Summer of Love by Marie Ferrarella (easy to read books for adults list .TXT) 📕

Either way, she found herself emptying her mind of anything that didn’t revolve around the man beside her. And of how right, and good, and … restful it felt to be with him right now.

Dangerous to let him know that, though.

A hand squeezing hers brought her back. She blinked, the harsh glare of the overhead lights flooding her system.

Heavens, she’d fallen asleep. While her mom was undergoing bypass surgery.

“Jess, the doctor is heading this way.”

She jerked her head off his shoulder so fast she thought it was going to bounce to the floor and roll down the hall. Dragging her attention to the present, she glanced past the wide door of the waiting room to see that her mom’s doctor was indeed striding toward them, no longer wearing his scrubs.

Standing, she waited for him to reach her, vaguely aware that Clint had climbed to his feet beside her, his fingers at the small of her back as if knowing she still needed that connection.

Even before the doctor reached them, he flashed a thumbs-up sign and a smile. “Everything went really well, better than we could have hoped for, actually,” he said. “The harvested vein went in without a hitch and her heart is going strong. She should feel better than she’s felt in quite a while. Her other arteries still look pretty good. With a change in diet and exercise, hopefully they’ll stay that way for a long time to come.”

Relief rushed through her system. “So she’s going to be okay?”

The doctor nodded. “Absolutely. Barring anything unforeseen, we’ll release her in the next few days. She’ll need someone home with her for about a week after that. We checked her insurance, and it’ll cover a home nurse.”

“Thank you so much. When can I see her?”

He smiled. “She’s in Recovery at the moment. You know the routine. Once she’s moved into a room, we’ll let you see her.” For the first time his glance slid smoothly to Clint. “But just you right now.”

The touch at her back moved away.

Chelsea hurried to make the introductions, but left out why Clint was there, waiting with her.

The surgeon held out a hand. “Dr. Marks, good to meet you. I served as an army doc before moving over to private practice. I appreciate all you do for our military.”

She tensed, wondering if Clint would question why he’d moved when there was so much need—much like she’d done when she’d heard about Dr. Cordoba resigning his commission. All Clint said, though, was, “I’m happy to do it. The country needs both civilian and military doctors. I’m glad you were there for Jessi’s mom.”

If Dr. Leonard thought it was strange that Clint was there with her or that he’d called her by her first name, he gave no hint of it. He simply nodded and let them know he’d send a nurse out to get Jessi when her mother was settled in. Then he turned around and headed back the way he’d come.

She glanced up at Clint. “Thanks for waiting with me. If you need to get back to the hospital, I understand.”

“I already told you, I’m done for the day. I’ll stay and make sure everything is okay.”

“Thanks again.” She bit the side of her lip. “Sorry for falling asleep on you. I can’t believe I did that.”

His fingers touched her back again. “You’ve been carrying a lot of weight around on those strong shoulders, Dr. Riley. Maybe it’s time you let someone else help with the load from time to time.”

Was he offering his services in that regard? And if he was, did she dare let him?

Maybe she already had just by accepting his offer to be here during the surgery.

“I’m sorry you’ve gotten dragged into my family’s problems. Both in high school and now.”

He turned her and laid his hands on her shoulders—ignoring everyone else in the room. “No one ‘dragged’ me.” He squeezed softly before letting her go. “Either then or now. I’m here because I want to be.”

And later, after Chelsea was better. Would he still be there?

Something she didn’t dare even think about at the moment. Because who knew when that would be. It could be years before Chelsea was well enough to function without the help of someone like Clint. Although she imagined the emphasis would be on counseling later, if there came a time that she didn’t need medication to help her cope.

And Jessi knew how things worked in the military. Clint would be transferred out of here, either sooner or later, whereas she had settled her life in Richmond for the long haul. Her mom and daughter were here—not to mention Cooper—and she couldn’t imagine leaving them.

Not even for Clint?

She stepped back a pace, not willing to face that question quite yet. Besides, there was nothing between them other than what boiled down to a couple of one-night stands.

One-night stands.

Why did that explanation make her throat ache in a way it hadn’t all those years ago?

Hadn’t it? Her subconscious whispered the question into her ear, but Jessi raised a hand and swished it away, making Clint frown.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Just relieved.” She took another step back. “Seriously, you don’t have to sit here with me. I’m sure you’ve got other things to do.”

His frown grew deeper. “If you’re worried about Chelsea or your mom finding out, don’t. I won’t tell them I was here unless you want me to.”

“No!” She cleared her throat and lowered her voice when she realized a couple of pairs of eyes in the waiting room had shifted their way. “I don’t want to have to explain why.”

Because she wasn’t even sure of the answer, and she was afraid to look too closely at the possibilities. She might just discover something she was better off not knowing.

She’d already had her heart broken. Not once. But twice. Once by Clint and once by her husband’s accusations. She didn’t want to risk another crack in an already fragile organ.

Clint’s voice was also low when