The Surgeon's Favorite Nurse by Teresa Southwick Read Free Book Online Page A

team spirit. On second thought, maybe a sports bar was the perfect place to be. She sat with her coworkers at a tall bistro table in the far corner of the room to the right of the walk-up bar. Flat-screen TVs were mounted on the walls and visible from every seat in the place.
    Karen Richards, a petite strawberry blonde, was a hard worker and experienced E.R. nurse, by all accounts one of the best on staff. When the newest campus opened, her reputation would be put to the test. She held up her longneck bottle of beer and said, “This is your official welcome to Las Vegas, Hope.”
    Green-eyed brunette Stacy Porter held up her pink cocktail. “I second that.”
    “Thanks.” Hope touched her glass of white wine to each of theirs. “So, tell me about yourselves. Married? Kids?”
    Karen toyed with her beer bottle. “I’m divorced. Two girls, Cassandra and Olivia, ages six and four. We live with my mom who’s a nurse at Mercy’s main campus. I’m twenty-six and still live with my mother. Is that pathetic, or what?”
    There were worse things, Hope thought. “Is it working for you?”
    “Yeah. She’s my rock and helps with child care.”
    Hope nodded. “What about you, Stacy?”
    The twentysomething held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers, showing off a diamond solitaire. “Just got engaged. Tim works in Human Resources at the hospital.”
    “Congratulations.”
    Even as she smiled, Hope tried to suppress the pang of envy. She remembered the huge joy of being with the man she’d loved and the shimmering anticipation of their life together. A life that barely got started before it was gone. Losing Kevin had nearly crushed her.
    “When’s the big day?” Hope plastered a big, fat, fake smile on her face.
    “April,” Stacy said. “Before Vegas is hotter than the face of the sun. It will be a church wedding, not in the Garden of Love Chapel with an Elvis impersonator.”
    “Are you sure?” Hope held her palms up and lifted each in turn as if weighing something. “Elvis? The Chapel of Love? Church could be boring.”
    The women laughed, but Hope knew from personal experience that boring was a blessing. Just then a cold wind blew into the bar and blasted boring into oblivion because Jake Andrews had walked through the door. It felt as if her heart hit a pocket of turbulence that made boring look even better. Some kind of radar drew his gaze to theirsecluded corner and he nodded at her before heading in their direction.
    “Look who’s here,” Karen said when he joined them. The tone of familiarity indicated they knew each other. “Hi, Jake. To what do we owe the honor?”
    “Ladies.” He looked around, then let his gaze linger on Hope. “There was a rumor that the E.R. department was here for happy hour.”
    “All three of us,” Stacy said.
    “Is this a ladies-only initiation rite for the new girl in town? Or can anyone join?”
    “Have a seat, Doc,” Karen said. “This is the first annual Mercy Medical West employee-bonding ritual.”
    He sat on the empty chair between Stacy and Hope. His shoulder brushed hers, sending a blast of heat through her. The waitress took his drink order and brought him a bottle of beer, as if he were just one of the guys. But he didn’t look like just one of them.
    Except for scrubs after surgery, she always saw him in a suit and tie, as if he were running for elected office. Tonight was no exception. The charcoal slacks, matching jacket, crisp white shirt and tone-on-tone silver tie made him look so good, broad-shouldered and masculine. The pocket of turbulence spread from her chest to her stomach and made her as nervous as a fearful flyer.
    She didn’t like being aware of him. She didn’t like being aware of him in a way she hadn’t been aware of a man since her husband. Jake Andrews? Really? It made no sense. He and Kevin were nothing alike. Jake was mercenary and ambitious—not at all her type.
    She wanted to get up and leave but felt it would appear rude.