His gaze immediately fell on the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Curling chestnut hair framed a perfect oval face. Full, luscious, red lips. Inquisitive hazel eyes that said she was up for all sorts of fun. And her body—she was model-tall but with all the curves Elias could want. He was a shameless boob-man, no denying it, and her blouse was unbuttoned far enough down to show off her ample cleavage.
“And there’s someone special now. Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots.” Elias pointed subtly at her but he didn’t need to. Waylon was already staring as she made her way through the crowd. She outshone every woman around her.
Wren Stapleton had entered the building.
She looked around until her eyes met his and those luscious red lips parted in a dazzling smile.
And yes, Elias’ memory had lied in his dreams.
She was even more gorgeous than he remembered.
“Whoa. She is way aboveyourpaygrade, brother,” Waylon said.
“You’re just jealous.” Elias grinned.
“I might be. Except she only has eyes for you.” Waylon grinned back. “Think I’m gonna find myself a dance partner and let you examine your patient.”
“Not my patient.”
But Waylon was already headed for the bar, which might as well have been on the moon as far as Elias was concerned. He stood up to face Wren and his vision tunneled. Wren took up the entire field until she was standing right in front of him.
“Well hi there,” she said as she plopped her bag onto the bar stool beside Elias. “Fancy running into you here.”
“Yeah. It’s not like I told you where I’d be on Friday night.”
“No? I distinctly remember you telling me exactly where you liked to hang out and when.”
Elias tapped his chin. “Oh, that’s right, I did tell you. You know, I was at Riversong this week, too.”
“Were you?” Wren unzipped her bag, reached in, and pulled out his scrubs top, folded in a neat square. He hoped she hadn’t washed it, that the scent of her skin clung to the fabric. She laid it on the high top and smoothed her hand over it. Elias got the sudden image of her hand stroking his chest—her long fingers gliding over his pecs and down to his abs, then lower. Hell, he could damn near feel it. He did his best to suppress an intense shiver of desire as his mouth went dry.
“Yup,” he said, his voice catching lightly. “I was at Riversong yesterday and earlier today. I don’t remember seeing you there.”
“Well, I didn’t want to give you the wrong idea about me.”
“Wrong idea?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “See, I’ve been to Riversong so often that I’m addicted to their cinnamon-honey lattes with a double shot of espresso. I wouldn’t have been able to control myself and order just one.”
Elias felt his lips twitch. “Double shot? So you’re a caffeine addict.”
She nodded solemnly. “Don’t judge.”
“Never.” Elias leaned on the table. “Is that why your pulse was racing when I took your blood pressure? Too much caffeine?”
“Nope. I was relaxed from the acupuncture, remember?”
She took a step closer and Elias caught a whiff of her skin—ripe peaches in midsummer with a hint of salt. His tongue pressed against the back of his front teeth. He rolled his bottom lip in to keep from licking his lips.
“Right, you were totally relaxed. In that case, I’d hate to see your pulse when you’re excited.”
She focused on his mouth as she said, “Aw, what a shame.”
Holy shit.
She lifted her gaze and locked onto his. “Or maybe not a shame. If you checked my pulse right now that would mean I was your patient again.”
He tilted his head. “You don’t want to be my patient?”
