Page 12 of Lush Curves

“He says that he doesn’t want any drugs,” Sam said. “But Sarah convinced him to at least let her fill the prescriptions, just in case he needs them. She said that it’s better to have them and not use them, than need them and not have them on hand. He agreed, so they’ll go fill the prescription on their way back here.”

“Shit,” Jax said. “That’s going to be expensive. I don’t want Sarah paying for that… where’s the drug store? I’ll go there now and hopefully catch them before Sarah coughs up all that cash.”

“Next building over,” Sam said. “Just past the cafeteria.”

Jax nodded, gave Annie a reassuring little squeeze on her arm, then took off. Nurses gazed at his broad back with longing as he passed them by, but Jax didn’t even glance at them. He had Sarah in his life, in his bed, in his heart, and that all meant that the ex-manwhore was in retirement, and with an unequivocal vengeance.

“Uh, so…” Sam said. “So…”

“So,” Annie repeated, suddenly feeling very alone with him, despite the bustling room around them. “So… how have you been?”

“Oh, good. You know.” Sam removed his glasses and cleaned them, thereby giving Annie a blissfully unimpeded view of those chocolate-brown eyes. “Busy.”

“Sure, I imagine so. Saving lives.”

“Mostly, yes. Thank goodness.” Sam put his glasses back on, going from gorgeous to brainy-gorgeous in a heartbeat. “And you?”

“I’m still at the diner,” Annie said, as always feeling stupid and uneducated next to this man. “Still just a waitress.”

“So bringing people food.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. Nothing glamorous or exciting.”

“Well, peopledohave to eat, right?” he teased her. “They’d die without food, so really, you’re keeping them alive and saving lives yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. Sure, doc. What we do is theexact same thing. I see that now. Serving bad coffee is part of the circle of life.”

“Speaking of bad coffee…” Sam began, then faltered a bit, just froze up with sudden nerves. He wasn’t much of a player – his hours didn’t really leave much time for dating, after all – and it had been a long,longtime since he’d asked a woman out. But he was damned if he was going to let Annie get away a second time… not without a fight. So he sucked it up, and forced the words out. “Speaking of bad coffee, could I buy you one?”

She stared at him, those beautiful blue eyes – the same eyes that stared at him from out of Noah and Sarah’s faces – even more astonishing in their honest bewilderment.

“Uh,” she said. “Coffee?”

“Badcoffee,” Sam corrected her cheerfully. “The stuff hasn’t improved since the last one I got you three years ago… but maybe the company can make up for that a bit?”

“The company being – you?”

“Yep.” He was feeling less-than-assured now, but he ploughed on. “The company being me.”

“Oh.” She stared at him some more, now fumbling nervously with her purse. He recognized it as the same one that she’d been carrying that first night that he’d met her, a cheap plastic thing with ripped edges and the gold paint scraped off the clasp, and he wondered if she owned another one. “Um, well… alright.”

“Alright?” he echoed, fighting down the urge to dance around the packed E.R. “Bad coffee on me, then?”

“OK.” She smiled at him now, and Sam damn near reeled backwards. There wasthat smile, at long last, the one that he’d wanted directed at him for years now… and somehow, the fact that he’d had to wait for it this long just made it all the sweeter now that he’d received it. “Sounds good. I mean, how can a girl turn downbad coffee? Seriously.”

“Right?” Sam agreed. “I figured that was the clincher.”

“Sure was,” Annie said, totally ignoring his incredible chest, warm eyes, amazing smile, broad shoulders and stupendous butt. “It’s all about the coffee.”

Chapter Two

Sam waited for the coffee to be poured, then waited again in line to pay. The whole time, he shot Annie surreptitious glances, stole sneaky little glimpses of her as she sat in a booth across the room.

She looked good, he was happy to see. Much better than three years ago, which wasn’t surprising considering what she’d been going through then… but even if he removed the criteria of dark circles under the eyes, and deep worry lines, and permanent exhaustion and messy hair, Anniestilllooked light-years better.

She was a bit curvier, more lush and rounded, like she’d taken the time to sit down and have a few decent meals every once in a while. Her hair was cut a bit shorter now, and that brought out a gentle wave that hadn’t been there before. And her eyes – those eyes as deep and blue as the ocean – were calm now, less troubled, more joyous. On the whole, she looked healthier and happier, and Sam believed that when a woman looked like this, so natural and real, she was at her most beautiful.

Or maybe a man is making her look like this, his brain taunted him.Maybe she’s happy because she’s got someone.

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