Free Saving Forever - Part 3 by Lexy Timms, B+r Publishing, Book Cover By Design Page B

she hadn’t moved. She forced her legs to work and pasted a fake smile on her face as she headed toward Alex. He hadn’t changed much since the last time she had seen him about six years ago. His dark hair still had that sexy curl that made women want to run their hands through it and try to tame it. His brown eyes sparkled when he saw her. He wore an expensive suit. Always the guy to avoid a tuxedo.
    He smiled when she came within hearing distance. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Charity.”
    Her lips were pressed tightly together and she nodded, not trusting what would come out of her mouth.
    “Surprised?” He grinned, his boyish charm still catchy.
    She nodded.
    He offered her his arm and she obliged. “Where are we sitting?”
    Charity led them to their table. He pulled her chair out and sat down across from her.
    “Cat got your tongue?” He apparently thought her lack of words was because she was ecstatic to see him.
    That loosened her tongue. “How did you find out about the auction?”
    He poured them each a glass of wine. “A friend mentioned it. They saw it on Facebook and sent me the link. What’s it been, five years?”
    “Six.” She took a long sip of her wine. Great, now he thinks I’ve been counting the years, pining after him.
    “You look fantastic.”
    It was just dinner. She could get through this. She had to. “Thanks. You haven’t changed.”
    “You still have the Thompson last name. So you’re not married?”
    She shook her head. “What about you?”
    “Nope.” He smiled at her again. “It’s really good to see you. I was hoping I’d surprise you. I wasn’t sure if you would know the winners since you’re, like, in charge of the whole deal.”
    “I didn’t have a clue.”
    “The surprise on your face when I walked in… you definitely didn’t know.” He chuckled and lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
    She tapped her wine glass against his and savoured the taste in her mouth. “Where are you now?” She knew he was in Texas but had no intention of letting him know.
    “Dallas. Running the cardio department. It’s a huge hospital.”
    Was he bragging? Trying to impress her? “Good for you.”
    “And you’re working in Atlanta? What did you get into? Oncology?”
    “I’m not a doctor.”
    His eyebrows shot up. “Really? I just assumed you were when I saw your name on the list for the fundraiser. You never went back and finished?”
    He would get along with her father. “I didn’t. I went in another direction.”
    “Nursing?”
    “No.” She swallowed. Why did she suddenly feel embarrassed about her job? She’d always been proud of what she had accomplished with her fundraising work. “I still work in hospitals. More like, with them. I do contract work to raise money for new wings, equipment and the like.”
    “Really?” He looked around the room. “So you set this up?”
    “I did.”
    “Wow.” He hesitated, just a second too long. “Impressive. On a totally different level.” He stared at her, his head tilted slightly to the side. “Why didn’t you come back? You were great, probably the best in our residence group.”
    She sighed. She’d had this conversation countless times in her head but suddenly she wanted to say it out loud. To him. “My mom got sick.”
    “I know. I remember.”
    Then why didn’t you show your face? “She had cancer. My Dad wasn’t around and I took care of her. It was hard. Harder than I thought and I realized after she passed, I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t do it anymore.”
    “That’s a shame. You know your patients wouldn’t be family, right?”
    “I may not be a doctor, but I’m not an idiot.”
    He waved his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry. That totally came out wrong. I didn’t know your mom’s passing was so hard on you. I never realized.” He shrugged. “I guess I should have…” He let his sentence trail off.
    Being my boyfriend and everything? “It’s fine, Alex. It was six years ago.”
    His