Hon? She had to be half my age.

“Medium, usually. Sometimes a large.”

She looked me up and down. “Let’s try a medium. You’re not too busty.”

Sure, rub it in.

She grabbed the medium and handed it to me. “Dressing rooms are over there.” She pointed. “Please, try it on.”

What the heck? After all, I had come back to the shop. I ambled into the dressing room and shed all my clothing down to my panties. I put the beautiful gown over my head and let it fall onto my body.

I gasped when I looked in the mirror.

The gown was made for me. It accentuated every part of my body, gave me curves where I had none—a swell of my breasts, a tiny swell of my belly, swell of my hips. And then the silk fell around and softly over my knees.

Wow. I looked hot. I laughed out loud. When was the last time I’d thought I looked hot? Probably around the fifth of never. I knew I was pretty enough, and I had a decent enough body. There just wasn’t anything extraordinary about me whatsoever. Definitely not hot.

This gown made me hot.

I made a decision then. I would buy it. I might never wear it, but I hardly ever indulged in anything purely frivolous. Maybe Jonah would like it.

The thought made me turn red. I quickly looked away from the mirror and changed back into my clothes.

I hurried toward the register before I changed my mind. Then I saw the price tag poking out of the fabric. I hadn’t bothered to check the cost, so I pulled the tag toward me now.

Six hundred and seventy-five dollars?

I threw the gown on the nearest shelf and hurried out of the store.

 

I didn’t have a session until eleven, so I headed over to the coffee shop next to my office with my laptop to check e-mails, quickly texting Randi to let her know where I’d be. I ordered a vanilla latte and then sat down and opened my computer. I was midway through my e-mails when a masculine voice startled me.

“Melanie? Melanie Carmichael?”

I looked up, and in the doorway to the coffee shop stood… I did a double take.

“Oliver?”

The auburn-haired man smiled. “Yeah, wow. How long has it been?”

“Since med school,” I said.

“Melanie!” the barista called.

I stood.

“I’ll grab that for you.” Oliver took my latte from the barista and handed it to me. “Mind if I join you for a few minutes?”

“Not at all. You want to get a coffee?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Kind of why I’m here, I guess. Sorry, seeing you kind of derailed me for a minute.” He walked over to the line where a few people stood already.

I stared at my laptop screen and caught my breath. Oliver Nichols. Wow. I hadn’t seen him in over a decade. We’d gone to med school together, and right after graduation, we had a little one-nighter. Then he went off to California for his internship and residency, and I came here to Grand Junction to do mine.

I warmed from my head to my toes. He was so gorgeous, no silver yet in his auburn hair. He still had those twinkling blue eyes. He had been the best-looking male student in our class. Also had the best personality. Always jovial, always smiling. I had never thought he would look my way, but after a few drinks in the hot tub at a friend’s graduation party, things had gotten…friendly.

I pretended to go through e-mails, but I couldn’t concentrate. I could feel his gaze upon me. We’d never vowed to stay in touch or anything. After all, he went to California and I stayed here. I had looked him up on the Internet from time to time. He specialized in pediatric nephrology and had ended up doing several fellowships. With all that education, he hadn’t been in practice very long at this point.

He had also authored several very well-respected papers. Of course nothing I would read, since I knew absolutely nothing about pediatric nephrology beyond the basic anatomy.

My lips suddenly felt dry. I grabbed my purse from where it was hanging on the back of my chair, pulled out some lip balm, and smoothed it over my lips.

Why in the world was I so freaked out? Oliver and I had never had a relationship. He had never even looked my way most of med school. I hadn’t dated anyone during those times, at least not seriously. I hadn’t had the time, and once I started internship and residency, I’d had even less time.

He sat back down across from me, holding a large coffee cup. “I can’t believe it. How are you, Melanie?”

“I’m fine. What are you doing here? Have you left California?”

He nodded. “I’m spearheading some research over at Valleycrest Hospital. They’re setting up a pediatric nephrology unit.”

Impressive. Though everything Oliver Nichols did was impressive. “How long will you be in town?”

“A few months, at least. It’s possible they may want me to stay on, in which case I’ll open a practice here.”

I nodded. “What an incredible opportunity. You’ll love it here.”

“So what have you been up to?”

“I’m in private practice as a psychotherapist here in town. In fact, my building is right next door. I don’t live too far from here either. I have a downtown loft.”

“So you never left here after your residency?”

“No. The city grew on me. And I’ve got to tell you, the Western slope of Colorado has the best peaches and apples you’ll ever taste.” I smiled shyly. “They’re in season right now, but not for much longer. Be sure to sample them while you’re here.”

“I absolutely will.” He eyed my laptop. “I’m not interrupting your work, am I?”

“No, I just felt like sitting over here instead of my office this morning. I don’t have a session until eleven.” I looked at my watch. Ten twenty.

“Yeah, sometimes it’s nice to get out of the office.”

I nodded. Silence for a few moments. Normally, silence didn’t bother me much. I was a natural introvert. But right now, with dashing Oliver Nichols sitting across me, the silence felt like tension in the air. Funny how it hadn’t felt that way with Jonah Steel…

“I’ll be looking for a place to stay. Where did you say you live?”

“A couple blocks away. Bainbridge Lofts.”

“Have any rentals in there?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I own.”

“Maybe I’ll take a look over there. I’m meeting a realtor later today to help me find something for the next six months. And as I said, it may turn into a longer situation.”