Six Months Earlier
Beth stood in the waiting room of the hospital with Claire and Jason. Her sister had been injured in an accident and Beth was waiting to see her. She was talking to Claire when a drop-dead gorgeous man strolled through the emergency room doors. Immediately the eyes of every woman—hers included—were riveted to him, or more specifically, to his butt. She was surprised when Jason said, “Hey, Nick, over here, man.”
Mr. Hunk flashed a blinding smile that would do Colgate proud and swaggered over to where they were standing. He shook hands with Jason and then pulled Claire in for a hug. When those blue eyes landed on her, she had the urge to step behind the ficus tree beside her and try to blend into the scenery.
Jason stepped forward to make the introductions. “Beth, have you met Gray’s brother, Nick?”
“Um, no, I haven’t.” She cringed as Nick extended his hand. He was so attractive she was almost hesitant to touch the man. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and was surprised to feel a bolt of heat race through her. She instinctively pulled her hand back quickly, making his eyebrows arch in question at her.
“Nice to meet you, Beth. I’ve heard only good things about your sister.” She could feel her cheeks blushing furiously as he continued to study her.
Unable to bear his scrutiny another moment, Beth mumbled, “I’m going to see if they will let me back there to see her yet.”
“Good idea, I’ll walk with you,” Nick offered.
Well, damn, that didn’t work out at all. Not only am I still stuck with him, he’s right on my heels where he can’t help but see every lump in my oversized butt. Mr. Perfect probably hasn’t seen this much wiggle since his last bowl of Jell-O. She walked to the nurses’ station and was told that Suzy had been moved to a room. She had hoped Nick would at least wait in the waiting room or the hallway, but no such luck; he was practically stuck to her back as she opened the door to her sister’s room.
Another hot specimen of manhood was sitting at Suzy’s bedside holding her hand. This must be Gray. Why in the world was Suzy trying to get rid of him? The man was hot with a capital H! This whole situation was becoming something of a nightmare for Beth. She had never felt that comfortable around the opposite sex, even though she was working on that particular issue, but to be in such a small room with not one, but two of the hottest guys she had ever met, well, it felt like pure hell. She resisted the urge to start tugging at the long dress she wore. Was it riding up? Did her back look fat? Did she have granny-panty lines? The list of insecurities seemed to go on and on. These were men who would have you panting one second, and then praying to God that they would never see you naked the next.
Gray smiled at her and stepped forward to introduce himself. Yes, of course his dental work was just as exceptional as his brother’s. What had she expected really, buckteeth? She was extremely grateful when he stepped outside the room with his brother and left her alone with Suzy. I can really see why you would want to get away from that, sis. I mean, the man is just gross. His hair is too perfect and that body, I just hate it when men don’t let themselves go. Where are his love handles? His five-hundred-dollar cologne is sickeningly seductive and that butt, ugh, please. Run while you can, the man is a toad.
Gray walked back into the room at that moment and she was relieved to see that Nick wasn’t with him. After she made arrangements with Gray to come back the following morning, he insisted on walking her out to her car. Ugh, was she going to spend the rest of the evening with the Merimons trailing her down a hallway? When they reached her little red VW Bug, she found herself asking him about Nick. She wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth as soon as his name came out and she could see the surprise and possibly concern in Gray’s eyes. When he told her that Nick was also going to be moving to Myrtle Beach, she felt her heart skip a beat. What was wrong with her? He was way out of her league. Maybe it was just wishful lusting.
* * *