The Vixen and the Vet by Katy Regnery Page A

Savannah Carmichael. Don’t you look just lovely?”
    “I was invited to stay for dinner .” He heard the wariness in her voice.
    “Of course you were. And Asher asked specifically for a picnic in the grove.”
    “A picnic?”
    “Have you been to the grove?” asked Miss Potts.
    Savannah shook her head.
    “ It’s a special spot,” Miss Potts said, patting Savannah’s cheek in a motherly gesture. “Oh, and dear, I’m so sorry if I led you astray during our phone conversation on Sunday.”
    “I’m sure you are,” answered Savannah, her voice level but cool.
    “I’m a terrible tease,” said Miss Potts winking at her before bustling into the kitchen, leaving Asher to continue his descent down the stairs to welcome his guest.
    “It’s good to see you,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. “You look beautiful.”
    She smiled up at him, lacing her fingers through his as he led her to the stairs.
    “There’s more to her than meets the eye,” murmured Savannah , looking toward the kitchen.
    “True enough. ”
    “ She deliberately misled me, Asher.”
    “I know.”
    “Why would she do that?”
    He shrugged, glad he remembered to leave the office door ajar so he didn’t have to drop her hand. “Maybe she didn’t want you to think I was out of the game.”
    She pulled on his hand, forcing him to stop and face her before taking a seat in the wingback chairs. “For the record? I never thought you were out of the game.”
    He gave her his best “don’t kid a kidder” look and raised her hand to his lips, brushing her skin with aching tenderness before releasing it to take his seat.
    She seemed surprised by his kiss and lingered behind her chair for an extra moment before joining him.
    “Well, even if I did …,” she said in a breathy voice, thick with some sort of wonderful emotion that he could easily fall in love with. She raised her eyes to his, and the heat there nearly made him jump her. “… I certainly don’t anymore.”
    ***
    Asher had stopped in the kitchen to pick up the picnic basket on their way outdoors, and Miss Potts had whispered something to him that made him blush and give her a stern look as he took the basket. Savannah considered asking him what she’d said, but her own nerves were getting the better of her. At no point had he asked her out on a date, or called tonight a date, and yet it was, hands down, the sexiest, most thoughtful, most romantic date she’d ever been on, and it had barely started.
    An outdoor picnic? In a place called the grove? Girls would swoon for less.
    Which made her feelings about everything more confusing than ever. That she cared for Asher had been well established in her mind over the weekend, but following his perfect-looking body from behind through the woods, she wondered where exactly she wanted her feelings to lead her. To a special friendship? To a relationship? To love?
    Yet again they’d had a marvelous conversation in his office , and he’d told her about his decision to attend U.Va. and why medicine had appealed to him as a career. He’d been a member of the prestigious, secretive Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and refused to tell her about his hazing experiences, though he did lift his pant leg to show her a crude tattoo in Greek letters near his ankle, raising his eyebrows merrily when she winced.
    It was definitely where she’d start this week’s piece—with that little tattoo—though that was another thing. She hadn’t told him yet about her new angle: to portray their budding friendship, rather than tell a straightforward story about his life. And aside from the tattoo anecdote, she had no idea what tone to take in this week’s piece. Should she mention her fit of jealousy at being misled by Miss Potts? Should she describe the leapings of her heart when he arrived on her doorstep? And what about tonight? Arguably her “story” started now, when the formal interview was over and they continued to explore the budding