Page 59 of One Reckless Night

“You have someone in Miami? A partner? A boyfriend? Someone who’s freeloading off your health insurance plan?”

Her eyes widened, and then her expression hardened. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw the charges on your insurance. You have a dependent. Who is it?”

She crossed her arms and shot me a withering look. “How’s Gemma, Jared? You two looked pretty cozy at dinner.”

She’d seen us. She’d come back to the hotel, seen me with Gemma, and left. That’s why she’d disappeared. I was both relieved and irritated. She did care. She was jealous.

“You came back,” I said.

“Yes, I came back,” she snapped. “I was supposed to be at the dinner, remember? No, you probably didn’t remember because you were clearly distracted.”

“Nothing is going on with Gemma,” I said with a shake of my head. “And there won’t be anything going on with Gemma. You could have just said something instead of running away for a week.”

“I didn’t run away.”

“Why would you think I was with Gemma?” I asked. “She’s the worst. I mean, she’s a decent surgeon but a terrible human being.”

“I saw you,” she said. “I have eyes. I know what I saw.”

“No, you don’t,” I assured her. “It was dinner. We weren’t alone. We were in a room full of people. She just happened to be there.”

She shook her head. “Whatever. It’s not like what happened between us meant anything to you, right? Just a one-night stand. That’s how you roll. I get it. Just don’t come in here demanding answers to questions you have no business asking.”

“You think I have no business asking?” I took a step closer.

I stared at her, my mind reeling. Just a few days ago, I’d been thinking the same thing. But seeing her again, standing here in front of me, had me questioning everything. I didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t ready to let her go.

“Jared, I work here,” she said. “That’s it. What happened, it probably shouldn’t have, but I’m not holding you to anything. There’s no reason for us to pretend things are anything but what they are. I am not looking for anything. I don’t have the energy.”

The more she talked, the more I wanted her. My gaze dropped to her mouth. How was I supposed to just walk away from this woman?

I took a step closer to her.

She frowned, dropping her hands from her hips. There was a flash of concern in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

Before she could say anything, I kissed her, pressing her against the wall. She gasped, her hands flying to my chest like she was going to push me away, but then she leaned into the kiss.

It was raw, intense, and everything I’d been craving since that night in the hotel. I didn’t know what this meant, or where we were going, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t ready to let her go. I couldn’t get enough of her.