Chapter Four
April 2013
Emilia was not having a great start to her Tuesday. She had overslept her alarm and forgot to brush her teeth. A mint candy ring had taken care of the morning breath but her mouth felt gross. She had almost forgotten to take her migraine medicine but ran back in to gulp a dropper full down before she was out the door again.
When she had gotten to the clinic this morning she had three emergency appointment requests. False promises to look at the couple who had inquired about a partnership a week ago entered her mind. She needed to clear out an afternoon to make that happen it seemed.
For now Emilia heard the fourth clinic examination door click shut and the telltale slide of the flag letting her know the patient inside was ready. With a deep breath Emilia set a smile upon her face and knocked on the first door.
Hours later the distant chime of the front door opening brought Emilia out of her thoughtful lull.
A few murmured voices let her know Kaila was assisting the new client while she lathered her arms with disinfecting soap.
It had definitely been a hectic morning including one ill turtle whose young owner swore he watched it swallow a button only to have his mum scold him into the truth. Apparently he had fed him cookies when his mum had told him not to.
Warm water chased the suds down her arms and she stood for a few seconds to let her hands drip dry, idly wondering if she had put in that restock order of rabies antiserum. A quick tug on the paper towel dispenser and rub down of her arms dried her skin enough for her to pull her undershirt sleeves down. Just as she was adjusting her scrub top Kaila stepped through the closed door.
"Um...Emilia there's a man out there who says he knows you from school? He wanted to talk?"
Emilia's eyebrows raised in surprise. She went to school in Oxford, England where she grew up. Who on earth would be out here from Oxford? Then she noticed Kaila's cheeks were shaded bright pink and her eyes glowed with excitement.
"Okay...did he say what his name was?"
Kaila shook her head. Puzzled, Emilia walked past her through the door towards the front of her clinic.
A very tall man with shockingly blonde hair, ivory skin, and steely grey eyes stood expectantly at the counter. His entire lithe frame froze when he saw her. Only his eyes moved as they rapidly looked her over from head to toe and back. She understood now why Kaila had responded the way she had. This man had to be one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. She didn't recognize him at all though. Pity. Ever the professional Emilia smiled and stepped up to the counter.
"Good afternoon, sir. My assistant said you went to school with me? I'm sorry, I don't seem to remember. I'm terrible with names." She held her hand out in a friendly gesture.
His eyes drifted down to her outstretched hand before returning to her face. The awe and...something...else practically sparkled in his eyes. It was unnerving. This guy was intense. Couldn't he just shake her hand?
"Hermione?" He breathed, his voice full of emotion.
Emilia narrowed her eyebrows.
"Hermione? I'm sorry sir you are mistaken. My name is Dr. Emilia Grainer. This is a veterinary clinic. Perhaps you are looking for someone else?" Her voice was cautious. It wasn't the first time someone strolled in lost. Maybe he was drunk. Perhaps his meds were off.
His stormy eyes pierced hers, like he was searching deep into her caged soul for something. A small jolt ran up her spine as a flicker of familiarity jabbed her mind but was snuffed out with an inky black feeling almost as quick as it appeared.
"My apologies Dr. Grainer, I misspoke." He corrected easily, the searching gaze frosted over with a kind politeness. His hand slid easily into hers and again an almost physical shock of remembrance panged in her brain but she couldn't place it.
"My name is Draco Malfoy. We went to secondary school together." He smoothed over the blunder but held her hand a little too long. A bit too tight.
"Mr. Malfoy you said? It's nice to see you. To be honest I remember so little of my life before moving here. It's been years since I've been back home. I'm sorry to say I don't remember you in my classes." Her hand withdrew from his bold grip. Warning bells were sounding off in her head.
He didn't reply but silently studied her. She returned his gaze with one of inquisition, eyebrows slightly raised. She saw something click behind his telling eyes as he smiled sheepishly.
"I apologize for staring. It's been quite some time since we have seen each other."
"Yes, it would make sense given I've lived in America for over ten years now. Hardly a chance to happen across each other on the street." Emilia spoke in a slightly condescending tone.
Flustered at her sudden rudeness she turned her attention to her planner, trying to keep her twitching hands busy.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, to what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu visit? What in the world are you doing out in the boonies of America?"
"A holiday actually. I'm trekking across the country. I had heard from a mutual acquaintance you had moved here some time ago and since I was going to be in the vicinity I thought I would stop by to see my former classmate."
"Vacation."
He blinked.
"What?"
"It's a vacation not a holiday."
She grinned. It was a nervous tick she had adopted in New York to default to sarcasm and humor when she was uncomfortable. She hoped he picked up on the lack of sincerity in her words.
He smirked.
