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  “You got it, gorgeous,” he said in his deep baritone voice.

  She glanced around the bar and jolted when she glimpsed Dr. Reynolds sitting at the opposite end of the bar. The man sitting next to him had to be his brother. Same light brown hair, same gorgeous cheekbones. They were watching a football game on the TV mounted in one corner of the bar. She briefly considered bolting. The last thing she needed today was another run-in with a player. But then she remembered she was tired of being that Emily, hiding in her hurting little shell. It was time to take a baby step out there. To find the old fun-loving Emily again and join the living. She would not bolt.

  Her drink arrived, and she took a sip and then another. Then she grabbed her drink, hopped off the bar stool, and casually walked around the other side of the bar, stopping next to Jared and his brother. Their backs were to her.

  She tapped Jared’s shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder and then did a double take. “Emily! What’re you doing here?”

  She lifted one shoulder. “Same as you, I guess.”

  “You live in town?”

  “Yup.”

  He flashed a dimpled smile, and she found herself smiling back. “I grew up here. You live in town long?”

  “Just two years.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. The warmth in his green eyes held her momentarily in thrall, like she was the most wonderful woman he’d ever clapped eyes on. His brother cleared his throat, breaking the spell. She tried to focus on his brother, who was regarding her curiously, but all she could think was that she now understood why women flocked to Jared. He probably looked at everyone like that.

  “Oh,” Jared said, “this is my brother Gabe.” She knew it had to be his brother. And then Gabe smiled, revealing a dimple in his stubbled cheek, making the resemblance even closer.

  Gabe offered his hand, and she shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” she said.

  “So, you want to sit with us?” Jared asked.

  She hesitated, tempted to linger, but then quickly decided she wasn’t ready for the likes of a player like Jared. Baby steps.

  “No, I’m meeting some friends,” she said breezily. “Just wanted to say hi.”

  Jared’s brows scrunched down. “O-kay.”

  “Hi.” She wiggled her fingers, smiled, and returned to her seat. She congratulated herself on being forward and friendly instead of her usual closed-off protective ways.

  Ten minutes later, she found herself fidgeting on her bar stool, debating what to do. Jared kept looking at her, but every time she caught him looking, he’d turn away. It was incredibly…awkward. But also kind of flattering. She wondered if he’d come over to her, but he didn’t. Just kept drinking, talking to his brother, and sneaking looks her way. She smiled a little. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt that butterfly fluttering in her stomach or quiet excitement just from a look across the room. It was good. Just enough for her.

  She’d probably never see him again unless she made a big effort to find out his schedule at the hospital and meet him in the hospital cafeteria on breaks. Ha! Like she’d ever make an effort for any man. She was so over that. From here on out, she’d keep things fun and flirty and light. Why risk the heartbreak? She sipped her drink and peeked over at Jared again. He looked away in a hurry. She giggled to herself.

  Uh-oh. He was coming over. She smoothed her hair and swallowed. Okay, calm down. No big deal. Just be fun and flirty and light.

  “What’s so funny over here?” Jared asked with a smile that made laugh lines form around his sparkling green eyes and dimples appear in his cheeks. Not that she was noticing every little detail about him.

  “You keep looking at me,” she answered honestly.

  “And that’s funny to you?”

  She nodded and took a sip of her drink.

  He set his beer down and leaned an elbow on the bar, close enough to make her extremely aware of his size, a good head taller than her, and muscular build. He smelled like clean soap, warm apple pie, and spice. “Why wouldn’t you sit with us? You’re just here by yourself.”

  “I told you I’m meeting friends.”

  “Are they invisible?”

  She choked on a laugh. “No.”

  His green eyes gazed into hers. “That smile just made my night.”

  She held up a hand. “Stop.”

  He held up his hand and pressed it against her raised hand, bringing a surprising jolt of heat. “Stop what?”

  She dropped her hand. “Don’t do your little pickup routine on me. It won’t work.”

  He leaned down to her ear, the words hot against her skin. “And why is that?”

  She met his green eyes very bravely considering she was already feeling overheated from his proximity. “Because I’m immune to players and their player ways.”

  “Good thing I’m not a player, then.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

  She untucked her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. “You are Dr. One-and-Done. Don’t think I don’t know what that means.”

  He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “One what?”

  She took a sip of her drink, ignoring him.

  He tugged her hair playfully. “One what?”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “You know.”

  “Are we talking about the big O?”

  She flushed and bit back a smile. “You’re terrible.”

  “Some people don’t even get the one, so, ya know—” he raised his brows “—seems like a good thing to me.”

  She shook her head. “Bragging player ways.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s good to have someone really sensible like yourself to put me in my place.”

  She raised her glass. “You’re welcome.”

  He picked up his glass and tapped it against hers. “You want to grab a bite?”

  She took another sip of her drink. “It’s girls’ night. They’ll be here soon.”

  “Another time? I don’t spend enough time with sensible women.”

  She laughed. “Oh, really? What kind of women do you spend time with?”

  He pulled a serious face. “I spend time with a lot of clowns.”

  She burst out laughing and put a hand on his arm. “You do not!”

