Page 27 of Stolen Kisses
“Exactly.” Noah thought about this for a moment. There had never been any shortage of women wanting to date him in Blushing Bay. He, on the other hand, had no desire to take any of them out. All he really wanted to do was hang out with Krista, but she’d canceled on him tonight. She’d chosen an eligible doctor over him. Jealousy grew like an unruly weed inside his chest. He had no right to be jealous. He knew that. He’d actually pushed Krista to say yes to Dr. Dale—even if he’d never thought she actually would. This was what he wanted because it let him off the hook.
So why did he feel like someone had just plowed over him with a bulldozer?
—
Later that night, Noah tipped his beer back. His plan was to drink enough to where he just didn’t care that Krista had ditched him. He hoped Dr. Dale royally screwed things up tonight. Even if he did, though, Krista was the most forgiving person he knew. Heck, Noah had brought a date to Wednesday Wings with him two weeks ago and she’d forgiven him. He was the king of screwing things up.
Getting up, Noah nearly stumbled over Beauty, who was standing at attention at his feet. She wagged her tail, giving him unconditional love. Beauty was all he really needed. Man’s best friend and all that—and he’d need a new best friend if Krista continued to bail on him.
“Wanna go for a walk?” he asked the furry bundle of energy. She wagged her tail in response. “Yeah, me too.” He grabbed Beauty’s leash and latched it to her collar, then headed out along the boardwalk, hoping the old adage was true and that walking really did clear your head. He circled past the marina, stopping to allow Beauty to sniff every random smell that wafted under her muzzle. His head was almost clear when he saw a beautiful brunette standing by the all-night diner. Alone.
Krista?
Noah veered in that direction. Had Dr. Dale left her stranded alone? The jerk.
“Hey,” Noah said, signaling the woman’s attention. She turned to look at him, and Noah stopped in midstep.NotKrista.
The brunette smiled with interest. “Hey, yourself.” There were similarities, but the woman was younger, maybe in her early twenties. She had a longer face and brown eyes instead of Krista’s baby blue color.
“Sorry,” he said, wondering if it was the beers he’d had before taking the walk, or if he was going crazy—all over the fact that Krista was out with another man.
“I’m not. Do you want to get a coffee?” the woman asked. She seemed nice enough. A couple weeks ago, Noah would have said yes. But tonight he had no desire.
“I, uh, can’t. I’m sorry.” He looked down at Beauty who had her gaze pinned on the woman. “We have to get back.”
She nodded, her brow pinching over her narrow nose.
Yeah. He’d chosen his dog over an attractive female. He tugged Beauty’s leash and she trotted up in front of him, leading the way back home, wishing with every step that he could forget how Krista’s lips had felt against his last week. How her body had felt in his arms for that brief second that he’d been replaying in his mind on a loop. Wishing that he could be her date tonight instead of stuffy Dr. Dale.
You can’t, Noah. If you feel like you’re losing her now, just wait until you drag her along, then refuse to marry her or give her children.
Noah swallowed bitterly, remembering how good she was with the young boy, Adam, the other day on theSummerly. A born mother. There were things that Krista wanted, needed, out of life that he wasn’t equipped to give her. He knew that about himself, had learned it the hard way. She deserved better than what he’d given his college girlfriend more than a decade ago. If he somehow hurt Krista, he’d never forgive himself. Which was why he had to let her date guys like Chandler Dale, stuffy and boring. At least they wouldn’t break her heart. He couldn’t promise the same about himself.
—
Krista was unfortunately drinking water. Chandler had more authority than she did in the hospital, so she didn’t feel comfortable drinking alcohol in front of him. And after the other night with Noah, she wouldn’t anyway. Who knows what she would say to the good doctor? Who knows what she’d actually said to Noah?
Except Noah. And judging by the way he’d acted around her since, she’d definitely said something to make him a little squirrelier than usual.
Chandler let out a rip-roaring laugh.
Krista startled out of her thoughts.
“Oh. Sorry. Did I scare you?” he asked, his laugh slowing down like a roller-coaster ride. The guy liked to have a good time. That was something she could admire about him.
“No.” She shook her head and started giggling, too, as if she’d actually heard what he’d just told her. She hadn’t and if she was forced to comment on his joke, she’d embarrass herself.
“So how do you like working in peds?” Chandler asked. He had a large slab of steak on the plate in front of him. When he’d ordered, he’d made a point of commenting that it was the most expensive item on the menu. So he had money. That was always a plus in a date. But he didn’t have to make a show of it. She didn’t admire that part of his personality.
Krista added that to her mental pros-and-cons list for going on another date with Chandler after tonight. “I love peds. I’ve always enjoyed working with kids.” She shrugged her shoulders, feeling that gooey feeling that ran through her when she thought of her little patients. She sincerely loved them, each and every one, even the difficult ones that fussed and fought her tooth and nail for a vital. “When I’m in a bad mood, I can get to work and everything inside me changes.” She felt herself beaming at Chandler.
He nodded and poked a piece of steak into his mouth.
“I’m sure you feel the same way about fixing people’s hearts. That’s got to be an awesome feeling.”
He chewed and swallowed, then cocked his head to one side as if he’d never considered the question. “Honestly, it’s just a job to me. It pays well. I guess I like the process of doing surgery. I’ve done most of the procedures so many times now that I’m almost on autopilot.”
Was he bragging, she wondered, unable to decide if she should feel impressed by his confession or sorry for him. She’d done most of her procedures a million times, too, but each one was different. Each kid was different.
