Chapter One

Hers

Car, Parking Lot. Monday.

"Ok, I can do this. I'm fully clothed, I look professional and I have a mountain of qualifications and experience tucked under my arm. What could possibly go wrong?" Well, they could think I'm a complete fruit loop that doesn't know what she's talking about. Yeah right. Note the crazy woman talking to herself in her car. Totally normal.

After a quick face and hair check in the rear-view mirror, I took a deep breath and exited my car, smoothed the wrinkles out of my skirt and headed towards the building entrance. "Be professional" I murmured to myself. Once inside I approached the reception desk where I woman about my age sat, or practically bounced, in her chair. I wonder what she put in her coffee this morning? Hmmm, I like her hair…

"Good morning" the receptionist cheerfully sang.

"Hello, I have an appointment with the practice manager at nine" I couldn't help but smile back at the happy woman. Clearly she was contagious.

"Ah yes, you must be Bella. Please have a seat, she won't be long". She gestured towards the waiting area which was sparsely furnished with plastic chairs and vinyl flooring. To be expected in a vet clinic I guess, after all, the patients were all animals. Looking around, I couldn't help but feel a calm wash over me. Perhaps the colour scheme or the mood music had something to do with it. I would have thought with all that the receptionist would be a bit less… bouncy. Certainly this place was very different from my last working environment.

I sucked in the relaxed vibe, but probably a bit too hard as suddenly there was a woman standing in front of me. I'm almost positive she didn't materialise there…

"Bella hi, I'm Esme" the practice manager extended her hand and gave me a warm smile "Please come through". As I followed her down the corridor, I noticed that it didn't really look like a clinic anymore, more like an office? Nah, that wasn't it. A day spa perhaps? Hmmm, maybe I should ask for a pedicure…

My last workplace was far from this, it was a slightly run down aged-care wing of a hospital. You never forget the smell, disinfectant and decay and denture cleaner. I felt a twinge of sadness but also relief that I no longer had to face that every day. Esme's voice pulled me back from those less than pleasant memories.

"Please make yourself comfortable" she gestured towards the long, charcoal grey sofa along the wall. This really didn't look like an office, well it did a bit, just not anything like I'd seen before. Too comfortable, maybe? How does anyone get any work done here? I'd want to put my feet up and relax with a good book…

While Esme was getting comfortable on the matching chair opposite the sofa, I took a brief glance around the room. There was a large window behind the desk with dark timber blinds overlooking a secluded garden area. I could just make out a bench seat and some potted frangipani. Hmmm, I love frangipani… Against the wall beside the door a bookshelf stood loaded with reference books and picture frames. I couldn't make out the subject of those pictures from where I was sitting. Against the other wall was a side table with an oil diffuser on it, it smelled divine.

"So Bella, you do have some impressive qualifications" she said while flicking through my folio. "and I see you've spent the last 4 years working in palliative care. Tell me about that." She folded her hands and leaned back in her chair.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't difficult. I loved talking with the patients, hearing about their families and their lives before illness, but of course I found it tough going when they were nearing the end. Each treatment, watching them move closer and closer to death, I found I became more emotional particularly when family members were present" I was wringing my hands together at this point, it was tough to talk about losing my patients. "But at the same time I gained a new appreciation for life and how precious it is. Knowing I was giving them a treatment that didn't involve injections or pills or pain, that it was a positive amongst all the negative, made it completely worthwhile."

Esme seemed mesmerized by my words. She slowly nodded her head.

"I wish I'd had access to massage therapy for my mother when she was dying, I think it's such a wonderful thing you can do for someone at such a scary time for them." I could see the conversation had touched a nerve and had brought back some not-so-happy memories for her but she shook it off and went on. "So I'll tell you a little about our program here. It's only in the trial phase so employment would be probationary for 3 months but we're fairly positive about making this work.

"We're phasing in complementary therapies as part of patient care here. That means working with the animals when they're first assessed, through their treatment and recovery. At the moment we're looking at hiring an acupuncturist and a massage therapist, such as yourself. You'd be working very closely with the vet and some of the vet nurses, and doing follow ups with the patients and their owners. How is it sounding so far?"

"It sounds like a great opportunity. I have to ask though, how do the clinical staff feel about the complementary therapies? In my experience, we've been seen as mostly unnecessary." It was true, a lot of doctors looked down on massage and the therapists as a waste of patient time and an inconvenience. Pffft.

"Well… they were a bit apprehensive at first but I think they're really warming to the idea. Let me introduce you to Edward, you'd be working fairly closely with him." She stepped out of her office and I took the moment to quickly reassess my appearance. I could see my reflection in a mirrored picture frame on Esme's desk, so I checked my make up was still okay, hair still in place and nothing gross stuck in my teeth (a totally unnecessary exercise as I only checked it 10 minutes ago in the car). Alrighty then, still looking professional.

A few moments suddenly felt like an hour, hmmm… I'm so not good with interviews. My anxiety level just cranked itself up a few notches. I thought about looking for her but I hadn't had the tour yet so I'd probably just end up in the supply closet or the toilet. But, just when I thought she wasn't coming back, the door opened and Esme walked back in.

