Page 44 of Love Everlasting

Oh!

In one violent whoosh, the breath left her lungs when he pinned her to the wall of his house, biceps taut as he held her in place with a grim smile, not even breaking a sweat. Never would she imagine a middle-aged man could move that fast, but then Ben kept himself in great shape. She squirmed to break free. For Dr. Barbie, no doubt.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you walk away, did you, Tess?” he said in a calm tone that held the slightest bit of an edge. “After camping out in the weeds to catch you on one of your infamous midnight treks?” His lips curved in a tight smile, eyes far more sober than the tease in his tone. “You are so predictable, Ms. O’Bryen.”

Her brows slashed high. “Yeah? I’ll-show-you-‘predictable,’ you … you … womanizing, two-timing, lower-than-dirt brute!” Thrashing beneath his iron grip, she reared up a knee, which he promptly disarmed with a knee of his own, butted tightly against hers to lock her in place.

“So, is this how it’s going to be, then?” he said, finally showing some exertion with heavier breathing. “Being married to you? Running away instead of discussing things like a rational human being?”

“No!” she screamed, temper so fried, she didn’t give a flying leap who heard. “Because newsflash, bucko—you’re not gonna be married to me!”

“Wanna bet?” Ben jerked her from the wall and swept her up in his arms, carrying her bucking and hissing into his house. “We’re going to talk, Tess, and Jack and Lacey stayed at the hotel, so you can scream, kick, hit, or soak me, but you’re going to listen to my side of the story.”

His arms were like a vise, blocking all resistance, and it took everything in her not to bite him on the shoulder. “You mean the story you failed to mention?”

Chest heaving, he dumped her on his white leather sectional without ceremony, riling her further when it bounced her like a trampoline. “Yes, and for this exact reason.” He stood over her, hands on his hips and feet straddled, obviously ready to pounce if she even thought of bolting. “I was planning to tell you the night on the dock, but then you told me about your problem with jealousy, and I thought it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.”

She singed him with a glare, arms slanted back on the seat of the sofa. “Sleeping dogs or sleeping wolves, Doc? Because I’m a little confused.”

Squatting before her, he reached out, and she lurched back a full foot, arms rigid on the seat to spring up if he even tried to lay another finger on her. “Tess,” he whispered, genuine hurt in his eyes, “look at you. I’ve only seen you like this one other time—when I took a swipe at Cam, and both times it was because of jealousy—your Achilles’ heel, remember?”

The flow of blood in her veins collided with a dam of bitterness as hard as the truth that hit her right between the eyes.

Jealousy. That insidious little sin that took her down every single time. The blight on her soul that crippled her marriage to Adam, and now was trying to do the same with Ben. Her eyelids sank closed as her head lowered in shame.

“Tess,” he said quietly, the touch of his hand causing water to swell beneath her lids, “that isn’t the same woman who barged in my life and made me face the truth that set me free.” His fingers entwined with hers, and against her will, tears slipped from her eyes. “The same woman who stole my heart without me ever having a say.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “And the only woman who could ever—ever—possess me heart and soul.”

Her face crumpled like a soggy Kleenex, and before the sob could quiver from her lips, he swallowed her up, holding her close while she wept in his arms. “I love you, Teresa Catherine O’Bryen, and as God is my witness, you are the only woman my lips have touched since I kissed you goodbye in the hall at Lacey’s wedding.” He pulled back, lifting her chin with his finger as he gave her a tender smile. “Other than my daughter.”

She started blubbering all the more, sniveling through each of the five Kleenex Ben nudged in her hands. When the heaves tapered off, she sagged against his soggy chest, a mountain full of sodden tissues piled in her lap. “Anybody ever tell you have a real knack for inflicting guilt, Ben Carmichael?”

His low chuckle feathered her ear as he brushed a kiss to her cheek. “No, but I’d say that’s the ultimate compliment, Ms. O’Bryen,” he said with a gentle knead of her back, “because I definitely learned from the best.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Hey, Doc, we’ve missed you at Club 51.”

Sam glanced up from his book and half-eaten dinner at Memorial’s cafeteria to flash his trademark smile at Patty Rude and Annie Sturtevant, two of his favorite nurses on Peds. Appetite gone, he pushed his tray to the middle of the table while Patty sidled close to check out his plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes. She wrinkled her freckled nose. “And comfort food in the hospital café instead of happy hour at Rocks on the Roof?” Her palm immediately pressed to his forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

Comfort food. For some reason Shannon’s sweet face flashed in his mind, and closing his book, he shot a crooked grin, stretching both arms overhead to reveal a loosened tie and shirt beneath his white coat. “Actually, never better.”

“And reading a book on a Friday night instead of clubbing?” Annie butted a hip to the table and picked up his book, scrutinizing it with a kink at the bridge of her nose. “Wild at Heart.” A sultry smile crossed her lips as she wiggled her brows. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

Patty snatched the book from Annie’s hand. “Yeah, like where did ‘Wild at Body’ go the last few months, Dr. Cunningham?” She squinted at the cover. “Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, eh?” She turned the book over. “Huh. Maybe I need to borrow this after you.”

Annie chuckled as she ruffled the curls at the back of Sam’s neck. “We already know the secret of Dr. Love’s soul, don’t we, Ham?” She leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a body that won’t quit?”

Sam blinked, the sudden image of Shannon’s sweet face taking him by complete surprise.

Patty slid into the opposite chair, sympathy soft in her gaze. “You got it bad for her, don’t you, Sam?” she whispered.

He looked up with a half smile. “Is it that obvious?”

“Your absence is obvious,” Annie stressed, taking the chair next to him. “When the number-one eligible guy at Memorial disappears from the social scene, it sets rumors abuzz.” She laid a hand on Sam’s arm. “And the rumor is you’re biding your time, waiting for Jazz.”

He leaned back with a mysterious smile. “Maybe.”

“Well, if it is …” Patty drawled, “a little birdie told us there’s trouble in paradise, so you might want to give her a call soon, because I think she’ll be needing a shoulder to cry on.”