The Christmas Proposition. Cindy Kirk

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      “The girl has a wicked throw,” Derek said, his smile widening at the memory. “But Rachel patched me up good as new.”

      Okay, so it was a bit of an exaggeration, but the pretty nurse had come to his rescue. And Derek had no doubt if there had been patching up to do, the woman standing to his right would have taken care of him.

      During the five days since he’d last seen her, Derek had told himself she couldn’t be nearly as beautiful as he remembered. But when she’d opened the door, he realized he’d been wrong. The blue of her sweater brought out the color of her eyes and her hair wasn’t just blond, it was golden honey.

      “Rachel is the best.” Travis looped an arm around her shoulders.

      Derek stiffened at the familiarity between the two. Had Rachel minimized her relationship with Travis? But he was almost certain Travis had also said he wasn’t in a relationship. And where did Mary Karen fit into the picture?

      “I wish I had a hundred Rachels,” Travis added.

      “Thank you for the compliment, Dr. Fisher.” Rachel brought a finger to her lips, her eyes dancing. “But I think I’ve heard you give that same compliment to a dozen nurses in the past month.”

      “That’s Travis.” Mary Karen chuckled. “He’s nothing if not consistent.”

      Derek felt the tension leave his shoulders at the warmth in her voice. Yes, there was definitely something going on with Travis. But whatever it was, it was between Mary Karen and the doctor.

      Doctor?

      Derek settled his gaze on Travis. “You’re a physician?”

      Travis tightened his grip on the squirming twins who were desperately trying to break free. “Yep. OB-GYN. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”

      “Don’t let him fool you,” Mary Karen said. “He loves the adoration.”

      “Mary Karen.” A feminine voice rang out from the kitchen. “Could you come here, please?”

      “Be right there,” Mary Karen called out. She turned to go, then paused and refocused her attention on Derek. “Can I get you a beer? Or some wine?”

      “A beer sounds good,” Derek said. “I can get it myself if you just point me in the right direction.”

      Mary Karen smiled. “No worries. I can bring it to you.”

      “Connor said you needed me for something,” Travis said before she walked away.

      “It can wait,” Mary Karen said with an airy wave. “Why don’t you introduce Derek around?”

      “After I drop his coat off in the bedroom, I’ll start the sloppy joes.” Rachel hugged Derek’s jacket close and made her way to Mary Karen’s bedroom at the back of the house, an extra spring in her step. Before Derek arrived she’d been having a perfectly fine time. But something about the former ball player brightened the cold winter night.

      It had to be his smile. Derek Rossi loved life and it showed. Who wouldn’t be drawn to a guy like that?

      Rachel skidded to a stop. She wasn’t attracted to Derek … was she? The woodsy scent of his cologne teased her nostrils and she realized not only did he look good, he smelled wonderful.

      Not fair. Not fair at all.

      Pressing her lips together, Rachel marched to the bed and threw his jacket on top of the other coats.

      “He means nothing to me,” she muttered.

      “Are you okay?”

      Rachel whirled. “Derek, what are you doing here? I mean, here, in the bedroom.”

      Even though her heart skipped rope in her chest, she relaxed her shoulders, determined to act casually. She only hoped the fire heating her cheeks didn’t show.

      Thankfully, he didn’t appear to notice. He merely gestured to the bed with one hand. “I left my cell in my coat pocket.”

      Reaching past her, he retrieved the tiny phone and dropped it into his pocket. When he turned back, he was. Right. There. The large room suddenly seemed much too small.

      “You look lovely tonight,” he said.

      A nervous chuckle slipped past Rachel’s lips.

      “I’m serious.” His gaze darkened and the laughter died in her throat.

      He was a mere heartbeat away and, without warning, Rachel found herself drowning in the deep blue of his eyes. She realized for the first time that there were tiny flecks of gold in the aquamarine depths. “You have beautiful eyes.”

      “So do you,” he whispered.

      Rachel wasn’t sure who made the first move, but a second later she found herself ensconced in Derek’s arms … and she was kissing him.

      The first few kisses were gentle ones, her mouth lightly brushing his. But that wasn’t enough. She slid her fingers through his hair, pulling his mouth more tightly against hers. Although she hadn’t kissed a man since Tom died, it felt so natural to be kissing Derek.

      His tongue swept across her lips and she’d just opened her mouth to him when the door Derek had kicked shut flew open.

      “The sloppy joes are—” Mary Karen stopped.

      Rachel jerked out of Derek’s arms.

      “Derek came to get his cell phone.” Her heart pounded and her breath came out in little puffs. “We got to talking and lost track of time.”

      A smile tugged at the corners of Mary Karen’s lips. “I can have Lexi help me make the sloppy joes if you and Derek want to … talk some more.”

      Rachel kept her eyes focused on Mary Karen, trying to ignore the testosterone coming off Derek in waves. “We’re done … talking.”

      “Sure you wouldn’t rather stay here?” An impish smile lifted Mary Karen’s lips. “You didn’t look ready to conclude your conversation.”

      In that moment Rachel could see why David Wahl had accused his sister of making his life a living hell when they were growing up.

      “I should get back and see how the game is going.” Derek’s gaze lingered on Rachel for several heartbeats before he finally left.

      Mary Karen showed great restraint in remaining silent until Derek was out of earshot before she squealed, “Ohmigod, you were practically doing it with the sexiest man in the major leagues.”

      “He’s no longer playing ball.” Rachel smoothed her hair with fingers that trembled slightly. “And may I point out, we were merely kissing.”

      “And may I point out that given a few minutes more, your clothes would have been on the floor.”

      Never. Kissing another man was bad enough. Making СКАЧАТЬ