After the Christmas Party...
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Janice Lynn
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Chapter One
IF THE PRETTY little blonde were a chameleon, Dr. Riley Williams was positive she’d have blended into the hotel ballroom wall long ago.
Who was she? Obviously not someone’s date as only a fool would have left her alone. She had to be a hospital employee he just hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting.
She sipped on a glass of what appeared to be rum punch and nervously surveyed the room as if she’d rather be anywhere than at the Pensacola Memorial Hospital Christmas party.
He took a sip of his soda and continued to listen to Dr. Sanders discuss an upcoming heart program the hospital was sponsoring while Riley’s attention was really on the blonde.
Never had he seen a less likely wallflower. Although she did seem as delicate as one of the orchids his mother loved to grow. Fragile even.
Every bit as beautiful.
Looking almost hopeful, she smiled at a group of women that passed by but they never paused in their hee-hawing to say hello. If anything, she seemed to wilt further. A pity because he’d liked that brief glimpse of a smile.
The need to see that smile again hit hard. Surprisingly hard. He liked women. A lot. Always had. He imagined he always would but he didn’t envision himself ever settling down. The long hours and demands of his career would keep him from ever tying a woman to him. A family deserved time and attention.
A plump pink lower lip disappeared between white teeth. Every muscle in Riley’s stomach contracted and he’d swear the air in the room had thinned.
Never had he had such an instant, strong reaction to a woman.
He placed his half-full glass on a passing waiter’s tray. “Excuse me, gentlemen, but I just spotted what I want for Christmas.”
Several of his colleagues followed his line of vision and grinned.
“Trinity Warren. She just started last week,” a cardiologist who was one of his partners informed him. “On the cardiac unit. I’m surprised you haven’t already noticed her.”
With the way his insides were stirring, so was he. Then again, he hadn’t been around the hospital much this week. He’d taken a few days off work to spend some time helping his mother with odds and ends of Christmas decorations and shopping. For too long since his father’s heart attack sadness had filled her at the holidays. Seeing her renewed joy in the festivities did Riley’s heart good.
“Trinity Warren...” He let the blonde’s name roll off his tongue, wondering at the way his pulse pounded at his throat. “She works on our unit?”
He didn’t usually become involved with women he worked with. Too messy.
“She’s been in orientation with Karen this past week. Quirky sense of humor, great smile, patients like her, seems to really know her stuff.”
Yeah, well, he’d really like to know her stuff too. Up close and personal. Plus, that glimpse of her smile had been great. He could only imagine what her full-blown one would be like. His imagination was working overtime at the moment.
He studied her, watching as she cast her big brown eyes downward to stare into her glass before taking another sip. Her tongue darted out to lick punch from her full lips. He swallowed. Oh, hell. Without even trying, she was sending his blood pressure through the roof.
How much he wanted to see her pretty mouth curved into a smile stunned him, to see her eyes dancing with pleasure. Want was the wrong word. He needed to see her smile, her pleasure.
“You want me to introduce you?”
He glanced at his best friend and one of the several partners in their cardiology group. “Have you ever known me to need you to introduce me to a beautiful woman?”
“Figured you needed all the help you could get,” Trey teased.
“Besides, I’m onto you,” Riley continued, hesitating just a little longer, feeling his friend’s interest in the woman too. “You’re just looking for an excuse to talk to her yourself.”
Trey grinned. “If I’d spotted her first tonight, I wouldn’t have needed an excuse to talk to her. I’d be over there now, rather than talking to your ugly mug.”
“But now?”
“Now I’ve seen the determined look on your face.” Trey shrugged. “She doesn’t stand a chance and neither does any other man in this room. Go for it.”
Relieved his friend didn’t have a vested interest, Riley didn’t deny his claim. Besides, Trey was right. Trinity Warren didn’t stand a chance when he turned on the charm. Before long she’d be smiling and enjoying her evening—with him.
* * *
Nurse Trinity Warren was smart enough to know that facing her fears was the best way to move on, to put her ho-ho-ho hang-ups to rest. But, seriously, had she really had to come to this Christmas party?
Leaning against the hotel ballroom wall, she took a sip of her third cup of fruit punch. Was she nuts or what? By coming here, she was sticking her neck under the proverbial guillotine. Two years ago she’d vowed to never attend another Christmas party, to ban Christmas for ever. Bah, humbug! That had been her motto.