"Thoroughly corrupted by this god forsaken lands' abysmal attempt at English?"
She shrugged, pleased he caught on.
"I still have my accent. I do however end my conversations with mkay bye and toss out a yeah no every now and then to remind myself where I am. Except of course using the word mom for mum. Some habits can't die."
He feigned a shutter.
"Disgusting. I suppose you have also picked up the local colloquialism and say rude things like eggplant and line."
"I have unfortunately and I must insist you say vitamins vy-tah-mihns."
"Absolutely not heathen."
She scowled playfully. Dear god this man was flirting with her and they had barely met for five minutes. She needed to get control of herself before she did something ridiculous.
"So Mr. Malfoy," she noticed when she said his name, his hand seemed to twitch, "how long will you be staying here before moving onto your next destination?"
He leaned casually against her counter. Hmm his broad shoulders looked nice in his tailored coat.
"Several weeks as a matter of fact. The benefits of being your own boss: you can work wherever you like."
She nodded as if she understood being her own boss was liberating instead of practically being in a marriage to her job. She rarely took any time off.
"You mentioned we were classmates. If you don't mind, could you tell me more about it? Like I said I remember very little of that time in my life. Were we friends? Did we share classes?"
"Not at first. We didn't see eye to eye when we were younger. In fact, we were quite adversarial."
"Oh."
She couldn't imagine being unfriendly with anyone really. Her friends constantly teased her for her Midwest niceness she inherited from living here. How the times had changed things.
"Well, if I was unkind to you in my youth I'm sorry. I've grown quite a bit since then I imagine."
A small smile and flicker of sadness crossed his eyes. His face was so expressive yet not.
"You were only reacting to my own poor behavior. Most of our classmates found you kind and respectful. I was rather a git."
She laughed. She hadn't heard the term git in ages.
She could hear the sharp intake of his breath at the sound. Obviously her laughter was affecting him. Her nervousness settled back in again.
As if sensing the change in her demeanor his face turned quite serious then.
"Emilia, I wonder if I could take you out to lunch? I would very much like to continue to catch up."
Her mouth opened to let him know lunch wasn't possible when the bell over the front door jingled. A glance beyond his shoulder to the newcomer made her start. A familiar round face with dark brown tear filled eyes and a wind swept jet black ponytail greeted her.
"Excuse me for a moment." Stepping around the counter she approached the small guest.
"Larae sweetie what's wrong?" Emilia knelt before the little girl just as a woman who could've been Larae's older doppelganger opened the door.
"Auntie Emilia, it's the barn kitten we found. He won't drink his milk. I told mama we needed to come down here right away." Larae sobbed, her voice heavy with tears.
Emilia looked into her arms to find a small orange bundle of a tabby kitten. Gently, she took the tiny creature, smiling and cooing as the little thing mewled.
"Has he eaten anything since yesterday Mona?" Emilia asked, rubbing a finger under his chin and pleased to see his eyes opened.
"A little. Sorry to bother you but she was beside herself. She didn't want to wait until tonight to call you." Mona explained.
Emilia stood upright, gently returning the kitten into the expectant child's arms.
"Alright Larae, let's do a check up and see about getting this little guy to eat. Room one is open. I will be there in a moment."
The little girl hurried past the adults to the first open exam room down the hall. Mona shifted an arched eyebrow between Emilia and Mr. Malfoy. Emilia groaned internally. Shit. What was she going to say to Mona when she asked about the tall, handsome man who happened to be a former classmate coming to visit her randomly? With an expectant look Mona followed her daughter into the room. Mr. Malfoy had watched the exchange silently. Emilia cleared her throat.
"Sorry, my best friend's daughter. She wants to be a veterinarian someday as well. They just had several barn kittens born this spring and she is determined to take care of all of them."
She stopped, mentally chiding herself for rambling. His lips turned down slightly.
"It seems that lunch will not be possible today. Perhaps dinner?"
"Actually I have a book club meeting tonight. Can I take a rain check on that"
She could practically hear Kaila screaming at her for not taking him up on his offer right away. There was something different about this Mr. Malfoy fellow. Something she wasn't so certain she was ready to try to delve into. Almost like an internal warning.
"I will stop by another time then."
He smiled and held his hand out to her this time.
"Until then, it was a pleasure to see you again, Dr. Grainer."
She reached forward, anticipating the sparks from the connection but not the tug at her belly as if something invisible physically tried to pull her forward toward him. She snatched her hand back quickly and the feeling immediately stopped.
"Yes, a pleasure seeing you Mr. Malfoy." She muttered breathlessly.
Without another word she turned on her heel to quickly exit the room but not before she saw him stare down at his own hand as if he, too, had felt something.