Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
But first, I needed to replace several of the young nurses who’d fled to the city in search of nightlife and true love. I wished them well even though I firmly believed all four of them were on a fool’s errand.
If you couldn’t find what you wanted out of life where you were happiest, you wouldn’t likely find it anywhere. Would I like to meet a man to fall in love with and take the plunge, rounding out the photo with a picket fence and two-point-five kids? Absolutely. The problem was, I grew up in Jackson’s Ridge and spent most of my life outside of college in this small town, which meant I knew pretty much every man over the age of eighteen. I’d either dated them in school, babysat them, sold them cookies, or helped them get funding for some type of medical procedure. I absolutely did not blame the young nurses for leaving in search of the future they wanted—a girl had to do whatever she could to find her happy. But I also figured they’d be back here, at JRMC and Jackson’s Ridge, within a year.
“You’re thinking so hard, smoke is kicking up all around you.”
My mind and body froze at the sound of that voice. I knew that voice well—and I should, since it had been in my head for more than twenty years. Gavin Ross. I took a moment to steel myself against his beautiful face and raw sex appeal. The man was too potent for a frumpy girl like me, whose favorite wardrobe item was my collection of colorful eyeglasses. I didn’t need to let him see just how attractive I found him, so I kept my expression neutral and turned to face him. Dammit. I should have taken a few more seconds. I swear he’d gotten even more attractive since yesterday.
Gavin was gorgeous under the magic of Hollywood, and I knew that from hundreds of magazine covers, billboards, posters, and television interviews. But nothing in the whole world could have prepared me for just how beautiful he was in the flesh.
I cocked an eyebrow at his words and slid my tray down the line. “Scared of a woman who thinks, Gavin?”
He licked his lips and leaned in to bump our shoulders together. “Not as long as she’s thinking about me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry to say I was making sure the OR schedule was updated for the next couple days. Bummed out?”
“Nah, you seem like a very capable multi-tasker.”
I shrugged off his words that sounded like a compliment, but felt like a criticism. “Thanks?”
Gavin shook his head. “You save lives and run a whole hospital, but you can’t take a compliment. We’ll have to work on that.”
“Will we?” It was such an odd thing to hear from a man I had met less than twenty-fours ago.
Gavin’s laugh wasn’t full throttle, which only reminded me why he was at JRMC and in Jackson’s Ridge. “Absolutely. Stick with me and I’ll have you accepting words that aren’t even compliments as compliments.”
“Are you here for your appointment?”
“I can’t be here just to see you?”
My eyes rolled skyward at his attempt to flirt with me. At least, that was what I thought it was. “We both know I’m not the reason you’re here.”
“Then let’s just say we’re both right,” he shot back with a smile. “I’m here for my appointment, but I came in early to see you.”
I felt my brows pulled down into a vee of confusion. “Why?”
“I like you, Suzie Wright.”
Oh, how I wished that were true. I mean, sure he probably did like me, I was a perfectly likable woman. But that gleam in his forest green eyes wasn’t for me. “You mean, you like that I’m a fan. A huge fan.”
He nodded. “I do like that you’re a real fan who knows my stories and my songs, sure. But that pep talk you gave me the other day reminded me a lot of my granddaddy. He would use a few more colorful words than you did, but the gist was the same, and few people give it to me straight like that, even when I need it.”
“Strictly selfish,” I told him as we progressed toward the register.
Gavin shrugged at my words, almost oblivious or maybe immune to the stares, the attention he garnered. “And you’re modest, which I really dig.” When we made it to the cashier, Gavin pulled out a few bills and slid them across the counter. “For my friend Suzie’s lunch.”
“You don’t have to pay for my lunch,” I told him with a frown.
But I should have known he was an expert at getting his way, because he picked up an oversized banana nut muffin and held it up for the cashier to see. “And a snack for me.”
I grunted at his satisfied smile. “Cute, Gavin. Real cute.”