LITMIR.BIZ

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hospital.” Lara tore off the sheet, balled it and tossed it into a receptacle. “They’ve decided to help me find Mr. Right, fix me up with dates.”

      His silence made her look up. “Is that okay with you?”

      Don’t think about sneaky jolts of desire. “I think it’s really nice that they’re doing this.”

      He frowned as if he didn’t think it sounded too wonderful.

      She laughed to make light of the plan. “When Carrie said she knows someone who’s free tonight, I said yes before I chickened out. Her number-one candidate is a lawyer with the district attorney’s office. How can I turn them down? Maybe I’ll find Mr. Right with a little help from my friends.”

      He didn’t return her smile. “Is that a traditional way your family would approve of?”

      “Oh, sure. In Italy that’s all there used to be. Prearranged marriages.”

      “When you first started here, I thought you were seeing someone.”

      She was surprised that he knew that about her. “I was.” She’d wasted three years on James. “He was a stockbroker. We didn’t do well.” Like James, Derek came from a different world.

      Pushing back from his desk, Derek stood and grabbed the patient’s chart. “I’m sorry.”

      “I’m not,” she said easily and truthfully. “He was all wrong for me.”

      “It’s good you realized that before it was too late.”

      As his breath whispered across her face, her throat went dry. “I didn’t.” She paused, took a breath to soothe her nerves. “He did.”

      Unexpectedly he leaned forward, touched a strand of her hair near her cheek. The touch, though casual, was like a caress. “He was a fool.”

      Sensation rippled through her. He had only to lower his head. Heart pounding, she told herself not to make too much of what might have been nothing more than a comforting gesture from him. Of course, it was more, she mused. Light, tender, it had felt like a caress. “We have one more appointment?” She made herself step back. “After, I’d like to leave right away for a date.” She started to turn away, but stopped herself. “You never mentioned the kiss.”

      “Impulse,” he said simply. “Sorry.”

      Was this his way of telling her the kiss had been a mistake?

      “Have fun on the date.”

      She frowned. “Thank you,” she said breezily to give the impression she was looking forward to the evening ahead. But she already wished it was over. The man she wanted to be with was standing right in front of her.

       Chapter Four

       T he date was terrible.

      To relieve stress, Lara awoke early the next morning and stopped at a dance studio near her home. Though she’d given up her acting career, she’d never abandoned her practice routines because dancing was a love, a joy in her life. She stretched, warmed up, then rushed through a routine she’d seen in the movie Flashdance until she was breathless. After a cooling down period, she headed home to shower and dress for work at the center.

      If only last night’s date, Zack Benner, had quickened her pulse. What she wanted most was to find someone special to build a life with, to raise children with, to love. Zack was not that man.

      So who was she looking for? She didn’t expect the man to be perfect. Handsome would be nice, but just attractive would do. She’d known a male model who couldn’t pass a store window without stopping to preen.

      She would like someone with a nice sense of humor, who laughed at himself, who was amused by small things in everyday life. But she’d never been keen about a practical joker.

      She wouldn’t turn away from a charmer, someone who sent flowers, took her to romantic candlelit restaurants, but she’d favor more someone who was steady and responsible and paid the bills.

      Derek fit her idea of perfect. He was drop-dead gorgeous, had a wonderful sense of humor, possessed all of the social graces and had money, to boot. He even thrilled her with a look.

      Nearly at the entrance doors of Manhattan Multiples, Lara slowed her pace in response to the ring of her cell phone. Before saying hello, she’d guessed who was calling. Only her family tracked her down before eight-thirty in the morning.

      Her sister Angela rushed a quick, airy hello, one that put Lara on the defensive instinctively. Angie’s previous matchmaking efforts had been disastrous. “I called to learn if you bought a new dress for Danny’s wedding,” she said.

      Lara didn’t dare admit that she’d forgotten about her cousin’s wedding. “Not yet.” More important to her was who she’d take with her. “How is the baby?” she asked as she left the elevator.

      “That tooth came through this morning.”

      “Oh, how wonderful. How many does that make?” Lara asked and paused next to the nurses’ station to finish the conversation.

      “Six. He has six. He bit Tom yesterday. What does your doctor say about biting?”

      “My doctor isn’t a children’s doctor.” She resumed walking toward the staff lounge. “He’s an ob/gyn.”

      “That’s right. Why do I keep forgetting that?”

      Because it’s your way of mentioning him.

      “I couldn’t believe how handsome he is.”

      Lara remembered. Her sister had sat gaping when Derek had walked by their table during one of their sisterly lunches. “I know.” Lara tucked her shoulder bag into a locker. “You told me.”

      “And he’s still unattached?”

      “Still unattached.”

      “Lara, I’d be happy to cook lasagna or my chicken primavera or anything you’d want. You could invite him here for dinner and—”

      “Angie, thanks but no.” She left the staff lounge. “He’s not interested.”

      “In you? Is he blind? Why wouldn’t he be interested in you?”

      “In anyone here,” Lara said, hoping that would end the conversation.

      “Oh. Why didn’t you say so right away?”

      Lara knew she was getting the wrong idea, but it was easier to say nothing. “I have to go now. I’ll call you later this week,” she said at Carrie’s approach.

      “Why didn’t you tell us?” Carrie asked in a loud whispery voice.

      “Tell you what?”

      “That you were stuck in the elevator with him.”

      Mentally Lara groaned.

      “Everyone is talking about it.”

      “When the lights went out,” Lara said with a casualness she didn’t feel, “it was a little creepy for a while.”

      Carrie smiled. “The lights went out?”

      This was getting worse. “Carrie—”

      “I’m teasing,” she said with a laugh. “How was the date? Did you like Zack? Isn’t he great looking?”

      And dumb, Lara mused. “Is he really an attorney?”

      Carrie squinched her nose. “He hasn’t passed the bar exam yet. That’s really difficult, you know. But he does work as a document clerk at the district attorney’s office. What did you think of him?”

      “Interesting,” she said noncommittally. To avoid more talk about him, she waved goodbye on her way to the door, then hurried forward to usher a patient into an examining room.

      At

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