"I'm going alone," Hartshorn retorted. "It'll be fine. We'll hang outtogether."
"It's fine for you," I said. "No one gives a shit about you being alone. When they see me alone, they start talking about the purity of interns and why I can't keep a guy without disemboweling him within a fewweeks."
They offered grim smiles but staged no protest. They knew I was right, and it didn't matter whether several of my male colleagues had paired off with interns or residents. Those situations, they were expected. Acceptable, even. But with me, none of it wasacceptable.
"One of y'all is gonna have to report back about those fried fucks," Nick said. "You've got my interestspiqued."
Cal rubbed his forehead with an irritable groan. "How long until your wifegetshome?"
Sparing a glance at his watch, Nick replied, "Twenty-seven hours, thirty-nineminutes."
What a splendid treat, being loved all the way down to theminute.
ChapterNineteen
Alexandra
Iwas dressedand I was at the Four Seasons, and those were both significant accomplishments for me today. I'd even thrown on some makeup but that didn't include the most important accessory, according to my mother—a smile. It was bad enough that I was gala-ing tonight. I couldn't forcecheerfulness,too.
I'd gone with a navy blue wool dress that wasn't quite fancy enough for this event but earned points for being simple and classic. Navy blue was my go-to shade. It always came through for me,unlikemen.
Nick wasn't coming. That would make him a real bastard if he wasn't such a nice guy. It was no surprise that Hartshorn found a heart in need of his services, and wasn't arriving until later. Another nice guy right on the cusp ofbastard.
Without them to entertain me, I was left wandering the ballroom. I'd stumbled into a discussion of exciting research on stem cell therapies for chronic GI illnesses. To me, that shitwasexciting. That little chat would've met the minimum standards of socialization and given me a pass on leaving after the cocktail hour if the whole goddamn world wasn't asking aftermydate.
Doctors, they were agossipylot.
I nodded absently while a small group debated the merits of a new tool for minimally invasive procedures, and stared into my glass. It was mostly full. The wine was lovely but I wasn't interested in drinking. That was my position on most things right now—notinterested.
Except when it came to food. I wasn't one of those people who lost her appetite in emotional or stressful times, and didn't my ass know it. Regardless of the situation, I was consistentlyhungry.
I was sure Riley would have a comment or two for that, and I washed down a bitter laugh with a gulpofwine.
Riley. FuckingRiley.
But then, as if he'd known I was thinking about him, he was here. Standing on the other side of the ballroom, his dark suit impeccable and his grin a little too knowing, watching me. The look on his face…it was like he was thinking about how his cock felt when it was inside me. Goosebumps broke out over my skin and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up because I was thinking aboutit,too.
"I'm curious, Doctor Emmerling, where youstandon—"
I didn't listen to the rest of the question, instead turning away from my colleagues and moving toward Riley. He was doing the same, his strides long and purposeful, and within seconds we were face-to-face. The boring beige heels I was wearing—lengthen the leg—gave me some height, but I still had to crane my neck to meethiseyes.
And those eyes, they weren't caught in the headlightstonight.
"Get over here," he growled, lashing his arm around mywaist.
"You came," I said. After some thought, it was clear that no, there was nothing more obvious to state in thismoment.
"Of course I came," Riley replied, studying the crowd over my shoulder. His fingertips trailed down my bare arm like it was the most natural thing in the entire world. And itwasnatural. Touching me, growling at me, being here, everything. "I'd intended to pick you up. It seems I was too late, but I never considered breaking our agreement." He stopped touching my arm, stopped watching the well-dressed masses, and turned all of his attention to my lips. He stared, like he was trying to understand what they were, why they were there, what to do with them. "I fucked up everything last weekend. I'm sorry. I need anotherchance,Aly."
I bristled at that, and shook out of his arms. "Is that how it works?" I challenged. "I'm Aly at night but Alex in themorning?"
He speared me with a sharp, pained look before bringing his gaze back to my lips. He pulled me close and kissed me hard, and either everyone had stopped to watch or the world had slipped away but it really didn't matter at all because I was overcome with the feeling of possession. Good possession. Sexy possession. The kind of possession I secretlycraved.
He edged back and stroked his thumb down the line of my throat, just like he had before pushing inside me last weekend. I didn't remember much, but that—that I couldn'tforget.
"We're going to stop fucking around now, Honeybee," he said. "I haven't the patience for it, and it's not what I wanttonight."
"Then what do you want?" I asked, my words a breathy whisper. I couldn't have brought any fire to my tone if I tried. Not with that thumb on mythroat.
