When I didn’t respond right away, he continued.
“Come work for me. And you’ll still be able to write your book on the side. You’ll get everything you want. Youjust said that if you could find a job here in Big Bear, you’d stay.”
“But I didn’t mean a dental-related one.”
“I love what I do, Hope. And it kind of stings that you think all dentists are the same.”
“So you see this as some sort of challenge?” I turned back toward him and narrowed my eyes.
“Maybe a little.” He gave a small smile.
Classic male ego. I scoffed. “This isn’t a game, Jay.”
“I know it’s not. But I don’t like the idea of you walking around thinking all dentists are horrible and temperamental. And I can’t help but think that if you’d had a better work experience, you wouldn’t have hated the dental field so much.”
I shook my head, letting out a bitter laugh. “I can’t just work for you. It’s not that simple.”
“It could be,” he insisted. “Not all of us are like whoever hurt you, Hope.”
My stomach twisted. Jay didn’t know about the panic attacks that came without warning, or how the scent of antiseptic could still make me lightheaded. He didn’t know all the emotional baggage I carried.
“Jay—” I exhaled long and shakily. “You don’t understand. I didn’t just leave a job. I left an entire world I don’t want to go back to.”
“I don’t have to understand everything,” he said finally. “But I can promise you one thing.”
I met his gaze warily. “And what’s that?”
“That I’m not like him. And I never will be.”
I hadn’t been expecting that. It took me a moment to respond. If I had a job, I could finally sit down and write. I’d be financially able to survive on my own, and Iwouldn’t have to go back to Riverside. I had to admit it was tempting.
“If I took the job, I’d probably quit after a few days,” I warned, trying to deter him. To give him one last chance to back out. “I really don’t think it’s what I want.”
“All I’m asking is for you to give it a chance.”
I wished he wouldn’t. Everything about this felt like a bad idea. There was a 99% chance it would blow up in both our faces.
“I don’t know,” I said quietly, pushing my chair back. The restlessness in my body made me want to pace. I stood and walked to the living room, pacing back and forth on the rug in front of the fire while carefully avoiding Luna’s tail. I needed distance, even if it was only across the room.
Jay followed me but sat on the couch. After a few minutes of my anxious pacing, I took a seat on the opposite side of the sectional.
He leaned back into the cushions, posture easy, patient. “We could do a trial run,” he said casually, like it wasn’t a big deal. “If you hate it as much as you think you will, you can walk away. No strings.”
I bit my lip. The offer shouldn’t have been so tempting…
Maybe I could work as a hygienist again and still write. Maybe I could have the best of both worlds.
But could I trust him?
“I would have some conditions,” I said quietly, barely above a whisper.
Jay leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The flickering firelight caught in his eyes, making them somehow darker. “Shoot.”
“I’d start with three days a week,” I said. “If it goes well, I’d consider more. And I would want the best goingrate for a hygienist in California.” I took a shaky breath. For once, I was setting the terms.
“I wouldn’t have suggested otherwise,” he said smoothly.
His confidence was infuriating, yet strangely reassuring. My stomach flipped again. If I were going to work for him, I was going to have to figure out how to stifle this attraction. He would be my boss.
