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He told himself that the reason why he wanted to protect her, to gather her up and hold on tight, was because it was his civic duty to protect the citizens of this town.
But while he knew that was partially true, he also knew it was mostly a load of crap.
A potentially dangerous load of crap. What he needed to concern himself with was Alex’s past, and the possible threats that could be following her to Hudson Island. And he would. But right now, if he were being honest, he was more concerned with how soft her skin was. Okay, maybe notconcerned. More like he was absolutely fascinated by it.
This woman fucking mesmerized him.
And because of that, he needed to get out of here, needed to get his head on straight. Her safety was his top priority. Everything else was noise.
Giving her hand another gentle squeeze, he resisted the urge to press a kiss to her knuckles. Damn, he was a mess.
“You’re going to be okay, Alex.” He’d make sure of it. Rising, he said, “I’ll send in Doc.”
CHAPTERSEVEN
When the door shut behind him, Alex sighed.
Wow. Just wow.
Her insides quaked. She wasn’t sure if the cause was her fall or Quinn’s recent proximity. Her head told her it was the former, but her gut? Definitely the latter. The way he’d looked at her while holding her hand had been unnerving. In a good way.
But what did she know? She didn’t know the man. Even though he made her feel safe—which madezerosense—it was no reason to get fanciful.
A frown pulled her lips down. When was the last time she’d allowed herself that luxury?
Still. Dreamed up or not, it had been... nice.
Aside from her therapist, it had been ages since anyone had looked at her.Reallylooked at her. Granted, that was partially her own doing. With Preston, she’d made it a point to not get too close to anyone, lest they saw through her precisely crafted facade. However, she’d quickly realized it wouldn’t have mattered. People saw what they wanted to see.
She’d been Preston’s trophy wife: a much-younger woman short on brains, high on looks, and easily replaceable. That’s all everyone saw. What they’d whispered. After a while, she’d begun to believe it as well. At least the first two points. Preston had made it clear shewasn’treplaceable. She was his. Forever. No matter what.
“Alex, this is Doc.”
She looked up, breaking out of her musings. An older man stood next to Quinn. Judging by the amount of gray liberally sprinkled throughout his blond hair, she guessed he was somewhere in his sixties. Lean and fit, he stood nearly as tall as Quinn. There was nothing out of the ordinary with the man, but goosebumps rose on her arms, nonetheless.
He looked familiar, yet she couldn’t quite place him. Her pulse quickened. There was no way the man was from Summerside. But how else would she know him?
“Doc’s a—”
“I’m sorry,” she said, interrupting Quinn. She met the doctor’s bright-blue eyes, and dread turned her stomach. She’d seen those eyes before. She was positive. “You look really familiar. Have we met?” Her voice trembled, and she hoped no one noticed. She clutched the blanket over her lap in a death grip.
“Sean Buchanan. I probably look familiar because I’m Joe’s dad.”
Absolute relief washed over her. She let out the breath she’d been holding, and the tension in her body eased. Thank. Freaking. God.
“Doc’s great,” Quinn said, concern evident on his face. “He’s been fixing me up since Little League.” He playfully elbowed the older man and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Son,” Dr. Buchanan said with a roll of his eyes, “you’ve got quite the selective memory.” He faced Alex. “It wasn’t Little League that broke his nose, my dear. Rather, it was the fist of another little slugger. Get it?” He chuckled at his pun.
Quinn grimaced.
Dr. Buchanan continued, “Even though Roxie was a couple years younger and a lot smaller than all the boys, she had a mean right hook and used it at every opportunity she could. One time—”
“All lies, old man! Don’t listen to him, Alex. He’s getting senile in his old age.” He winked at Dr. Buchanan, but when he glanced at her, his expression sobered. He reached down and squeezed her hand. “Doc will take good care of you. I promise. If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
“Thank you,” she said, returning the hand squeeze.
After Quinn shut the door behind him, Dr. Buchanan gestured toward the bed. “May I?”
