Redeeming The Rebel Doc

At least now he didn’t care what he wore as long as it was comfortable. He’d spent half his life going in one direction and the other half hell-bent on another. No way was he returning to the old lifestyle his parents had pretended they could afford. He had no reason to prove himself to anyone through his appearance, zero interest in outside trappings. He knew with bone-deep certainty who he was and for the rest of his life there would be no more pretentious facades.

Still, damn it, he had agreed to help with Tiffani’s PR nonsense. His plans for his future actually rested on it to a certain degree. If a few wardrobe changes and a haircut could gain him what he wanted, then was it such a big deal?

Yes! It was a very big deal. He had set his boundaries all those years ago for very real, vital reasons and had successfully, happily lived by them ever since. He had no intention of ignoring them now. Not for Tiffani. Not for anyone. Nor for any reason, regardless of its appeal.

But walking down the street on a sunny day with a pretty woman beside him somehow made all the ridiculousness of this makeover less disturbing to his peace of mind. He glanced at Tiffani. She still wore her hair up but not quite as tightly as before. Her attire was more casual as well. A simple purple knit shirt, black pants and flat shoes unleashed her subtle sex appeal, which floated around her like honeyed perfume.

He didn’t care for her high-handed ways and wasn’t even sure he liked her, but it was a nice change to argue with someone who gave as good as she got. Few people in his life dared to talk back to him. He’d found his disagreements with Tiffani invigorating, something he’d experienced rarely with a woman. The women he tended to date were only interested in a good time or were in awe of what he did for a living. There was no challenge. Tiffani was definitely that. She wasn’t impressed by his looks and certainly not by his position.

They stopped in front of a store with flowers painted on the windows and a sign above the door that read Cute Cuts. He felt his eyes involuntarily roll in disbelief. Maybe he should have ridden his bike and parked it out front. Letting out a low groan, he informed her, “I’m going to have to give up my man card if I go in here.”

“It won’t be all that bad. I promise.” A bell tinkled as she pushed the door open. “Come on in, be brave.”

Rex didn’t miss the humor in her voice. “It’s not courage I lack but desire.”

A woman with short, spiked green hair tipped in red looked away from the client she was working on and said to Tiffani, “Hey, girl, I’m almost done here. I’ll be right with you.”

Rex gave Tiffani a speculative look. She shrugged in response. What had he gotten himself into? This place looked nothing like his barbershop. Instead of a group of balding men sitting in the back, talking and playing checkers, there was a rock station blaring on the sound system and an over-the-head hair dryer going.

The only place to sit in the tiny place was a wicker settee with floral printed cushions.

Tiffani settled on it. Unsure if the wicker was strong enough to hold them both or if he wanted to sit so close to her, he chose to stand.

“She’ll be done in a sec, I’m sure,” Tiffani offered. “Estell’s the best in town.”

Rex nodded, but really didn’t care. He just hoped one of his male colleagues didn’t see him leave the place. The jokes would never end. Had Tiffani been polite enough to ask, he’d have preferred to have gone to his regular guy. Rex’s urge to leave grew. Too much of his day off had already been wasted.

Soon the customer was gushing over her new look and leaving.

“I’m ready,” Estell called.

He approached her with a tentative smile.

“Well, hello, handsome. What can I do for you today?” Estell purred, low and throaty.

Rex chuckled, liking the “out there” woman. It surprised him that Tiffani used her as her hairdresser. Estell seemed too eccentric to appeal. Tiffani acted so closed off and all business. Was there another side of her he’d not seen?

While he pondered her, Tiffani said, “Estell, I was thinking cut it above the ears. A little longer on the top—”

“I can handle this,” Rex stated in his “surgeon-in-OR” voice that tolerated no argument. “Why don’t you go get us some drinks? We’re good, aren’t we, Estell?”

Grinning, she nodded. “Yeah, Tiffani, we’re good.”

“I need him to look professional, clean cut.” Tiffani looked concerned, almost as if she was unsure they could be trusted to be left alone.

