Army Ranger with Benefits (the Men of At-Ease Ranch) Read online

  Dom’s eyes widened. “You’re going to see her doctor?”

  “Yeah.”

  “For an exam?”

  “Yeah.” He frowned, unsure what the big deal was. “Why?”

  Dom released him and stepped back to lean against the doorframe. “No reason.” His lips twitched as he scratched the bridge of his nose with his thumb. “Smart thinking.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “I thought so, too. This way, I can play the new-in-the-area card and ask him to recommend places he frequents.”

  “That’s a good way to get to know him.”

  He nodded.

  “Intimately,” his brother added, still fighting a stupid grin.

  Vince wrinkled his nose. “What the hell’s your problem? I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “But he might.” Dom snickered.

  Irritation prickled Vince’s spine. “Why do I bother?” Fighting the urge to shoulder-check the idiot, he pushed past and muttered, “Asshole,” on his way out the door.

  For some reason that increased his brother’s amusement. Bastard’s laughter followed him down the hall, along with a hissed breath and several curses.

  Good. He hoped the exertion hurt like hell.

  Dom was acting odd that morning. Then it hit him. What if his brother had taken his medication—despite his claim he only took it after PT—then forgot? Vince’s heart dropped to his knees. That would definitely explain the strange behavior.

  “You going to be okay while I’m gone?” he asked.

  Dom scowled. “Yes. I’m not helpless. I’ll survive the hour while Stephan gets to know you.”

  “Don’t you mean while I get to know him?” he asked.

  “Ah, yeah, right. That, too.” His brother nodded with a grin, and was still smiling when Vince left for his appointment.

  All the while he drove, and even while filling out paperwork, Vince kept thinking about his brother. Damn. If Dom really had taken his pain pills and forgotten about it, then Vince was going to have to take over administering the medication.

  Christ. He ran a hand through his hair. That wouldn’t go over well with his control-freak brother. But he couldn’t have the guy doubling up on doses.

  “Vince?” Standing in front of an open door, a sour-faced nurse called his name while glancing around the waiting room.

  Showtime.

  He pushed thoughts of his brother aside and approached the woman with a grin. “Good morning, ma’am.”

  Her eyes widened, and an answering smile erased the grouchy from her face. “Morning.”

  As he followed her down a hall, he passed a section in the middle where Emma and her friend Macy sat behind a rounded counter. He winked at them on his way to an examining room where, once inside, he sat while the nurse took his vitals. Her shoulders were less rigid, and her features were much softer by the time she left.

  A twinge of guilt flickered through him for wasting her and the doctor’s time. An actual patient could’ve used his slot. But, his mind reasoned, although he wasn’t having issues, Vince hadn’t seen a doctor in a while, so technically, it wasn’t a waste.

  The door opened a few minutes later, and his thoughts zeroed in on his task—extracting information to help Emma secure a date with the Brad Pitt clone walking into the room.

  “Hello, Mr. Acardi.” The man held out his hand and cracked a smile full of perfect white teeth in his perfect face. “I’m Dr. Greenwald.”

  Vince was already on his feet, shaking the man’s hand before the last name registered in his brain. “Greenwald?” He cocked his head. “I went through basic with a Brian Greenwald. Any relation?”

  The doctor’s smile widened. “He’s my older brother.”

  “I’ll be damned.” Vince snickered, releasing the man’s hand. “What’s he up to? I lost track after I joined the Rangers.”

  Leaning back against the exam table, the doctor folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “Lucky bastard’s stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu.”

  Vince whistled. “Sweet draw.”

  “Yeah. I plan to take our parents there this Christmas.” He motioned for Vince to take a seat alongside the small corner desk, then sat in the chair in front of it. “So, you’re a Ranger?”

  He nodded. “I left the military two years ago, though.”

  “Really?” Doc Greewald glanced at Vince’s stats the nurse had keyed into the computer. “What do you do now?”

  “I’m part owner of a Texas ranch and construction company where veterans live and work.” No need to get into specifics. He was there to ask the questions.