  He looked down at her hand still on his arm, and she dropped it. “Save me from the clowns. I’m begging you. The rubber noses, the big feet—” he shuddered “—you don’t want to know what’s under the striped rompers.” He grinned, looking way too irresistible. “You gonna help me out?”

  Fun and flirty, she reminded herself. That was truly all she could handle right now. “I’m too sensible to say yes,” she told him with a smile.

  He stiffened. “Suit yourself.”

  Guess he was done flirting. She returned to her drink. “I will.”

  He stalked off. This time he didn’t look her way at all. She wasn’t disappointed, she told herself. It was just a harmless flirtation. And then Charlotte arrived, all big hugs and hand gestures, asking about her day. She told her about Michael’s visit and forgot all about Jared.

  She didn’t notice him leaving with a last long look sent her way.

  Didn’t notice the way he strode out the door either, his cute ass in faded jeans giving her a nice view.

  And she really didn’t notice the way he seemed to take all the excitement of the evening with him.

  Chapter Three

  Jared was alone in the hospital break room on Wednesday before his afternoon surgery when the news on the wall-mounted TV caught his eye. Was that Emily? He stepped closer. It really looked like her. The TV had been muted, but the headline said “Michael Spitz sex scandal may hurt run for Senate.” Emily seemed to be rushing away from reporters in a series of video clips. He looked around for the remote and finally got sound just as the report was ending, catching the reporter saying, “The former state attorney general hopes the voters can forgive him as his wife, Emily, has. He’ll be r
unning for senate with her by his side.”

  Jared’s jaw dropped. Emily was married? Sex scandal? What the hell!

  The reporter went on. “Emily Spitz couldn’t be reached for comment, and their reconciliation remains unconfirmed.”

  He’d been thinking about her ever since he ran into her at Garner’s on Saturday. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful. It was the way she kept sneaking looks at him. He could’ve sworn she was interested, but then she’d shut him down again. He didn’t want to be drawn to someone not interested in him, but he was. Even more so after he’d asked around at work about her on Monday. Her reputation at the hospital was fantastic. She went above and beyond her job description—coordinating therapy-dog visits, costumed-character visits, and art therapy for the kids. All programs the hospital didn’t have funding for until she started applying for grants and getting local organizations involved. He admired that kind of dedication to her patients.

  She was the real deal—beautiful, sexy, smart, kind, great with kids. No question she’d be a great mom. Whoa. Where had that come from? It must be his older brothers rubbing off on him, with Gabe being a dad now, Vince’s wife pregnant, and his older stepbrother, Nico, recently married and making noises about having a large family of his own. Even the ultimate bachelor, his older brother Luke, had just gotten engaged. His sisters-in-law were great too. Kinda got Jared thinking…bah, it didn’t matter anyway. Emily was married.

  At least now he knew why she rejected him. He remembered that weasel Michael Spitz a few years back. He’d been caught soliciting not one but three different prostitutes, and he called them all “Emily” after his wife. Sick bastard. Emily Maguire was Emily Spitz. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that Emily had forgiven her husband and was supporting his run for senate. Was she a glutton for punishment? Was that why she was drinking alone on Saturday before her friends arrived? What woman in her right mind would stand by their husband after all that? It couldn’t possibly be true.

  That night Jared found himself settling on the sofa with a beer and his laptop to look up more on the Emily Spitz story. Damn. She’d been everywhere. He hadn’t realized how big the scandal had been. All over the news and gossip rags. The Internet had been on fire over it. In all the photos she looked the picture of a tragic victim, always distraught, always on the run. Her husband looked contrite and remorseful. He couldn’t fathom why she’d ever want to go back to that life. Maybe some part of her still loved him. He knew how hard it was to get over someone. He took a long swallow of beer. It’d taken him a long time to get over Jen. He’d kept things light and casual with the ladies ever since she’d dumped him after six months of living together (and a year of dating before that). Turned out he wasn’t as exciting as she’d thought. Humph.

  He set his beer and laptop on the table and stood, suddenly needing to pound something with a hammer. Of course, he and Jen hadn’t been married, only lived together. She’d dumped him shortly after he’d finished his residency at the hospital a year ago, saying she’d been “disappointed” with their relationship. Apparently, after all the fun dates he took her on to amusement parks for the crazy coasters and parasailing and skydiving, she accused him of turning into a homebody.

  He headed for his woodworking tools in the garage since it was too dark to hammer the half-finished deck. He was still plenty exciting, was still an adrenaline junkie, but he was also an orthopedic surgeon. It was a demanding, sometimes stressful job. He had to be perfect in the operating room, couldn’t make any mistakes that might cause harm or necessitate a second surgery, or God forbid, lose a patient. He was always conscious of the need for accuracy with the often delicate surgeries needed for his specialty on hands. He worked on other parts of the body too—hips and knees mostly—but he was the go-to guy with hands. And he’d found working on projects around the house helped him unwind. He needed that more than an adrenaline rush, though he still made time for the occasional adventure. And plenty of hookups. So what if he always invited women back to his place? That didn’t make him a homebody. He had a nice four-bedroom Colonial conveniently located only blocks from the hospital.

