Page 14 of Speak of the Devil

It’s incredible how Shane Faris walked right back into my life, consuming me whole, and five minutes later, I’m back to playing mediator between two retirees. “I think if you two tried to talk to each?—”

“I’ve tried. The best thing she can do is stick to Tai Chi on Tuesdays and leave me and the gardening club alone.”

My nerves subsided the moment he walked away, so I dig back into helping my patients. This is about to be the longest thirty minutes of my life.

Downside to having to finish work?

Shane Faris waiting for me.

Silver lining?

Shane Faris waiting for me.

5

Cate

Skipping is probably too much.

Running would be worse.

Shane is here, and my heart wants me to burst through those doors to see him and to hear him call me Nurse Cate again. But most importantly, to settle this husband-wife thing we’re tangled up in. But I walk because I’m an adult, not a giraffe-limbed teen anymore.

I do my round of usual goodbyes and then head for the exit. My eagerness to see him wanes as dread sneaks in, reminding me this isn’t a date or a reunion of two friends. I have news to break to him, news that will change his life like it did mine.

It’s not good to be the messenger. I know how that usually turns out.

Tugging at my collar, I push through doors, then scan the visitor’s lot out front. I’m not sure what he’s driving or where he parked.Hmm.I shade my eyes with my hand and even stand on my tiptoes to look around once more before heading in the direction where I parked.

Surely, he didn’t leave . . . I check my watch. It’s only been just under thirty minutes. Maybe he changed his mind and left. I hope not.

“Have a good night, Cate,” a familiar woman’s voice pulls my attention to a car in the front of the building.

Raising my free hand, I wave. “You, too, Misty.” Parkdale’s bookkeeper has her window down and gives me a little wave before driving away.

When it rolls forward, I’m caught by blue eyes that steal the show even under a cloudless sky and a smile that makes me forget who I am.Temporarily.My feet don’t leave the spot where I stopped, trapped in a net of Shane Faris’s attention.

Him,the rock star.

Me,a woman who decided it was a good idea to wear all beige today . . .

Shane Faris is waiting for me.

Me.

In spite of my early morning fashion decision, my heart beats loud like his drums, my breaths come hard and heavy from my chest, and those butterflies start fluttering wildly inside my tummy again. I’m not sure I’m the luckiest woman in the world, but I imagine this feeling is pretty close.

Giving me a wink, he pushes off his sports car and starts the short walk to greet me. Stark gaze, determined shoulders, his shirt ruffling lightly in the wind. Shane should come with a warning, He is a performer, but damn, I was not prepared for this show.

With brazen disregard for discretion, he takes me in from top to bottom like I’m his chosen dessert before dinner. I’m not even mad about it. Latching his eyes onto mine, he says, “Hey there, Nurse Cate.”

My entire body blushes under his gaze, especially when it travels to my mouth. “Hi,” I somehow manage to reply, thoughI’m not sure if I’m even breathing right now. I force myself to take one before I pass out in his arms even though I’m not totally against the idea. “Whatreallybrings you to the Valley, Shane Faris?” I ask, my throat raw with nerves. “You could have just called.”

“I think this is more fun. Don’t you, Catalina Farin?”

He remembers my name,my full name, saying it like he never forgot. I try to smother the giggle threatening to burst. “It’s all fun until someone gets hurt.”

“Are you going to hurt me?” Judging by the smirk on his face, pain is the last thing on his mind.Or mine.

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