  “Texas? What are you doing in Georgia?”

  He exhaled. “My brother. He’s stationed here and was recently injured on a mission. Dislocated a hip.”

  The doc winced. “Ouch.”

  “Yeah. I’ll be in town until he’s done with physical therapy or can drive himself there. Right now, though, he can barely get out of bed on his own.” With personal stuff out of the way, Vince was ready to start grilling. “It’s been a while since I lived here, so tell me, Doc—what do you do for fun? I’m already going stir-crazy.”

  The guy laughed. “First off, call me Stephan. And I doubt the area’s changed much, but me personally, I like to hike at Flat Rock Park on the weekends, and often join the Tuesday night bike ride.”

  “At the river walk?”

  “Yeah,” Stephan replied. “And when I can, I head to Kelley’s. Great food. Live bands. Dancing. It’s always a good time. Tonight, I’m bowling with a few friends over at The Peach Bowl. They have open lanes after the leagues.”

  Perfect.

  Vince knew the place well. In fact, he knew all the places. Showing up at The Peach Bowl with Emma tonight would get the ball rolling, pun intended.

  “So, Vince, you don’t seem to be in any pain.” The guy switched back to doctor mode. “Are you having issues, or is this just a routine exam?”

  Pushing back another stab of guilt, he shrugged. “Just routine.”

  “All right.” The doc rose to his feet. “Let’s get started. Drop your pants.”

  Drop my…

  Vince frowned. What the hell for?

  He watched the guy walk to the counter and pull two gloves from a box. Alarm trickled down his spine.

  What kind of doctors did Emma work for?

  He’d assumed it was a general practitioners’ office, but one glance at the diagram of lower anatomy on the far wall explained the whole thing.

  Literally.

  Dr. Stephan Greenwald was a goddamn proctologist.

  A great many things became clear. Emma’s astonishment over his offer to let Stephan examine him, for one thing. The woman had looked at him as if he were crazy, and right now, he was having crazy thoughts—like leaving before Stephan snapped on that last damn glove.

  As Vince eyed the door, an image of his brother’s smirking face came to mind, along with the bastard’s laughter.

  That son of a bitch.

  Dom’s strange behavior had nothing at all to do with double dosing medicine, and everything to do with being an asshole.

  Jerk knew and said nothing. Bastard also knew Vince would go through with it once he found out, because to tell the doc it was a mistake would ruin his credibility as someone interested in Emma. No man worth his salt would date a woman without knowing what she did for a living, or who she worked for. And even though he didn’t really know the woman, he’d given his word to help.

  So Vince couldn’t leave, and was about to pay a big price for assuming. But he wasn’t the only one who was going to pay.

  Hell no.

  Reaching for the button on his jeans, he began to formulate a plan. His brother seemed to have forgotten one very important thing.

  Vince didn’t get mad, he got even.

  Chapter Seven

  Emma still couldn’t believe Vince was going through with the exam just to help her out. Her. A nobody. She was practically a total stranger. That was so far above a
nd beyond anything she’d ever expected, he practically lived on Mars.

  He deserved a thank you. When she got home from work, she was making him the biggest, best peach pie of her life.

  “Girlfriend, you have got to tell me your secret,” Macy said, staring down the hall at the closed exam room door Vince was in. “What did you do to get that gorgeous man to agree to let your doctor fist his goods?”

  “Macy!” Emma sucked in a breath as she glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully, reception was too far away, and none of the nurses were in the hall or at their station. “Shh…and you know the doctors don’t do that.”

  “No, they just probe where the sun doesn’t shine.”

  Emma shook her head. Better to just shut up, then her friend would move on to another subject.

  “Wait.” Macy tipped her chin. “Maybe that’s how Vince swings. I mean, maybe that’s why he suggested it.”

  “Maybe we should change the subject,” Emma said, glancing around again.

  Her friend exhaled and waved a hand. “All right. Fine. You can tell me what you’re going to do to make it up to the guy.”

