Royal Seduction. Donna Clayton
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she took a step toward him, the light scent of sun-warmed flowers wafted in the still air of the conference room. His gut tensed, and he could almost feel the smoky tendrils of that enticing trance plucking at him, tempting him all over again.
Time to make an exit. Riley murmured, “Have a great evening.”
The fact that it was only two in the afternoon wasn’t lost on him, but it was too late to retract his valediction, as he’d already turned on his heel and scurried from the room like a frightened rabbit.
Oregon was a lush and beautiful state. Catherine had landed in LAX and chartered a small private plane to Portland. This city had been very lucky for her cousin Max. He’d found great happiness here. Was she hoping it would be lucky for her, too?
Sighing, she lifted her face up to the sunshine. The trainer she’d met in the gym had encouraged her to work hard. Then she’d whiled away the afternoon with a good, long steam, a massage and a warm shower. She felt like a new woman as she pushed open the glass doors and exited the clinic.
She’d told her father she needed time. That hadn’t been a lie. She wished she had more than the two weeks he’d given her to get used to the idea of marrying a man she didn’t love. She’d told her father she planned to shop for her trousseau. On that point she’d stretched the truth a bit, she feared. Shopping for a wedding she wanted nothing to do with wasn’t high on her priority list.
She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for from this trip. But for right now, she simply wanted to forget about home, forget she was royal, forget all about her impending engagement, her looming nuptials. She wanted to be just like everyone else. Was that so much to ask?
“Dr. Lassen, hello!” Catherine was pleasantly surprised to meet the nutritionist in the outdoor breezeway between the hospital and the new health clinic. “It’s a beautiful afternoon, isn’t it?”
“Lovely.” The doctor greeted her with a smile. “I’m awfully sorry I couldn’t check in on you as I’d promised, Catherine.”
“It’s quite all right. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but you look awfully harried.”
The woman nodded. “I just came out of a meeting. Many men. Much testosterone.”
“Stressful, huh?” Catherine grinned. “Sounds like you need a break. I was just looking for a place to have a cup of tea. Want to join me?”
Dr. Lassen shifted her briefcase from one hand to the other. “I’d love to. And I’d kill for a muffin to go along with it. I worked right through lunch today and then I had to meet with hospital administration all afternoon.”
“Let’s find you something to eat, then,” Catherine said.
“There’s a coffee shop just around the corner.”
They headed off along the crowded sidewalk.
“How did you make out today?” Dr. Lassen asked.
Humor had Catherine’s mouth twitching. “Who was that man you sent to see me? The one who filled in for Sally.”
“Dr. Riley Jacobs. He’s the new director at the clinic,” she said.
Dr. Riley Jacobs. His treatment of her had left Catherine feeling a bit put off. And surprised.
She’d read a great write-up about Portland’s Healthy Living Clinic in the newspaper the very first day of her arrival. Apparently it was a friendly place, one that was extremely popular with the locals. Unlike some of the exclusive fitness centers that catered to the affluent sector of the population, this clinic was a facility where anyone and everyone could go to improve their health and well-being.
Since she’d decided to shed her royal status and become a run-of-the-mill tourist for a bit, Catherine had thought that the clinic could be the perfect place for her to meet people as well as lose a few extra pounds.
She’d toured the clinic with Faye Lassen yesterday and had arrived today feeling fired up about starting her fitness regimen…but the handsome Dr. Riley Jacobs had nearly snuffed out her flame.
“Why?” Faye frowned slightly. “What did he do?”
“Well,” Catherine began, “I guess it’s more what he didn’t do.”
Before she could explain further, they arrived at the coffee shop and spent a few moments being seated by the hostess. And then the waitress arrived with menus.
“I don’t believe we need those,” Catherine told the teenager. “We’d like two cups of tea, please. And a muffin for Dr. Lassen.”
“Blueberry or low-fat bran?” the waitress asked the doctor.
Dr. Lassen chose the bran.
Once the teen walked away, Dr. Lassen planted both elbows on the tabletop. “Now that you’ve rescued me for a much-needed break, I think that makes us friends, don’t you think? You have to call me Faye.”
Catherine smiled. “I’ll be happy to call you both. Faye and friend.”
Faye reached for the napkin, shook it out and placed it in her lap. “Now let’s get back to Dr. Jacobs and what it was he didn’t do. He was supposed to go over the nutrition information with you, but if you have to ask his name, it seems he didn’t even introduce himself.”
“Oh, he attempted to go over the information,” she assured Faye. “But something happened. He seemed to become…” Catherine searched for just the right word, but finally had to settle on one that didn’t seem to her to be quite appropriate. “Befuddled.”
Faye reached up and pushed her glasses higher on her nose. “I’d use a lot of words to describe Dr. Jacobs, but befuddled would never be one of them. He’s extremely capable. Very intense. So much so that he can be a little grumpy at times.”
“Bearish and brusque was the description I came up with.” Catherine grinned. Once he’d left the conference room and she realized that her nose had gotten out of joint, she’d decided that no one—other than her father—had ever treated her so curtly before. She’d wanted to call after Dr. Jacobs and ask if he had any idea just who she was. However, she’d immediately chuckled to herself.
Of course, he hadn’t had any idea who she was. And that was exactly how she wanted it.
The entire time she was working out in the gym, she’d thought about the incident, and she was actually pleased that the man had felt free enough to show his true colors. If he’d known her identity, he’d have probably been less candid.
She’d wanted to forget the problem she was facing and experience the regular, workaday world. And that was just what she was doing.
“Ah, so you did see his gruff side.”
“Just a touch.”
Faye sighed. “Sorry about that.”
The waitress served their tea and Faye’s muffin. Both women thanked the girl before she went off to check on other customers.
“Don’t apologize,” Catherine said to Faye, automatically reaching for the string attached to the tea bag. “He didn’t bother me. In fact, I may have deserved the terseness. I was pressing for information, you see. I’d heard about NoWait from some of the people I’d talked to before leaving the clinic yesterday. When he told me the oil wasn’t being used any longer, I should have left well enough alone.” She lifted one shoulder a fraction. “But I didn’t.”
Faye’s mouth flattened. “Yes, we have pulled NoWait. For the time being, anyway. In fact, Dr. Jacobs is still in the meeting with hospital administration. He arrived after he’d met with you. It was his decision to stop using NoWait. But I back him one hundred percent.”
Catherine was disappointed all over again. From what she’d heard from the people in the gym that oil was like some kind of phenomenon. “That’s too bad.”
“It