Read Healing Touch: Play Doctor, Book 2 for Free Online Page A

head.
    “Yes.” She winced. “For seven years. He took me in. I owed him everything. I tried not to bother him with my drama.”
    “Is that what he called your phobia?” Luke practically growled.
    Brielle scooted an inch or so away. Seeing, for the first time, some danger in the dazzling man she’d come to trust in an instant. Just like Brad. Damn her. When would she learn?
    “I’m sorry.” He calmed immediately. “I’m not angry with you. But I’m standing behind what I said before. That guy did not deserve you. Not at all.”
    “He kept me.”
    “Like you were some stray animal? A dog? His pet?” A glint of something icy froze his blue eyes.
    “It didn’t seem that way to me at first.” She hung her head.
    “Nothing in your life was normal. You couldn’t understand how twisted his treatment was, Brielle.” Luke lifted her chin. “Don’t confuse opportunistic with altruistic, please. He used you.”
    “Until the sex and my cooking and cleaning weren’t enough to offset the drama anymore.” She gritted her teeth. No way could she spill the rest. Not yet. Not even to Luke, no matter how he called to her on a basic level.
    “Is that what he told you?” A flush crept up Luke’s cheeks. Did he get this upset by his other clients’ revelations?
    “Yes.” She sighed before skirting the truth. “And he didn’t even wait for me to finish moving out before bringing some new woman into the place I thought was our home. I left everything. Walked away. At first I took odd jobs to pay for food. And I found a shelter. They helped me get on my feet. But I wasn’t ready to talk. So I started over.”
    “That sounds like a smart thing to do,” Luke reassured her. “Everything you’ve built now is fresh. Completely yours. A great foundation for your future. I’m sure it’s been harder than I can imagine—”
    She choked back a sob.
    “But you’re doing it. You’re still surviving. You have work, a place of your own and…you’re here.”
    “Begging for help,” she whispered. “I want to be normal.”
    “Remember, that means messed up in some way.” Luke sighed. He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I think that’s a good place to stop for today.”
    Disappointment rushed through Brielle.
    “At least with this formal session.” He stood, rubbing his flat abdomen. “Would you like to join me for that lunch now?”
    Suddenly she craved nothing more than that. Her stomach growled. “Yes.”
    Luke Malone held out his hand.
    And she grasped it like the lifeline it was.

Chapter Four
    Luke knew down to his marrow that if Brielle got even a glimpse of the pure destruction in his thoughts, he’d lose her. She’d run and never look back. He wouldn’t blame her either after all she’d told him. Schooling his features, he offered her his hand and silently pleaded for her to accept his support.
    When her long, slender fingers landed on top of his palm, he did a mental jig. He closed his hand around hers for a brief squeeze. Not enough to trap her. “Come on, I know a great place around the corner. It’s one of my favorites. Do you like sandwiches?”
    “Um, yes.” A long pause put him on alert.
    “What is it?” He slowed down, trying not to rush her into anything. “You can change your mind at any time.”
    “Is it expensive?”
    Luke knew better than to offer to pay. She had to have her independence. God knew, she’d earned some. He considered the menu, a little ashamed that he didn’t even weigh things like that in his choices these days. “You tell me. You can get a half sandwich and a bowl of soup or a salad for under five dollars. The portions are big enough that my best friend’s wife usually takes some home with her for a second meal too.”
    “I can swing that.” Brielle beamed.
    “Great.” They meandered toward the front door of his office. “If you have to use the restroom, the one on this floor has five stalls, a big sitting room attached and a sky light. The