‘Busy tonight?’ The words came out before he could stop them.
‘Eh...no,’ she said with a wrinkle across her brow.
‘Good,’ he said. ‘In that case, we have plans.’
He gave her a smile. Right now he had no idea what those plans might be, but he would think of something.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘WHERE ARE WE GOING?’
‘Dancing.’
‘What?’ Viv’s face was a picture. ‘You don’t dance.’
‘I do. Well, I do now. Let’s go.’
Duc was waiting for her by the door. Her eyes ran up and down his frame. ‘Are these your dancing clothes?’
He looked down at his black shirt and blue jeans and held out his hands. ‘Why, something wrong with them?’
He glanced back at her. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black shirt tied at her waist. ‘Hey—we look like a matching pair!’
She pulled a face and ducked back into her room, emerging one minute later with a bright green top scattered with some sequins.
She walked over to him as she grabbed her jacket near the door. For a second he saw her biting her lip.
‘What’s up?’
For the briefest of seconds his gaze meshed with hers. He thought she was going to say something deep, but she just shook her head and slung her bag over her shoulder. ‘A horrible accident and three, no, four patients that are all doing okay. I think our hospital might have had some good luck today.’ She winked at him. ‘Maybe there’s some magic to the name of this place. Okay, Mr Good Luck, it’s time to take Crazy Scot number one dancing.’ She shot him a glance as she bopped out of the door in front of him. ‘Show me your moves!’
And as she shimmied away onto the grass he thought this might have been the best idea he’d ever had.
* * *
So far, they’d been to a bar that served American burgers, then hit three different bars and had a cocktail in every one of them.
By the time they reached the club she’d was ready to move on to water. They climbed the stairs of the club. Music was thumping, it felt like the walls around them reverberated with every beat.
The club was busy and the dance floor was packed.
She stared around at the bodies jumping up and down on the floor. ‘I feel old,’ she said, watching the synchronised vibe around her.
Duc bent down, his lips brushing against her ear. ‘What?’ he shouted.
‘I feel old!’ she yelled in his ear.
He laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the bar, which was packed three people deep. They jostled through the crowd as the music changed to a nineties rave tune and a scream went up around them.
It seemed the old-style tunes were the favourites.
Duc’s broad shoulders took him to the front of the pack at the bar and he pulled her in tight behind him, spinning around and putting a hand on the back of her waist as he bent to talk to her.
‘What do you want?’ His lips touched her ear again. It couldn’t be helped—but neither could her reaction to his touch. Every cell in her body seemed to spring to life.
‘Just water,’ she said.
‘What?’ His brow furrowed, the music was booming around them. This time as he pulled her even closer, her whole body was pressed against his.
It was like the crowd had just moved around them, giving her no room to step backwards. As she breathed in, her senses were assaulted by the smell of him. His aftershave, the scent of his shampoo, the laundry detergent from his clothes.
One hand went automatically to his shoulder. She stood on tiptoe, reversing positions so it was she who was talking in his ear.
The cocktails were still in her system: a strawberry daiquiri, a mimosa and a sex on the beach had made her bold and a little cheeky. This time it was her lips that brushed against his ear. How would his body react? Would he react the same way that she had?
He might try to hide it, but she felt him stiffen for the briefest of seconds. It made her smile. ‘Just water,’ she said in his ear, lingering longer than she needed to.
Part of her was annoyed. She’d seen that email today—even though she’d no intention of mentioning it. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go back to being a surgeon.
She should be happy for him, but the truth was it annoyed her. Couldn’t he see how good it was here? Couldn’t he see the wonderful opportunities he had at the tips of his fingers?
Part of her was irritated by that. Duc was a smart guy—at least she’d always thought of him that way. He’d inherited not only a legacy but something he could make his own.
Viv had never had opportunities like this. The only thing she’d inherited from her birth mother was her hair colour. She didn’t even know if her father was dead or alive. She had no intention of trying to find out.
As Duc’s large brown eyes stared down into hers, she thought about how life might have been if their situations had been reversed. Would she be trying to run away from ownership of three hospitals, along with the responsibility and the staff?
Maybe she would. Maybe she didn’t really understand. There was no career conflict for her here. She could do the job she loved every day here—along with opportunities to learn new skills.
There was no downside.
Duc narrowed his gaze and she realised she hadn’t moved. Her face was only inches from his. The last time they’d been this close...
She could see the flicker of recognition in his eyes and she quickly turned away. Last time Duc had pulled away. She wouldn’t give him a chance to do that to her again.
He turned back to the bar and she pushed her way free of the crowd, standing to the side. She’d only been there a few seconds when a tall blond guy approached her. He’d had a few drinks and was in a good mood, talking closely in her ear—it was the only way to do it in the noisy club—and asking her if she wanted to dance.
She shook her head. But he didn’t want to take no for an answer.
He nodded towards the dance floor as the music changed to another old tune. One that she liked. He held out a hand towards her, and after a few seconds’ hesitation she took it. Why not? The electricity between Duc and her was close to setting her on fire. She had to expend her energy somewhere.
This guy was just her type. A bit merry, obviously a tourist, with no expectations of her—just like she would have none of him. Duc was planning on leaving. Why shouldn’t she have a little fun?
The dance floor was busy, but not enough that she was crushed. The guy was from New Zealand. And he could dance.
Being here, in the middle of the dance floor, she could feel the energy all around her. It was electric. The guy was funny, a little drunk and he could move. She matched him, laughing away as they jumped up and down to the beat.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to a club and had fun like this. He grabbed one arm and spun her around, first one way and then the next.
It was fun. She was having fun. And all of a sudden she forgot about everything else.
* * *
Duc fought his way back from the crowded bar and looked around, scanning the crowd to see where Viv had gone.
He frowned, looking for her distinctive red hair. He thought she might have moved away from the claustrophobic bar and took a few steps nearer the dance floor.
He could feel the floor under his feet bounce with the movement of the people on the dance floor. Hands were in the air as everyone jumped up and down in time with a song that was distant memory from his student days. Even then, the song had been fifteen years old.
Then he saw it. The red hair swinging out wildly as Viv danced freely in the middle of the floor. She was dancing with someone. A guy with broad shoulders and blond hair. Duc felt an instant flare of jealousy.
She was laughing, the sequins on her top catching the lights in
the club. It made her sparkle in the middle of the floor.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her, mesmerised by the swing of her hips, the way he could see the skin at her waist as she punched her hands in the air. It had been years since he’d seen her like this. Free, laughing, enjoying life.
It was the way he loved her most.
That thought hit him like a spear through the heart.
The bottle of water nearly slipped from his hand.
It was as if all the little pieces of the jigsaw puzzle had just slotted into place in his brain.
He gave a shiver but kept watching. The guy grabbed Viv’s hand and spun her round. She laughed and spun back the other way as the guy swayed with his movements.
Duc could feel his hackles rise. The guy was clearly drunk. It took every ounce of self-control not to storm over there and yank her away from him.
But what right did he have to do that? None. And Viv would eat him for breakfast.