  “Make him a pie.”

  “The poor man deserves a hell of a lot more than pie for putting his ass on the line. Literally.” Macy smirked. “But, since your peach pie is to die for, I’d say it’s cool. Even if he fell into the other category.”

  Emma narrowed her gaze and cocked her head. “What other category?”

  “The one where the guy didn’t know what kind of doctor you worked for,” Macy replied.

  Didn’t know?

  “Nah.” Emma shook her head. “He knew.”

  “So you did tell him.” Macy raised a brow. “That’s good. Could you imagine if he didn’t know?” Her friend slapped a hand to her chest and shook with glee.

  Macy was right. It was a good thing Emma told him. Only, she couldn’t quite recall doing that. But, she must have…at some point. Probably.

  Her heart sank.

  What if she hadn’t?

  The exam room door opened, putting an end to her dire thoughts and sending her pulse into orbit.

  She needed to…what? Play it cool with Stephan, but smile at Vince? Ignore them both? Or maybe hide in the bathroom and hyperventilate.

  She exhaled slowly. No. If she wanted to hook up with Stephan, she needed to stay put and see this through.

  Since Vince was supposed to be someone she was interested in, it would probably appear odd if she didn’t at least smile at the guy.

  She watched as the two men walked out. They were shaking hands and laughing like old friends.

  Okay, so maybe she was in the clear. Vince had to know what kind of exam—

  “Maybe he did like it,” Macy mumbled, the smile evident in her tone as she broke through Emma’s thoughts.

  Ignoring her friend, she waited, heart pounding out of her chest as Stephan walked Vince down the hall toward the billing desk, then returned alone.

  Setting the folder in the basket on the counter, he smiled down at them. “That patient went to basic with my brother.”

  Which explained the comradery.

  “Don’t that beat all?” Macy said. “Emma knows him, too.”

  Son of a beeswax.

  Her heart lurched, and even though she wanted to smack her friend, she refrained.

  Barely.

  “You know him?” Stephan frowned, interest and—dare she label the other emotion in his eyes as…apprehension? “How?”

  Blurting out Vince was interested in her and vice versa seemed a little weird, so she decided to ease into it. “He’s my neighbor’s brother.”

  Macy kicked her shin.

  She swallowed a curse and was about to add the interested in each other part when her phone vibrated in her pocket.

  “It’s a small world.” Stephan straightened from the counter. “I’d better get back to work. See you ladies later.”

  Nodding, she pulled out her phone to find a text from Vince asking if she could take a quick break and meet him in the corridor outside the practice.

  Shoot. Trying not to panic, she watched Stephan disappear into another exam room. What if Macy was right and he hadn’t known this was a proctology practice? Her stomach knotted. Was he breaking up with her before they even started to pretend date?

  That’d be just her luck.

  She stood, ready to face the music, whatever it may be. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she told Macy before heading to Vince.

  By the time she reached the corridor, anxiety beat an erratic tune in her chest. She studied his features for signs of anger, but only found a friendly expression.

  Probably acting since people were mulling about. She noted a few females smiling at him as they passed. But he didn’t notice. He straightened from the wall when he spotted her.

  “Hey.” Smiling, he grabbed her hand to draw her closer.

  Emma hid her surprise behind her own smile and fought to get her racing pulse under control.

  “Thanks for meeting me,” he said, still holding her hand. “I needed to talk to you.”

  Here it comes. He was breaking up with her.

  “Oh?” she said through a suddenly dry throat.

  He leaned his shoulder against the wall and nodded. “I wanted to let you know we’re going bowling tonight with Stephan.”

  She blinked. He wasn’t backing out?

  Her apprehension disappeared and then the rest of his words sunk in. “He invited us to bowl?”

  “Not exactly.” Vince chuckled. “Once we both realized I went to basic with his brother, we got to talking, and when I asked him what he did around here for fun, he mentioned he was bowling tonight. A perfect opportunity to surprise him.”