Only she’d relocated two weeks ago and her new nursing director had said she needed to attend. So here she was, pretending she was having a good time and that she wasn’t contemplating a dash to the ladies’ room to toss the liquid-only contents of her fluttery stomach.
She smiled at a group of women who worked in the billing department as they paused near where she held the wall up. She didn’t personally know them. She knew very few people outside the cardiac care unit. But she had seen the trio around. Waving their hands with animation and talking a mile a minute, they didn’t notice her.
“He is so hot,” one of the women said, fanning her face with a bejeweled hand decked out with rakish long manicured fingernails and a sparkly ring so big it had to be fake.
“He’s yummy in his scrubs, but in those dress slacks and fitted button-down open just right at his collar...” a heavy-chested blonde gave an exaggerated sigh “...he’s outright lickable.”
Trinity followed their line of sight to see who had their tongues wagging. Oh, my. Um, yeah, they were right.
He was hot.
And lickable.
And a lot of other things that had her looking away really fast so her retinas didn’t start smoking.
Startled at her tongue-slurping reaction, she glanced back toward the object of their admiration. Her gaze collided with his. Wow. Something about him made her burn. Probably because he looked as if he’d walked straight out of every woman’s fantasy. The mischievous gleam present in his blue eyes said he was well aware of his many manly charms and that she threatened to spontaneously combust any moment just from his visual perusal. He knew he was that hot.
She gulped back another sip of punch, hoping it would cool the burn. It didn’t.
Which didn’t make sense because she’d banned men right along with Christmas two years ago. Especially a man like the one grinning at her. A man like that one would incinerate the already shattered bits of her heart.
“Oh! Shh! He’s coming this way,” one of the women squealed, slapping the other’s arm and sloshing a little of her Cosmopolitan onto the ballroom floor. All three of the women struck we-weren’t-just-talking-about-you poses and one gave a fake laugh as if whatever they were discussing was of the utmost interest and batted her lashes flirtatiously.
Really? Trinity wanted to roll her eyes. She glanced Mr. Lickable’s way again to see if he’d caught onto the women fan-girling him.
Yet again her gaze collided with electric blue and this time didn’t let go, couldn’t let go, as if there was some magnetic force at play that held her eyes in place.
She forgot how to inhale. Literally and figuratively. She couldn’t breathe.
Wow. He really was a beautiful man. Dark brown hair that had just a touch of golden curl and looked invitingly soft. Tanned skin that hinted he spent a lot of his time outdoors and, living next to the Gulf of Mexico, he probably did. He had a face and body gorgeous enough to give any movie-star hunk a complex.
Then there were those eyes.
So intensely blue that they had to be contact lenses, because no one’s eyes could really be that blue. Or that full of mischief. No doubt he’d been one of those kids who’d stayed on Santa’s naughty list.
Yes, the women were right. He was hot, so hot her mouth felt like the Sahara but the rest of her rivaled a rainforest and was probably putting damp spots on her dress. Great. Managing to shift her eyes, she took another sip of her punch, draining the clear plastic cup. Oops. Now what was she going to do with her nervous hands?
“Do you want something else to drink?” Mr. Hotness himself asked, walking past the we-weren’t-just-talking-about-you women and planting himself right in front of Trinity.
She glanced to either side, expecting to see some parched Delilah close by. He couldn’t be talking to Plain Jane her, right? And if he was, why?
The trio was staring at her in dropped-jaw surprise. She was surprised herself. She wasn’t chopped liver, but she didn’t kid herself that she was the model type this guy most likely dated either.
The last swig of punch had done nothing to help her dry mouth, which was problematic. Her tongue stuck to her palate, refusing to budge. She was positive anything she attempted to say could and would be held against her.
“I’ll be happy to get you more punch,” he added, causing a wave of eyebrow rises from their spectators. “Or anything else you might want.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy grin. “I’m a man who aims to please.”
If the heavy-chested blonde had fallen into a fit of vapors right then and there, Trinity wouldn’t have been surprised. She was about to need resuscitation herself.
He was flirting.
With her.
Eyes narrowing suspiciously, brain reeling, she peeled her dry tongue free of the roof of her mouth. “Then perhaps you should aim elsewhere.”
