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She wasn’t sure if Ada kept speaking after that or not because all Eliza could hear was a high-pitched buzzing in her ears as she came face to gorgeous, heart-stoppingly sexy face with her aforementioned grandson. She couldn’t be absolutely sure, since she hadn’t seen either twin in years and she had always had a difficult time telling them apart, but her gut told her it was Nate.
Actually it was a little farther south than her gut. Every day of science class freshman year she’d had a tingle between her legs. She’d never had that feeling with Neil. Not until the night she’d turned eighteen.
The shocked look on whichever brother it was told her that he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Maybe she was wrong. Nate rarely showed any emotion in his face. Her body had guessed wrong.
“Ellie?” The deep voice vibrated through her like she was strings on an instrument and his words were a pick.
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Lady part radar, FTW!
It was Nate. In all of her almost twenty-eight years there was only one person that had ever called her Ellie and that person was Nate Holmes. The tingling turned to pulsing as a look of intensity flashed in his stare. Her entire body heated with either lust or embarrassment. Probably both. She had no idea what Nate knew about the last night she’d seen his brother. She didn’t know what Neil had told him about the most humiliating night of her life.
“Well, hello there Dr. Young. Long time no see.” Nana Holmes voice snapped Eliza out of her spiraling mental state and she broke eye contact with the man that she’d never been able to put in her rearview, no matter how fast or furious she’d driven. And she had. Her love life was basically Dominic Toretto, Vin Diesel’s character in The Fast and the Furious movies.
“Hello, Mrs. Holmes—” she managed to croak out as she raised her hand but was interrupted.
“Oh please, it’s still Nana to you, dear. Just because you have a lab coat doesn’t mean you’re not family. Right, Nate?”
“Right,” he agreed, his voice sounding even rougher and more gravelly.
Eliza’s eyes shot back to his and the shock and intensity were gone. His mask was back in place. Even as a teenager he’d been a pro at not letting anyone see what he was thinking or feeling, but now as a man—and holy cheese and tacos what a man he was—he’d taken that skill to master level.
Knowing that she had not honed that particular skill, she knew that she needed to excuse herself. Immediately. And try her best to get herself under control.
Gathering every ounce of professionalism she could scrape from the depths of her being, she plastered the biggest smile she could muster on her face, squared her shoulders and stiffened her spine. “It’s so nice to see you both. I just wanted to pop up front and say hello. Martha will be taking you back to prep and I’ll be in to see you shortly.”
With that declaration, she turned on her heel and somehow managed to make it into her office without throwing up or passing out…which were both very real threats. The moment she sank into her chair, Farmer’s head was in her lap. He must’ve sensed her nervousness. Or maybe it was her panic he was picking up on. Not that those were the only emotions she was feeling, those were just the ones that he was trained to sense.
Nate Holmes was here. In her office. With his grandmother.
She couldn’t believe that she’d actually seen him again. He looked exactly the same, but different at the same time. He seemed taller, broader, and somehow he’d gotten even sexier.
He wore a plain, white button up with slacks, and the sleeves were rolled up to a three-quarter length. His chiseled forearms were dusted with a sprinkling of hair and the cotton material of his shirt pulled taut against his muscular chest. His dark hair was shorter than he’d kept it in high school, and his jaw was now peppered with a five o’clock shadow that complimented his olive toned skin perfectly. Thankfully, the sexy dimple that sat just a tad off-center on his chin was still visible. And those eyes. Nate’s eyes had always held the secrets to life, at least that’s how it felt when Eliza was a fourteen-year-old girl with her first big crush. Actually that was still how it felt as a twenty-seven-year-old woman reuniting with her first crush.
But the thing that had really tipped the sexy scales to unbearable was the sound of his voice, not just the timbre, but also the fact that he’d called her by her nickname. The one that was used by him and only him.
As she ran her fingers over Farmer’s large head she had to admit that petting him was calming her down. Her pulse slowed and she no longer felt as lightheaded. This might be the first time that a dental therapy dog would be needed for the dentist and not the patient.
***
Nate worked to keep his face and body language as neutral and unaffected as possible. Inside he was going crazy. Losing his mind. Adrenaline, testosterone, and hormones were raging through him like the rapids. But outside he was the poster boy for calm, cool and collected as he stood in the corner of the small exam room, feet shoulder-width apart and arms loosely hanging at his side, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He’d wanted to cross them for comfort, or maybe some kind of protection against the power that the only girl he’d ever loved held over him, but he didn’t want to seem like he was mad or upset.
Eliza Young was back in town and it wasn’t for a visit. She had obviously taken over the dental office that was two doors down from Elite Security. Nate had heard something about Dr. Lewis falling ill, but that was it. When Nana had said she’d had an appointment he’d just assumed that he’d had a full recovery.
When he’d seen her come around the corner in her blue scoop-neck shirt that revealed a tempting tease of cleavage that was visible despite her lab coat, he’d thought it was a dream at first. He’d had enough of those over the past fourteen years. He was sure he must’ve fallen asleep at his computer and honestly, it wouldn’t have been the first time. But then she’d gasped and the blush that started on her neck and crept up her cheeks appeared and he knew that this was real. That she was real.
Over the years, he’d actually forgotten that adorable quirk. The first time he’d noticed it they were in class working on a lab and had a conversation about nicknames. She’d told him that he didn’t need to call her Eliza and explained that a lot of people called her Liz or Liza. He’d said that he was going to call her Ellie. When she’d asked why, he’d shrugged and said that he wanted to call her something original so when she heard it she’d think of him. It was sincere but cheesy. Inwardly he’d cringed at his admission, but he’d never forget the smile that had crossed her face as the faint shadow of pink flushed from her collarbone up her cheeks. He’d never seen anyone blush in that way and he’d loved that he’d been the one to make her body respond like that.
And damn, seeing that he still made her body respond that way ignited a primal fire so hot he was burning up with it and he wasn’t sure how in the hell he was going to extinguish it. Not when he knew any second she’d be walking into the room, looking even more breathtakingly beautiful than he’d remembered.
She’d grown into her features. As a teen she’d been pretty in the quintessential girl-next-door kind of way. She’d had light brown hair, large oval green eyes, a heart shaped face with rounded cheeks and a spatter of freckles across her turned up nose, with full pink lips that if he closed his eyes he could still feel, still taste.
As a woman, her eyes were still large, but they’d taken on more of an almond shape. Her cheeks had hollowed slightly, showcasing high cheekbones, and her full lips were fuller thanks to her cheeks narrowing. He hadn’t seen any freckles across the bridge of her nose, but he hoped they were still there.
“You should’ve let them get you a chair. So you could be more comfortable.” Nana shifted so that she was facing him.
“I’m fine.”
She had insisted that he come back with her because of her “anxiety.” Which was as real as her “emergency” calls. This entire appointment appeared to be one big setup. She’d told him on the phone that she was late, but when they’d walked in she’d thanked them for fitting her in last minute. Martha, a lovely dental assistant, had just left the room with a confused look on her face. Before that Arturo, who had taken x-rays, had worn the same expression. Nana insisted that a crown was loose, but from what he’d observed the medical professionals had not agreed.
