Kayla Perrin - Playing With Fire

“Shut up.”

“What am I supposed to make of that? That he wants to pick things up where we left off? Or did he just not know what else to say? Maybe he feels bad because of how he ended things with me—and the fact that I just learned he was a cheater.”

“You’re not gonna do it, right? You’re not going to meet with him to talk?”

“No,” Zienna said emphatically. “Definitely not. I don’t want to talk to him. I want nothing to do with him.” She paused. “But...I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a small part of me that wouldn’t mind hearing what he has to say. If for no other reason than to give him a piece of my mind when he’s finished. Because that’s what I wanted to do when I saw him last night. I wanted to scream and yell and slap him, and tell him what an asshole he is. All that crap about not wanting to get married and not wanting to hurt me, when he was really seeing someone else. But I couldn’t react. I had to pretend as though him coming into the restaurant hadn’t affected me one bit.”

“Zienna...” Alexis’s tone held a hint of caution.

“What? I’m not stupid. I’m over Wendell. But that doesn’t mean I’m not mad at him.”

“Unless you want to flirt with danger, then you need to drop it and stay away from him, period. And maybe what you’ve just said is the biggest reason why you need to tell Nicholas about your history with Wendell. Tell him the truth, and he’ll make sure the two of you stay apart.”

“Don’t misunderstand me,” Zienna said. “I’m just telling you what would be nice—in a perfect world.”

Alexis made a face as she regarded her. “It took you a long time to get over Wendell.”

“And I am. I am over him.” She sighed softly. Alexis knew her too well. “Maybe you’re right. Nothing good will come of me giving him a piece of my mind. In fact, the best revenge will be him seeing that I’m happy. That I’ve moved on. And perhaps the fact that it’s with his best friend is even better.”

Alexis continued to regard her with a narrowed gaze, and Zienna could see the wheels churning in her mind. “What?”

“Just be careful. Come clean with Nicholas, because it’s not like you did anything wrong. But come clean so there’s no issue that can come back to bite you. And unless you still want something with Wendell, I’d stay away from him.”

“You’re right,” Zienna said. At least regarding her advice to stay away from Wendell. But she wasn’t so sure about telling Nicholas that she and his friend had once been lovers.

For the time being, Zienna had done the most important thing, and that was to get this troubling news off her chest. Speaking with Alexis had allowed her to think clearly, and now that she had, she was starting to realize that her past with Wendell would be an issue only if she made it one. Because certainly Wendell wouldn’t say anything to hurt his friend, would he? Not when he knew how much Nicholas liked her.

As she left Alexis’s apartment so that her friend could get another hour of sleep before getting up for work, Zienna felt a lot better. No, she wouldn’t say anything to Nicholas. Their relationship was going well, and she couldn’t see Wendell doing anything to jeopardize that.

So if he wasn’t going to say anything about their past involvement, there was no reason for her to. She had stressed over Wendell’s reappearance for several hours, but it was suddenly apparent that she had done so needlessly.

Because the fact that he was back in town wasn’t going to affect her relationship with Nicholas.

Not at all.

4

Zienna finished reading the medical questionnaire her newest patient, who was sitting on the examining bed, had filled out, describing the pain he was experiencing. Before he’d arrived for his appointment she had studied the files that had come from his physician—over two cups of very strong coffee, since she needed the caffeine to help her stay awake after her largely sleepless night.

“So, let me sum up what I understand from what you’ve told me and what I’ve read in your file,” she said as she placed the clipboard on her desk, then moved to stand in front of him. “You’ve been dealing with pain in your right elbow for nearly two years, which you attribute to your work as a machinist.”

Ed, a heavyset man in his mid-forties, nodded. “Yep.”

“And despite various therapies, you’re still suffering pain.”

“Yeah. And now my doc has suggested surgery, but I don’t want to do that. Not yet, anyway.”

“Which is why you’re here.” Zienna smiled pleasantly. “I’m very glad you contacted our clinic. Even though you had disappointing results with other doctors, you’re going to be quite happy with your decision to put off having surgery.”

“You sound really sure about that.”

“There’s a saying—he who treats the site of pain is lost. So let me ask you, have you ever had any problems with your left knee?”

Ed’s chubby cheeks puckered with his frown. “My left knee?”

“Kinesiologists believe in holistic treatment, which is based on the interconnectedness of the entire body. What I see time and again is that the area where a person suffers pain is often not the source of the pain. It’s something called interlimb neural coupling, which is a fancy way of saying that the limbs are connected in terms of functionality. So hearing your symptoms with your right elbow, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that you’ve had issues with your left knee.”

Zienna regarded Ed, and saw in his eyes when his brain connected the dots. “I did. I injured my left knee years ago when cycling. I still feel pain there from time to time.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Excellent.”

“Excellent?” he echoed, looking confused.

“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just...well, I love my job, and I especially love when I’m able to help someone who feels all hope is lost. Just last month I had a patient come here with a torn ligament in his shoulder, and he, too, believed he would have to have surgery. Once I was able to diagnose the true source of his shoulder problems—which were actually connected to problems in his opposite ankle—within a couple of sessions he was pain-free.”

Ed looked skeptical.

“It’s the magic of kinesiology.” Zienna had treated patients whose issues were emotional, with their stress manifested as pain in their body. In her practice, she dealt with a person’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being as a way to effectively care for their problems.

“I won’t begin treatment until you’ve had all the tests we require here at the clinic, but I feel very confident that I can successfully eliminate the pain in your elbow.”

Now Ed smiled. “If you can save me from surgery, I’ll be forever in your debt.”

At that moment, the wall phone rang. Zienna turned to look at it, knowing that for the receptionist to have put a call through to her in the examining room, it had to be important.

“Excuse me a moment, Ed.”

She crossed the room to the phone and lifted the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe.”

At the sound of Nicholas’s voice, Zienna frowned slightly. Why was he calling her on this line?

“Hey,” she said in a lowered voice. “What’s up?”

“Just concerned about you. The way you left this morning...it didn’t feel right. I called your cell, but you didn’t answer.”

“Right.”

“You okay?”

“Um-hmm. Yep. But, um, can I call you back in a little bit? I’m with a client right now.”

“Oh, okay. No problem. I just wanted to hear your voice. Make sure you’re all right.”

“Excellent,” she said, hoping for Ed’s sake to sound professional.