Six
Date one of three and he was officially off the publicity wagon until he had to do this again next month.
Well, he would be done as soon as she left his apartment. He wouldn’t offer her any more wine, Kade decided. He wasn’t going to extend the date any longer than he absolutely had to. He’d wanted to have supper at a restaurant but Wren had insisted he cook Rachel dinner in his expansive loft apartment. Cooking her dinner would show the public his caring, domestic side.
The public, thanks to the photographers who’d hovered around, would also see his residence in downtown Vancouver and Simon, his mutt. Kade stroked his hand over Si’s head, which lay heavy on his thigh. Simon, whom he’d found in an alley on one of his early-morning runs, considered Kade his personal property and any woman would have to fight his dog for a place in his life.
Kade stifled his sigh and resisted the urge to look at his watch. When he’d received the portfolios of his potential dates from Brodie, he’d flipped through the three candidates and opted to eat with the doctor. Then he’d contacted Wren and instructed her to arrange his first date for as soon as possible. Breakfast, lunch and supper...whenever, she just had to get it done. Wren, efficient as always, had done exactly that. One down, two to go.
“And then I spent three months working in the Sudan with Médecins Sans Frontières.”
His buzzer signaled someone was downstairs wanting to come up. Kade smiled at his guest, hoping Wren had read his mind and come to rescue him.
You’re a big boy, he heard Wren’s amused voice in his head. If you can talk them into bed, then you sure as hell don’t need my help to talk them out of your apartment.
Or maybe it was Quinn downstairs. The doctor was his type—brainy and built. Quinn would, if Kade asked him, take Rachel off his hands. Kade stood up and walked across the open space to his front door and intercom. He pressed the button, called out a greeting and shrugged when no one answered.
It had to be Mac or Quinn. They both usually hit the buzzer to signal they were on their way up.
Kade turned to walk back to his guest. It was definitely time to maneuver her out the door. Please let Quinn be thundering up the steps, he thought. Please.
A tentative knock told him it wasn’t Quinn, or Mac, and Kade frowned. Who else would be visiting him at 9:45 p.m. on a Saturday night? Then again, whoever it was would be a distraction and he’d take what he could get.
Sending a fake smile of apology in Rachel’s direction, he walked back to the door and opened it. As per usual when he saw Brodie, his mouth dried up and his heart flipped once, then twice.
What was it about this woman that turned his brain to mush? If he compared her to Rachel, Brodie came up short. She was wearing ratty jeans and a tight T-shirt in pale gray, a perfect match to her complexion. Pale gray tinged with green. Her eyes were a flat, dark, mossy green and accessorized by huge black rings. Her hair was raked off her face and she looked like a spring ready to explode.
“We need to talk... Can I come in?”
Kade tossed a look over his shoulder and sighed when he saw Rachel walking in their direction, a puzzled look on her face. “Hi, there.” Rachel appeared at his shoulder and he watched Brodie’s eyes widen as she gave the buxom doctor a good up-and-down look.
“Doctor Martinez.” Brodie’s voice cooled.
Brodie stepped to the side and looked across his apartment to the small dining table at the far end of the room. Kade sighed. Fat candles, muted light, wineglasses, her heels next to her chair. It looked like everything it really wasn’t, a romantic dinner for two.
Kade heard the click of Si’s nails against the wooden floor and waited for the dog to take his customary place at Kade’s side. Si, to Kade’s surprise, walked straight past him and up to Brodie. Kade waited for the growl and cocked his head when Simon nuzzled his snout into Brodie’s hand. Brodie immediately, and instinctively, dropped to her haunches and rubbed her hands over Si’s ears and down his neck.
Delight flickered in her tired eyes. “Oh, he’s gorgeous, Kade. I didn’t know you had a dog.”
“We haven’t exactly had a lot of time to talk,” Kade pointed out and Brodie flushed. “Meet Simon, part Alsatian, part malamute, all sappy. I’ve had him about two months.”
“He’s a lovely dog,” Rachel said, her tone bright and chirpy. Oh, hell, he’d forgotten she was there.
Kade watched as Brodie stood up slowly, a blush creeping up her neck. Kade could see she was ready to bolt. He wanted to hustle Rachel out, pull Brodie in, pick her up and cradle her in his arms and find out, in between kisses, what was making her so very miserable.