White Wedding for a Southern Belle by Susan Carlisle

reaction to him trying to help. The security light just made good sense. Was she one of those women who didn’t want anything done unless she was the one to do it? She probably wouldn’t like him replacing the flowers but she would just have to get over it. He’d tell her it was for the clinic and not her. That he was confident she would accept.
    Why he cared he had no idea. After what Brittney had done to him he’d promised himself not to care about a woman one way or another and here he was planting flowers for one who wouldn’t be grateful. Brittney liked flowers. She’d kept fresh ones in a vase all the time. It had turned out some of those had been from Josh.
    Stepping inside, he used more force than necessary and picked up the bucket with the dirt and flowers he and Ashley had rescued the night before. Kiefer took a deep breath then headed outside. He was doing this during the only lag in patients he’d had in the last two days. Instead of eating lunch, he was out here planting flowers, something that was well out of his wheelhouse. He really needed to get a move on so he was done before a patient showed up. He’d handle Ashley’s reaction when the time came.
    That was sooner than he’d expected. He was in the waiting room, speaking to Margaret about how he would like the charting handled, when the sound of heels on the old pine planks of the floor headed in his direction. Kiefer didn’t have to guess who the clip-clip belonged to.
    Ashley joined him and Margaret at the old office desk being used as Reception. “Hey, Margaret, how’s it going?”
    â€œFine. We’ve been busy.”
    â€œGreat. At least we can prove to the council that the clinic is needed.” She turned to him. “Dr. Bradford, could I speak to you for a minute?”
    Kiefer didn’t like her tone. It reminded him of when he was in trouble and his mother used his full name. Ashley must have noticed the flowers, on which he believed he’d done an exceptional job.
    He followed her down the hall. She wore a pencil skirt and dark hose that made her slim legs look sexy. He’d always been a legs man and hers were some of the finest he’d ever seen. The swish of her hips did something to his libido as well. He shouldn’t get involved with a controlling, political do-gooder. She wasn’t his type and even if she had been he’d sworn off women. He’d been kicked in the teeth and wasn’t going to put himself in that position again. Still, he could look and appreciate, couldn’t he?
    Ashley stepped into his tiny office. He joined her and closed the door. She regarded at the door as if she feared she might have made a tactical error.
    â€œWhat’s going on that you thought we needed to talk alone?” He was taking the offensive before she could.
    â€œI, uh, I noticed the flowers out front. I’m assuming you did them.”
    â€œI did.”
    â€œYou know that isn’t part of your job description...”
    Kiefer took a step closer and she moved back until her bottom was against the desk. He pinned her with a look. “I do, but it needed to be done and I wanted the guys that did the destruction to know that the clinic was here to stay. I also had the security light erected for the patients as well as you. Soon it’ll be getting darker earlier.”
    She gave him a perplexed look. Maybe he’d managed to stymie her. Something she’d not been for the entire time he’d known her.
    â€œI thought—”
    â€œThat I’d done it for you?” He took a half a step closer. There was that fresh-baked cookie smell again. He wanted to breathe deeply, take it in. He raised a brow. “You made it perfectly clear the evening we met that you didn’t need my help.”
    â€œI guess I did.”
    Apparently when she didn’t have the upper hand she could be dealt with rather easily. “Well, if we have that