And then, it was like everything happened in slow motion, like in those cheesy movies. He walked through the door.

Uh oh. This is not good, this is not good, this is not good…

How is it possible that any man could be made this perfect? Was this the vet? No, surely not. I must be dreaming. Yes. Esme just took too long to return and I fell asleep waiting, after all this is a really comfy sofa. Yep, that was it. He's speaking to me. Uh oh, I'm not dreaming. Crap.

PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER BELLA, I mentally shouted at myself.

"Hi, I'm Edward. I'm the vet" he said blandly and looking somewhat pre-occupied. He extended his hand to shake mine, I stood quickly and extended my own hand, and hoped like hell that it wasn't sweaty.

"I'm Bella, it's good to meet you" I managed to get out. He didn't return my smile or even look me in the eye. Yep, that's what I thought. Another medical professional that thinks complementary therapists are off with the fairies.

His hand wrapped around mine in a warm and firm handshake. And that's when it happened. His eyes suddenly shot up to meet mine. Woah! Did he feel that too? What was that? Static electricity? Nah, that can't be it. It felt almost like a tingling that started in my hand and gradually made its way up my arm, warming as it went. So I guess it couldn't have been static. With my profession you become quite intuitive with touch, so maybe that was it. I started to wonder if all of him was warm and firm. Urgh, that is not professional Bella.

I think at that moment my heart was in my mouth, my stomach had hit the floor and my eyeballs were hanging halfway out. My jaw must have been hanging somewhere near my cleavage too. I hoped like hell that I wasn't drooling either.

"Great!" Esme snapped me back to my anatomically-correct self, although I'm sure I didn't actually look like I imagined. God, I hope not! I cringed. I looked back at Edward and was pulled straight back into those green eyes. "So, I'm sure you'll both get along famously" she said.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure we will" I mumbled out. It was only then that I realised I still had my hand in his. Edward must have thought the same thing as he blinked a few times and turned to Esme while letting my hand drop.

"Uh, I need to get back to work. Uh, there's a… dog…" and just like that he was gone.

Esme looked down at my hand which was still slightly extended. She glanced quickly at me and then back towards the door. An odd expression crossed her face, confusion maybe? But then she was smiling again and gestured towards the sofa once more. She grabbed a folder from her desk and passed it to me.

"So, here are the job description and salary details. Take them with you and have a read. I would like to offer you the position; you're well qualified and have some great references. I think you'd be a great asset to our practice. But I'm sure you'll have a few questions once you've read these, so I'll call you tomorrow and we can chat further." Esme's smile was warm and kind and I immediately felt that this was exactly where I wanted to be. It was certainly a job I wanted to do, helping animals with a calm and reassuring touch, and both Esme and Mrs Reception seemed very cheerful, so it had to be a pretty good workplace. It just felt right.

"Thanks for the opportunity Esme" I smiled and shook her hand once more. I made my way back down the corridor but when I had reached the front desk again I noticed Mrs Reception staring back at me. Most of her face was taken up by a Cheshire smile. Strange…

As I walked back to my car I felt confident I was ready to face the challenge of working with animals. I stopped in my tracks. My thoughts had suddenly shifted back to those eyes and my hand tingled again in response. Uh oh… Could I really do this? Was I ready for the challenge of working with the vet?

Words I would not normally say started ringing loudly in my head. Oh, SH… F…

Crap.

His

Chair, My Office. Monday.

I was thoroughly absorbed in some canine x-rays from last night's after-hours clinic when I felt a presence behind me. I glanced back and saw Esme's expectant gaze. When did she get in here? How does she do that?

"Hi Esme, what's up?" I asked, looking back at the images.

"I've got a candidate in my office I'd like you to meet" she said. I opened my mouth to protest again about the silly idea of hers to introduce complementary therapies in to the practice, but she shut me down pretty fast. "I know what you're going to say, but this is a good idea Edward. It works for humans, why not for our 4 legged friends?" I didn't get an opportunity to respond once again, "It's only for a 3 month trial, so put your attitude back in its box and come and meet her." I turned around fully this time and leaned back in my chair.

"Come on Edward, please?" I could feel myself being sucked in. Must… resist… motherly… charms… "She's got great qualifications, she's experienced and…"

"And what, Esme?" Uh oh, here it comes.

"She's really pretty. And she's here for the massage therapist position so she'd have great hands…"

"Esme!" I was shocked at where she was going with this. She was pretty much a mother figure to all of us here, she kept us in line but also offered guidance and comfort on those difficult days. It was weird and uncomfortable hearing her discuss adult themes…

"I'm just saying," she said and put her hands up pleading innocence. Yeah, right. "This will be a good thing. Really" I just wasn't convinced. Esme had come to me a few months ago with the idea of using massage and acupuncture in our practice to reduce stress and help aid recovery for the animals. Being a man of medicine I didn't see the merit, but she can be very persuasive at times. I don't believe I ever agreed to the program, although Esme says otherwise, I may have grunted a few times during the discussion. And that was a green light as far as she was concerned.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'll meet the candidate. But I'm not in favour of this program. You know that." I may as well have been speaking to the x-ray as she had already turned on her heel and was halfway out the door. I need to put a collar with a bell on that woman so we can all hear her approaching.

