LITMIR.BIZ

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Sierra McAllaster did not respond to empty flattery with a blush, she reminded herself. Thanks to her husband, who’d liberally used his charm to his own advantage, she’d eventually determined it was merely a tool to get what he wanted. The lesson had been painful to learn as her illusions had been shattered, but she’d never forget it. Never again would she fall for a fellow who troweled on charm as easily as a brickmason laid his cement. She’d become immune to men like him.

      However, immunized or not, it seemed rude to refuse to return his smile so she did, even though she didn’t know why she was smiling in the first place.

      A few seconds later, they’d pushed the gurney against the awaiting bed in the trauma room. Sierra locked the wheels in place with the toe of one pump, having already decided she’d overdressed for the demands of this department. She’d forgotten the frantic pace—or maybe she’d simply blocked it out of her mind—which meant a dress and heels weren’t her most practical choice of attire.

      “Lift on three,” Trey ordered. “One, two, three.”

      Everyone complied in one smooth, well-rehearsed motion to move their patient to his new bed. Sierra hoped any residual blush on her face could be attributed to the strain and not Trey’s flattering comment.

      “Can you hear me, Mr. Klein?” Trey spoke to the fellow. “You’re in the hospital and we’re going to take care of you.”

      Unable to nod because his head and neck were immobilized, he simply blinked and mouthed, “Okay.”

      Sierra hung around and helped the nurses organize the patient’s tubes and swap the paramedics’ equipment for hospital-issue while Trey issued orders for X-rays and lab work, requesting the same procedures Sierra would have if she’d been in charge of this case.

      His next command caught her by surprise. “Go to lunch, Sierra.”

      She paused. “You don’t need help?”

      He shook his head and flashed his trademark grin. “Thanks, but I’m good.”

      Yes, he was, she thought as she moved out of the way, somewhat reluctant to leave just yet. Instead, she took a few minutes to observe her colleague in action.

      Today might be her first official day in Emergency, but it wasn’t the first day she’d worked with Trey. In her previous position as hospitalist on the fifth-floor medical unit, she’d received several patients he’d admitted and had answered his call for a consultant on numerous occasions. His medical skills then, like now, seemed outstanding.

      He spoke with a calm authority that sent staff scrambling to obey, but she could tell they did so out of a desire to please rather than a sense of fear. Then again, who wouldn’t want to do whatever he asked if it meant receiving one of his killer smiles? She’d seen how his grin had turned even the most independent, career-minded woman into the equivalent of a simpering teenager.

      He was also more than just a handsomely wolfish smile. His long eyelashes were partly to blame for his appeal to women, she decided. Add dark brown hair and midnight-blue eyes, a firm jaw and an attractive dimple, and infatuation was a given.

      He was a tall man, which made nearly every female, no matter her size, feel dainty and feminine. While he wore the requisite surgical green scrub suit under the protective yellow paper gown, the shapeless garments didn’t detract from his muscular shoulders or his lean physique. If he could turn heads in this ugly garb, he’d probably stop traffic when he wore street clothes that actually fit.

      If the hospital ever created a doctor-of-the-month calendar featuring him as the centerfold, they’d make a fortune.

      As great as his physical appearance was, he wouldn’t have earned the moniker of “the delectable Dr. Donovan” if he didn’t have the personality to match. His charisma explained how he’d managed to get whatever—and whomever—he wanted in his department. Because of his persistence and eloquent arguments that she was the one physician who could immediately fill the long-vacant position in his service, he’d persuaded several top people to transfer her into his domain. Granted, she was only covering until the heads of Emergency Services and Internal Medicine hired a physician specifically for the post but, as far as she was concerned, a day spent in the ED was one day too many.

      Apparently aware of her lingering presence, he flashed her a cocky grin.

      Hating that he’d caught her loitering and was obviously thinking she’d become one more member of his adoring fan club, she fled the room. After a brief stop at the staffing board, where she slapped a Lunch magnet beside her name, she hurried outside, into the warm afternoon sun.

      Trey surreptitiously watched Sierra leave as if a rabid dog were nipping at her heels and hid his smile. He’d first met her three months ago when he’d called the fifth-floor medical unit to request a stat internal medicine consult and Sierra had responded, barely giving him a second glance.

      Accustomed to dealing with flirty and simpering females, Trey had been taken aback by her disinterest at first but then he’d been intrigued by it. In his earlier life as a footloose, carefree bachelor, he would have responded to the challenge she presented and pursued her with everything he had. However, that had all changed when his sister-in-law, Marcy, had died. While his relationships were still of the short-term variety, he’d come to the conclusion that even those were difficult to juggle with everything else in his life. Acting as Mitch’s “big brother,” helping Mitch raise his niece and coping with the demands of his job took nearly all of his free time.

      As much as he’d like to know Sierra on a more personal level, his gut told him that she wasn’t the sort who would embrace such a temporary and superficial relationship.

      Instead, she was the type to make a man think about the future in terms of the next twenty or thirty years. At times, he tried looking ahead that far, but he simply wasn’t ready to let a woman get that close. Between coping with Mitch’s downward spiral after Marcy’s death and his struggle to meet all of his family obligations, he didn’t have the time or the energy to devote to anyone else.

      That hard truth, however, didn’t prevent him from wishing Sierra would be happy with what he could offer, especially after today when he’d seen her face turn a beautiful shade of pink. What woman in this day and age, especially one who’d survived the rigors of medical school and residency, actually blushed? Be that as it may, that small flaw only enhanced her already attractive features.

      Her fine bone structure gave her an ethereal quality, as if she didn’t belong in a field as brutal as emergency medicine, but her athletic frame suggested she wasn’t a stranger to hard work.

      As lovely as he considered her face and form, her thick auburn hair was nothing short of awesome. The color reminded him of flames dancing on the hearth and without any effort at all he pictured her shaking out her braid until every strand cascaded over her beautiful shoulders.

      If that wasn’t enough, her shapely legs with their miles and miles of soft skin made his throat go dry. Today, like most days, she wore low-heeled pumps and a dress that fell to just above her slim knees. Her garb wasn’t practical for the demands of working in Emergency and she’d probably switch to baggy scrub suits and tennis shoes tomorrow, but he’d enjoy the view while it lasted.

      His libido and personal preferences aside, he was still glad she’d finally joined the emergency-services staff. For that reason, he found himself grinning like a loon whenever he saw her.

      Actually, she hadn’t joined as much as she’d been transferred. Over the past year, he’d created a paper blizzard that had gone to every department head, vice president and hospital-board member, protesting the fact that his department’s extra medical position had never been filled. As soon as he’d learned of Sierra’s credentials and past experience in Emergency, he’d intensified his efforts. If Administration had agreed they’d needed the position, he’d argued, then it was pointless not to fill it, especially when someone already on staff was ideal for the job.

      While everyone agreed with his reasoning, Sierra’s boss, Lane Keegan, hadn’t wanted

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