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“Hello again, Margo,” Drake said.
His deep baritone voice made her belly thrum.
“Drake, how odd to see you at a Mercy donor event.”
Dalton started to speak, but she cut him off and pulled him closer to her. “This is Dalton, my date.”
She didn’t miss several of the nurses’ eyebrows shoot up, but she kept a straight face.
An amused smile spread on Drake’s face as he held out his hand to Dalton.
“Drake Maguire, and this is Sierra, Clare, and Jenna.” Drake supplied all the women’s names. “But then you probably all know each other.”
“Dalton Hart, happy holidays,” he said with an affable smile. “Good evening, ladies.”
“Good evening, Dr. Hart,” the women said in unison, giving Dalton the same eyelash-fluttering, flirty smiles they always did.
She fought the need to roll her eyes and instead pressed her body against Dalton’s arm. The women looked doubtfully at her, probably because they knew she was lying about Dalton being her date. But Drake didn’t need to know that.
“Why are you here?” Margo asked Drake, unable to resist.
“I think the head of Mercy’s plastic surgery department is hoping to recruit me,” Drake said.
Margo nodded, while stifling the desire to scream. It was bad enough that he was consulting on some cases in the plastic surgery department of her hospital, but if they managed to convince him to stay at Mercy, she would have to find a new hospital. There was no way she could work with him. After twelve years, the acute pain of losing him was like a monsoon covering her and soaking her in regrets all over again.
“You’re the Drake Maguire from LA, ‘The One’ Da Vinci of plastic surgery? Isn’t that what they call you?” Dalton said.
But Drake’s eyes didn’t leave hers. “A silly nickname from the only interview I’ve ever done. Yet it seems to follow me everywhere. Everything in Hollywood gets a tagline.”
“It does take an artist to make plastic surgery look flawless,” Nurse Clare said, looking at Drake with awe.
Like hungry lions feeding, the women moved closer to him, ready to sink their paws in him, and Margo had to look away. She couldn’t watch the fawning attention they showered over Drake when she still thought of him as hers. Of course, he was drop-dead gorgeous with his brooding eyes and a handsome face that looked carved from a perfect stone, like a god sent to tempt women to fall for him.
“Let’s get a drink in the vodka den,” Margo said, pulling Dalton in the opposite direction where the igloo sat sparkling.
Dalton’s keen eyes fell on her with a subtle question, as if he could tell she had a history with Drake. But his Prince Charming smile was in place.
“Enjoy your evening,” he said.
The nurses were already ignoring them, asking Drake questions about his work in plastic surgery. He gave her another hard look while a frown tugged at his perfect mouth. But Dalton guided them away, toward the igloo.
She squeezed Dalton’s arm in annoyance.
“Is he an old friend of yours?” Dalton asked.
“Something like that. I’m sorry I said you were my date, but it’s just weird seeing him after all this time.”
“No problem, but I have a feeling he didn’t buy it,” Dalton said as they stopped behind another couple already in line for the fur coats everyone had to put on before they entered the ice cube dome structure.
Unable to resist, she glanced over her shoulder to find Drake watching her even as the beautiful blonde nurse whispered something in his ear. Years of ignoring him, and you’d think she’d be over it by now. Some people just got under your skin and stayed there, and Drake Maguire was hers. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard if he wasn’t so successful and even more gorgeous now. But people broke up every day. You were more likely not to end up with your first love than live happily ever after. He’d moved on, and she had no choice but to move on too. It wasn’t even worth worrying about it. He was part of her past, and in a few weeks, he would be gone for good again.
Two hours later, Margo had a buzz and let loose for the first time in years. Dalton had handled most of the schmoozing, but she’d met all the department heads and major donors. Instead of focusing on asking about new opportunities for her outside of the ER, she found herself looking for the dark-haired man from her past throughout the night. She caught glimpses of him once or twice, but only in passing, and he didn’t seem to notice her again. Dalton had played his part as wingman and faux boyfriend to perfection, spinning her around the dance floor all night and distracting her.
After checking her phone for any messages from the hospital, she was on her way back into the ballroom when she heard a familiar voice.
“That’s a great dress. It leaves zero need for the imagination,” Drake said, moving off the wall where he had been leaning.
“Drake, I didn’t see you there,” Margo said, trying to disguise the surprise of finding him waiting for her.
