by Rowe, Julie
The judge was about to call a recess when MacKay’s lawyer raised his hand and indicated he had something to say.
“Permission to approach the bench?”
The lawyer went forward and spoke to the judge for a moment. The judge gestured for Alex to join them. Two minutes of conversation later, all three men resumed their seats.
The judge banged his gavel. “The defendant will be entering a plea after lunch. Case held over until the details are worked out and sentencing can be decided.” He banged his gavel again, stood up, and disappeared through a door behind the judge’s bench.
The room erupted with everyone standing and talking all at once.
MacKay was mobbed by reporters.
Near dizzy with relief, Calla left as fast as she could, got into her borrowed car, and drove to Seacliffe. Work. Work would help keep her mind off the rest of her crazy life.
If she still had a job, that is.
The clinic was quiet when she walked in the employee entrance. She thought about talking to Helen first, but something else took precedence.
Coffee.
She headed for the staff lounge and poured herself a strong cup.
Someone came up behind her and she turned to find Helen staring at her like she wasn’t sure who Calla was.
“I really needed this,” Calla said, lifting the coffee up in evidence. “You have no idea how much.”
“Oh, I think I do. In fact, I think everyone in LA will know in a few hours.”
“Huh?”
“Your hair is a little, shall we say, windblown.”
“I think the proper term is bed head.”
“Ah.” Helen nodded. “Well, the press only took several hundred photos of your do. They’re all over the internet. Who knows, maybe you’ll start a new fashion trend.”
Calla snorted into her cup. “When pigs fly.”
“Honey,” Helen said. “The way things are going today, I wouldn’t bet against that happening.”
Calla drank the last of the coffee down. “I didn’t realize they were taking pictures. I need more caffeine.” She glanced at Helen, whose lips twitched like she was hiding a smile.
That could mean very good or very bad things.
“So, I was wondering. Do I still have a job?”
“Jeff MacKay withdrew his complaint to the AMA,” Helen told her. “He also told the press as he left the courthouse this morning that you were the most attentive, compassionate doctor he’s ever met.”
Calla sighed. “Someone evidently taught him how to grovel.”
“You’re appointment schedule is now booked up for the next two months.” Helen checked her watch. “Speaking of which, your first appointment today is in ten minutes in your office. Plenty of time for you to freshen up.” She walked away.
“Okay then.” Calla stared after her, then downed the rest of her coffee and headed for the staff washroom. Maybe if she stuck her head in the sink she could straighten out her hair.
Ten minutes later, she was seated in her office waiting for her appointment to show up, feeling a little more awake.
Until Alex strode in, that is.
“You’re my first appointment?” she asked, unsure of if she should kiss him or try to run away.
“First and last.” His gaze focused on her face. He took a step backward and locked the door.
She almost laughed. “Okay, okay, I promise not to run away.”
He looked at her position behind the desk pointedly. “It always pays to be careful. I mean, just this morning I seem to have acquired a girlfriend who thinks I’m some kind of white knight.”
“This morning? I’ve known that about you from the moment we met. As for the girlfriend part…that just sort of happened earlier this week.”
“It did?” he asked, raising his eyebrows high and slapping a hand against his mouth. “I thought our relationship was fake?”
“There’s no need to be sarcastic.”
He crossed his arms and said, “Then there was the ‘He’s the most selfless man I’ve ever met’ comment?”
She sighed. “Okay, fine, be sarcastic if you want.”
“Thank you.” He watched her for a moment, then leaned over the desk, putting his face only inches from hers. “I want to talk about something very specific.”
“Okay.”
“There was a line you said out there.” He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “What was it? Oh, yes. It’s no wonder I fell in love with him.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
“Then what’s bugging you so much that you have to hover over me?”
“I thought you were angry with me. I thought I’d lost you.” He straightened up, glared at her, then paced away towards the door and back again. “The paparazzi seemed to know more than I did.”
“They did?”
“They asked me wedding questions. When is the date? Who’s going to attend? Where will we hold the reception? As if I’m going to have any say in any of those decisions.”
It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t see the nose on his face. She jumped to her feet. “Well, you wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d been paying attention.”
“Paying attention? Paying attention to what?”
“Do I have to say it?” She shook her head. “Men are so dense.”
He threw his hands up into the air. “What are you talking about?”
She started ticking the list off her fingers. “I went with you to your family dinner. I kissed you at that same dinner in front of your mother. Whenever something came up that I knew I couldn’t handle, I called you. I moved into your house and into your bedroom. Even when I was angry with you I still couldn’t stay away. I went to your house after I found out you’d been lying to me, and I faced down the most ravenous pack of journalistic piranha ever so I could save your reputation. Now, if that’s not let’s skip the Hollywood Scandal wedding and go straight to Vegas love, I don’t know what love is.”
He stared at her, his pupils large, his breathing fast and deep.
Hers was no less erratic.
He launched himself over her desk, scattering paper, pens, and everything else across the room.
His whole body shook as he wrapped himself around her and kissed her. His frantic lips were everywhere, on her mouth, her neck and cheeks, as if he were afraid she was going to dissolve into a mist in his arms.
His passion sparked her own and she clutched at him just as frantically, trying to get closer to him.
He picked her up, turned her around, and sat her on her desk, all while saying disjointedly in between kisses, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
After a few minutes, or hours, his kisses turned from frantic to gentle.
Holding him no less tightly, Calla rested her head on his chest. “So, that’s a yes, you’ll marry me?”
“Try getting rid of me.” He leaned back, tilted her head up, and kissed her again. “I love you.”
She smiled slowly. “I love you, too.”
He glanced around the room. “I also really love this desk.” He grinned. “Think we could give it a try?”
That made her laugh. It was just the right height. “Would you like it for a wedding present?”
“No, I think we can leave this one here. You could get me a new one made for home, this exact height.”
“Done.”
“I have the perfect gift for you as a wedding present.”
“Oh?”
He gave her another lingering kiss. “Something uniquely us.”
“Now I am intrigued.”
“Actually, there are two gifts.”
“I don’t know if I can handle two,” Calla said, nuzzling his neck.
“The first one,” Alex told her very seriously. “Is a gift to both of us and our families.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“Grandmother and Richard have decided to adopt each other, so to speak. She’s having the best time
with him in the house. He’s giving her a new purpose—his care and entertainment—and she’s giving him a wider world to explore.” Alex kissed Calla’s nose. “You won’t have to worry about paying for his care anymore.”
“But—”
“No. You and Richard are family now. Grandmother has a lot of money and if she wants to spend it on her new grandson-in-law, then that’s what she’s going to do. The second gift is for you and I. I’ve been looking into those Doctors for the World trips you’ve done. What do you think of Africa as a destination? There’s a surgical team leaving in a couple of months. I could help coordinate donations, supplies, and transportation, so you and your medical teammates can focus on what you do best.”
Happiness bubbled through her until she felt weightless. He knew her so well. “That sounds like…an adventure.” She rested her forehead against his. “I’m in.”
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my editorial team at Entangled for your patience as we created this fun love story!
About the Author
Julie Rowe’s first career as a med lab tech in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details and a lot of adventure in her romance novels. Julie writes contemporary and historical medical romance, and fun romantic suspense. Her writing has also appeared in several magazines such as Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest (Canada), and Romantic Times Magazine. You can reach her at www.julieroweauthor.com, on Twitter @julieroweauthor or at her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JulieRoweAuthor
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