Love Chronicles

Who would have guessed that Sunny would be the type of gal who would meet a total stranger and strike up a sudden friendship, all in the space of an hour? More than likely, she would be able to help him with Mr. Commitment. She clearly had an outgoing, friendly, approachable personality, just like Jenny.

Bad combination, those two. Jenny, the fired-up defender of the innocent working with Sunny, her name the perfect description of her personality. Even when she’d slammed him, it had come out in a way that had amused everybody, even him. And no other woman had looked so good after spilling juice all over him.

Yeah, Sunny was appealing in so many ways, making her dangerous. And he had a sneaking suspicion that with Jenny and Sunny working together, the situation would more than likely do what he hated—spin out of his control and out of the realm of practicality.

And right into the realm of intense physical—and, more dangerously, emotional—attraction.

And that was the last place he would ever let himself go.

Chapter Two

Connor pushed his dark thoughts aside, ignored his wet, orange juice–saturated lap, chomped on his doughnut and drank his coffee. He reiterated to himself why he’d made the right decision, the practical one for his practice.

Just as he finished the doughnut, Steve approached his booth. “Hey, Doc. How you doing?”

Connor inclined his head. “All right.” He and Steve had gone through school together and had shared an interest in science. Steve had combined his interest in the scientific world with his love of animals and had become a veterinarian.

Steve smiled. “Saw your sister here a few minutes ago.”

Connor nodded and took a sip of coffee. “That was her.”

“Who was that gorgeous gal with her?” Steve asked, his brown eyes alight with interest. “Haven’t seen her around before.”

Connor gave Steve a hard glance. “Sunny Williams,” he said, not particularly hot on going into details. The whole town knew Steve was in the market for a wife.

Steve plunked down across from him. “Is she living in Oak Valley, or just visiting?”

“Just visiting.” Connor was pretty sure Sunny would leave now that she didn’t have a job. He had to admit, as an appreciative, red-blooded male, part of him was a bit disappointed a gorgeous woman like Sunny wasn’t going to be hanging around.

“Too bad,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t mind getting to know her.”

Surprisingly, the thought of Steve getting to know Sunny bothered Connor. Irritated that he was bothered at all, he finished his coffee, stood and reached for the tab. “Don’t think you’ll have the chance, bud. She won’t be here for long.”

He said goodbye, hiding his splotched pants as best he could, then paid the bill at the front counter and left. As he walked up the boardwalk, the late morning sun warm on his back, he told himself he’d done the right thing, even though his dad would probably come unglued. That couldn’t be helped. Despite his father’s inevitable anger and disappointment, Connor’s decision would stand.

Confident he’d done the right thing, he walked back to his office. When he arrived, his next patient, ten-year-old Danny Jones, was waiting. Connor quickly donned his lab coat to hide his damp clothes, then tended to Danny.

Danny had recently broken his arm playing baseball, and Connor wanted to make sure the healing process was on track. Danny’s parents had been killed in a car accident two years ago, and he’d come to Oak Valley to live with his widowed grandmother, Edith Largo, a long-time resident. Connor had spent a lot of time with Danny, trying to fill in here and there to give Edith a break and a guy for the kid to play ball with.

Pleased by Danny’s rate of recovery, Connor walked him to the waiting room, noting his dad, the elder Dr. Forbes, sat in the waiting room, shooting the breeze with June and Edith.

Damn. Obviously Jenny and Sunny had called in the cavalry. His dad looked at him expectantly. Connor clenched his hands.

Smiling to cover up the tension suddenly roiling around the room, Connor conferred with Edith. He then made an appointment in two weeks for Danny’s cast to be removed and walked him and Edith to the door.

When they were gone, his dad stood, his perennial red baseball cap in his hand. “I expected you’d have a special visitor by now.”

Connor paused, gathering his patience together, then crossed his arms over his chest. “So I suppose Sunny and Jenny came to see you.”

His dad looked puzzled. “No. But does that mean Sunny’s here? Have you had a chance to meet?”

Major surprise. So the threatening twosome hadn’t gone running to his dad as he’d assumed. Score one small point for Sunny. “Sunny came here, and then I saw her and Jenny at Luella’s half an hour ago, but I don’t know where they went after that.”

