Gina L. Maxwell Seducing Cinderella.pdf

(778 KB) Pobierz
Gina L. Maxwell Seducing Cinderella
Chapter One
LucieMillerdidn’tbotherlookingupwhensheheardtheknockonheroffice
door. Her next physical therapy patient was early, which irked her since she
hadn’tevencompletedthepaperworkfromtheprevious appointment. She
pushed her glasses back in the proper place. He could just cool his heels in the
hallway for the next ten minutes while she fini—
The knock came again, a little more insistently this time, and her resolve to not
cater to someone else’swishescrumbledasusual
Droppingherpentothesheafofpapersinfrontofhershecalledout“Comein”
headofperfectlystyleddarkhairpoppedaroundtheedgeofthedoor“Hope
I’mnotdisturbingyou”
Before she could order her heart to behave, it skipped a beat at the mellowy-
smooth voice of Dr. Stephen Mann, Director of Sports Medicine
and major hottie at Northern Nevada Medical Center. At warp speed, her brain
performed an unsolicited catalog of her appearance, spitting
out the usual diagnosisof“plainanddisheveled”Holdingbackadisappointing
sigh and the urge to smooth a hand over the strands of hair
thatescapedherponytailshegavehimherbestsmile“NotatallIdidn’tforget
anothermeetingdidI?”
Twin dimples winked at her“Nonottoday”
Heturnedtoclosethedoorandherpulseracedsanorthopedicsurgeonhe’d
visited her less-than-impressive office in the Rehab and
Sports Med Center plenty of times to discuss mutual patients. But not once had
he ever closed the door.
Tryinghardnottoracetoconclusionsshegesturedinfrontofher“Pleasehave
aseat”
“Uh”
Lucie glanced to the single visitor chair piled high with file folders, old
newspapers, and research articles. She swore she felt her cheeks
actually changecolorassheboltedaroundherdesk“OhmygoshI’msosorry
Here, let me just—”
“That’sallrightyoudon’thaveto—”
“NoIinsist”ShegatheredthehaphazardpapermountaininherarmsNotfor
the first time, or even the hundredth time, she wished she
weren’tsodisorganizedSpinninginaquickcircleshesearchedforaplaceto
stash the mess. Stacks just like the one she held lined the walls
of her office on the floor and over every square inch of desk and file cabinet
space. Finally she gave up and just plopped the pile into her chair
beforeturningherattentiontoherguestGodwhycouldn’tshebesmoothand
put-together like other women? Like the kind Stephen dated.
“Sowhatbringsyoudownintothebowelsofthehospitalthisafternoon?”
He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. Normally, the gorgeous doctor was
the picture of confidence. It was the reason women literally
sighed in his wake. Well, that and his easy charm and Ken-doll good looks
complete with killer smile.
“Thehospital’sannualcharitydinneranddanceisonlytwomonthsawayand
whereasaguyonlyhastorentatuxandshowupI’maware
that a woman needs ample time to shop for a dress and schedule all sorts of hair
and nail appointments and whatever else it is that you
womendotomakeyourselvesbeautiful”
Lucie’sthroatclosedandherfingersflewtofidgetwithhernecklaceThiswasit
They’dworkedtogetherforyearssometimeseven
staying hours past their shifts to work on mutual cases, ordering bad Chinese
when their brains refused to quit but their stomachs could no
longerbeignoredThey’dalwaysbeenintellectuallycompatibleandtheirmutual
obsession to help patients recover quicker and better
bondedthemasnothingelsecouldShe’dlovedhimforyearsbuthe’dnever
asked her out. Never made a move, instead preferring to date
classy businesswomen he met during happy hour at the posh Club Caliente down
the street.
But now he was here. In her office. Talking about the hospital ball. Dear God,
pleasedon’tletherfaintTakingaslowdeepbreathLucie
triedforcasual“reyoutryingtoaskmesomethingStephen?”ndfailed
miserably. Damn.
A strong hand rubbed at the back of his neck, and he gave her the cutest look of
embarrassment“hyeahI’mnotdoingaverygoodjob
ofitamI?”
“Noyou’redoingfine!”Too much enthusiasm. Double damn!
“IknowIshould’vebroughtthisupbeforendIreallydidwanttoaskthatnightI
saw you at Club Caliente last month, but I hesitated
and thenyouleftIwashopingI’dseeyouthereagainbecauseitdoesn’tquite
seem appropriate to inquire about a date here at the office,
youknow?”
Hermindflashedbacktotheonenightshe’deversteppedfootinthe
overcrowded, overpriced club. Her best friend, Vanessa MacGregor,
had just won a really difficult case and wanted to celebrate with a few drinks and
some dancing. Instead of going to their usual hangout,
Fritz’sVanessaconvincedLucietomeetheratthemuchclosermeatmarketofa
club. They’donlybeenthereforanhourtopsbeforeleaving
The club was like a frat house on steroids with a country club clientele. The rest of
their night had been spent downing tap beer and hustling
guys at darts in a proper celebration.
“Ohdon’tworry”sheassuredhim“ImeannotdownhereTheonlypersonthat
could possibly hear us right now is Mr. Kramer on the
treadmillouttherebutthedoorisshutandevenifitwasn’tIdon’tthinkhe
remembers to turn his hearing aid up very often, so the chances
of him hearing us over the noise of the mach—”
“Lucie”
“Sorry”OhmyGodwouldyoushutupalready?You’rebabblinglikeanidiot!
