Summer Escape with the Tycoon

“And so I might have been, but she’s not interested. Believe me, I’ve tried. We’re friends, and that’s all.”

Eric’s collar started to feel a bit tight.

“You’ve tried?” He looked into the surgeon’s face. They were about the same age; O’Neill was maybe a few years older. His eyes were sharp and intelligent, with crinkles at the corners that made him look as if he was always holding back a joke. The thought of him making moves on Molly...

“Don’t worry. She made it very clear she’s not interested in me that way. First, I was her client. Then we became friends. Anytime I asked her out, she made it clear that we were just platonic. Two nights ago we went for drinks. I wanted to update her on this situation, but instead she gave me the whole lowdown on who you were to her. To say I was surprised to hear her talk about you at such length is an understatement.”

Eric took a slow inhalation and kept his grip even on his coffee cup. “I’m surprised. We met for lunch the other day. It was pleasant, but that was all.” God. Had she told Ryan everything about their trip, too? It didn’t seem like Molly, but after lunch the other day, he’d realized that he really didn’t know her as well as he thought he did.

“Pleasant.” Ryan chuckled. “Eric, you’ve got your poker face on and that’s fine, but if you care about her at all, you’ll listen to what I have to say. Then if you can sit there and look me in the eye and say she doesn’t matter, I’ll let it drop and we can move on to talking about amputations, prosthetics and orthotics.”

Eric said nothing, just gestured as if to say that Ryan had the floor.

Ryan put down his coffee. “I’ve known Molly for a while, and I can honestly say we’re friends. I bug her about it now and again and we end up as each other’s plus-one. I care about her a lot. I’m not denying that I’d be thrilled if she actually said yes. But I want her to be happy, and she was so unhappy the other night I know that she’s carrying around a lot of feelings.

“She told me about your trip, and the kayaking and zip-lining and her panic attack and how amazing you were. It was clear to me that she’d fallen for you big-time. So when she explained what had happened that morning in Victoria, I felt horribly responsible. I didn’t know who you were. She’d messaged me about leaving the firm and looking for some work she could sink her teeth into. I thought I was doing her a favor.”

“You were,” Eric admitted, trying to keep his emotions level. “She was really excited about doing something new.”

“And then you stomped on it. Not that I blame you entirely, and neither does she. And I’m not going to get into a ‘he said, she said’ with you. What I know is that whatever happened over lunch the other day, she was hurt and disappointed.”

Eric sat forward in his chair. “Listen, we were talking and then all of a sudden she clammed up and she shut down. What was I supposed to do?”

Ryan sighed. “Look, as men we can be pretty clueless when it comes to, well, clues. Here’s what I know. Molly said you were talking about your family and the business and how great it all was...but you never said anything about her or your feelings for her. She thought you might be meeting her to try to start over. When she realized you weren’t...”

Eric sat back in his chair and for once didn’t worry about his poker face. That was what she thought? That he hadn’t wanted to talk about them? He’d just been getting to it when she clammed up and then what was he supposed to say?

He closed his eyes for a second and sighed.

When he opened them again, Ryan was watching him with a slightly amused expression. “Oh, you don’t need to look so pleased with yourself,” he muttered grouchily. “I messed up again. And don’t look so self-satisfied. Clearly neither of us is great when it comes to women. You were her client, after all.”

Ryan chuckled. “Fair point, so I’ll give it to you. Now I’m gonna ask you. Are you in love with her?”

He didn’t even hesitate. “I’m in love with the woman I met on our trip. I think we’re both wondering if that’s who we are in real life.”

“And how are you going to figure that out if you don’t even try? Take her out on a date or something?”

“What are you now, a therapist?” Eric got up from his chair and paced to the window. “Look, I appreciate the advice. I do. But...” He stopped. But what? He was afraid? Hell, yes, he was afraid. But did he love her?

His biggest fear was that what they’d had wasn’t real. The only way he could know for sure was to put himself out there. But that wasn’t so easy to do. Not for a guy who had kept himself closed off for years.

“I’m just going by what she said and what she saw. She’s miserable, Chambault. I think she went there hoping for a big reunion and she got everything but. How would you feel if she talked about how great her life was now but never mentioned that she wanted you to have a part in it?”

When put that way, it made sense. Perfect sense. And explained why he’d blown it so badly.

“I really messed it up, huh?” he said quietly, turning back to face the other man.

“Yeah, you did. Hey, we’ll figure out this company thing. I’m incredibly happy that you’re sticking around and I’m on board with working with you. But I really came here today because of Molly. I kind of feel responsible for what happened, and I want her to be happy. Even if it’s not with me.”

Eric looked straight into Ryan’s face. He was dead serious. He truly cared about Molly if he was willing to step aside if it meant she’d be happy. That Ryan seemed to think it might be with him...well, he’d never been one to give up easily. Not when it was something he really wanted.

And the truth was, he wanted Molly in his life. Wanted it more than he wanted to protect himself and his heart. It had taken until now for him to truly realize it.

“It needs to be perfect,” he said, shoving his hand in his pocket and gripping his coffee cup.

A grin spread across Ryan’s face. “Then I have an idea. What you need to do is...”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN