hugging her with a pleased grin on his face. “Give it here so I can pin it on your lab coat.”
She handed him the name tag he’d had made for her, one printed with her name and the name of the practice. He pinned the tag to her white lab coat and studied her appearance, much as he’d done many times throughout her childhood.
The badge was a cheap piece of plastic, but the love behind the gift was priceless. Will knew how hard she’d worked, how she’d longed for this day.
Not all the reasons she’d longed for it, of course.
Because her brother didn’t know about the passionate kiss she’d shared with Jared ten years ago.
Neither did Will know how excited she was at the fact his partner was going to be a daily part of her life.
The truth was, though, she also dreaded seeing Jared, of having to constantly face the man who haunted her dreams when she knew she could never have him. When her ex’s rejection had left her emotionally doubled over, she could only imagine what seeing the disgust in Jared’s eyes, hearing him say she was unlovable would do to her poor heart. No, she wouldn’t open herself up to the kind of pain Jared had the power to deliver. Never again. She’d offered her heart to him on a platter and he’d turned her away, asked another woman to marry him, driving the message home that she hadn’t been good enough.
Oblivious to her thoughts of the past, Will straightened the name tag, and shook his head slightly. A look of pride shone in his golden brown eyes. “There, you look perfect.”
Reminding herself of all she’d accomplished, of the life she’d forged for herself, Chelsea bit back an ironic laugh. Perfect? If only.
Dr Jared Floyd read over Connie Black’s MRI report, not liking the radiologist’s comments. He’d hoped arthritis had been causing her worsening hip pain, but according to the report a tumor was growing in the sixty-year-old woman’s left hip joint.
Which meant he had to deliver the bad news at Connie’s appointment in the morning. Damn.
Connie had come so far from three years ago when he’d first diagnosed her lung cancer. She’d quit smoking, survived the removal of one of her right lung lobes, endured chemotherapy and radiation, and suffered through the loss of her husband three months ago to a massive heart attack. She’d endured everything and kept a positive outlook. Now this.
He stared at the report, hoping the wording would change.
Highly suspicious mass with solid consistency and increased vascularization. Biopsy recommended.
Maybe the radiologist was wrong.
Maybe he was doing a lot of wishful thinking.
And definitely a whole lot of procrastinating.
Sighing, he left the report on his desk and went to examine his patients. Normally, he cleared up lab and radiology reports before starting his appointments and usually he finished quickly. Today, he’d tarried.
Partially due to Connie’s bad MRI report, but also because of the clinic’s newest employee.
Chelsea. He’d avoided seeing her since the night he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. Not an easy task when she was his best friend’s little sister. Today his avoidance would come to a screeching halt because, with Chelsea joining the practice, he’d see her more days than not.
How could he remain faithful to Laura’s memory if he was constantly confronted with the woman who’d made him second-guess his heart?
Knowing he had to get the inevitable over with, he headed to her office just in time to hear Will’s teasing.
“Now,” Chelsea’s brother said, “go see your patients before I have to fire you for slacking on the job. Nepotism will get you nowhere around here.”
Yeah, right. Will babied his kid sister and wouldn’t even consider Chelsea going to work elsewhere when Jared, risking his friend’s anger, had voiced his concerns. Family and business didn’t mix. Too bad Will had ignored Jared’s less than subtle hints.
“Oh,” Chelsea said as she rounded the corner of her office doorway, bumping into him. Surprised golden brown eyes lifted, met his and she gave a sharp, surprised gasp. “Jared.”
Reflexively, he grasped her arms to steady her and was struck by a hauntingly familiar waft of something sweet, like homemade cookies or vanilla. Whatever the fragrance, the inviting smell filled him with the desire to take a deep breath. Just as the thought of knowing only the cotton fabric of her lab coat separated their skins filled him with the memory of the single kiss they’d shared and how he’d run his hands over her bare arms that night.
She’d been so beautiful, so full of life, so innocent. Yet the sparks between them had been anything but when she’d caught him off guard by pressing her body to his. By pressing her lips to his.
Even now he recalled the warmth of her lips, the moan that had escaped her mouth when he’d kissed her back, the softness of her flesh when he’d molded her to him.
God, he hadn’t been able to get close enough, hadn’t been able to stop himself from kissing her even though he’d known it had been wrong. He’d have sold his soul that night to have made love to Chelsea.
And although he’d gotten his body under control before they’d done much more than kiss, he hadn’t walked away with his soul intact. Far from it.
No, kissing Chelsea had cost him a great deal, too much.
Which he didn’t need to be thinking of because some things were best forgotten.
Not that he’d been able to forget, despite years of trying.
Some things truly were unforgettable.
“Jared,” she repeated, her gaze traveling over him, almost as if she couldn’t resist seeing how time had changed him. Her honey-colored gaze softened, almost becoming a caress, stroking his insides to an ooey-gooey mess. Red stained her cheeks when her eyes lifted to his and she realized what she’d done. “It’s been a long time.”
His heart thudded against his chest in a rapid beat and his bones turned to jelly, leaving him off-kilter. Had he secretly wondered what Chelsea would think of him after all this time? Of how she’d perceive the changes the years had etched on him?
Annoyed at her stirring of his senses and thoughts, he frowned. How could he want to lean in and get a better smell of a woman he didn’t even want to like?
“Yes, it has.” Too long. Not long enough. “Iwasonmy way to say hello,” he said matter-of-factly to cover his slip.
She smiled, flashing perfect white teeth. Her mouth made him think of his favorite female actress, of her classic, infectious smile. Wide, bright, and contagious. Despite his determination to remain impassive, outwardly at least, her smile made his lips want to curve upward.
Which only served to annoy him all the more.
Although she was older than the too-young-for-him seventeen she’d been when they’d first met, there were a thousand reasons why he needed to stay away from Chelsea and safeguard himself
