Outside The Lines by Kimberly Kincaid Read Free Book Online Page B

if she’d chosen anything else.
    “You make it sound so upscale,” Jules said, shifting close enough for him to put the gauze in place. “It’s just me, working at Mac’s.”
    Blak e eyed the notebook full of ideas sitting among the detailed catering proposal on the table and shook his head. “You sure you’re not selling yourself a little short? The board chose your proposal out of at least a dozen. It’s definitely impressive.”
    “ The planning is the easy part. But it’s even better to feed people.” A coppery wisp twisted free from her ponytail, fluttering over her neck as she looked down at his hands on her skin. “It feels important, if that makes sense. To take care of people who need something vital.”
    “Looks like we have a lot in common , then.”
    Her smile became a laugh, and Christ, it was the best sound he’d heard in a month. “I split my time between slinging burgers and signing order forms at a diner, and you graduated summa cum laude from one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country. How is it that we have a lot in common?”
    Blake sn apped back in surprise. “How do you know I graduated summa cum laude ?”
    Just like that, her expression slammed shut. “Lucky guess.”
    Oh hell no. No way was he letting Jules tough-girl her way out of this one. “We’re really not so different at all. We both want to help people. We’re both devoted to making that happen. Just because we do it in different ways doesn’t mean we don’t have the same desire.”
    He fastened the last strip of medical tape into a crisp, neat angle over the gauze, but Blake didn’t let go of her arm.
    And Jules didn’t pull away.
    “You are pretty committed to this doctor thing. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we do have a lot in common.”
    She tilted her head to examine the bandage, bringing her face dangerously close to his . It would be all too easy to bridge the space, to impulsively pull her and that sweet vanilla-sugar scent of hers against his body and kiss her, to pick up exactly where they’d left off eight years ago.
    But he’d already been down that road of wanting to be with her, and all it got him was a Dear John letter two days before he left for medical school.
    Blake pushed back in his chair, gathering his things at warp speed and slipping them briskly into his laptop bag. “The burn looks like it’s starting to heal. You’ll probably only need the bandage for another few days.”
    What was he thinking, getting all close to her like that? They were supposed to be working on a project together, one that had huge implications, no less. Hadn’t he learned the hard way that being impulsive— especially around Jules— was dangerous?
    “Right.” Her expression was cool, completely unfazed by the proximity they’d shared only seconds ago, and it was further testament to the fact that recklessly kissing her would’ve put the idiot stamp right across his forehead. “I’ll get to work on the first phase of the proposal.”
    “Sounds great.”
    As long as they kept things all business, Blake would be just fine.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Jules smoothed her hands over the front of her fitted white button-down blouse for the fortieth time in an hour, wondering how the hell Serenity had talked her into this. Okay, so she’d admit that the outfit Serenity and their good friend Violet had pulled together last night looked polished and sophisticated, with the now worry-creased blouse belted smartly over a pair of tobacco-colored dress pants and the only set of heels Jules owned. But she felt like an imposter all dressed up like this, and as she made her way down the brightly lit hallway toward the emergency department at Brentsville Hospital, her stomach did a set of aerial backflips.
    It had been a week since Blake had scrambled from the break room at Mac’s like his hair was on fire, and despite the dozen and a half