CHAPTER FOUR
DREW HADN’T BEEN able to stop thinking about Caro. She was obstinate, entrancing, and he’d never met anyone like her before. Maybe that was it. He’d just never met anyone like her, and she fascinated him.
Fascination wasn’t the way to go. Interest would be sufficient. An evening spent thinking about Caro had only confirmed his first impressions. She was talented and beautiful, any man’s dream. But she was also a workaholic, and that meant that she couldn’t be his dream.
But his eagerness to see Caro again had peeled him out of bed early and taken him to the veterinary clinic almost before he’d had a chance to think about how his leg was feeling today. He sat in his office, drafting the email that invited the clinic’s dog owners to participate in Caro’s study.
His phone rang, and Tegan’s voice sounded on the other end of the line. ‘Drew...!’
‘Yep...’ He wasn’t sure who else Tegan might think it was, but since he’d been back, their receptionist had been enunciating his name with an excited emphasis every time he completed the simple task of answering his phone.
‘You have a visitor. Ms Barnes is here to see you.’
Tegan made that sound fabulous and exciting too, and Drew resisted the temptation to agree with her.
‘Great, thanks, Tegan. I’ll be right out.’ He hung up before Tegan could volunteer to bring Caro through to his office.
He was halfway along the corridor that led to the reception area when he saw Caro burst through the swing doors at the far end, wheeling an equipment case. Drew was so surprised that he forgot to keep walking...
Her hair shone in the overhead lights, caught back in a complicated plait that seemed to owe something to nature and something else to design. She wore a pair of slim, dark trousers with a red jacket, and the material of her cream blouse looked as if it might be silky to the touch. Caro was immaculate. And...it was so blatantly obvious that he couldn’t ignore it...beautiful.
‘Good morning.’ She stopped in front of him, and he realised that her honey-brown eyes were yet another thing he should have noticed. All part of her softness.
‘You made it...’ Drew felt suddenly tongue-tied.
‘Looks like it.’ She gave him a bewitching smile, leaning confidingly towards him, and Drew felt the back of his neck tingle in response to her scent. ‘It was the evil stepfather.’
‘What...?’ Maybe this was one of those confusing non sequiturs that dreams threw up from time to time.
‘Sherlock Holmes deduced the answer, though.’
‘Oh! That. I was wondering if you’d go straight back to work after I left.’
‘No, I stayed on the sofa all afternoon. Did Phoenix make it home all right?’
The mischief in her eyes told him that she was really asking about him. Her concern didn’t feel diminishing, though, as if he couldn’t manage on his own.
‘Yeah. We both rested up yesterday evening.’
He turned, the sound of Caro’s dry laughter echoing in his ears. He could get used to that. Making her laugh a little more and work a little less...
Although today was all about work. Obviously. Why else would they be spending time together?
He led the way to his office, and she parked her case in the corner and sat down. Drew printed out his email and handed it to her, and she read it through, nodding her approval.
‘Here’s mine.’ She pulled a memory stick from her handbag, and Drew plugged it into his laptop.
‘It’s too long.’
‘You haven’t even read it yet!’ Caro frowned at him, folding her arms in a clear signal that he’d better do so, and that she’d wait while he did. Under her delicious scrutiny, Drew focussed his eyes on the screen.
‘This is all interesting.’ And his original comment still stood. ‘But it’s too long. People don’t need to wade through all of the reasons that the project’s interesting, they just need to know what we’re asking of them and the positive good that their participation will do.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘You’re not one of these people that likes to oversimplify everything, are you?’
Drew pursed his lips. Caro’s idea of simple wasn’t the same as most other people’s. ‘I don’t fully understand the second paragraph, and I’ve read your initial specification.’
She frowned, walking around his desk to peer over his shoulder at the screen. As she leaned across, seemingly unaware that her arm was touching his shoulder, he felt the hairs on his forearm raise in response.