Free Alex by Vanessa Devereaux Page A

walked
toward the elevators. She’d made up her mind what her
next move would be.

 
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    Alex nodded to the waitress as she topped up his coffee. He skimmed through the
paper and thought back to how calm it was in McQuire’s Café. Complete opposite to that morning when he first set eyes on Eva.
    He’d called her last
night, but all he managed to reach was her voicemail. He’d left two messages and by the third call he’d opted not to do it again, just in
case he came across as needy. Maybe she’d had a date.
Bile rose in his throat, bringing it up into his mouth, and leaving him with a
bitter taste.
    His brother’s death had taught
him there weren’t many second chances in life. Take
the opportunity while you can. He wanted something permanent with Eva and he
had to tell her that. Even if she told him no, he wasn’t the right man for her. He had to at least tell her
before she found someone else.
    He pushed away the half-eaten Café
Classic and folded up his newspaper. He glanced at his watch. Alex had some
vacation time due him for all the extra hours he’d worked. He could drive to Colorado, but he wanted to get to Eva as soon as he
could before he lost his nerve again. He’d go to his
office, book a flight to Denver, rent a car, head to the hospital where she worked,
and spill out his heart. Whether he came back here a broken man, well, that was
worth every chance.
    ****
    Eva hadn’t even had an opportunity to check her voicemail. Being a doctor in a busy metro
hospital was more hectic than she’d ever imagined. She
sat down, rubbing her feet, suddenly missing small town Montana. Today she was
working the ER which added to the craziness of her
job.
    “Dr. McQuire ,
you have a patient in cubicle five who’s complaining of chest pains.”
    “I’ll be right there.” She put
her shoes back on and took the folder from the nurse and headed to the examination area thinking her break wasn’t going to happen
anytime soon.
    Eva had her head down looking at
the notes as she walked along. Male, aged thirty-five.
    She pulled back the curtain still
not looking up until a man’s voice said.
    “Hello, Dr. McQuire .”
    It sounded a lot like Alex’s, but
that was impossible. Guess she was imagining things, which meant she missed him
more than she’d originally thought. When she looked up,
there he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the table holding a bunch
of red roses. Her favorite flowers.
    She smiled. “I take it you’re the
man with the chest pains.”
    “Broken heart I think, Doc. Ever
since this gorgeous lady left town.”
    He put the flowers on the table
beside him and reached out for her.
    They kissed and then he rubbed
his nose against hers.
    “You think you can help me, Doc?”
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “Hearing the lady say it wasn’t
just a summer fling.”
    Eva closed her eyes. She’d so wanted to hear that, but she’d been scared to be
the first one to say it.
    “Definitely not a fling,” she
said.
    “So how are we going to handle
the long distance thing?” he asked.
    “We won’t have to.”
    “You think I can get a job in the
police department in Denver?”
    “You don’t have to because I want
to be a small town doctor. I spoke with Dr. Jackson and he said he’s been thinking about taking on a partner before he
retires next year. Job’s mine if I want it.”
    “Really?”
“ Really. Plus with being a small town doc your feet
hurt a lot less, you know everyone, and best of all, small towns have sexy
sheriffs.”
    He pulled her in closer and
squeezed both her butt cheeks.
    “Any chance of
you giving me another physical while I’m here?”
    “ You going to be put up another fight?”
    He burst out laughing. “No more fighting
on my part. Anytime you want to check me out my body’s all yours.”
    “Um, I like the sound of that.”
    “So when you coming home?” he
asked her.
    “When are you going home?”
    “I’m booked on a flight at