Free Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance by Stephanie Brother

hungry. We can do that later.”
    Isabella was thankful that the drive took them far away from their part of town. It lessened the chance of being spotted by an intern or a surgeon dashing out for a quick bite to eat.
    They pulled up to a restaurant just as the sun was setting. He opened the car door for her, then handed his keys to the valet.
    “I thought you said you weren’t going to spend that much on me,” she scolded.
    “You haven’t even seen a menu.”
    “There’s a valet. I can put two and two together.”
    He tried to defend himself. “I just really like the food here, and I thought you’d enjoy it too.”
    She felt a little bad. He was trying really hard.
    “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s great,” she said.
    They were seated in a cozy corner of the dark restaurant. Isabella used the light from the candle on the table to read the menu. She balked at the prices. Even for her, it was pricy.
    “What are you getting?” she asked him.
    “I’m getting the surf and turf,” he answered, snapping his menu shut. “I figured we could split a bottle of wine. What do you like?”
    “Whatever,” she said, not wanting to say that she drank whatever was cheap and got the job done.
    James noted her hesitancy with the menu. “Order whatever you want. If it bothers you that much, you can pay for the second date.”
    “What makes you think there’s going to be a second date?”
    He didn’t answer, and instead, waved the waiter over to take their orders. When the wine arrived at the table, James poured her a full glass.
    “Hey, are you trying to get me drunk?” she asked.
    “I thought it would help take the edge off. You seem nervous.”
    “So do you.”
    In response, he poured himself an equally large glass. “To a night away from the hospital,” he toasted, clinking his glass with hers.
    They both took a long pull.
    “So, what do we talk about?” she asked, breaking the silence.
    “Ugh,” he crinkled his nose. “Things aren’t off to a good start if you have to ask for a conversation topic.”
    “I don’t do this very often,” she said quickly.
    “Really?” he said sarcastically. “I would have never guessed.”
    “If you’re so popular,” she returned, “how many dates have you been on in the past year?”
    He paused for a moment, silently counting. “Two. Three, if you count a double date.”
    Isabella was surprised. For a man who was so handsome and confident, she figured he went on dates fairly regularly.
    She took another drink. “I thought that number would be higher.”
    “I’m not exactly boyfriend material to a lot of women. I work a lot of hours, and I’m not home a lot. At this rate, I’ll only be busier in a few years. I won’t have a ton of time to take care of kids, nor will I be available for hosting parties or attending benefits. My career comes first, and not a lot of women are okay with that. I understand that they want more out of a partner, but I can’t give that to them.”
    “I have a similar problem,” she added. “Except no one wants to date me in the first place because my high-powered career will overshadow theirs.”
    “Maybe we have a lot more in common than you think,” he said, taking a sip.
    The wine had kicked in, and the two of them had loosened up since they first sat down. They ate their expensive seafood dinners, laughing and having a good time. It was fun spending time with James outside of work. At the hospital, there were always too many people around. At the restaurant, they ate together and didn’t have to worry about who was listening.
    It was impossible to not talk about work, but it was fascinating for Isabella to hear stories about the doctors that she revered. She never would have imagined that Dr. Jensen went to medieval festivals in his free time, but it made so much sense when James told her about it. After much prying, she even got him to rank the interns in order of knowledge and ability. It was no surprise that she came first,