Crushing On You: Travis and Gabriella (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book One) Read online

  “I’m tired too. Let me help you finish cleaning up, and then I’ll take off.”

  Smiling, Amethyst said, “Sounds good.”

  When Gabby got home she made sure Sadie came in the house for the night, then she went to bed. Staring into the darkness, she reviewed her evening. Travis had seemed to actively avoid her at the party. Why? Was something wrong with her?

  Why couldn’t he get that woman out of his head?

  An image of Gabriella Peters stubbornly stayed front and center in Travis’s mind as he stared at the TV screen.

  When would he run into her again?

  Chapter 6

  “How’s your morning been so far?” Chloe asked Gabby as she sat beside her in the teachers’ lounge.

  It was the first day of the new school year, and Gabby had been excited to begin. She’d only been in Emerald Falls for two weeks, but it already felt like home, and with school finally starting, she was happier than she’d been in a while.

  Except for her failed love life. She could’t forget about that.

  Holding back a frown, Gabby unscrewed the cap on her water bottle and leaned back in her chair. “It’s been great, and I have the best class.”

  Chloe laughed. “I’m glad. I think my class is going to be pretty awesome too.”

  Gabby took a sip of her water. “That makes all the difference, doesn’t it?”

  “How many years have you taught?”

  “This will be my third year. What about you?”

  “This is my fourth year.”

  Laughing, Gabby said, “Good. So I can come to you with any questions.”

  “Yes,” Chloe said with a smile. “Because that extra year makes me an expert.”

  “Exactly.”

  After checking on the progress of the dog he’d performed surgery on, Travis walked down the hall of the clinic to see his next patient. It had been over a week since Amethyst’s party, but he couldn’t get Gabriella out of his head. Several times at the party he’d nearly pulled her aside to ask her out, but each time he’d been about to act on that impulse, he’d reminded himself that he was only in Emerald Falls to gain experience before moving on to bigger and better things. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Emerald Falls, it’s just that he had higher aspirations for himself—like working for a practice in a larger city and maybe even opening his own practice one day, rather than staying in the quaint town where he’d spent his senior year of high school.

  If Doc Martin hadn’t graciously agreed to let him intern with him, he wouldn’t even be here, but he needed to gain experience under a seasoned vet and thankfully Doc Martin had agreed to have Travis. And Travis had to admit, he had really enjoyed the last two months, although that didn’t mean he wanted to live in Emerald Falls for the rest of his life.

  Travis shook his head, then he stepped into the waiting room to find his next patient.

  Exhausted after her first day of school, Gabby sank onto the couch in her living room and closed her eyes. The faces of the children in her class filled her mind, and as she pictured each one, she tried to remember their names. She could recall about three-fourths of them, which pleased her, and when she got to Sam Richards, she smiled as she remembered meeting his grandmother, Emily Richards, at Emerald Falls Veterinary.

  Thoughts of the vet’s office naturally led to thoughts of the vet, and when Gabby visualized the look of surprise on Travis’s face when Gage had basically announced to everyone at the party that Gabby had had a crush on him ten years before, heat climbed her neck and quickly reached her face.

  Whatever. No one cared anymore.

  Sighing softly, she opened her eyes and sat up straighter.

  She cared. And really, it was as if no time had passed at all. Both times she had seen Travis, she’d been drawn to him as much as she had been ten years earlier.

  With a shake of her head, she held back a laugh.

  At least now she’d spoken to him. Not much, but more than she had back in the day. Not that anything would come of it. He obviously had as little interest in her now as he did when they were teenagers.

  Feeling discouraged, she lay her head against the couch cushions and let her eyes drift closed. Half an hour later she woke with a start to find that Sadie had leapt onto her lap.

  “Are you trying to tell me you’re hungry?” she asked as she ran her fingers through the gray tabby’s fur.

  Sadie’s back arched under Gabby’s hand, but when Gabby’s fingers reached the cat’s lower back, Sadie jerked away and let out a yelp.

  “What’s wrong?” Gabby asked, immediately concerned. “Let me see.” She took a closer look at the cat’s hindquarters and found clear evidence of an injury. Gently stroking Sadie while being careful to avoid the tender spot, she murmured, “What happened?”

  Worried now, Gabby knew the only solution was to take her beloved cat to the vet.

  Maybe she could see Dr. Martin and she wouldn’t have to face Travis. Not that she would mind exactly, but it would be awkward. Especially after the way Travis had actively avoided talking to her one-on-one at the party.

  Gabby lifted her cell phone from the side table, and after looking up the number for Emerald Falls Veterinary, she called to see if they were still open.

  “We’re open for another hour,” Emily Richards said after Gabby asked when they closed.

  “Can I bring my cat in right now? It looks like she has a wound or something on her back.”

  “Yes, of course. We’ll make time for you.”

  After thanking her, Gabby hung up, then grabbed her purse and carried Sadie out to the car.

  Fifteen minutes later Gabby stood at the counter at the vet’s office.

  “Dr. Haywood will be out in a few minutes,” Emily said.

  At the mention of his name—and knowing she’d be alone in a room with him—Gabby’s heart began to pound.

