Julie Garwood - The Ideal Man

“That makes them unique.”

“You sound cynical.”

“When it comes to marriage, I guess I am. I’ve had friends whose happily-ever-after lasted about three years.”

“My parents have been married a long time, and they’re not an anomaly.”

He didn’t comment. “Are you ready to go?”

He surprised her by taking her hand as they walked through the restaurant. It wasn’t until they were once again in the car and on their way back to her apartment that she returned to the subject of his cynicism. She wanted to know what had happened to make him so sour.

“I take it your parents are divorced?”

“No. They’re not. They’ve been married a long time, too.”

“But they’re miserable.”

He laughed. “No, they’re happy together.”

“Then it’s just you, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“How many ex-wives do you have?”

“None,” he assured her. “I’ve never been married.”

“Any long-term relationships?”

He glanced at her. “Define long-term.”

“More than three months.”

He had to think about it. “No,” he said. “I like women, Ellie, and the women I take to bed know there isn’t going be a long-term anything.”

Was it a different woman every night? She didn’t have the nerve to ask.

“What about you?” he asked. “Are you involved with anyone?”

“No.”

“How come?”

“No time,” she said. And no desire in a long while… until you came along, she silently added.

“That’s an excuse, not a reason,” he told her. “What about friends with benefits… you know… casual sex?”

The question surprised her. “No, so far not interested. Some of my friends have sex with friends, and they tell me it releases a lot of stress. It just seems a little too cold and clinical to me.”

The rest of the ride home was quiet, but she wasn’t uncomfortable with the silence. Ellie kept thinking about her answers to his questions. No sex, no friends with benefits, no involvement… My God, she’d made herself sound like a female eunuch. And a bore.

Max parked in front of her building and walked inside with her. He insisted on checking her apartment to make sure it was safe, which Ellie appreciated. It took as long as a hiccup. She waited by her door as he looked around. Soft light from a single lamp illuminated the living room.

“Would you like something to drink?” she asked as he walked toward her.

“No, I’m good.”

He was inches away. She swallowed and said, “I have to tell you…”

“What?” he asked as he planted his hands against the door on either side of her.

“I liked the date portion of the evening much better than the serious talk.”

“The date portion isn’t over yet.”

And with that he leaned down and kissed her. His lips on hers felt sweet. It was a soft kiss until her mouth opened under his and she moved into him. She sighed when his tongue swept inside and rubbed against hers. His touch was electrifying.

And that was only the beginning.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against him as his mouth slanted over hers again and again.

“Damn, you taste good.” His voice was raspy. He kissed the side of her neck and felt her shiver.

She put her arms around his neck and her fingers tugged on his hair to get him to kiss her again. She had wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by him, but no fantasy could match the reality. He overwhelmed her, and it was wonderful. He kissed her again, a hot, wet, openmouthed kiss that made her want much, much more, and when he pulled back she felt dazed.

“Do you want me to stay or leave?” he asked.

She kissed the pulse at the base of his neck. “I guess I can try casual,” she whispered, shocked by how ragged her own voice sounded.

“Sweetheart, if I stay, it isn’t gonna be casual.”

He tilted her chin up with his thumb, needing to see her eyes and hear her say the words before he started tearing his clothes off and then hers.

His cell phone rang a scant second before Ellie’s phone beeped.

Max took a deep breath, then reluctantly pulled away from her to answer the call. Ellie found her phone in her purse and read the text.

“I’m on my way,” he said into his phone. He ended the call and looked up to see Ellie opening the door.

“There’s been a shooting at the hospital.”

At the same time she said, “I’ve been called in to surgery.”

Ellie thought she should drive herself to the hospital, but Max disagreed. He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight until he knew what in thunder was going on. Ignoring her protests, he grabbed her keys, locked the dead bolts, and pulled her along to his car.

“I could be in surgery all night,” she pointed out.

“I’ll wait and drive you home.”

“But that could be hours…”

“I’ll wait.”

She stopped arguing. The set of his jaw indicated he was going to be stubborn. She gave him directions to a shortcut crossing over the highway, and then she called Wendy, the ER nurse, to find out what she was going to be walking into.

“It’s another pileup on I-70,” Wendy said. “We’ve got mangled bodies on their way in. Dr. Westfield wants you here now.”

“I’m on my way,” she said. “I heard there was a shooting.”

“Yes, there was, and right inside the emergency room doors. Gangs are becoming more accommodating. They’re shooting each other right where they know they can get help. Pretty soon they’ll be shooting it out in front of the OR doors. Cuts out the middleman, you know-the ambulance driver, the paramedic. I’m telling you, Ellie, it’s a war zone in the ER now.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

She disconnected the call and turned to Max to repeat what Wendy had told her.

“It’s a little surprising it hasn’t happened before now,” she said. “Even with security, the number of weapons confiscated from gangs when they’re brought into the hospital is shocking. It was only a matter of time before one of those weapons was overlooked.”

“The hospital should spring for more security. Triple it,” he said. “Only way to control it.”

She agreed. “Who called you about the shooting?”

“Ben.”

“He was at the hospital this late?”

“He was heading back to check on Sean when he heard there were shots in the hospital. He should be there by now. We need to find out what’s going on, to make sure Sean wasn’t the target. We’ve got an agent watching out for him.”

“Do you think the Landrys would send someone to…”

“Better safe than sorry.”

Max took the entrance to the hospital on two wheels and screeched to a stop near the emergency room doors.

“If you can’t find me on the surgical floor, look in Sean’s room,” he told her.

The emergency room looked like a set for a disaster movie. Each bay was packed. Doctors and nurses rushed from one to the other tending to victims of the highway accident. Mixed in among them were a few gang members, some handcuffed to their gurneys, also waiting to be treated for their wounds. Policemen were stationed around the area.

Most of the accident victims were dazed and quiet, but the gang members were not so compliant. Some were screaming for drugs while others shouted obscenities and threats because they weren’t getting priority attention. It was loud and chaotic.

Ben was waiting just inside the doors. “It’s bedlam in here.”

He was right. They had to shout to be heard.

Ellie realized she was gripping her phone and didn’t have her purse or a pocket to put it in. Without a thought as to what she was doing, she handed the phone to Max. He already had her keys. He might as well hold her phone, too.