Page 30 of Love Everlasting

“Without dating anybody else.”

Silence.

She gave him a sideways peek, and her smile bloomed into a full-fledged grin at the gape of his mouth.

“You can’t be serious,” he said, his voice a near croak. Facial muscles slack, he stared at her as if she’d just suggested he become a Tibetan monk.

“Completely, Dr. Love, but the real question is—are you?”

His mouth snapped shut as those brown eyes darkened, his bristled jaw hardening with the same resolution that obviously took him from a street-poor orphan to a top pediatric practice. He turned his attention to the game, mouth compressed. “For how long?”

“As long as it takes to convince her you’re the man she needs, Sam. The loyal, serious, committed man who will love and protect her all the days of her life. Not the player waiting in the wings while he’s making a play for every other woman, sowing doubts about if you’ll ever be faithful as a husband.” She paused. “So, basically forever, Dr. Love, because she’s the woman you want, remember?”

A muscle quivered in his cheek, the hard set of his jaw telling her he was wrestling with his doubts. He finally expelled a lengthy sigh that seemed to deplete all the caffeine from his body, leaving him with a calm that drained all the tension from his face. “Bring it on, Coach,” he said softly, the faintest of smiles lining his lips.

“Okay.” Shannon shifted to face him. “I can’t promise you this will work, Sam, but I can promise you that the only way this will work is if she’s convinced you’ve changed for the better. And I guarantee you nothing will accomplish that quicker than if word gets around that you’ve given up other women.”

“Done.” He squinted at her. “What else?”

“Then you get real serious about being her friend. Which means spending time with her in a nonthreatening way.”

“Nonthreatening?” A slow smile eased across his lips. “Oh, you mean like I have with you?”

Shannon swallowed a gulp. “Yeah, like you have with me,” she said with a quick drink of her DP, upending it to deflect the blush she felt rising up her neck.

“So, you mean things like meeting her for cappuccinos to catch up or innocent games of mini-golf where she can vent over what a jerk the intern can be?” His playful grin coaxed a smile to her face.

“Yes,” Shannon said, “as well as things like taking her favorite smoothie to the hospital where everyone sees that she’s special to you, or taking her to lunch, even if it is just to talk about the other guy. Woo her,” Shannon emphasized, ducking her head to pin him with a pointed gaze, “without her ever even knowing.” She felt a twinge in her heart.

Kind of like you’re doing with me.

“Okay.” He focused on her as if she were one of his professors in med school, as serious as she’d ever seen.

“And whatever you do, my friend,” she said, warning thick in her words, “do not make a move on her. She has to be the one to do that, because then you’ll know she wants you to make a move. But—and this is going to be the hard part, Sam …” She drew in a deep breath heavy with the scent of popcorn and hot dogs, “if she does make a move, you have to say no.”

He blinked, jaw swagging low. “Are you crazy? The woman turns my blood to lava, Shan, white hot and ravenous. How am I supposed to say no?”

One side of Shannon’s mouth crooked up. “The same way you got through seven years of med school and residency, Dr. Love—sheer fortitude.” She fluttered her lashes. “Unless, of course, you’re not strong enough to say no …?”

His eyes narrowed. “Self-control is my middle name, Teach. I didn’t get through med school on my looks, you know.”

A smile squirmed on her lips. “No, just residency …”

He wagged a stern finger in her face, a smile twitching at the edge of his lips. “You know what? People think you’re the sweet and shy twin, Shannon O’Bryen, but you have a wicked tongue. And for your information, you little brat, I am a brick wall when it comes to will power, a virtual man of steel, just like Superman.”

“Yeah?” She arched a brow. “Prove it.”

His mouth took a swerve. “Don’t have to. Straight A’s in high school, college, and med school should be proof enough, kiddo, especially for a foster-care orphan who worked three jobs at a time.” His chin jutted up. “Besides, even professors in med school gave us reasons why, Angel Eyes, so suppose you tell me just why I should do something as stupid as that?”

The smile faded on her face as she pierced him with a solemn gaze. “Two reasons, Sam. One, she’s looking for a man she can trust, remember? And that’s not somebody who takes advantage of another guy’s girl, which she apparently is if she’s going to the Bahamas with him, right?” She cocked her head. “What’s his name, anyway?”

His mouth went flat. “Derek. Or as I prefer to call him—‘Derelict.”

She shook her head, a smile itching to break through, but she fought it off. This was too serious of a point to temper with a smile. “So, if she makes a move and you give in? You risk your credibility as a friend and a man she can trust. Understand?”

He grunted his response, obviously not happy with her assessment. “Yeah, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

She jerked his chin to face her, forefinger and thumb pinching hard while her brows arched in command. “No, we will cross that bridge right now, Dr. Love, or we can nix these ‘lessons.’”