Читать книгу Doctor's Orders - Sharon Vita De - Страница 11

“Oh my word!” Cassie said, coming to a dead halt in the room Beau had referred to as the atrium. She spun in a circle, trying to take in everything. “This is…magnificent,” she breathed, stunned by the sheer size and beauty of the room.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, left uncovered to allow full access to Mother Nature’s beauty, served as three of the room’s walls, allowing a breathtaking view of the landscape as far as the eye could see.

Lights and stars twinkled against the inky blackness, and the flakes of fast-falling snow sparkled like glittering diamonds floating toward earth. It was a scene out of a beautiful, romantic movie.

A roaring fire in the huge fireplace at one end of the room provided both light and a warm, homey coziness that instantly wrapped around you in welcome.

The floors were a beautiful aged wood and the colorful, if faded, Persian carpets that dotted the floor served merely to highlight the gorgeous grain and surrounding patina. On either side of the enormous, roaring fireplace were custom-made oak bookshelves filled with more books than Cassie had ever seen outside of a public library.

Nestled in one corner, right in front of the beautiful view, was a small, elegant table set for two. An eggshell tablecloth of what looked like beautiful aged silk adorned the small, round dinner table. Fresh flowers sparkled in a shimmering crystal vase. White taper candles were perched elegantly in a small rosette of expensive-looking crystal, just waiting to be lit.

Cassie selfconsciously glanced down at herself and felt just a tad out of place in her stained salon uniform and work shoes. She wasn’t accustomed to dining at tables adorned with silk linens and candles nestled in crystal.

Feeling more than a little off balance now, Cassie tried to ignore how romantic the scene looked to her, and kept her gaze moving.

This wasn’t personal, she told herself. The table was probably always set in that corner like that. It wasn’t any big deal just because she was there.

But whether or not it was, she caught herself sneaking appreciative glances back at the table simply because it looked so breathtaking against the dark glittering backdrop Mother Nature had provided.

“This is the most incredible room I’ve ever seen.” Fascinated, Cassie merely roamed for a moment, soaking in the beauty of everything, nearly overwhelmed by the aged opulence reflected in every single antique knickknack and furnishing in the room.

She had no idea what it would have been like to grow up surrounded by this kind of luxury or beauty. It was a bit faded now, yes, but the wealth it took to put together a house like this still shone through. She couldn’t help but feel just a wee bit intimidated. It was the same way she’d felt the one and only time she’d been in Sofie’s father’s opulent childhood home.

Trying to banish that memory, Cassie allowed herself the pleasure of just taking everything in. She walked to the front of the fireplace, stunned by the amount of heat generated from such an enormous hearth. It was so large an adult could easily have stood up in it.

Over the intricately carved oak mantel was a large oil painting of a rather gruff-looking man who had the same mischievous twinkle in his eyes as Beau and his uncle. His white hair tufted out around his temples and ears much the same way as Uncle Jasper’s did.

“Family trait,” Beau said from behind her, startling her again so that she jumped. He laid a hand on her shoulder. “Cassie, you’re going to have to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” she asked, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, vividly aware of how close he was to her and how her traitorous body responded every time he touched her.

“Jumping every time I come near you,” he said quietly, taking her by the shoulders and gently turning her to face him. “Cassie.” His gaze scanned her face and she sensed that he could see the fear and vulnerability in her eyes. Tenderly, he squeezed her shoulders. “I don’t know what on earth you’ve heard about me, but clearly it must be something pretty awful to make you nearly jump out of your shoes every time I come near you.”

“No, it’s…not that,” she lied, and he smiled.

“Cassie. I know how people talk. They’ve gossiped about me my whole life. And I know what they say,” he added softly, making her heart ache for the pain that knowledge had to bring. “Remember, I grew up here, just like you, and I know how the gossip vines work. But I would think you’d be the last person in the world to believe gossip.”

He had her there. And had managed to make her feel small and ridiculous simply because he was absolutely right. She had grown up amid gossip and she knew better. And yet, she’d allowed herself to judge him simply from things she’d heard about him, not from her own experiences.

And just that afternoon hadn’t the kids made assumptions about Sofie without really knowing the truth, assumptions that had hurt the young child’s feelings? How on earth could Cassie do the same to the man who’d promised to help her daughter?

She couldn’t, she realized—not in good conscience. Or she would be just as wrong as the kids at school had been today.

“Cassie, I’m sure you’ve heard some wild stories about me and women, but all I ask is that before you make up your mind about me, you judge me for yourself, by your own experiences and not by rumors or innuendo.” Watching her carefully, Beau gently lifted her chin. “Do you think you can do that?”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, to look into his eyes and see the emotions swirling there. And she remembered all the rumors she’d heard about his womanizing. She wasn’t entirely sure now how true or accurate they’d been, and it shamed her to think she might have misjudged him just as her own daughter had been misjudged.

“Yes. Yes, of course,” she assured him.

She dared to glance up at him again and her mouth went dry when she looked at his mouth. Oh, Lord, that mouth. It looked soft and warm and very…talented. That was the only word she could think of.

He was standing directly in front of her, closer than any man had been in a very long time. So close she could feel the warmth of his body heat, smell the scent that danced along his skin. It was such a mesmerizing, masculine scent it was almost dizzying. She had a sudden urge to stand on tiptoe and bury her face in his neck, to simply inhale that incredibly wonderful maleness.

Then there were his eyes, she thought dreamily. Gorgeous and blue, they reflected so many things, she realized now. Emotions she’d not thought him capable of simply because she’d prejudged and perhaps misjudged him based rumor and gossip.

Guilt landed like a hammer and Cassie realized just how unfair she’d been to Beau. He had been nothing but kind to her and her daughter. Especially her daughter. And for that alone he deserved her thanks, her gratitude and more importantly, he deserved to be treated fairly and with respect. She made a silent vow to do better; to be better and more fair. And most importantly, to give him a chance without any preconceived notions on her part.

“Dr. Bradford—”

“Beau,” he corrected with a smile. “Only my patients call me Dr. Bradford and you’re too old to be one of my patients.”