesca and would do whatever he could to avoid that again, but he knew Risa was different.
 

He should have given her a chance to explain. He didn’t blame her for hating him. In his effort to protect himself against being hurt, he’d been the one who had hurt
her
and lost a chance at something that might have turned out to be the best thing he ever had.

“Connor, are you there?”

“Sorry, Dad. I’m a bit preoccupied. I’m actually at the clinic right now with Picasso. He got hit by a car.”

Connor heard his father suck in a breath. “Oh, I’m sorry. Will he be okay?”

“I’m not sure. Risa’s working on him now.”

“Oh, well, I’d better leave you to that then.” He paused then continued. “Son, I hope you make amends with Risa. She’s an asset to our company and I don’t want to lose her over this.”

Connor clicked the phone shut, realizing that he didn’t want to lose Risa over this either. He buried his face in his hands, wondering what to do. It was pretty clear Risa didn’t want to talk to him. In fact, he was surprised she’d rushed over to help Picasso. Just goes to show she was a better person than him, putting her own personal feelings aside to help the dog.

Connor felt something warm and wet nudge his elbow. Looking down, he saw Bailey sitting beside him staring up at him. He reached down to pet her.

“I’ve been a total ass, haven’t I?” he asked the dog. Was it his imagination, or did Bailey nod her head?

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to figure out a way to make her talk to me, right?” Bailey wagged her tail and licked his hand.

Connor felt like he had been there for hours when Risa finally appeared through a door that opened from the back of the clinic.
 

His heart pounded as she walked toward him, a somber look on her face.

“Picasso is doing okay. His leg was broken pretty bad, but thankfully there were no internal injuries. We’re going to keep him for a couple of days to watch him, but he should recover just fine.”

Connor let out a deep breath, closing his eyes in a silent prayer. When he opened them, Risa was walking away back toward the door, Bailey at her heels.

“Risa, wait!”
 

She hesitated, and he was up out of his chair, closing the gap between them in a second. Grabbing her elbow, he spun her around to face him.

“I know I’ve been an idiot, but I want to thank you and to-”

Risa jerked her elbow away from him. “I don’t care to hear
anything
you have to say.”
 

Connor stood there helplessly as she spun on her heels and disappeared through the door to the back, slamming it firmly shut in his face.
 

Chapter Fifteen

Risa’s hand felt clammy as she reached for the door to the restaurant.
Why did this guy insist on meeting with her here anyway?
 

Sure, she was grateful for the big donation that would help keep the clinic open for a year, but the truth was, she probably wasn’t even going to be working there. At least not if she had anything to say about it, even though her father and Tristan Dunn had been practically falling over themselves trying to smooth her ruffled feathers.

Her stomach clenched as she thought about how they’d been harping on her, trying to convince her that Connor was only doing his job and trying to protect Dunn International. She could see their point, but it still stung that the whole time she’d thought she and Connor had been getting closer, he had been secretly investigating her behind her back.

Anyway, what did it matter now? As far as she knew, Connor had collected Picasso from the clinic and was
 
long gone by now.

Risa took a deep breath and shook her head, pushing her thoughts away. That was in the past. Time to move forward.

She grasped the cool metal of the brass doorknob and swung the door open, entering into the coolness of the restaurant. Her heartbeat picked up notch as she wondered what she was getting herself into. It seemed a little unusual to meet a benefactor here. She hoped he wasn’t some weirdo stalker. More than likely he was just some rich old guy who wanted a little attention.

“Risa Kennedy?” The hostess at the station cocked her head to the side, eyebrows raised at Risa.

“Yes.”

“Follow me. The room is all setup.”

Room?
 

Alarm bells starting going off in Risa’s head as she followed the hostess to one of the private rooms setup for functions and meetings.
 

They stopped in front of a solid oak door. The hostess turned the knob, opened the door and motioned for Risa to step inside.

The room was dimly lit and Risa stepped in on shaky legs. She could see the room was filled with flowers. On the table, the sideboard, and just about every other surface. Her favorite: white roses.
 

A table was setup in the center with a white tablecloth under white and gold china flanked by silverware that gleamed in the candlelight. She looked over at the man standing in the shadows and a jolt of electricity surged through her.
Connor Dunn
.

She stood there frozen for what seemed like ages. Seeing him unleashed all kinds of emotions in her, and she was torn between throwing herself into his arms and fleeing. Fleeing won out.

“Risa, please wait.”
 

She didn’t know if it was the pleading tone in his voice, or if she was just following what her heart
really
wanted, but she stopped just short of the door.