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if she was on her feet another minute. “But you know how I feel about him personally.”

      “Katy.” Her brother’s smile faded. “Alec is a good guy, and I regret that I ever told you what happened. Yes, he went through a hellion stage when there was too much partying and too many of the wrong kinds of women in his life, but that was a long time ago. You need to cut him some slack.”

      “Why? He’s not the person I thought he was. I’m allowed to be bothered by that, aren’t I?”

      “You thought he was cool and smart and cared about other people. You liked him because he treated you great. And that’s exactly who he is, along with older and wiser than he was back then. Hell, I’m still working on the older and wiser part.”

      “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be unpleasant or anything. I just don’t want to be friends with him again, that’s all.”

      “Well, that’s too bad. Just remember he’s still my friend. And a partner in my practice.” He frowned at her for a moment then sighed. “You never really knew that Alec’s dad was always putting him down, and I think that’s part of why he acted out some back then. But for a long time now he’s worked hard to gain respect. It’s important to him. While he never did get it from his dad, he has it in spades from everyone here.”

      “I’m sure he’s a good doctor, so of course people respect him.”

      “It’s more than that, but I’m not going to waste my breath trying to convince you.” He turned toward the kitchen. “I’m going to get the steaks on the grill and play with the dogs out in the yard. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”

      He disappeared, and she stayed slumped in the chair, closing her eyes. Which made ignoring the mess of stuff she’d left lying around the room, still packed and unorganized, much easier. She knew she should work on it right now since Nick was being so sweet about letting her live with him for a while, but she also knew he was happy to let her rest a moment.

      Much as he’d teased her over the years, Nick had been good to her, too. All six of the Pappas kids were, in fact, close, which Katy was more than thankful for. As an only child, she knew Alec had never had a sibling that he fought with sometimes but who also always had his back, and she knew that had been a big part of why he’d been at their house so much. Her mother had welcomed him, and her dad had adored and mentored him.

      Which was why learning of his unethical and distasteful behavior had cut Katy to her very core. Not only that, Alec’s parents had shoved what he’d done under a rug then wrapped it up with a nice tidy bow while someone else had paid the price.

      Ah, who was she kidding? It hadn’t been just his mistake and the aftermath that remained stuck as a sharp barb in her soul. It was that he’d done it all practically right after she’d boldly kissed him and he’d pushed her away. Told her it wouldn’t be “appropriate.” Which obviously had just been another way of saying, I think of you as a little sister, not a woman, since “appropriate” clearly hadn’t entered his mind before the scandal.

      Her chest burned in embarrassment and disgust but at the same time she couldn’t deny that the man was an impressive doctor and teacher. And, yes, even more ridiculously good looking than he’d been years ago. Today, in Mrs. Patterson’s room, as they’d smiled together at the woman’s comments, she had to admit it had felt nice. A little like old times, and thoughts of his past had momentarily faded from her brain until she’d sternly reminded herself.

      She was smart enough to take advantage of his intelligence and experience and learn what she could from him, just as she had long ago. But as far as a friendship happening between them again? Never.

      The doorbell rang and, still collapsed in the chair, she nearly groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to anyone. Maybe if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away.

      The bell rang again and with a resigned sigh she shoved herself from the chair and forced herself to open the door.

      To her shock, Alec stood there, looking annoyingly handsome in jeans and a yellow polo shirt that showed off his broad shoulders. Sunglasses covered his eyes. The evening sun gleamed in his dark hair and his admittedly attractive lips were curved in a smile that no doubt had women flocking around him like seagulls. And yet again she looked like she’d been through the heavy-duty wash cycle and hung out to dry.

      What was Alec doing here?

      “Hello, Dr. Armstrong. What can I do for you?”

      His dark eyebrows rose as he slipped off his sunglasses. “Oh, so formal. What happened to the old ‘Hi Alec, come on in’ you used to greet me with?”

      How was she supposed to answer that? She wanted to say that had been back when she’d been young and naive and worn rose-colored glasses, but there was no point in going there. “I wasn’t sure if I should call you Alec, as you’re an attending and I’m a student.”

      “It’s fine for you to call me Alec when we’re not in the hospital. Unless you particularly like guys in scrubs and want to call me ‘Doctor.’” The teasing grin he gave her was downright dazzling, and she turned away from its power, opening the door fully as she doubted he’d stopped by just to say hello then leave.

      “Funny. Though perhaps you’re saying that because I know that you particularly like women in scrubs. Or, even more, in nothing at all.”

      Crap, had she actually just said that? Her cheeks burned and she couldn’t figure out what part of the room to focus on, because she sure as heck wasn’t going to look at him now. She quickly walked over to the pile of stuff she’d pulled out of a box and left on the sofa yesterday.

      “Katy Pappas, I’m shocked that you—”

      “Sorry the place is a bit of a mess,” she interrupted, the deeply amused rumble of his voice making her blush all over again. She did not want to hear whatever he’d been about to say in response to her extremely ill-advised comment. She grabbed up her things and shoved them back in the box. “I haven’t had time to put away all my stuff yet.”

      “Don’t worry, I saw the housekeeping police are busy a few blocks away. I think you’re safe until tomorrow.”

      His voice still held laughter and she focused on the box. Not. Going. To look at him. “As you can see, I haven’t had a chance to change my clothes. Excuse me while—”

      Excited woofs drowned out her words as Nick’s two yellow Labrador retrievers bounded through the house to greet Alec, slamming against Katy and nearly knocking her off her feet. “Whoa!” she yelped, her tired legs not quite balancing the way they should. Before she tumbled to the floor Alec lunged to grab her and hold her upright, flattening her tight against him.

      Her hands slapped up against his muscular shoulders as the feel of his firm chest against her breasts, his strong arms around her sent her breathing haywire. Their eyes met, and the grin faded from his, replaced by what looked like a slightly confused frown.

      The seconds ticked by and both stood motionless, oddly frozen, until Katy grabbed what wits she had left. She pushed against his shoulders and stepped back as his arms dropped to his sides, but their gazes remained locked. The tingling of her nerves and the imprint of his body that she could still feel against her own must be some sort of “muscle memory” thing, from the years she’d written in her journal about how much she wanted to be held close by Alec.

      “I see you still have a little clumsiness problem.”

      Her gaze moved from the oddly disturbing eye contact to his lips, which disturbed her in a different way. She looked down at the dogs for a distraction. “I don’t think being knocked into by these crazy pups of his makes me clumsy,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt. The dogs wagged their tails and rubbed against her for attention, leaving dog hair all over her black skirt. As if she wasn’t already enough of a mess. “Nick can’t have much company—they’ve acted like this every time someone comes to the door. If they hadn’t been outside, we would

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