It was merely a formality, meeting this candidate. I had hoped Esme would come to her senses and see that this was just a silly idea, this is a professional practice and besides, these complementary therapists are all off with the fairies aren't they? By the time I had reached Esme's office I was becoming more and more frustrated about the whole situation, so much so that I barely even noticed the candidate. Oh well I thought, best to keep Esme happy for the moment. We can talk about this again later.

"Hi, I'm Edward. I'm the vet" I said as blandly as I could while extending my hand to the candidate. I didn't even bother making eye contact. This was just a time and place in which I did not want to be. She suddenly bolted upright from the sofa.

"I'm Bella, it's good to meet you" she said and her hand was in mine.

And then it happened.

Blazing heat shot through my hand and up my arm, like I'd been struck by lightning. I looked up and met her stare and then I was lost. Did she feel that too? What the hell? Such warm brown eyes, intense and intoxicating but calming and kind. I don't know how many seconds had passed, or was it minutes. Uh oh… I need to get out of here.

"Great!" Ugh, Esme and her enthusiasm once again. But thankfully this time it was a welcome intrusion. "So, I'm sure you'll both get along famously."

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure we will" the candidate said quietly, but it was enough to bring me back to reality a notch and realise I was still holding her hand. I blinked a few times and attempted to internally knock some sense back in to this brain that had somehow just turned to mush.

"Uh, I need to get back to work. Uh, there's a… dog…" and I was gone. Yeah, nice one Edward, well played. As I stormed down the corridor I reminded myself again why I prefer relationships with animals instead of people. With animals come unconditional love, affection and loyalty. When it comes to people, there are always conditions. Wait, what? And why did that just pop into my head? Oh yeah, brain - mush.

Back in my office I busied myself with the electronic patient file and x-ray I'd been viewing earlier. A few minutes later Esme was at my back again.

"Can we fit you with a noisy collar? Or at least some heels that alert us to your approach?"

"It's all part of my job, Edward. I need to be sneaky sometimes" she smiled. "So, what did you think? You weren't very welcoming. You barely spoke two words in there. I expected at least an attempt at some communication" she was still smiling. What is she up to? And what isn't she telling me?

"Is this really about the program or are you just trying to set me up?"

She smiled at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry, it is about the program. Bella is just a bonus. I wanted to let you know that I've offered her the massage therapist job. She's going to think about it and let me know tomorrow. I think she would do really well here and I believe she may just soften that gnarly exterior of yours". She touched me gently on the arm and wandered back out.

I turned back to the x-ray but it wasn't for long. The next thing I knew Alice was bounding in to the room. Argh! Can't a man have any peace when he's trying to work?

"Have you been in to the liver treats again Alice?" her boundless energy can be quite irritating at times. But I did have a soft spot for her, she was like the sister I never had. She smirked back at me.

"Don't give me that face Edward, you look like a cat's bum" she huffed and folded her arms in front of her.

"Alice!"

"So she was pretty, don't you think?" Oh no, not her too. "I wish I could grow my hair that long. She looked great in that outfit too…"

"I was too distracted to notice, I was thinking about a patient" I gestured towards the x-ray. She glanced at it quickly and then continued glaring at me. Why is she here? "Don't you have a telephone to answer or something?"

"You were thinking about a hip dislocation and didn't notice the gorgeous brunette right in front of you? What, is it because she only has 2 legs?" She started to tap her foot. Who let her get away with wearing designer shoes in a vet clinic? Ah, Esme of course, who also likes to wear those death traps. One of these days, one of them is going to trip over a fur ball and break their neck.

"Enough Alice," I sighed "we can talk about this later. When's my first appointment?" I hoped that changing the subject would silence her forever on the subject of the brunette, or at least for today. I doubted my luck on that one.

"Ten minutes. And I know what you're trying to do. We will talk later. You, me, lunch, garden." and with that she was bouncing back out to reception.

I was back to staring at the x-ray again. How many times had I looked at it in the last 20 minutes? Only now I wasn't seeing a dislocation, I was seeing warm brown human eyes staring back at me. My arm still tingled from that handshake. I flexed my fingers and tried to shake it off. Good with her hands, hey? Well it would take a lot to impress me, here at work I mean. I knew the girls were going to have so much fun stirring me over this, not to mention the flack I'd get from the vet nurses.

Okay. Three months. That's it. I'd just have to tolerate her and her airy-fairy treatments for three short months until Esme realised the program was a waste of time and resources. Then little Miss Brown Eyes with her soft features and long wavy hair would be flapping her hands around someplace else.

In the meantime, I could see that my life was going to become much more difficult here at work. Crap.