Farrah Rochon - Forever's Promise

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me about your popularity,” she said, moving to another table and resuming her task. “I happened to catch a gossip session yesterday that was all about the hot new doctor. I cannot believe how the women here are scheming just to get closer to you. It’s ridiculous.”

“Ouch,” Xavier said after a pause. “Way to hurt my feelings.”

She halted in the middle of wiping down the table, looked up at him and burst out laughing.

“That sounded awful, didn’t it?” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean that it was ridiculous that women would try to get closer to you. It’s just the lengths they’re going to that seem over the top. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Dr. Wright.”

The self-deprecating grin inching up the edges of her lips was as edible as any of the pastries in the display case. Xavier would bet it tasted better than any of them, too.

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I’ll accept your apology if you accept mine.”

Her grin broadened. “Nice try.”

The smile made her already gorgeous face even more alluring. For a moment, her full, gently bowed lips held him captive. She’d gathered her curly hair into a ponytail, making her regal cheekbones more pronounced.

“Shayla, I—”

He was cut off by a loud voice that yelled, “Auntie Shayla!”

The two little girls from last night ran out from a short hallway toward the rear of the coffeehouse.

“Auntie Shayla, is it almost time to dance?” the younger one asked. She looked no worse for wear after last night’s E.R. visit.

When she spotted him, her eyes widened. “Dr. Wright!” She ran up to him, nearly crashing into his legs. “I’m not throwing up yellow stuff anymore.”

“That’s because he gave you medicine to make you feel better,” the older girl said in that soft voice of hers.

“I’m happy it worked,” Xavier said. “And we learned a lesson, right? No eating Easter egg dye, even if it is your favorite color?”

They both nodded.

“Dr. Wright is right,” Shayla said, running a hand down each girl’s head. “Dancing starts in a few minutes. Why don’t you ask Ms. Lucinda to get you each some chocolate milk?”

“I want mine first,” the youngest yelled as they both sprinted for the kitchen.

Shayla turned her attention back to him. “This has been fun, but in about ten minutes I’m going to have a bunch of women here looking to get their Zumba on, and I need to have this place ready.”

She started clearing the middle of the floor, dragging the chairs over to the wall. Xavier picked up a table and carried it over.

“Thanks, but you really don’t have to do this.”

“I know. It’s all a part of my master plan to get in your good graces,” he said with a wink. He got a glimpse of that grin again. Damn, but that grin was nice.

“So, there’s a plan?” she asked.

Xavier nodded as he carted another table away. “Oh, yeah. I’m determined to get you to accept my apology.”

She cocked her head to the side and stared at him for a moment.

“What?” Xavier asked.

She shook her head after another beat. “Nothing. Continue on. I’m usually doing this by myself, so it’s nice to have some help.”

He moved the last table, then walked up to her, stopping just inside of personal-space territory. “I’d be happy to come by in the evenings and help you move furniture around. Just let me know when to be here.”

She didn’t step back, which he took as a good sign. It meant that she was okay with him being in her personal space. A very good sign. He rather enjoyed her personal space.

The front door opened and two women walked in. Xavier recognized them as members of Gauthier’s Civic Association. They stopped in at the clinic at least once a week to see if there was any help they could provide.

“Hey there, Mrs. Eloise and Mrs. Clementine,” Shayla called. “Glad you two could make it.” They both waved, but headed to the counter where the cook was packing up the leftover baked goods from the display case.

“That would be your cue to leave,” Shayla said. “My class will be starting in just a few minutes.”

“Have you accepted my apology yet?”

She pitched her head back and sighed dramatically at the ceiling. “Fine. I accept your apology.”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Xavier said. “I think maybe I should apologize over dinner.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. It seemed as if she was experiencing the same shock he was. Had he really just asked her out to dinner?

“You move pretty quickly, don’t you?” Shayla asked.

No, he didn’t. These days, when it came to women, he was the exact opposite of quick, especially after the way things had ended with Nicole. But now that he’d asked, he wasn’t backing down. In fact, he was dying for her to say yes.

“I want to make up for last night’s blunder.” He reached for her hand. “Let me take you to dinner, Shayla.”

When he touched her a current of electricity sparked between them. Xavier saw her breath catch. She stared down at their clasped hands, then back up at him. They stood there for several moments, the air between them crackling with a charged sizzle that he felt down to his toes.

Her eyes still locked with his, she slowly eased her fingers out of his grasp. “While I appreciate the invitation, I’m just too busy these days. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. Good night, Dr. Wright.”

No way was he giving up this easily, not after the forceful surge that had overpowered the air between them a moment ago.

“What can I do to convince you to reconsider?” Xavier asked.

So now he was pleading for a date? What in the hell was going on with him?

A group of spandex-clad women of varying ages walked through the front door.

“Good night, Dr. Wright,” Shayla said again.

Swallowing a frustrated groan, Xavier accepted defeat. For now.

“Good night,” he said, staring at her retreating form as she turned and headed for one of the tables toward the back of the room. He continued to stare as she set up an iPod docking station and attached a set of speakers to it.

Just as he turned to leave, Margery Lambert, who’d brought her grandson to the clinic last week with a virus, stopped him. As she went on and on about the child’s antics over the past week, the Zumba class started. Xavier barely registered Mrs. Lambert’s words as Shayla began to instruct her students. His mouth dried up at the sight of her perfectly curved hips rotating to the Latin dance beats coming from the iPod.

God, she was beautiful. And sexy.

And definitely worth another attempt at asking out to dinner.

It took him a moment to reacquaint himself with the idea of actually pursuing a woman. Sure, he’d hooked up with a couple of women over the past year—women who knew from the start that he wanted a no-strings-attached deal. Dinner wasn’t even expected, just a mutual meeting of body parts to fulfill a certain need. But when he’d asked Shayla to dinner, a casual hookup had been the last thing on his mind.

“Oh, I’m missing the warm-up,” Mrs. Lambert said. “Anyway, Jayden is doing so much better. Thank you again, Dr. Wright. I am so grateful to have you and the others at the new clinic.”

Xavier jerked to attention. Had she been talking to him this whole time?

“I... You’re welcome,” he said before Mrs. Lambert went over to join the rest of the class.

He lingered for a few minutes before forcing himself to exit the coffee shop. As he strolled to his Jeep, he prayed that visions of Shayla Kirkland’s swaying hips didn’t keep him up half the night.

* * *

“What about marshmallows?” Kristi clapped her hands excitedly and jumped up and down as if she’d just come up with the best recipe in the history of the universe.