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“I’m relieved, of course.”

“You are?”

She shrugged. “Sure, I’m a little disappointed, too,” she admitted. “But considering the circumstances, it’s probably for the best.”

“You’re probably right,” he agreed.

He was certainly relieved to have “dodged the bullet,” and grateful that their impulsive actions wouldn’t have long-term consequences. He liked his life just the way it was and hadn’t been thrilled to think of the adjustments he would need to make to accommodate a child. Of course he would have, if it had turned out that she was pregnant, but he was undeniably relieved that wouldn’t be necessary just yet.

“Now our lives can go back to normal,” she said, her words echoing his own thoughts.

“By normal, you mean that you intend to go back to ignoring me as much as possible,” he guessed.

“I mean that you can go back to dating a different woman every weekend,” she countered lightly.

He started to protest her erroneous assumption of his habits, but what was the point? She’d made up her mind about him a long time ago and obviously nothing he’d said or done in the past couple of weeks had changed her opinion.

Instead, he nodded his agreement. “There is that.”

* * *

“Who was that?”

Justin glanced up as Nora slid into the seat Avery had recently vacated. “What are you doing here?”

“Thanks to the introductions you made, I’ve got an interview with Jovan Crncevic,” she explained, naming the supervisor of the hospital’s physiotherapy department. “Of course, I came way too early so I decided to stop in here and grab a cup of coffee and I saw you having a deep tête-à-tête with...your girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Ex-girlfriend?”

“No,” he said again, lifting his own cup to his lips to finish his coffee.

“Really?” she challenged. “Because I’m pretty sure that was the same woman who stopped by your condo when I was there, and there were some serious vibes between the two of you just now.”

“We work together,” he explained.

Nora laughed. “It was definitely
not
a work vibe.”

He scowled. “How long were you watching?”

“Long enough to know it was
not
a work vibe,” she assured him.

“We had a thing,” he admitted.

“A thing?”

“A shared moment of insanity.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “A thing.” She sipped her coffee. “You still hung up on her?”

“No.”

“I think I understand why it didn’t work out—she’s probably intimidated by your conversational prowess.”

“You’re a real smart-ass, you know that?”

“I always figured it was better than being a dumb ass.”

His lips twitched a little in response to that, but all he said was, “Shouldn’t you be preparing for your interview?”

She shook her head. “Even thinking about it makes me nervous—your love life is a great distraction.”

“Glad to be of service.”

“Do you want my advice?”

“No,” he said bluntly.

She frowned. “Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I don’t have any wisdom to offer. I’ve got some experience in matters of the heart.”

“Good for you.”

“I’m only telling you because I recognize the symptoms of a serious infatuation.”

“Dr. Wallace is not infatuated with me,” he assured her.

Nora laughed. “I wasn’t talking about Dr. Wallace.”

Chapter Six

L
ife did go back to normal—eventually.

Although Avery had lived with the possibility of a baby for only a couple of weeks, she’d wanted to be pregnant so much that she’d let her imagination run with it, and it took a few days to shake off her melancholy.

The depth of her disappointment forced her to reevaluate her life and her choices. It was time, she decided, to stop being passive and go after what she wanted. Which meant that she needed to start dating again—and actually make an effort to meet the man who might want to father her future children.

Maybe she’d even ask Amy to set her up again—as soon as she shook the exhaustion that had recently taken hold of her body and which she suspected was a result of some lingering disappointment.

“Are you up for grabbing a drink?” Amy asked, when the last patient of the day had finally exited the clinic.

“I thought you’d be anxious to get home to Henry,” Avery said, referring to her friend’s fifteen-month-old son.

“He’s spending the night with Ben’s parents.”

“So that you and your hubby can have a romantic evening together?” she guessed.

“That was the original plan,” her friend admitted. “Until his brother snagged a couple of tickets to a Canes game and asked Ben to go with him.”

“In that case, a drink sounds good.”

“And nachos?” Amy prompted hopefully.

