Free Resisting Her Rebel Doc by Joanna Neil Page B

once and for all the joy that was his to give, theirs to share, a memory to cherish for all time? She needed him, craved his touch. Somehow in these last few heated moments she had lost all sense of caution, thrown inhibition to waft on the night breeze.
    ‘Caitlin?’ He spoke softly, urgently. ‘I want you; you know that, don’t you?’
    She nodded, her gaze fixed on him, intent. ‘Yes. I want you too.’ It was a whisper.
    A soft gasp escaped him. ‘I don’t want you to regret anything that happens between us... Do you understand what I’m saying?’
    ‘Of course.’ Her eyes widened, becoming luminous with unshed tears. ‘Of course I understand. But why are you saying this?’ Why was he bringing it out into the open, making her think about what she wanted to keep back?
    ‘I know you only kissed me because Matt was there on the path with Jenny,’ he said. ‘I know why you did it and that’s all right. I’m okay with that. I can handle it—at least, I think I can.’
    He cupped her face lightly in his hands. ‘And I know that you want me too, if only for the moment. But I need you to be sure about what you’re doing. I have feelings too, you know. You mean too much to me, and I don’t want to ruin what we have by sweeping you off your feet and then having you regret it.’
    ‘I didn’t set out to do this.’ Her hands were trembling as she drew them back down his chest. ‘I didn’t mean for it to happen. I’m sorry,’ she whispered brokenly. Tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘Have...have they gone?’
    He nodded. ‘They’ve gone.’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she said again. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry, Brodie.’
    ‘Maybe there’s a chance you could change your mind?’ His dark eyes were brooding.
    ‘No, there isn’t.’ She looked up at him, her whole body shaking. ‘I can’t do this.’
    He pulled in a deep breath and seemed to steel himself. ‘It’s okay. Come on, then. I’ll take you home.’

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HE KNOCK AT the door came as Caitlin was getting on with some chores upstairs before getting ready for work on Monday morning. She wasn’t due to start her shift until later that day so up till now she’d been taking things at a fairly relaxed pace. Now, though, as the knocking came again, she frowned. It couldn’t be Brodie wanting to see her, could it?
    She wasn’t ready to face him yet. She was still in shock from the way things had turned out on Saturday evening at the wedding reception. How could she have let things get out of hand that way? But wasn’t she secretly, deep down, wishing she’d made a different decision? Why couldn’t she have let things take their course, see where they led? The longing haunted her.
    She hurried downstairs to answer the door. She would have to see him and try to work with him once more as if nothing had happened. How was she going to do that?
    It would be so difficult...though how much worse would it have been if she’d given in to her feelings for him? Would she have regretted it the next morning?
    Maybe not. A wave of heat surged through her. The more she thought about it, the more she had to admit that she really had wanted him for himself and not just because Matt had been there to muddle her thinking. Brodie had been wrong when he’d thought that; in truth it was Brodie who had managed to turn her world upside down, not Matt.
    And how could that be? Matt was the one she was supposed to care for. He’d been the love of her life, hadn’t he? Or had he? The truth was beginning to dawn on her and it was much harder to handle than she might have expected.
    Could it be that Matt had been the consolation prize, the runner-up, the one she’d turned to because wanting Brodie all those years ago had been an impossible dream? She groaned softly in frustration. Why did Brodie have to come back into her life and confuse her this way?
    The knocking came again, getting louder, and she called out, ‘Okay, I’m