Page 57 of Caged Heat

My gaze jumped to his baby blue orbs, twinkling with delight, and I lost myself in them for a minute. Every time I stared into his eyes, I saw a future I’d always been too scared to want. More than just great sex and fun: a partner, a family, a home.

A real future.

Screech. Slow that crazy train down. I’d just met the man! I didn’t care how much he’d taken me by surprise; I could not let myself fall down that hole into oblivion. I wasn’t sure how I’d climb back out of it if I did.

Mack wasn’t someone who’d be okay with cheap orgasms. He deserved more. But sadly, that was all I had to give him at the moment. Also, I couldn’t forget he’d just gotten out of a relationship. I might only be capable of quick hookups, but I didn’t want to be anyone’s rebound. Call it prideful or my ego, but when a man was with me, I wanted to be the only one he thought about, even if it was just for one night.

Plus, I wasn’t sure one night would be enough with Mack, which scared me the most.

I cleared my throat and grabbed my beer. It was warm, but I didn’t care. I needed the moment to recenter myself. Guzzling it down, I slapped it onto the table and donned my best smile.

“Sorry, just really hungry. Excuse me.” I hopped up and ran away as fast as I could. “Uncle Gus-Gus! When’s the food going to be ready?”

“Never if you keep bugging me,” he grumped. I rolled my eyes but hugged him. He’d always been the father figure I needed in my life. I was happy he and Ele had finally gotten together. They didn’t need me messing up their happy family with my drama—time to leave.

“Damn. I guess I’ll have to miss out this time.” I turned and waved to the others. “Bye, guys. Thanks for letting me crash your party, but duty calls.”

This time, I made sure not to stare directly into the sun or, you know, Mack’s eyes. Except, avoiding his eyes meant I saw the fall of his smile which might have hurt more.

Mack Rigsby-Ellis had a magical smile, and I’d just stolen it.

I, Steph Hartley, was the worst.

CHAPTER TWENTY

MACK

Getting stuck in the ER on New Year’s Eve was my new version of Hell. I’d thought it was delivery, but this…this was dealing with a different type of babies. These people brought stupidity to a whole new level. If I never had to ask, “And how did that object get lodged in your asshole?” again, it would still be too soon.

Suffice it to say, I was not cut out for crisis medicine. Thank goodness I would start my next rotation in cardiology.

“Hot girls alert behind exam room five,” Jacob said, nudging my shoulder. I humphed but ignored him. He always tried to get me to go out with him and get laid. The guy spent more time in the on-call room with a different woman than most doctors did to sleep. It was like he watched a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and thought he was this hospital’s McSteamy.

To each their own, but I’d rather spend my time finishing my notes so I could leave on time than creeping on girls who found themselves in the ER on an amateur night. Not my type of woman.

No, my type was intelligent, lively, and full of sunshine. The only problem was, she wanted nothing to do with me.

Stephanie Hartley—the woman who broke my heart before we even went on a date.

Honestly, though, I didn’t blame her.

The night we’d met, I’d been a wreck. Everything in my life had felt topsy-turvy, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. My mom was dating for the first time in my life with two men—one who was only four years older than me. I’d also just started my residency and had felt so out of my depth. School had been easy for me, and I’d completed it early, but residency was no joke, and the attending doctors didn’t care if you knew the correct answer; they just wanted to see it. For the first time, I felt unsure of my ability to succeed, which was scary as Hell.

Then there was Ashley…that girl had manipulated me into knots. She’d fabricated the life she believed I wanted while getting her kicks on the side. Discovering everything between us had been fake hurt worse than her cheating. I wasn’t sure what that said about me, but it messed me up for a while.

Despite all of that, the second I saw Steph in my mom’s kitchen, I felt peace, and my world had been recalibrated. Everything made sense for those few moments in her presence. I’d never believed in love at first sight before, but staring at her across the kitchen, I’d been dumbfounded and paralyzed to the spot.

She radiated pure sunshine and had an energy about her that drew me in. She made me feel alive instead of just playing a part. I thought we’d leave that party by exchanging numbers, but she’d blown out of there as quickly as she’d spun into my life.

Only this time I knew what it felt like to be near the sun and nothing had felt as lively since.

So, no, Jacob. I will not be perving on the ‘hot girls’ in exam room five.

“Dude. Seriously. You need to lighten up. Get laid. Tap some ass.”

“Not interested.” I closed the chart, picked up the next one, checked the name, and scanned the contents. “Have the labs come back on R. Lancaster?”

“Dunno. Ask one of the nurses. It’s their job.”

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