  Focus on Sadie. That was the reason she was there. Not to see Travis. And she had no doubt that he was only interested in doing his job.

  “Okay, thanks.” Gabby turned to walk away, then turned back. “By the way, your grandson’s in my class.”

  Emily smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.” Then her eyebrows pulled together. “Did he behave himself today?”

  Laughing, Gabby nodded. “Yes. They always behave pretty well on the first day.”

  “That’s good. Hopefully they’ll continue to behave themselves.”

  With a smile, Gabby sat on one of the chairs and tried not to think about Dr. Travis Haywood.

  Chapter 7

  Travis looked up from his desk when Emily walked in.

  “You have a patient,” she said with a smile, then she placed a manilla folder on his desk.

  “Thank you.” After she left, he opened the folder, and when he saw Gabriella Peters printed at the top, he was startled to feel his heart skip a beat.

  Uncertain what that meant, he tried to analyze his feelings. Was he eager to see her, or was he concerned about the attraction he was feeling towards her?

  With a shake of his head, he pushed his feelings aside, then stood, ready to find out why she’d come in.

  Moments later he saw her sitting in the waiting area, her cat on her lap.

  She was even prettier than he remembered. And the way she was caring for Sadie—he could see her cat meant a lot to her.

  With his own love of animals, that was important to him.

  He walked towards her, and when he got closer he heard her murmuring, “It’s okay, Sadie. We’ll get you fixed up.”

  Touched by the tender way she interacted with Sadie, Travis’s attraction to her grew.

  Focus on your patient, not her owner.

  Gabby could sense someone approaching and she immediately knew it was Travis. Drawing in a quick breath to slow her suddenly racing heart, she quietly exhaled before lifting her gaze to meet his. When her eyes met his sapphire-blue ones, she could have sworn something passed between them, but she instantly dismissed it as wishful thinkin
g.

  “Hello, Gabriella,” Travis said, his voice deep.

  Hearing him say her name—her full name—did funny things to her insides. A tentative smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “Hi.”

  “What’s going on today?”

  About to tell him about her first day of school, she felt a blush rise on her cheeks when it dawned on her that he was asking why she’d come into the vet’s office. He didn’t care about her day. He wanted to know what was wrong with Sadie.

  “I’m not sure what happened,” she said as she turned her attention to her purpose in coming. “But there’s a wound or something on Sadie’s back.”

  Travis’s gaze went to the gray tabby. “Okay. Let’s check it out.”

  When he turned and began walking away, Gabby stood and followed him, and after they’d entered the exam room, he shut the door.

  How did he feel about being alone in the room with her?

  She just needed to keep this about Sadie. Then he wouldn’t have to feel awkward around her.

  Gabby set Sadie on the exam table and pointed to the spot she’d discovered.

  Travis examined the area, which Sadie didn’t like, then said, “It looks like something bit her. Probably another cat. Since it’s on her rump, she must have been trying to get away when the other cat attacked.” He looked up and asked, “Do you let her go outside?”

  Right away Gabby knew she’d made a mistake in letting Sadie become an indoor/outdoor cat. Before moving to Emerald Falls she’d always kept her indoors and Sadie had never gotten hurt—certainly had never been in a fight with another cat. But with the land around her aunt’s cottage, Gabby had thought Sadie would enjoy venturing outdoors once in a while. And Sadie had seemed to like it. Quite a bit.

  But now, as Gabby imagined Sadie’s wound becoming infected, which would cause her great pain, and maybe even kill her, her eyes flooded with tears. “It’s all my fault. I should have known better than to let her go outside.” She placed her hand on Sadie’s head. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  The sincere sorrow on Gabriella’s face and in her voice tore at Travis’s heart and he had to smother the impulse to wrap his arms around her in comfort.

  Anxious to assuage her guilt, he said, “She’ll be okay. I’ll prescribe antibiotics to prevent it from getting infected, and I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

  Her tear-soaked eyes met his, and a small smile curved her mouth. “Are you sure?”

  Even with his limited experience, he was certain enough to reassure her. “Yes,” he said, his smile confident. “I’m positive.”

  Relief shone from her eyes, and without warning, she threw her arms around him. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  Almost as fast as she had embraced him, she sprang away from him as her face turned crimson.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice soft. Then she turned away.

  Stunned by what had just happened, and realizing how much he had enjoyed her embrace—and wishing it had lasted a lot longer—Travis didn’t say anything.

  Gabby’s back was to Travis as she tried to gather herself.

  What had she been thinking? She’d thrown herself at him. How could she humiliate herself like that? Now he was going to think she was even more pathetic.

  Blinking rapidly to force away the tears of shame that tried to push into her eyes, Gabby slowly breathed in and out, in and out. She would have preferred to flee, but with Sadie still on the examination table, and with her need to get the prescription for the antibiotics, she had no choice but to face the consequences of her impulsive act.

  “It’s okay,” Travis said from behind her, but his words did nothing to soothe Gabby’s deep mortification.

  I rather liked it, he wanted to add, but decided that would be a bad idea. He watched her back, and after another moment she slowly turned around, but she completely avoided eye contact.