“Will do,” Estell said, and returned to her cutting chair.

Rex pulled from his pocket a few bills and handed them to Tiffani. “I’d like a soda. Get yourself one too. How about you, Estell?”

She grinned. “Sure.”

“Make that three,” he added.

Tiffani stood immobile, looking rather bewildered.

He winked. “Take your time. Estell and I might be busy a while.”

Estell snickered. Tiffani’s eyes narrowed. She muttered as she left, “I don’t know about this.”

Estell had just finished with his hair when Tiffani returned. With the turn of the chair he faced her as she crossed the threshold. She stopped short, gaping. Heat simmered through Rex. He knew well the pleasure of a woman’s admiration, but he’d never experienced one devouring him with her eyes. He shifted uncomfortably as hot blood-hardened parts made themselves known.

“So, what do you think?” Estell asked from behind him.

Tiffani blinked, appearing to struggle back to the here and now. “Uh, I wanted it...much shorter.”

“I didn’t,” Rex announced, his gaze still locked with hers as he slipped out of the chair.

A long second later she fluttered her eyelids. “Okay.”

He took the plastic bag she held. Checking its contents, he pulled out a soda and tossed it to Estell, who caught it neatly. He handed Tiffani one before withdrawing and opening his.

As if coming out of a daze, Tiffani straightened her back and glared at him. “You had me go buy these to get rid of me.”

Shrugging his shoulders Rex set his drink down and pulled his wallet out. He paid Estell, giving her a generous tip along with a kiss on her cheek. With a wink, he said in a confidential tone Tiffani could hear, “You know what’s said at the beauty parlor stays at the beauty parlor.”

Tiffani snorted behind him.

Estell giggled and replied, grinning, “I had fun too. Nice to meet you, Rex.”

“I’ll wait for you outside,” he told Tiffani as he stepped around her.

* * *

Tiffani wasn’t sure what had just happened. She rarely ogled men, especially not one who was her client. Or one she considered egotistically self-absorbed, not to mention argumentative. Yet she’d been literally unable to take her eyes off Rex when she’d reentered the beauty shop. He was gorgeous. All virile male at ease in a den of feminine décor. Confidence oozed from him. To make matters worse, like an idiot she hadn’t been able to put two words together.

Estell had taken a few inches off his hair and tamed it around his face so that it complemented his rugged features. It looked healthy and free, just like he was. Tiffani had never been a big fan of men with long hair, but Rex was a definite exception. Her first instinct had been to touch it, to caress his scalp and let the strands flow through her fingers. A totally inappropriate impulse for a professional such as herself.

The worst thing about those first agonizing moments had been his obvious relish of the effect he was having on her. Enjoying it. She mustn’t allow that to happen again. She had to remain in control of the situation, and herself, at all times around him. That was the plan.

“Honey.” Estell shook her head as if thinking, Yum, yum, yum. “You’ve got a real man on your hands. I hope you can handle him.”

“He’s not my man. We’re business associates.” Tiffani almost snapped, wincing at the edge of defiance she heard in her voice. She wasn’t interested in a relationship. And certainly not with someone like Rex Maxwell. Her breakup with Lou had guaranteed she’d think long and hard about allowing herself to become intimately involved with another man. Besides which she didn’t need one. Heartache was all the opposite sex offered.

“Well, if it was me, I’d sure figure out a way to make him mine,” Estell said as she opened her drink.

Rex was standing by a light pole when Tiffani joined him outside. Virtually every female walking by gave him a second look. Obviously, Tiffani’s reaction to the new Rex wasn’t unique. His image on the billboards would certainly captivate most women. An ambassador who was a handsome surgeon with sex appeal practically assured a positive rise in the hospital’s reputation. She was tickled. The campaign was fast becoming far more effective than she’d first hoped. The only thing that might ruin it was Rex inexplicably fighting her every step of the way.

He shifted impatiently from one foot to another. “Is there a café or something around here?”