She laughed. “Marg & Rita’s?”

“I’ll meet you there.”

Avery left her white coat on the hook behind the door in her office, untied the fastener around her ponytail, brushed out her hair and added some lip gloss. A quick glance in the bathroom mirror confirmed that she looked better—but she still felt like crap.

She arrived at the restaurant first and didn’t wait for her friend. It was Friday night, which meant that if there was a table available, it wouldn’t be for long. Shortly after she was seated, the waiter brought two menus. Knowing her friend’s preferences, she ordered a Top Shelf margarita for Amy and a virgin classic for herself along with a platter of deluxe nachos.

“Sorry I’m late,” Amy said, sliding into the empty seat across the table. “Ben called as I was on my way out to remind me to watch the game so I can see him on TV.”

“Maybe we should have gone to the Bar Down,” Avery said. “No doubt the game will be on one of the screens there.”

Her friend shook her head, then smiled at the waiter who set her frosty drink in front of her. “I have less than zero interest in hockey and I’ll see Ben when he gets home.” Then she picked up her drink and tapped the rim of her glass against Avery’s. “I didn’t think this week was ever going to end.”

“It’s not over for me yet,” she said. “I’ve got morning rounds at the hospital tomorrow.”

Her friend made a face. “I’m planning to sleep in late and then have leisurely morning sex with the man of my dreams.”

“I’d be happy enough just to sleep in,” Avery told her. “I’ve been exhausted and nauseated for the past several days.”

“Maybe tequila isn’t the best medicine for that,” her friend said worriedly.

“I didn’t think so, either,” she agreed. “That’s why mine is a virgin.”

The waiter delivered their heaping platter of nachos and they both dug in.

“Exhausted and nauseated you said?” Amy queried a short while later.

“Trying not to think about that right now,” Avery told her.

“Well, I was just thinking that’s how I felt when I was pregnant with Henry.”

“I’m not pregnant,” Avery said quickly.

“I wasn’t suggesting that you were,” Amy agreed. “Unless you somehow managed to orchestrate an immaculate conception.”

When she didn’t respond to her friend’s teasing comment, Amy’s gaze narrowed. “Or is there something you’re not telling me?”

“There are a lot of things I don’t tell you,” she said.

“Such as?” Amy prompted, brushing a jalapeño off her nacho chip.

Avery glanced around to ensure there was no one they knew within hearing range, but still dropped her voice to a near whisper before confiding, “Such as the fact that I had sex with Justin Garrett.”

Amy choked on her margarita.

“When did this happen?” she asked, when she finally managed to stop coughing.

“New Year’s Eve—actually, in the early hours of the morning on New Year’s Day.”

“Oh. My. God.”

Avery nodded.

“So...” A smile teased at the corners of her friend’s mouth. “How was he?”

She took her time selecting another chip. “A colossal disappointment.”

Amy’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“No. Not really.” She sighed. “In fact, it was the single most incredible sexual experience of my life, which probably tells you more than you ever wanted to know about my sexual experience.”

“I always wondered if his reputation was exaggerated,” her friend confessed.

“It’s not,” she admitted unhappily. “And now I belong to the not-so-exclusive club that includes almost every other woman who works at the hospital.”

Her friend smiled. “Sweetie, if Dr. Romeo slept with even half the women who claim to have slept with him, he’d hardly have time to get out of bed.

“I’ve known Justin a long time,” Amy continued. “There’s a lot more to him than most people realize—and he’s not nearly as indiscriminate as his reputation would imply.”

“So you don’t believe he’d get naked with someone in a supply closet in the middle of his shift at the hospital?”

“No way,” her friend said. Then her eyes went wide. “Are you telling me that’s what happened?”

She nodded.

“Oh. My. God,” Amy said again. “You and Justin. In a supply closet. Wow.”

“It was wow,” she agreed.

“So...are you guys together now?” her friend asked hopefully.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s Dr. Romeo and I don’t want to get involved with a man described in either of those terms.”

