The Best Of The Year - Medical Romance. Carol Marinelli

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      And what if she’d wanted more? More of their days together? More of making love? More...of everything?

      Hadn’t she earned the right to be heard?

      Yes. He sucked down a breath. And maybe he should do something about that.

      Whether it had been a mistake to ask his wife to move for the sake of his job was a moot point. What was done was done—he couldn’t go back and change it, no matter how much he might wish to.

      But he could change how he went on from here. What if—instead of asking Mira to leave—he asked her if he could stay in Silver Pass? With her?

      It would mean giving up his job with the Hawks, but he could practice medicine anywhere. It didn’t even have to be with a sports team. In fact, he could imagine his services might be in high demand in any of the hospitals around a ski resort.

      His heart hadn’t been in his job for a while. The coach knew it, which was why he’d sent him on this vacation in the first place. To clear his head. To help him make a choice.

      It had worked. What he wanted out of life had never been clearer to him than it was right now.

      Decision made, he tore the plane ticket in half and then in half again, continuing the process until the stack was too thick to rip any further. Then he stuffed all the pieces inside his coat pocket and got out of line, his pace quickening as he caught sight of the exit across the concourse.

      “Jack!” A familiar voice came from somewhere behind him.

      The sound stopped him in his tracks.

      In slow motion, he turned. But he didn’t see anything other than folks hurrying to the security check-in area. It must have been his imagination. Then a hand waved from the line he’d just vacated.

      Mira. What was she doing here?

      He stood there for a second, before making his way back to the line. She met him halfway.

      “What’s going on?” he asked, taking in the hair she’d tugged back in a ponytail, her lightweight jacket. Much too light for the mountains.

      She held out a slip of paper. “I have a plane ticket to Texas. On your flight, in fact. If you want me.”

      He blinked, staring at her hand, her words not registering for a second or two.

      She’d chosen to come with him. Of her own volition. Just like he’d chosen to stay here in Silver Pass.

      Jack laughed—the first really free chuckle he’d allowed himself in almost four years.

      “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

      He pulled the torn pieces of his ticket from his pocket. “This.”

      “I don’t understand.”

      “You just bought a ticket. And I just shredded one.”

      Shock flashed through her eyes. “You did? Why?”

      “Because I don’t want to leave. Not yet.”

      “But the storm... Your job—”

      “Can all wait,” he said. “I needed to come back and find you.” He blew out a breath, not sure where to start. “When I went to the restaurant two days ago I had everything planned out in my head. What I was going to say. What I was going to do. How hard I was going to kiss you.”

      “You were?”

      He nodded. Oh, how he’d screwed up his courage, only to have it desert him at the last minute. “And then I saw you there with Robert. Heard him try to win you back and realized you could have so much more if you found someone from Silver Pass. If you spent your life loving a man who shared your life, your passions...your location.”

      “But—”

      “Wait.” He set his bag down and slung an arm around her shoulders, his heart growing lighter by the second. This was what he should have done at the restaurant. Especially after seeing her beautiful face standing in the line of passengers behind him. “As I was in that line, I started thinking. Why couldn’t I be that man?”

      “What?”

      “I love you, Mira. I know nothing about the mountains, and I don’t know how to ski or how to ride a snowboard or even a snowmobile. But I swear I’ll be true and that I’ll spend the rest of life learning about all those things. If you’ll have me.”

      Mira stared up at him for a minute and then turned toward him, burying her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking.

      What the hell?

      She’d bought a ticket. Surely she couldn’t be that blind that she hadn’t read the signs...figured out how he felt. But then again, he wasn’t sure about her feelings either, just assumed that buying a ticket to Texas meant she cared about him. “What’s wrong?”

      She leaned back, her eyes streaming, swiping away the tears with her palm. Her body still shook. It was then he realized she wasn’t crying. She was laughing.

      “Wh-what’s wrong?” she asked between gasps. “I was going to say the exact same thing. I even ordered a surfboard to be sent to the team’s address—guess they’ll be surprised when that package is delivered, huh?”

      “You ordered a surfboard?”

      She sucked down a deep breath. “I did. I love you too. And I want to be where you are, Jack. You’re not forcing me to leave. I want to.” Her teeth came down on her lip. “Although I have a confession to make.”

      His chest tightened. “What’s that?”

      “I’m deathly afraid of sharks. Think you can still teach me how to surf?”

      He smiled and planted a hard kiss on her mouth, forcing himself not to linger more than a minute or two. “I think that’s something we should discuss in detail. Back at the lodge. Because I suddenly have a very urgent need.”

      “Anything I can help with?”

      He kissed her again. “Actually, you’re the only one who can.”

      * * *

      Three hours later they were snuggled together under the covers in her room, perspiration still drying on her skin. Jack lay behind her, his body pressed tight to hers, thumb brushing back and forth over her bare hip. A shiver went through her.

      God, she loved this man. No matter where the future took them, she wanted to be right in the middle of it.

      “Does this mean you’re not moving on to guy number six any time soon?” The low gravelly tones slid across her temple, carrying more than a hint of possessiveness.

      “Mmm. I’ll think about it.”

      The hand caressing her hip dropped a quick slap to her butt.

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