But, despite that, this chemistry between them was building by the second, even with patients in the same room. They’d been doing a silent dance of shared glances and unspoken words all week and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. It wasn’t exactly professional...but, despite that, he liked working with her. They made a good team. And, now that he’d willingly extended his time as her assistant, he would have to try even harder to keep this attraction hidden, he thought to himself, crinkling up his nose.
Way to go, Gabe!
Together, they completed the examination, he doing the swab, she taking notes and discussing possible medications Lily could collect without a prescription from the pharmacy. They saw Lily and her mother out at the front door and Ana turned to him.
‘We make a good team, don’t we, you and I?’ he got out quickly, because he’d just been thinking it. She smiled in the sunlight and adjusted her headband self-consciously.
‘I was thinking the same thing,’ she replied. He could have sworn he saw a flush starting to spread across her cheeks before she hid it behind her hair. The same kind of look he’d probably had on his face, talking to her on the phone just after that dream about her. Had she also been feeling that this was somehow...different this time? No. He was reading too much into it.
Ana put a hand on his arm. ‘You looked a bit... I don’t know...distant in there, when she said there was something going around the school. Were you worried about Javi?’
He stared at her, thrown. How did she know? Her large brown eyes sparkled with a warmth he suddenly wanted to keep on sinking into. ‘I... I don’t even know if they go to the same school, but yes, I was thinking about him,’ he admitted with a sigh. ‘If he gets sick, I’m not able to be there for him the way Ines and Pedro are.’
‘That’s not your fault, is it? You work hard doing irregular hours, it’s the nature of your job. And they’re a couple, whereas you’re...’
‘I’m just a single dad,’ he finished for her.
Ana screwed up her nose. ‘That’s not what I meant... I mean, it’s not a bad thing being a single dad, is it?’
Maria’s eyes were on them again from behind the desk. If only he could stroll to the door and gulp in some fresh air. She’d touched a sore point, not that she knew it. Well, she hadn’t till now.
Ana’s fingers were still pressed to his arm, holding him in place. ‘Javi knows you’re a great papa,’ she told him, eyeing him in a way that made him ache to sweep back from her face the stray strand of hair that had escaped from her headband. ‘I’ve met him, remember.’
Of course he remembered. Javi still talked about her. But Gabriel just nodded, feeling more than a little uncomfortable all of a sudden, and not just because Maria was watching this all play out whilst tapping at the keyboard with audible efficiency. The last thing he wanted was for Ana to feel bad for him in any way or, heaven forbid, sorry for him. He was doing fine for the most part, and he was here to help her, not the other way around!
Besides, she’d made it clear to Maria what she thought of him—they were just friends. He would do well to remember that, he told himself, even if she appeared to see him, really see him, for once. This was something new and intriguing, and which he’d never really experienced with anyone else. Most women he’d tried to date after Ines had either been uninterested in Javi, or indifferent to Gabriel’s chosen career—or both—so any chemistry he might have felt had always fizzled out after a few encounters.
Was that chemistry he could feel now, sending heatwaves up his arm at Ana’s touch? He withdrew his arm quickly and raked his hair back, avoiding her questioning gaze. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but this was getting out of hand. How much longer could he keep this up, resisting the urge to make a move? Welcome relief flooded through him again when their next appointment walked through the door.
A bad case of heartburn, a sprained wrist and a plastic brick getting stuck somewhere it shouldn’t have been consumed the rest of the day and afternoon. Ana couldn’t help feel a slight pang of excitement that Gabriel had agreed to work at the clinic for a few more days; they really did work so well together, and there wasn’t a patient who entered the building who didn’t like him. He was charming, kind and affable to the point of adorable, but there was something else about him that drew her in, and kept on drawing her in, the more she was around him—a kind of sadness that seeped through that cheerful exterior and shone in his warm brown eyes when he talked about Javi.
Maybe he felt a little helpless that he couldn’t give Javi what Ines could, she thought, watching him now with a ten-year-old boy who was waiting for his mother, reading a comic.
Maybe he genuinely thought it wasn’t an attractive quality, being a single dad, which was ridiculous! Not only was he the most handsome man around for miles, he was also a great father. How could he think he wasn’t, just because he wasn’t married, as Ines was? A thought struck her. Maybe he didn’t want to be single. Frowning to herself, she realised the thought of him with anyone made her feel quite nauseous. Thinking about it, she’d been too chicken to ask about his love life after Ines in case he admitted he’d had feelings for someone else.