  He headed for the nearly finished five-shelf maple bookcase in the garage, put on gloves and safety goggles, and powered up the sander, pushing all thoughts of Jen from his mind. He got in the zone as he sanded and smoothed. He felt another pang of sympathy for Emily with all that her husband had dragged her through. He had to check in with her and make sure she knew she deserved better than the likes of Michael Spitz.

  ~ ~ ~

  By her Saturday morning shift, Emily was downright frazzled. She’d told Michael in no uncertain terms that she would not be getting back together with him, yet he’d publicly included her in his political announcement on Wednesday as if she were. She’d been dodging phone calls from the press ever since. How dare he drag her into this! She knew exactly what he was up to. It didn’t matter if the rumors of their reconciliation were true, it was news and that put him in the spotlight again. All of those awful pictures and news clips of her in total humiliation were on TV again. And what did he care? By the time the press realized she wasn’t actually giving him a second chance, he’d be onto his next bid for attention.

  She pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. She’d hardly slept at all since the news broke. She could barely eat. Dammit. This could not be happening again.

  “Hey, Emily.”

  She looked up and met the green eyes of the imposter Captain Cuddle. Jared again. Just what she needed when she was on the verge of a major meltdown. He’d better not come on to her. She was ready to kick someone’s ass. Or cry in the corner. It could go either way.

  “Where’s Vince?” she asked.

  “I’m on cuddle duty for the next six or seven weeks,” he said glumly.

  “Is Sophia in that bad of shape?”

  “Vince thinks so.” He leaned close and she breathed in his clean warm scent. “Between you and me, he’s totally babying her. She’s fine.”

  “That sounds like Vince.”

  “I saw you on the news—”

  “Don’t.”

  He cocked his head, making the porcupine quills bounce. “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t go there. I just want to get through my shift without being reminded of it and go home.”

  He gave her a long look that was made less serious by the porcupine hat, red eye mask, giant C on his chest, and blue cape.

  She bit back a smile and handed him the goody bag. “Go do your thing, Captain Cuddle.”

  He snagged the bag. “It’s Captain Huddle, thank you very much. Me and my Reynolds brothers, Gabe and Luke, were the Huddle hedgehogs in the books. The Marinos were the Cuddle porcupines.”

  “Oh, really?” She found herself smiling for the first time in days. “I stand corrected. You could easily pass for a hedgehog.”

  He lifted his nose. “Hedgehogs have a pointier nose.”

  “I could sew you a pointy pink nose.”

  “No, thank you,” he said with grave seriousness.

  She laughed.

  “You deserve better than Michael Spitz,” he said, and before she could say she wasn’t with him, he whirled away, his blue cape flying out behind him as he strode toward Chris’s room.

  She shook her head, bemused by the unexpected compliment, and went back to work. She typically worked the seven a.m. to one p.m. shift on Saturdays. As it got closer to noon, she decided lunch and a nap were all she could handle today after work.

  One of the nurses, Carrie, a young blond woman with glasses, hurried over to her. Carrie often came to her with questions.

  “Yes?” Emily asked with a smile.

  “A bunch of news vans are in the parking lot,” Carrie whispered. “The other nurses are saying it’s for you.”

  Emily looked around, and the nurses nearby turned their heads away. She blew out a breath. She’d moved away to start fresh, but everything followed her thanks to Michael. “Oka
y. Thanks for letting me know, Carrie.”

  She headed to the small break room and peered out the window to the parking lot. Three news vans and reporters stood by the entrance of the hospital, cameras and microphones at the ready. She broke into a sweat. Shit. She was not prepared for this. Especially not with the level of exhaustion she felt from her insomnia. The shame and humiliation felt fresh. She felt like an utter fool for being the goody-goody wife who stood by him for far too long.

  Anger flared in her again. How dare he make her feel this way! She refused to get caught up in this shit again. She’d wait the press out. She’d have lunch in the hospital cafeteria, and then help the other nurses where needed until the press lost interest. It must be a slow news week. Any minute some fire or explosion or bizarre event would pull them to a more interesting story.

  She stepped back into the ward and went to the nurses’ station. “It’s not true, you know,” she told the three nurses standing there, including her supervisor, Jane. “I’m not going back to him. He’s using me for his own political gain.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jane, a kindly middle-aged woman with short brown hair, said. “What you do in your personal life isn’t our concern.”

  “I’m not doing anything,” Emily insisted. “That’s just a lie to get him more press.”

  Jared appeared at her side and handed back the goody bag. “I saw the news vans.”

  She felt like she was going to scream. “Excuse me, I need to…be someplace.”

  She walked away. Jared appeared at her side again, eye mask pushed up to the top of his head. “I can help you.”

  She stopped. “Help me what?”

  “Help you get out of the building undetected and avoid the news vans.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How?”

  He inclined his head toward the exit. “Follow me.”

  “Where?”

  “To the supply closet upstairs.”

  “Excuse me, but I don’t go into supply closets with strange men.”

  He shook his head with a smile. “You’re awfully suspicious. And I’m not a strange man. You know where I work, you know my stepbrother, you know me as a loveable hedgehog. How much better could you know me?”