  Something about her, whether it was the obvious vulnerability she felt after hugging him, or the way she blamed herself for what had happened to her cat, or maybe it was just her. Whatever it was, something stirred within him, and he heard himself say, “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

  Gabriella’s head snapped up, and her gaze shot to his, her eyes wide.

  What was he doing? He wasn’t supposed to be asking her out.

  Had she heard him right? Had he just asked her out? Why would he do that? He must know that she was fully aware that he had no interest in her. Did he feel sorry for her because she had acted like such an idiot? Was this a pity date? Well, she had no desire to be anyone’s pity date.

  “Thank you,” she said, her mouth dry. “But I don’t think that’s going to work.”

  Wait. Had she just turned down a date with Travis Haywood? Was she insane? Pity date or not, it was a date. With Travis Haywood. The man she hadn’t been able to forget for ten years. What was wrong with her?

  “Okay.” He smiled tentatively. “I’ll just write up that prescription for you. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  With a nod, Gabby placed her hands on Sadie to keep her from jumping down, and the moment Travis was out of the room, Gabby had to hold back a scream of frustration.

  Now what? Did she think he was going to ask her again and take a chance on her shooting him down a second time? That had been a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she’d blown it. Blown it big time.

  Travis typed in the prescription for Sadie and mentally replayed what had happened with Gabriella. He’d been so hesitant to ask her out, and once he had he’d almost immediately regretted it. But when she’d turned him down flat, something had changed.

  It wasn’t like women never turned him down, although he couldn’t actually recall one who had. Regardless, the fact that Gabriella had shown zero interest in him had done something unexpected.

  Now he wanted nothing more than to get to know her.

  Chapter 8

  Waiting for Travis to return, Gabby stroked Sadie’s head and tried to convince herself that turning him down had been a good thing. He had only asked her out because he felt sorry for her. Why put herself out there for no good reason?

  Still, a part of her—a very large part—was curious as to what it would have been like to have dinner with him.

  Too late now, so she needed to stop thinking about it.

  A moment later the door opened and Travis walked in.

  As Gabby’s gaze swept over his handsome face and fit body, her regrets multiplied. Exponentially.

  “Here you go,” he said with a smile as he held out the paper with the prescription.

  She took it from him and imagined sitting across from him at a fancy restaurant, his attention focused solely on her.

  What was she going to do? Ask him out? Yeah, that would never happen.

  Unhappy that she’d screwed up and was too timid to fix it, she pushed a smile onto her face. “Thank you.”

  “Give me a call if she doesn’t seem to be getting better.”

  To Gabby’s surprise, he handed her a business card.

  He smiled. “I, uh, I put my cell number on the back.”

  A bit confused as to why he’d done that, she said, “Okay.”

  “In case you need to call after hours,” he added.

  Oh. Of course. Slightly disappointed that there wasn’t a more personal reason, Gabby nodded. “Right.”

  Travis didn’t want her to leave just yet, but there was no good reason to keep her there. Then Sadie jumped off the exam table.

  “Oh,” Gabriella said as she tried to stop her.

  “It’s okay,” Travis said. “She can’t get out. You can let her explore.” Which would give him a few extra minutes with her.

  “All right.” Gabriella turned her attention away from Sadie, who was sniffing one of the chairs, and back to Travis. “Thanks for seeing her without an appointment.”

  He laughed. “That’s twice now that you’ve done that.” He’d said it to tease her, but when her expression showed c
lear embarrassment, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. “It’s fine. I was just kidding.”

  “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t expect you to be available whenever I drop by.”

  “Look, Gabriella, that bite had to be taken care of right away. So it’s fine. Really.”

  “I’m not going to let her go outside anymore. I promise.”

  Travis chuckled. “It’s not like someone will take her away from you if you do. You can do whatever you think is best for her.”

  “I know.”

  They were silent as they watched Sadie continue exploring.

  “Can I ask you something?” Travis asked, slightly worried at how Gabriella would respond, but extremely interested in her answer.

  “Okay.”

  “At Amethyst’s party. When Gage said I should remember you because you couldn’t keep your eyes off of me. What was he talking about?”

  She was going to have to kill Gage after all.

  Though mortified that Travis had brought up Gage’s comments, Gabby kept her cool. “I have no idea.”

  Travis tilted his head in a way that said, You and I both know that’s not true. “But you were in Emerald Falls the summer after I graduated from high school, right?”

  Sadie jumped back onto the exam table, giving Gabby an excuse to look away from Travis, who was watching her closely.

  “Yeah.” She stroked Sadie’s back, careful to avoid the bite mark. Then she looked at Travis. “Why?”

  Confusion flitted across his face. “I just don’t remember talking to you back then.”

  Slightly flustered that he’d assumed they would have spoken—which they would have if she’d had an ounce of courage—Gabby frowned. What lame excuse was she going to give him?

  Travis tilted his head. “Did we talk?”

  Scrunching up her forehead like she was struggling to recall those days, she said, “I don’t remember.” Ha! She wished she’d talked to him back then. To hide the bold-faced lie, Gabby laughed. “It’s been ten years, you know.”