Page 8 of Must Be Love - Irresistible Bachelors

Not that a guy like him would ever go for a girl like me. He probably has his pick of gorgeous, rail-thin girls who attend these conferences. I’m way too big for him.

A girl can dream, though, right?

“Since I know you’re not here to steal from me, let me tell you a little about the product you’re holding.”

He takes the bottle from my hand. I probably shouldn’t have been holding it anymore, anyway.

Briana immediately steals it away from him and slips it under the table. Dr. Blake doesn’t say anything to her, so that must be what she was supposed to do.

“I call it AJB-9. It’s a new elixir I’ve been working on that has superior healing abilities to all other products on the market. This version has a secret ingredient that could be the key to fixing damaged skin, especially on the face. Do you feel like your skin is damaged?”

I nod. I tell him about all the tanning I did when I was younger. He grimaces when I admit to using a tanning bed frequently as a teen.

“You know, your skin is most vulnerable in your teenage years.”

I stare at the ground. “I didn’t realize the damage I might be causing until it was too late. I know my skin doesn’t look bad now, but I’m only twenty-five. I feel like by thirty-five, I’m going to look like I’m eighty.”

Nicole gives my hand a light squeeze. She may disagree with me on my skin condition, but she knows how insecure I am about what I may look like in the future. All of this is hard for me to admit to a perfect stranger.

“I know what you mean,” Dr. Blake says. “It is possible that all of the tanning did damage below the surface which wouldn’t be noticeable until you start to age. You’re still young, which is good. There may be time for you to reverse any damage that’s been done.”

My eyes shoot up to his. “Do you really think so?”

For the first time ever, I feel hopeful about my future, at least in terms of the quality of my skin. This man is a doctor. He wouldn’t be saying it’s possible if it weren’t true.

Dr. Blake and I maintain eye contact, but neither of us says anything. The moment is charged. Why is he looking at me? Why can’t I look away? His eyes are a magnet, and I’m stuck in their pull.

Nicole’s obnoxious ringtone, an old song from the nineties that she’s obsessed with, ruins the moment.

“I am so sorry,” she apologizes, pulling her phone from her pocket. “I swear, this thing was on silent.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Worry about it! I want to scream. Dr. Blake was about to kiss me!

I don’t know how I know it, but I do. The electricity between us was clear. Something was about to happen, and Nicole destroyed the possibility.

I want to hate her, but she’s my best friend. I’ll have to forgive her for this eventually.

“It’s my boss,” Nicole tells me. “I have to take this. You okay here for a minute?”

“I’m good,” I say.

Thank God. This gives me an excuse to try and recreate the moment with Dr. Blake.

Nicole squeezes my shoulder and answers her phone. She fights against the crowd to get out of the main sales floor. There’s no way she can hear what her boss is saying with all this noise.

Though we’re both in marketing, Nicole and I are on different teams, which means we report to different people. Her boss is a kind, easy-to-work-with woman about ten years older than we are. Mine is a mean, hard-headed, older woman who is reluctant to change with the times.

Yet another reason I wish I was Nicole.

“I really think so,” Dr. Blake says.

“What?”

“I think you can fix any damage you may have done to your skin. In fact, this product I’m working on, AJB-9, may be the key.”

“Dr. Blake…” Briana begins, her tone serious. “This product isn’t ready.”

He ignores her, keeping his eyes locked on mine. My stomach flutters from his attention.

“A lot of skin damage isn’t noticeable on a woman when she is young, but it can start rearing its ugly head as you get older. This is especially true with tanning. I’ve seen thirty-five-year-old women who look at least ten years older, all because of the time they spent in the sun or in tanning booths when they were younger.”

Tears blur my vision. “They should warn you about this when you go tanning. If I’d known when I was in high school what this could do as an adult, I never would have…”

Dr. Blake puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it… I’m sorry – I just realized I never caught your name.”

I giggle and swipe at my eyes. “I’m Amber Hart.”

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