Summer on Lovers' Island Read Online Free PDF Page B

sight to behold if she ever let it down. Today she had it pulled back in a low, demure ponytail. Professional. He liked that. His own personal reaction? Not so much a fan. It had been a long time since the sound of a woman’s low voice made his pulse jump.
    â€œI’m Elizabeth Howard,” she said smoothly, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow at him.
    â€œJosh Collins.”
    â€œYou’re Dr. Collins.” Her other eyebrow rose to meet the first, making it more of a question than a statement despite the inflection.
    He wasn’t sure what it was about her tone that set him on edge, but it did. “Who did you think I was?”
    â€œI don’t know. The janitor?”
    Josh chuckled tightly and put down the trash can. Dr. Howard, on the one hand, was dressed in neat trousers and a pressed blouse and sensible flats. He, on the other hand, was in faded jeans and a golf shirt in muted orange. It was Jewell Cove, after all, and not Johns Hopkins. “I actually do have an assistant who normally looks after this stuff. She has an orthodontist emergency this morning. I thought you were her.”
    â€œOh.” Her lips thinned in disapproval, as if the tardiness was a reflection on the entire setup. “Where can I put my things?”
    â€œYour office. End of the hall on the right. You’ll see Charlie’s name on the door.”
    â€œThanks.” She brushed by him but not before he caught a telltale pinkness coloring her cheeks. “I’m gonna kill Charlie for this,” he heard her mutter.
    Josh trusted Charlie and she said that Howard was the best doctor she knew, but they hadn’t gotten off to the best start. He wasn’t quite sure if Dr. Howard was disapproving or embarrassed, but either way it was awkward.
    He looked down the hall and saw Dr. Howard slide her arms into a white coat. At least she was on time—unlike his other employee. He liked Robin and she kept the office running like a well-oiled machine, but she did take liberties with the time clock now and again.
    Dr. Howard came back down the hall and Josh decided to try a friendly overture to break the ice instead. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. I was just going to get a cup before I unlock the front. Want some?”
    She followed him to the kitchen—a closet, really—and he pulled down two mugs from the cupboard. “There’s milk in the fridge, and sugar here,” he said, reaching for the coffeepot. He poured two mugs and handed her one. She stared at it for a moment before taking a cautious sip—black.
    Josh grinned. “I like mine black, too. If the military didn’t teach me to drink it that way, twenty-four hours on hospital shift would. You take what you can get, huh?”
    â€œI have an espresso machine at home, so I prefer macchiatos.”
    Of course she did. With that one sentence Josh felt entirely inadequate. Erin had been that way, too, at first—an air of accepting nothing less than the best. Growing up rich and privileged seemed to bring with it a general expectation of standards and this Elizabeth Howard had the same way of looking at him that made him feel just a little bit … lacking. Provincial and unsophisticated. Like his little practice was beneath her. Then again, she was probably right. He’d seen her qualifications. Why she’d ever accepted Charlie’s proposal was beyond him. Even with Elizabeth’s current troubles, another hospital would have snapped her up in a heartbeat.
    Josh’s family had never looked down their noses at anyone; there hadn’t been the money or the time. It wasn’t something he apologized for anymore. Maybe blood was thicker than water, but he’d take Sarah’s and Jess’s meddling any day of the week over the cold formality of Erin’s family.
    â€œWell, no fancy coffee machines here. Just plain family medicine. Blood work is done at the local lab, radiology at