Lara walked by T.S.’s secretary Lois, who sent her a sympathetic smile, and marched down to Kelsey’s office and began talking a mile a minute until she realized that Kelsey was on the phone. She watched as Kelsey ran her hand through her hair and grimaced at whatever was said to her. Her tight-lipped expression was out of character for her.
Lara turned to leave but Kelsey waved at her and motioned her to sit in the guest chair. She openly eavesdropped. She was fascinated at the range of emotions on Kelsey’s face.
“Yes, I’m sure he’ll be more cooperative once he’s had a chance to recover. It’s early days yet, and it sounds like you caught him off guard . . . No, that’s fine. I understand. Thank you for calling, Mr. Landon.” Kelsey replaced the receiver and let out a low growl.
“What was that all about?” Lara asked.
“Luke.”
“Ah. So who’d he piss off now?”
“That man needs a keeper.” Kelsey gathered her hair and adjusted the up-do she’d ruined while on the phone. “That was a local restaurant owner. Apparently instead of going through me or Luke’s agent, he called Luke directly about a prescheduled meet-and-greet. He wanted to make sure Luke wasn’t going to back out just because he’s injured.”
“I’m sure that went over well.” Lara’s temperature rose. She could just imagine the choice words Luke shared with the clueless businessman.
“Understatement of the year. He tore the guy a new one, and now this guy wants me to guarantee that Luke meets the commitment.”
Lara could see the case building against her working with Luke. Pissed because he was now out for weeks if not months—and cranky, thanks to a boneheaded businessman. Both just validated her choice to tell T.S. she wasn’t the right person for this.
Kelsey interrupted her inner battle. “Look, Lara, I know that you have mixed feelings about Luke. But this is a good opportunity for you and we really need you. I’m asking as a friend. Besides, I know you better than anyone else and I think you can set aside your attraction to him and help him rehab his knee.”
She still hadn’t told Kelsey about her night with Luke and now it was too late to avoid hurt feelings. They shared everything that happened in their lives. Not telling her best friend about her unforgettable night with Luke was just another reason she should turn down T.S.’s offer.
“Lara, please? As a favor to me. Can you help the team and Luke out?”
Her temple began to throb and her reasons for not helping the Outlaws with Luke seemed small and petty. So she caved. She sat staring out at the river in the distance and listened as Kelsey called T.S.’s secretary to let her know.
She had some conditions though. One, she would still work at the clinic where she had clients who were depending on her. In particular, the children she saw on a weekly basis. And two, Luke had to agree as well. She had no clue if he’d been told about this possibility, and she wasn’t positive he’d be happy since he’d made it clear he was only interested in one night with her.
She’d tell him herself that this was business only. What had happened between them was in the past and she wasn’t using this to spend more time with him. Besides, she wasn’t emotionally strong enough to be his physical therapist and play slap and tickle.
Later that afternoon after arrangements had been made with the Outlaw organization and her boss, she read through Luke’s chart and noted the doctors were split on his prognosis.
The only thing they could agree on was that he was probably out for four to six weeks and would need rehab. The X-rays indicated a tear in his meniscus, which meant he probably wouldn’t need surgery. If he listened to her and followed her plan, without complaint, he had a good chance to play again before the season ended.
She questioned herself again as she thought about the night they’d spent together. Could she push those images from her mind and keep things a hundred percent professional?
Lara didn’t sleep much that night. Every time she came up with reasons not to work with Luke, a mark in the pro column would pop into her brain and taunt her and she knew was being petty.
Had he required surgery their urgency to have a physical therapist ready to go today wouldn’t be an issue. The team would have time to search and bring in someone else.
Someone not tempted by images she knew would remain burned in her memory. What would she do if he treated her indifferently? Could her ego take the hit? Her life had seemed so much simpler before she slept with Luke Garibaldi.
The next morning she was to meet T.S. at Harmony Hospital. It would be the first time she’d seen Luke since he left her bed. As she lay sleepless she decided she needed to come clean with Kelsey and Noel about what happened between her and Luke. She needed their support if she was to get through the next month or so of up-close-and-personal contact with Luke.