Leverage - Part 2

“Very funny,” she agreed with question in her eyes. “Do you really live here?”

Miles shook his head, tossing droplets of water, as he tried to shake the water from his ear. “Actually, yeah, when I moved to St. John a few months ago from Los Angeles, my friend Lindy — one of the Bell sisters who own the resort — told me this was the best place to stay on the island and I just, sort of, never get around to finding another place to stay.”

“Wouldn’t a rental house be better than a resort? That’s got to be expensive,” she said.

He bent down to whisper as if sharing in confidence, “I get the ‘friends of the owner’ discount, and frankly, I didn’t know how long I was going to be staying so I didn’t want to sign on for a year-lease on a rental, so this works for me. Besides, have you tried Celly’s cooking? Best home-cooked island food around. If I didn’t have the ocean to get some cardio in, I’d end up sporting a spare tire.”

He caught her quick appraisal of his washboard abs and smothered a grin of masculine pride when her cheeks pinked just a little, betraying that she’d liked what she saw. What the hell was he doing? Was he actually flirting with a patient? Not cool, Miles. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, man. “Have you had breakfast yet?” she asked, cutting off his escape plan before he could put it into play. The poor woman was pregnant and alone. What would it hurt to enjoy a little fresh fruit and conversation?

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on your morning,” he said, giving her the opportunity to rescind her implied invitation gracefully as well as inadvertently save his ass from indulging the building not-so-patient-like attraction he felt. But she didn’t save him from himself, in fact she pretty much handed him the weapon of his own destruction by blinding him with a welcoming smile as she gestured to the seat beside her. “Well, if you insist,” he said with a grin. “I’ll go grab some grub and meet you back here.”

“The papaya is amazing,” she offered. “But then the sausages are out of this world, too.”

“Duly noted.” Miles went to the breakfast room and loaded up a plate, grabbing a few extra sausages for his pregnant friend, and before heading out, waved to Lilah and her cute kids. He rejoined Julianna and tucked into his breakfast with relish, groaning as he plowed through the food. Julianna laughed at his enthusiasm and nodded in agreement as he moaned with a mouthful of sausage. “You did not lie. This is sublime. Here, I brought you another,” he said, forking a sausage and putting it on Julianna’s plate. “Extra protein is always good.” He warmed at her easy laughter and he knew he was in a danger zone with this woman. There was something about her that drew him in way that should not if he hoped to keep things professional between them. “So, what do you think of St. John?” he asked, figuring that was a safe question — friendly but not overly nosy.

She exhaled with a wistful sigh as her gaze roamed the gentle, private beach with its white sugar sand and clear waters. “It’s beyond beautiful. Aside from the humidity, it’s near paradise.”

“When I first came here, I nearly passed out from the humidity,” he shared. “Of course, the lenient open container laws might’ve contributed to my dehydration, which in turn might’ve had something to do with my passing out but, you know, live and learn.”

“The laws are bit different here,” she agreed. “Everywhere I go, there’s someone with a drink in their hand.”

“The Caribbean has a long and celebrated past with drinking. You know, pirates and their rum, and all that,” he said, finishing off the sausage and digging into his eggs. “And yet, there aren’t as many alcohol-related deaths as you would think.”

“Interesting. Well, no drinking for me. Although I have craved a beer in the worst way. And I’m not a beer drinker. What does that mean, doc?”

“An old wives tale is that whatever you crave, your body needs.”

“My body needs beer?”

He laughed. “Well, I didn’t say it was backed up by science.” A comfortable silence passed between them and Miles decided to dig a little deeper into the mystery of his newest patient. It was probably a bad idea but he had to know more. “You can tell me to piss off, it’s none of my business, but I’m curious…why is a beautiful woman like yourself, pregnant and alone on an island paradise?”

Her soft smile retreated and he held his breath, worrying he’d pushed too far, too soon but she answered with a sigh. “I needed some space to think. And if I’m being honest, I think I was hurt and scared, too. The guy I was with…it’s complicated,” she finished with a sad shrug that pulled at his heart.

“Do you love him?”

That question seemed to shake her up. Her eyes widened as if to protest but her mouth seamed shut as if to prevent her from committing. “It can’t be love. I barely know him,” she finally said. “Besides, love is the last thing he would ever offer me so it’s ludicrous to even think about it.”