Stupid! They were friends and that was that. He’d seemed a little down about that treehouse, though, she pondered as the child’s face lit up. Gabriel had handed him another comic and told him he could keep it. She wondered what Pedro was like. Maybe he’d taken on the stepdad role with such gusto that Gabriel truly thought he couldn’t keep up.
Still, it wasn’t a matter for her to get involved in, she thought suddenly, catching herself getting flustered on his behalf; there was enough going on in her own life. She didn’t have the time to get involved in his, even if she was now wondering what she could do to make him feel special, in case he didn’t realise it himself. She’d made him feel pretty special in her dream last night... But then, her dream self was often a wanton sex goddess—probably because she hadn’t seen any action in a long time! If it hadn’t been Gabriel in her dream, it would have been someone else, she reminded herself. It was only him because he was on her mind, and at her side all the time after having been apart for so long.
She hadn’t had dreams like that in a long time, though. No one else had ruffled her this much and got her mind churning. Her subconscious was really doing a number on her!
When the last patient was out of the door, Ana made a point to lock it quickly and turn back to her team.
‘Well, that was a successful first week, everyone! I think we deserve a night out to celebrate. What do you say?’
She looked expectantly between Maria and Gabriel, hoping they’d see her enthusiasm and agree. Obviously they were all tired, herself included, but she wanted to treat them all, now more than ever. Secretly she wasn’t ready for the day to be over, or to go home alone to her apartment and another box of her mum’s leftovers. When was the last time she’d eaten anywhere but her apartment? Hard to remember; there was always some new file or document to read at the dinner table. Most of the time she barely remembered eating, as she did it so often on autopilot.
Gabriel looked a little reluctant. A shiver of disappointment travelled through her bones, though she didn’t let it show on her face. Thankfully, Maria was waving her phone in the air enthusiastically.
‘How about the Mexican place? I can call them right now.’
‘The one with the amazing margaritas?’ someone else piped up.
‘Exactly. Leave it to me.’
Soon they were gathering up their belongings, chatting away about what food they would order and how much fun they were going to have. Ana sneaked away to the bathroom and applied more lipstick, which matched her hair band and shoes. It was most inappropriate that she thought of Gabriel again as she smacked her lips together.
She’d caught him looking at her lips several times today. If he wanted a brief respite from his single dad routine, maybe she could offer to re-enact the dream he didn’t even know she’d had, the one where her legs worked, as they often did in her dreams. She’d straddled him on the examination table and he’d held her tightly by the hips and made wild, passionate love to her so furiously, they’d broken the table. He’d run his fingers through her hair and told her she was beautiful and...well... It was a shame she’d woken up too soon from that one. Though not so soon that she hadn’t flushed the next time she’d set eyes on him in real life...
‘Come on, Ana! What are you doing in there?’ Maria was calling her.
‘Coming!’ Tutting to her reflection, she realised she was hot under the collar. Of course, she would suggest nothing of the sort to Gabriel. Why would she go and ruin their friendship with something so transient as sex? He was just making her feel validated and important and people making her feel that way, especially hot guys, made her horny, that was all.
She would keep her hands, and her thoughts about her friend, to herself. Tonight, though, she decided as Gabriel shot her a look that sent her pulse racing, she was going to have some fun. She deserved it.
CHAPTER SIX
THE MEXICAN RESTAURANT in San Telmo was already bustling when their group arrived, and the waiter hurried to get them all seated. Ana was pleasantly surprised when Gabriel made a visible effort to place himself in the seat next to hers. His smouldering gaze threatened to set her cheeks on fire as he watched her while she pretended to read the menu. Did he feel her watching him too, as he pondered the burrito and fajita choices in front of him?
‘It all looks delicious,’ she said, licking her lips and tasting her lipstick. Had she put too much on? Why did she care? He was her friend. And he didn’t have a clue how attracted she was to him right now. Or did he?
‘What are you going to have?’ he asked, leaning in, brushing her shoulder with his and wafting his manly, musky scent right up her nose. Ana cleared her throat. He might as well just have asked her if she wanted a naked massage for the effect his closeness was having on her.
When had this happened? Now she just couldn’t ignore it. He also looked so handsome in his fitted white shirt and tailored navy trousers. His dark skin gleamed under the lighting, and she couldn’t shake the burning need to get closer to him physically and emotionally. She’d been AWOL too long. The fact that he was a single dad with a whole other life just intrigued and enchanted her more now and, combined with her dream...no. She’d have to rein it in! They were working together, for goodness’ sake.
‘I... I’m... Maybe the chicken,’ she managed around her parched throat, and he threw her a sideways smile.
‘So you’re only a part-time vegan, then?’
