Continuation 2

Stop laughing," she says, grinning. "Illicit affairs are not for the faint of heart, I tell you."

The door opens, and a woman walks out carrying a small white poodle. It's hard to pay attention to the dog because the woman is dressed like she is going to a nightclub in a tight black spandex dress with killer high heels. Ainsley raises an eyebrow, walking inside. The entire waiting area is women, all dressed very sexy. Some don't even have pets with them. Some have goldfish. I think I even see one with a hermit crab.

"Ainsley Rose!" a friendly voice says. Brenda comes out from behind the desk to hug Ainsley. It's a welcome sight among the sea of silicone.

Hi, Brenda," Ainsley says, glancing over her shoulder. "What's with all the cleavage and short skirts?"

She rolls her eyes. "There was an article on Charleston's most successful men. Rhett and Brody made the list. Ever since then, these harlots have been coming in by the droves. I make them all wait until our 'real' patients have been seen. Some of these floozies don't even have pets. They say they are considering getting this or that and want to discuss breeds."

"Or breeding?" Ainsley giggles.

Shaking my head, I lead Ainsley back to the office Brody and I share. It's set up so our desks face each other in the middle of the room with a few file cabinets surrounding them and a plaid dog bed in the corner for Sadie, our not-so-silent partner. Most days, I bring her to work with me. I hate the idea of her cooped up in the condo, and here she gets all kinds of attention from the staff.

Ainsley bends down to pat Sadie. I bend down next to her, my fingers gently grazing hers. "Can you do this?" I ask. "With Brody?"

"I'll be okay," she says, but it's anything but convincing.

I ask softly, "Are you having second thoughts? We can stop this right now."

Her eyes fall to her feet. Fuck, that sounded like I could just dump her without a second thought. I tilt her chin up. "I don't want to. I haven't stopped thinking about you all morning."

"Hey," Brody says, and we both pop to our feet. He wraps his arms around her tightly. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. You're making a big deal out of nothing," she says.

"Big brother rules say it's my job to protect you," Brody says, tapping her nose.

"I think you're the one who needs protecting," she says, a twinge of mischief in her voice. "Maybe I should kick the butts of all those bimbos in the waiting room."

Brody and I both laugh. "I'm engaged, but Rhett might need a little protection. He's gotten friendly with patients before."

Her head whips around like she's in The Exorcist. "Damn, Brody, that was one time," I say, looking away.

"I'll never let you live that down," he says, laughing. "I still can't use exam room two. Your naked ass is burned into my skull."

Damn it! Thanks for that visual, Brody! That was a while ago, but it doesn't matter if it was last year or last week, Ainsley didn't need to know. I try to catch her eyes, but they're on the floor again. Not sure what she finds so interesting about dog hair. We really need to sweep in here. Sadie gets up and nuzzles her leg, and I wish it was me who was comforting her.

"You seem busy, so I'll just go," Ainsley says quietly.

"Those women can wait. I'm taking my sister to lunch. But let's be quick. How about the hamburger place across the street?" Brody asks.