His instincts said to back off. This woman still harbored feelings for her baby daddy and that was drama he did not want but there was something so appealing about Julianna that he ignored his own good sense to say, “Well, if I may…if this guy let you go, he doesn’t deserve you.”

Julianna’s breath hitched in her chest and a shadow passed over her gaze as she accepted his opinion with a shy nod. “You’re too sweet. Are you this nice to all your patients or just the ones with a clichéd sob story?”

“Only the ones I think are special.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, gracing him with a smile that zinged his insides. “I appreciate the kind words. Maybe it’s because I’m hormonal but I’ve been out of sorts and I don’t know what the right choice is anymore.”

“Maybe I can help.”

“It’s not fair of me to unload on you.”

“Let me be the judge of that. I’ve got a pretty solid shoulder and I’m offering it to you, free of charge.” He winked and she laughed ruefully. “C’mon, we all have skeletons dancing in our closets. Nothing you could say would shock me and I want to help.”

He held her uncertain gaze, wishing he could smooth away those subtle worry lines in her forehead and chase away her sadness, but he also knew he was taking a huge risk. Either he would get screwed and tattooed or he’d come out with the prize.

There was only one way to find out.

#

Julianna shouldn’t tell Miles about her situation but she was desperate to talk to someone and Miles was being so sweet and kind. And damn her hormones, she really needed someone because Boston certainly wasn’t around for her to yell at for being an overbearing jerk. But Miles is really cute, a voice warned. And you’re starting to look at him like a perfectly grilled steak. And that was bad. “I shouldn’t…but…I’m in a peculiar predicament,” she started, unsure of how much she should share. “You see, the father of my baby is…” probably hiring a private eye to hunt me down “is very controlling. And I’m not sure he’s the best person to be a father so I split and didn’t tell him where I went.”

“Oh, I see. Was he abusive?” Miles’ concerned tone sent warm shivers dancing down Julianna’s backside but she wouldn’t lie about Boston like that and shook her head. Miles didn’t seem convinced but allowed her to continue.

“At first Boston — that’s his name — was really bossy but then he started to change and he was actually kind of sweet until I found out I was pregnant. Then he freaked out on me and then I freaked out on him and split. And that’s where it stands.” Except for the part where Boston actually owned her in a sense and he held the power to destroy her disabled brother if she didn’t go back to him. Julianna didn’t see the sense in sharing that part of the story. She also didn’t want to think of the possibility that Boston wasn’t mad, but actually worried about her. Was that even a possibility? Boston was anything but tender-hearted. Except at certain moments, a voice whispered, reminding her of how reverently Boston had touched her, how gentle his hands could be as he’d coaxed her body into yielding to the most mind-shattering orgas

ms. Her cheeks heated and she glanced away, hating that her thoughts of Boston always seemed to gravitate to the carnal. So he was a great lover, he was still a jerk. Orgasms — no matter how great — did not make up for a terrible personality.

“So, it sounds as if you two need to have a conversation and hash things out,” Miles said with obvious regret. “I mean, if he’s not a bad guy and this all stems from a heated argument…maybe you ought to give him a chance to make it right.”

“Not possible,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not ready to see him again and if you knew Boston, you’d know that he’s incapable of apologizing. It’s just not in his wheelhouse.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to play matchmaker, but you’d be surprised what men will do to win back the woman they love.”

At that Julianna barked a short laugh edged with misery. “Boston doesn’t love me. I know that for a fact. I made a huge mistake hooking up with him for what I thought were good reasons but I ended up getting burned in the process. Boston loves one person — himself — which is why he doesn’t need to be a part of my baby’s life. I don’t want him to contaminate this little life I have growing inside me.”

“Well, it’s your choice and you know best. You’re a smart woman. You’ll get it figured out.” Miles stood and gathered his and her trash and took it to the recycle bin before returning to say with a fresh smile, “In the meantime, consider me your official island buddy. I’ll show you around, tip you off to the best places to pick up local fare without getting ripped off and I promise to make sure you get plenty of Vitamin D in the form of quality spent at the best beaches in the Caribbean.”

Her gaze lit up with delight at his offer and she grinned. “Are you sure? I’m hormonal, bloated, and bound to throw up at any given moment. That’s not exactly an endorsement for a good buddy on your end.”