LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      “Good thing he’s a gifted surgeon. He’ll be able to repair all the hearts he breaks.”

      Dana Rowan took a sip of her coffee and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She’d made a special effort to get to the meeting early enough so she could have her pick of seats. She’d deliberately chosen one in the back...as far from the podium as possible. She wanted to avoid gossip, her nurses—who had, collectively and overnight, seemed to have lost their minds—and most especially the “gifted surgeon” in question. So far she hadn’t seen any sign of Dr. Trevor MacAllister, so she’d accomplished a third of her goals. Guess that would have to be enough for now.

      The two women sitting in front of her continued to talk about “young” Dr. MacAllister, differentiating him from “old” Dr. MacAllister, who was Trevor’s father and the chief of staff at Honeygrove Memorial Hospital.

      “Have you seen him?” Sally asked, then continued without waiting for an answer. “He’s gorgeous. Serious studmuffin material.” She leaned back in her plastic chair and sighed loudly.

      “I know,” Melba said. “Don’t forget I grew up here. I was a few years younger than him, but I remember Trevor back when he was in high school, and let me tell you, he was just as good-looking then.” She strained her neck as she peered toward the open door. “I’ll bet time has only improved him.”

      Dana wished there were somewhere she could move to. She didn’t think she would be able to stand listening to this kind of talk through the entire staff meeting. Unfortunately, judging by the buzz flying around the room, she would have to leave the hospital or possibly even Honeygrove itself to escape the excitement generated by Trevor MacAllister’s return.

      “He’s just a man,” she muttered. “He puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like other mortals. No doubt he has other human frailties, like an occasional bad temper and morning breath.”

      But the nurses weren’t listening, and even if they had been, they wouldn’t have cared. She wasn’t saying what they wanted to hear. In the world of hospital gossip and lore, Trevor was a godlike creature. A hometown boy returned to the fold after making his name out in the world.

      She took another sip of coffee and tried to disconnect from everyone around her. Regardless of what she personally thought of the man, he was now a surgeon at the hospital. Her job was to schedule surgical nurses and keep the OR operating—pardon the pun—efficiently. That meant working with “young” Dr. MacAllister. Fine, she would put her personal opinions aside and be as professional as the job required. She would survive the minimal contact and do her best to ignore the inevitable stories that would circulate. After all, they meant nothing to her. Like Melba, she’d grown up in Honeygrove and had first-hand experience with Trevor’s considerable charm. She’d fallen hard and she’d been burned big-time. If she allowed herself to examine her heart, she might even still see a few of the scars. But that was in the past. As far as she was concerned, Trevor was just another surgeon. As such, he held no interest for her.

      Sally tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and leaned close to her friend. “He’s divorced,” she whispered, although not softly enough to keep her words from drifting back to Dana. “It’s been two years and he hasn’t gotten serious about anyone since. Think he’s trying to get over a broken heart?”

      “Are you crazy?” Melba asked. She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “A man that good-looking? You don’t actually think his wife left him, do you? I’m sure he’s been real busy these past two years. From what I’ve heard, he’s already been out with a couple of nurses here and he hasn’t officially started work yet. I’m not saying you couldn’t have fun with him, but don’t make it more than it is or you’ll end up with a broken heart.”

      Amen, Dana thought, and hoped Sally would listen to her friend. The brunette was pretty enough to tempt Trevor, but he’d never been much on commitment.

      Sally grinned at Melba. “You’re warning me off so you’ll have a clear shot at him yourself.”

      Melba smiled in return, her teeth flashing white against her honey-colored skin. “I wouldn’t mind having a little fun with the good doctor, but I’m not going to make it more than that. He might have grown up, but I don’t think he’s changed all that much.”

      She bent to pick up the plastic coffee cup she’d tucked under her chair. As she straightened, she caught sight of Dana sitting behind them. Her smile turned sheepish. “We don’t usually get this worked up over a new doctor.”

      “I know,” Dana told her. “Under the circumstances, I understand the appeal. After all, this is Trevor MacAllister we’re talking about.”

      Melba caught her note of sarcasm, but Sally missed it completely. She spun in her seat so she faced her boss.

      “Exactly,” the twenty-five-year-old surgical nurse said. “So you’re going to help, right? I’d like lots of rotations that put me right at Dr. MacAllister’s side.” She swayed to inaudible music. “I can see it right now. We’ll look at each other across the patient’s body. Our eyes will meet— the music will start.”

      “You’ll drop an instrument and blood will spurt everywhere,” Melba put in.

      For the first time that morning, Dana chuckled. “Not an attractive thought, but probably accurate. I’ll be handling business as usual, Sally. Nothing has changed.”

      The young woman pouted. “Of course it has. After all—”

      There was a commotion by the door. Sally spun back to face front, then drew in an audible gasp. “It’s him! Oh, look, Melba, he’s stunning. I want him desperately.”

      Then you’ll probably get him, at least for the night, Dana thought. While everyone in the room stopped talking and focused on the new arrival, Dana took a last sip of coffee, crushed her napkin and placed it in the empty plastic cup. She set both under her chair, after which she straightened in her seat. Only then did she glance toward the door.

      He stood under fluorescent light that turned most people’s skin an unappealing shade of muddy yellow. He, of course, looked incredible. Tall, tanned, with the perfect masculine features of a movie heartthrob. She was too far away to distinguish the color of his eyes, but she knew them to be an impossible shade of hazel green.

      Several doctors moved to greet him. The older man at his side, his father and the chief of staff, introduced him with obvious pride. Trevor was more than model perfect— he was also an incredibly gifted and compassionate surgeon. His colleagues respected him, his patients worshiped him, women desired him. A true paragon, she thought grimly.

      Dana was faintly annoyed by all the fawning. Wasn’t there supposed to be a meeting in progress? So a new doctor was on staff. It happened all the time. Why did they all persist in acting as if they were being visited by a religious icon?

      The meeting room was about thirty feet square and she was nearly as far from the door as possible. A couple dozen other people milled around talking now that the initial hush had receded. Dana had felt confident that she would be neither noticed nor acknowledged. So when Trevor looked in her direction, she didn’t bother to turn away.

      “He’s looking at me!” Sally exclaimed.

      “Don’t be ridiculous,” Melba told her.

      Dana barely heard them. Despite the physical distance between them, despite the number of years since she’d last seen him, despite the stern lectures she’d given herself to avoid making a fool of herself over this man ever again, once he caught her attention—she couldn’t turn away.

      Those hazel green eyes trapped her. Trevor seemed to single her out in the crowd. All his attention, all his considerable

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