June piped in. “She and Jenny came by, got Sunny’s dog out of her van and took him for a walk.”

His dad stepped forward, his hazel eyes questioning. “I expected that she’d be next door getting organized. Is she coming back later?”

“No, because I have no intention of being her partner. The deal is off.” He stared at his dad, scowling. “Really, Dad, you should have consulted me before you brought her on. You know how I feel about alternative medicine.”

His dad’s eyes hardened. “Yes, I do, which is one of the reasons I asked her to come here.” His dad pointed at him. “You need an overhaul, my boy.”

He stared at his dad, minutely shaking his head. Connor had become a doctor to prove to his dad that they shared a unique connection. But catering to the desire to forge a bond with his father wasn’t going to happen this time. His dad had stepped over the line.

He gave his dad a stony look and said, “Is there anything else?”

His dad stepped up to the counter and pounded his fist on it. “Dammit, Connor, you’re not going to do your usual number and just walk away when things get sticky. I expect you to go along with this.”

Connor gritted his teeth, but before he could say “Forget it,” his dad continued. “And I’ll throw this out as bait. Your mother is driving me crazy at home now that I’m retired. I love her, but I’m going nuts with all of her honey-do’s. If you do this for me and allow Sunny to be your partner for say…a three-month trial period, I’ll reconsider full-time retirement after that.”

Connor raised his brows. He had to give the old man some credit. He’d thrown out a tempting deal, especially since what Connor really wanted to do—pursue a career in medical research and leave Oak Valley behind—would be that much easier to accomplish if his dad was around to help out.

Granted, he hadn’t figured out how he could be a medical researcher and still fulfill his long-ago promise to his parents to permanently take over for his dad in exchange for them putting him through med school. He hadn’t even told them about his dream of a different career.

He let out a heavy breath. Okay, he’d work on that and come up with something. Maybe he’d even be able to convince his dad to go back to being Mr. Commitment, too. One more reason to take him up on the deal.

True, Connor would have to put up with Sunny’s hokey massage business and yoga. He could take that for three months, couldn’t he?

Maybe as his working partner. But as a sexy, tempting woman he’d have to keep his hands off of? He swallowed. Suddenly, three months seemed like a lifetime.

He ignored that thought. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

His dad smiled. “I knew you’d see reason. I promise you won’t regret your decision. Sunny is a wonderful, charming woman who will be a terrific addition to this office.” He moved toward the door. “Junie tells me you don’t have another patient for over an hour. Instead of stuffing your nose in some medical journal, why don’t you go find Sunny and give her the good news?” He waved, plopped his hat on his head and walked out.

Connor stared at the door and then rubbed his neck, trying to relieve the perpetual crick there. Suddenly, a massage by the delectable Miss Sunshine sounded pretty good.

He swung around, tightening his jaw. She was getting to him already.

Too bad. He’d agreed to the deal. He’d just have to be sure to stick to his vow to keep his thoughts where they belonged—anywhere but on beautiful Sunny Williams. He wasn’t going to be tempted into certain romantic failure again.

Get real, Forbes. He had a bad feeling that keeping his mind off of brown-eyed Sunny wasn’t going to be easy. She turned him on in a major way and seemed pretty nice, too, even when she was spitting fire.

Damn, he hoped he wouldn’t regret agreeing to his dad’s harebrained deal.

Sunny sat on a quaint, wrought-iron bench in the park, waiting for Rufus to come back with the tennis ball she’d thrown. She was determined to chill out and enjoy the sunny, peaceful morning and picturesque, grassy little park, located on the edge of town, while she figured out what to do next. Jenny had left to pick up her daughter at her parents’ house with a promise not to talk to her dad, leaving Sunny alone with her thoughts.

Despite her efforts to calm down and simply enjoy her surroundings, frustratingly dire thoughts—centering around one stubborn, irritating doctor—swamped her.

After so many business and romantic flops, she’d been so excited about moving here, making a new start and proving to herself that she wasn’t a total failure. This might be her last chance to fulfill her pact with Robbie and secure the commitment they’d craved as footloose best friends being raised in a commune.