“Youweresaying?”
He took a deep breath and exhaled like he was preparing to BASE jump from the
roof of the hospital insteadofaskingheronadate“Iwas
tryingtogetyourfriend’snumber”
“Mywhat?”
“ThegirlyouwerewiththatnightIssheseeinganyone?”
“Vanessa?”Lucie’smindscrambledasittriedtofollowthesharpturnoffthepath
the conversation had previously been headed. Or where
she’dthought ithadbeenheadedShewassuchanidiot“Umnoshe’snot
seeinganyone”
Every muscle in his body visibly relaxed as he stood, his easy smile returning to hit
herwithbothdimplesrightbetweentheeyes“That’s
great!CanIgethernumber?Idon’twanttotakethechanceofwaitingtillthelast
minutetoaskherI’dliketotakeheronafewdatesbefore
the big event, too. You know, get to know each other better. Lord knows you can
never have a decent conversation at that charity dinner
withoutsomeoneinterruptingwithshoptalkLucie?reyoulistening?”
“What?NoImeanyesI’mlisteningYesyou’rerightIt’sdefinitelynot
conducive to first-datediscussions”Luciedroppedhergazeto
the organized disaster on her desk. Vanessa would have a panic attack if she saw
it. Her friend was hyperorganized, always put together on
the inside and out, never a hair out of place or an emotion uncalled for. Add in
the perfect Barbie-doll looks and you had the kind of woman
Stephen Mann was drawn to. The kind of woman she was most definitely not.
“SooooCanIhavehernumber?Ormaybeyou’replayingtheroleofprotective
friend and would prefer to grill me about my intentions
first”heteased“MaybeaskmewhyIthinkI’mgoodenoughforhersomething
likethat?”
Shecouldn’thelpthesmallliftatthecornerofhermouth“sifyoucouldn’tbe
goodenoughforsomeoneYou’recharmingsmart
handsomeandsuccessfulHowcouldthatamountto‘notgoodenough’by
anyone’sstandards?”
Hewinked“Iamquitethecatcharen’tI?BesuretotellVanessathatwhenshe
tells you I called her. That is, if you ever give me her
number”
“Oh!RightsorryUh”ShelookedaroundforaPost-it note or scratch piece of
paper. She knew she had some, and if she could stop and
thinkforaminuteshe’dknowrightwheretheywerebutsomewhereinthelast
fiveminutesshe’dbeengivenafullfrontallobotomyand
nowshecouldn’tfunction
Giving up, she grabbed her pen and hishandandscribbledVanessa’scellnumber
onto his palm. She had to force herself to release him
beforeshedidsomethingstupidlikeaddanexclamationmarkand“accidentally”
use too much force for the dot, puncturing his smooth skin
with the tip of herballpoint“ThereyougollsetNowyou’llhavetoexcuseme
I, um, have a new patient who should be here any
minute”
“Iwon’ttakeupanymoreofyourtimethenThanksLucie”Usinghisink-free
hand he grabbed the knob and opened the door before
lookingbackandadding“Ioweyouone”
She pasted what she hoped was at least a facsimile of a smile on her face as best
shecould“I’llkeepthatinminddoctor”
As soon as he was gone she sank into her chair, not even bothering to move the
stack ofpapersbeforeshedidsoThiswasn’tanything
new. In fact, being overlooked for someone else was typical. By now, she should
be immune to the hurt that came with it. What was that
phrase?OldhatYesthat’sitBynowthisshouldbeoldhatanditwasn’teven
the first time a guy she liked was interested in her friend. But
it still hurt. A lot.
There was no fooling herself any longer. She would never be the object of the
doctor’sdesirendthoughtherealistinhersaiditdidn’t
matter—that all she needed was compatibility and companionship with someone
else—as her future came into sharp focus, the dreamer in her
allowed herself to shed the tears that blurred the world in front of her.
Chapter Two
“Canyoupointmeinthedirectionofthephysicaltherapydepartment?”Where
some arrogant ass will give me exercises fit for a toddler,
essentiallycastratingmeintheprocess
To say Reid Andrews was in a foul mood was a total understatement, but that
didn’tmeanthehospitalreceptionistdeservedhis wrath. He
listened as she gave him directions and thanked her as he set off.
The closer he got to his destination, the more his muscles bunched in irritation.
Heshouldn’tbehereHeshouldbebackinVegasworking
his injury out with his coach and team doc. Not Sparks, Nevada—which was
practically Reno and way too close for comfort to his hometown
of Sun Valley to the north. Now he would be working with someone who had no
concept of his sport or how important it was for him to get
back in the cage as soon as possible to prep for his rematch.
Foraslongashecouldrememberhe’dbeenfightingFightinginthesporthe
loved above all else—Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA—to get to
the top, and then fighting his ass off to stay there. Fifteen years later, he was one
of the richest light-heavyweight fighters in the UFC, with a
record of 34-3 and a fanbase of millions. Of course none of that mattered now
becauseifhecouldn’tgethealthyintimefortherematchhis
career was over.
A doctor talking on his cell and checking his pager crowded Reid around a corner
andbumpedintohimTheguydidn’tevenlookbackto
apologize as he continued to clip down the hallway. Reid clenched his jaw and
held his right shoulder as he waited for the pain to subside.
Even from an impact so small it hurt like a bitch.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin