Page 35 of Playing Doctor

“Lick-o-licious!”

Beth started at the beginning, with the conversation she’d overheard in the bridal chambers. She told her about the kiss at the wedding and the one at the lounge.

“So…on the ride up in the elevator, did you two…?” Connie waggled her brows.

Beth rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Sorry, no story there.”

Connie pouted for a second before flicking a hand in the air. “Doesn’t matter, as long as you finally get to the good stuff.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “And you did get to the good stuff, right?”

Heat suffused Beth’s cheeks.

“Awesome! I haven’t seen you blush this much since I talked you into going to my sex toy party.” Connie laughed, then sobered and asked, “I only have one question…did he make you happy, hon?”

Beth closed her eyes, allowed the memories she’d been holding at bay to tumble out. “Many times.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

Beth…change your mind. Gabe’s parting words rang inside her head.

Oh, God, she wanted to. Wanted to see his smile, hear his voice, feel his touch.

“No.”

Connie’s mouth thinned. “You know, it would be a damn shame if Jamie Roberts was still pulling your strings.”

It might have been nerves, or the lack of sleep from the night before, but Connie’s comment pissed Beth off all the way down to her toes. That it hit a tad too close to home may have had a little to do with it, and that she would keep to herself. Because their friendship meant more to Beth than a pointless argument, she hid her annoyance by clearing a spot on her desk for her laptop.

“The only one pulling my strings is administration and the meeting I have in”—she checked her watch—“oh, shit, twenty minutes.”

“Hmm.” If Connie had more to say, she kept it to herself. “You up for pizza and a movie this weekend?”

“Sure. Give me a call later and we’ll set it up.” Grateful that Connie had taken the hint and let the subject drop, Beth reached for her laptop case. Connie shot her a thumbs-up, tucked the giant candy bar under her arm, and left.

Beth tipped her head from side to side, stretching muscles taut with tension. She could blame the tight bands cording her neck and shoulders on the job. Or she could admit the truth and be done with it. In spite of her busy schedule, thoughts of Gabe intruded into her days…as well as her nights. More than once she’d questioned her reasons for adhering to their agreement, and more than once, she asked herself, Dammit, have I made the biggest mistake of my life?

It shouldn’t have been so difficult, letting Gabe walk out that door and out of her life. She had watched him pull on his clothes, covering the body that had given her pleasure far beyond anything she could have imagined. His smiling face haunted her. The memory of his touch tormented her. He had broken through her defenses and breathed life back into her.

And you sent him away, that needling voice in her head mocked.

I want to see you again. She clung to those words as she would to a life preserver in a stormy sea. For a moment, just a moment, she thought how wonderful it would feel to be with him again…then caught herself.

One night only. No romance. No complications. No relationship.

Her stipulations.

So why did she have this hollow spot in her chest? Why, after spending one afternoon and one night in the arms of this magnificent man, did thinking about him cause so much angst?

She flipped the lid back on the computer case. A small square of yellow paper waved back at her, as it did each time she opened it. Twice she’d peeled it off and tossed it in the trash, only to snatch it out again and smooth it back onto the computer lid, as if having it there kept a part of him close.

She peeled it off now and ran her finger over the number. The hole in her chest deepened.

She missed him.

Beth fell back against her chair and her breath came out in a woosh. There. She admitted it, and the heaviness pressing down on her chest lightened just a little. How long since she’d missed a man? Not since Jamie…

Beth shot up in her chair. Goosebumps prickled her arms. Her fingers tightened around the little piece of yellow paper. Oh God, Connie was right. Jamie was still pulling her strings, controlling her life…even from the grave. Her heart rate kicked up a notch, her jaw tightened. No. She was allowing him control. Her stomach roiled at the injustice.

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