Amy sighed. “Your parents really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

“They taught me an important life lesson,” she countered. “Which is that two career-focused medical professionals cannot make a marriage work and definitely should not be parents.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Says the woman married to a newspaper editor.”

“I was in love with Ben long before he was a newspaper editor or I was a doctor,” Amy pointed out.

“Since I didn’t know you in high school, I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Now—getting back to the exhausted and nauseated part of our conversation, I have to ask...were you careful?”

She felt her cheeks burn. “You’d think, being a doctor, I wouldn’t be anything else.”

Amy nodded, accurately interpreting her response as an acknowledgment that she hadn’t been. “Then is it possible that you’re pregnant?”

Avery shook her head. “I got my period last week.”

“Did you take a pregnancy test?” her friend pressed.

“I was going to,” she admitted. “And then, there didn’t seem to be any point.”

“You know as well as I do that it’s not unusual for a woman to experience some bleeding in the early months of a pregnancy.”

“It was more than that.”

“Maybe it was,” Amy acknowledged. “But I think you’ll feel better if you take a test.”

Avery nodded, though she didn’t really believe it was true.

Taking a test and confirming that she wasn’t pregnant wasn’t going to make her feel any better. It would just be one more reminder of how completely her life had gone off track.

* * *

Justin had enough experience with women to know when one was attracted to him, and it frustrated him beyond belief that Avery was continuing to deny the attraction. But that was “back to normal” as far as their relationship was concerned.

He’d wanted her when he first met her and he wanted her now, but he didn’t chase women. Not even a woman who stirred his blood and haunted his dreams.

He thought they’d made some real progress over the past couple of weeks. During dinner at her house, they’d talked and laughed and connected on a whole other level. Maybe it was his own fault—maybe he hadn’t handled the possibility of a baby very well, but he’d felt angry and betrayed and helpless.

Yeah, there had been two of them in that supply closet, and yeah, the thought of protection had never crossed his mind because he’d been thinking about Avery and being inside Avery and that was all that had mattered. And then, to learn that she’d consciously decided not to take the morning-after pill—a decision that had potential consequences for both of them—without even talking to him, had made him furious.

He didn’t have an issue with her choice, just with her complete and total disregard of his thoughts and feelings. She’d deliberately cut him out of the process—as if he wouldn’t care. As if he’d walk away from his own child.
That
was what had pissed him off.

But now the possibility and the panic were past. Avery wasn’t pregnant. There was no baby and no future for them together. And eight days after their conversation in the cafeteria, he decided it was time to stop obsessing about the woman who didn’t want him and enjoy the company of one who did.

He decided to take Heather up on her offer of dinner followed by drinks at a popular club. While they were out, she flirted with him outrageously and rubbed up against him on the dance floor, and Justin found himself wondering why he wasn’t tempted. She was offering him a good time without any strings, and he could really use the distraction of a simple fling to help him forget about the impossible woman who was stuck in his mind.

But when he’d walked Heather to her door, she’d put her arms around him and pressed her mouth to his, and he’d felt disgusted. Not with the young nurse but with himself, that he’d considered—for even half a minute—using her to help him forget about Avery. That was one thing he’d never done. He enjoyed women—their company and companionship—but he didn’t use them.

So he’d quickly extricated himself from Heather’s embrace, thanked her for an enjoyable evening and walked away.

The next day, wanting to ensure there was no repetition of the same scene, he decided to seek out some male camaraderie instead. With his younger brother in Florida and his older brother dealing with his own issues, he headed over to the headquarters of Garrett Furniture to see if anyone was around. He found Nathan in the CFO’s office.

“Where’s Allison?” he asked, having noted that the desk outside his cousin’s office—usually occupied by Nate’s wife, who was also his administrative assistant—was vacant.

“Dylan had a dentist appointment so she took off early.”

“You dock her pay for the missed time?”

“Nah—she makes it up with sexual favors.”

Justin winced. “I don’t need to know things like that.”