  He wasn’t the only one surprised. Why did it have to be bowling? Emma hadn’t bowled a day in her life. Any chance of impressing the guy just hit the gutter.

  Still, Vince just went above and beyond for her, and seemed so happy to put her in close proximity to Stephan outside of work, she couldn’t burst his bubble.

  “Yeah, it’ll be great.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “For a minute there, I thought you were calling me out here to back out.”

  A frown creased his brow. “Why would I do that?”

  Good one, Emma, now you have to talk about the exam.

  Idiot.

  She cleared her throat and stared at his neck. A sexy, lickable birthmark sat at the base. Damn. And if that wasn’t enough, little sprigs of hair were visible where his shirt buttoned. But that didn’t mean anything, she told herself. She swung either way on the chest-hair debate.

  Stephan’s was smooth. Emma knew thanks to a charity softball game their practice participated in two months ago. He’d removed his shirt in the dugout to don the team’s T-shirt. He had a lean, well-defined frame.

  Vince, on the other hand, was an Acardi, and like his brother, Dom, he had too much testosterone not to have hair on his chest. And since she refused to think of her fake boyfriend in a sexy light, Emma pictured that hair wrapping around to cover his back and shoulders, too.

  That dimmed the sexy light. A little.

  “Emma?” he said. “Look at me.”

  She forced her gaze to meet his. “Yeah?”

  His eyes weren’t strictly brown. There were little flecks of gold surrounding the pupils, which…wasn’t mesmerizing at all. Nope. Not at all.

  “When I give my word, I keep it,” he said, those gold flecks deepening several shades as his gaze turned earnest. “I won’t back out. I promise.”

  No man had ever really had Emma’s back before. Dom and his buddies were trustworthy, of course, but she knew better than to count on them, because they deployed on a moment’s notice and weren’t always around.

  So for this man, a man she barely knew, to stand here with honesty in his gaze and a promise to help on his lips, it said a lot for his character…and threw her for a loop.

  A huge one.

  Overcome with the
strongest urge to hug the man, she squeezed his hand instead. Emma wasn’t a hugger. It was an act she never took or gave lightly. It required investment and trust. Even though she was starting to trust Vince, she knew he wasn’t sticking around. He lived in Texas. Had a job and a life in Texas. Plus, he was military. They’re wired a certain way, a way which, for some reason, never seemed to include her. No. She had no plans to drop her guard to let him in deep enough to reach the “hug zone.”

  Fake hugs for performance sake, sure. But not real ones. She was saving those for someone who “stuck.”

  A nonmilitary guy with no intention of leaving town.

  A guy like Stephan.

  “Okay,” she said, then cleared her throat because her voice sounded hoarse.

  He smiled, and his gaze brightened. “Good. Now, tell me why you thought I’d leave you in the lurch.”

  Dropping her gaze back to his neck, she shrugged. “It dawned on me when you were in the exam room that I…uh…never told you what kind of specialists I work for.” Finding the courage, she lifted her gaze to his again. “Did you know?”

  “No.”

  Her stomach lurched. “Oh my God, Vince. I’m so sorry.” Without thinking, she set her forehead to his chest, unsure whether to cry, or curse, or laugh. “I don’t know why I thought you knew. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Grasping her upper arms, he gently pulled her back and dipped down to meet her gaze. “I don’t blame you. My brother, on the other hand…him I blame.”

  She widened her eyes. “Dom knew you were coming here and didn’t say anything?”

  “Not about the practice. But he did say things, all right.” A scowl rippled across Vince’s face. “He told me it was a good idea, and a great way to get to know Stephan. Intimately.”

  I’m gonna kill him.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, she slapped a hand over her mouth, torn between laughing and cursing. And she rarely cursed.

  Vince released her to lean back against the wall and shove a hand through his hair. “Bastard was grinning all morning long.” His scowl deepened. “I thought maybe it was the pain meds making him loopy. Now, I know different.”

  Emma removed her hand from her mouth. “Sorry. It’s my fault. I didn’t think about it. I assumed—”