Because, really, what would be the point of encouraging him? She wasn’t interested in a relationship, or anything else.
Rather than take the hint and move on, his devilish grin widened, digging dimples into his cheeks. “You don’t like to be pleased?”
Darn it. He was quick tongued and she’d set herself up for that one. No matter how she answered, he’d twist her words. The mischievous gleam in his eyes assured that.
She shoved her empty cup toward him. “Punch.”
Fantastic. She sounded as if she had a mouthful of peanut butter and the IQ of a rock, but at least letting him get her punch would give her a reprieve.
Taking her cup, he laughed. “Then punch it is, but don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. We’ll discuss what gives you pleasure when I get back.” His eyes sparkled. “I could make a few suggestions even.”
Heat washed over her body, melting her from the inside out at the thought of just what those suggestions might be.
Not that it mattered. She so wasn’t having that conversation with him.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” she mumbled.
She didn’t meet his gaze and earn another laugh from him and an “Is she crazy?” from one of their billing-department eavesdroppers.
They probably thought she was, but the reality was that she didn’t want to attract a man like him. Chase had been as high octane as she went and look where that had gotten her. Burnt. Burnt. Burnt.
“Who needs to hold their breath when you’ve already stolen mine?” he quipped with another flash of his perfectly straight pearly whites, sending her up in a puff of smoke. Then, in a decent imitation of a famous movie line, he added, “I’ll be back.”
The women sighed then giggled as if he’d said something super-romantic then brilliantly funny. Trinity just stared. Her gaze zeroed in on his retreating figure.
“You go, girl,” the heavy-chested woman told her, stepping closer and giving a thumbs up. “I’m pea green with envy. You’re tonight’s lucky girl.”
She winced that the women had obviously overheard his pleasure comment. Great. She didn’t want gossip. Lord knew, she’d dealt with enough of that during her lifetime already. Especially at work. And, seriously, although he was the hottest man she’d ever set eyes on, she didn’t want a man in her life. Not ever again. Maybe she should leave before he returned. If her director got upset that she’d left too early, she could always claim she hadn’t felt well. With her nervous stomach, she’d be telling the truth.
Glancing around, she easily spotted him in line to refill her punch and chatting with a few people whose faces she recognized but didn’t recall which hospital department they hailed from.
Who was he and why had he sought her out?
What did it matter?
She was not getting involved. Especially not with someone who worked at the hospital or had anything to do with the hospital. Been there, done that, had the gaping hole in her chest to prove it.
A sick feeling took hold in her stomach, like she might really lose its contents. Time to go. Fast.
Eyes locked on the exit, she made a beeline for the ballroom door, intent on making her escape. Just after she stepped into the long hallway that would lead her to the hotel’s over-decorated foyer, a hand grabbed her elbow. She jumped.
“You okay?”
Him. Great. No doubt there would be scorch marks where his fingers burned into her skin. She grimaced and started to say she was heading to the ladies’ room, but why lie?
She turned, faced him, felt her breath hitch again at just how lickable he really was, then inhaled deeply because she was strong. “Look, I appreciate the offer of more punch and boring conversation, but I’ve had enough and I’m headed home.”
His forehead creased. “You’re leaving? Because of me?”
“No.” Heat infused her face. Hadn’t she just asked herself why she should lie? “Look, I’m not a party girl. You should go talk to someone else.”
Understatement of the year.
“I don’t want to talk to someone else. I want to talk with you. Besides, you’re problem is that you’ve been partying with all the wrong people.” His wink told her exactly who she should be partying with.
Determined not to be swayed by his outrageous charm and the way him saying he wanted to talk to her warmed her insides, she arched a brow. “I suppose you’re my right person?”
A full-blown smile slashed across his handsome face. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but I’m not sure Mr. Right is one of them.”
She started to correct him, to let him know that she hadn’t been implying that he was calling himself Mr. Right, but before she could, he reached out and ran a tingle-inducing fingertip across her cheek. Hello, lightning bolt!
“There’s always a first so, sure, I am the right person for you to be partying with tonight. I’m Riley, by the way.” His smile cut dimples into his cheeks again and he stared straight into her eyes. “I don’t want you to go.”
Not offering him her name, she closed her eyes. It was all she could do not to lean towards him, be seduced by the appeal in his voice. Was he like the Pied Piper of women or what, because she just wanted to follow him wherever he led.
“Stay. Dance with me,” he whispered near her ear in an enchanting tone that made her want to dance to his tune in more ways than one.
Mesmerized, she stepped towards him, her body almost pressing to his.
He inhaled. “You smell amazing. Good enough to eat.”
Um, no. She was not going to let her mind go where his words threatened to take her. Not going to happen. Only her mind went exactly where it wasn’t supposed to go. Bad mind.
Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she parted her lips to say no, that she was leaving and couldn’t be tempted by visions of sugar plums and whatever else he dangled in front of her. Apparently, he took her movement and open mouth as an invitation. Without hesitation his lips covered hers.
Shocked at the unexpected kiss, Trinity’s eyelids flew apart, startled to find his intent blue eyes open, watching her, as his lips gently brushed over her mouth. Tasting. Tempting. Teasing. Rocking her world to the very core. Wow.
Shockwaves rippled to the tips of her toes and she questioned if time was standing still because the hotel seemed to fade away to just the two of them, just his eyes searching hers, his lips branding hers.
When he pulled away, reality immediately sank in. Hospital Christmas party. Surrounded by new coworkers. The most gorgeous man ever had just kissed her. Hello, had she lost her mind?
“Why did you do that?” She took a step back, wiping her lips as if trying to clear away his kiss. Sandpaper couldn’t have erased his kiss. Riley. Riley’s kiss. He’d permanently branded her lips, her entire body. The man started fires.
He pointed up to the doorway she’d stepped beneath.
“Had to.” He shrugged nonchalantly, as if the kiss had been no big deal. To him it probably hadn’t been. His knees weren’t the ones shaking. “Tradition.”
She glanced up, eyed the large clump of mistletoe tied with a red ribbon that hung over the doorway. Her gaze dropped back to him suspiciously. “You’re a traditional kind of guy and just couldn’t resist?”
“Absolutely, just ask my mom. She’ll tell you I’m the apple of her eye.” He grinned. “Now that we know I’m a traditional kind of guy, that you smell and taste like the sweetest candy, and the pressure of our first kiss is out of the way, let’s go party. I guarantee a good time. Plus, you can tell me all about you while I hold you in my arms on the dance floor, Trinity.” His eyes sparkled with devilment.
Feeling oddly out of sorts that he knew her name despite the fact she’d purposely not told him, that he was piling on the charm, she felt what little resistance she had to him ebbing away. “Do you always get what you want?”
One side of his mouth curved upward. “Not always, but it is Christmastime and I’ve been a very good boy.”
She doubted that. Besides which there was nothing boyish about his broad shoulders and testosterone-laden aura.
“I’m hopeful there will be something sweet under my Christmas tree this year. An angel.” He raised his brows. “You have plans? We could start a new holiday tradition.”
She should go. She knew that. Her tattered heart was no match for this man’s charisma. But the thought of going back to her lonely apartment just didn’t appeal. Not even with Casper there, waiting for her. Her cat might love her but, whether Trinity wanted to admit it or not, she craved the temptation Riley waved in front of her.
An escape, albeit temporary, from the deeply embedded loneliness that had taken hold of her soul from the moment Chase Langworthy had dumped her publicly at their hospital Christmas party two years ago and plunged her into depression and Scrooge-dom.
Darn him for doing that. Darn her for letting him.
She took the punch glass Riley still held and downed half the contents as if she were chugging a shot of whiskey. Ha, she never drank alcohol, but she needed something to give her the push to do what she suddenly wanted to. She’d pretend the punch was liquid courage. She’d pretend that she was the kind of girl used to men like him flirting and wanting to dance with her. She’d pretend she was the life of the party.
“Okay, Riley...” She drawled his name out. She would do this, would have fun. “I’ll dance with you, but I should warn you that I dance much better than I kiss so you might struggle to keep up.”
She had no clue how she managed the confident words, the brilliant smile, or where they had even come from. The only time she ever danced confidently was around her living room with only Casper around to yawn at her antics. Still, head high, she headed back into the ballroom.
Riley’s pleased laughter behind her warmed parts of her insides that hadn’t felt sunshine in a long, long time.
