Finding Love

by Natalie Ann

  “That works,” he said.

  “I find most things work better when there isn’t a lot of thought given to them.”

  He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard that before. Not in his life. Not in his profession. Then again, that was wrong. He was an ER doctor. Most of his job was done on the fly. And most of the time he was right.

  “That’s a unique way of thinking of things.”

  “That’s a surprising response considering you work in emergency medicine. I’m guessing you don’t always have time to sit and think something over before you react. So why here? Not a lot of action in this area.”

  She was right once again. “I did my residency at John Hopkins. I could have stayed there, but I didn’t want to stay in the city. I didn’t want to go so far away either. Not too many people were jumping at the opening in Queenstown, but it’s still part of the University of Maryland Medical Center. Same technology, just not as crazy.”

  “You don’t miss all those shootings and such? Fire and crime victims? High impact car accidents?”

  “I got my fill of them there. I could go back if I wanted. But this is the life I’d rather have. I get the best of both worlds. I still have to go there once a month or more to fill in if needed. It happens. They get overrun and need more hands on deck. I’m fine with it.”

  His ex wasn’t though. She’d wanted the big hospital. The big name. The big title. And she wanted nothing to do with the life he wanted. Why he never realized that before was beyond him. In the past now. Time to move on.

  Sheldon pushed her empty plate away, and rubbed her flat belly. “This life is perfect. Not a lot of action, but not so far away from it if I want it. Which I normally don’t. I can write any action I want. I don’t need to experience it.”

  That was a little sad, but he didn’t comment on it. Only he wondered if she thought of her whole life like that.

  Show Off

  Seeing Sheldon in a tiny bikini did nothing to wipe those sexy scenes of hers out of his mind. Matter of fact it probably made it worse and he was hoping he wasn’t going to embarrass himself with any bodily responses he might not be able to control or cover up.

  “Sunscreen,” she said, tossing a can at him. He’d changed into his board shorts in her hall bath, her in her bedroom next door. A wall away and they were both getting naked. Again, thoughts he shouldn’t be thinking this early on. Those stupid scenes in her books!

  On her deck, he sprayed himself down, then she walked over and took it out of his hand. “Turn around.” He did and she covered his back for him. Fair was only fair in his eyes, so he did the same for her, letting his eyes linger over her some more.

  In the corner of her shaded patio, he noticed two boards and paddles. She walked over and bent down to grab one set and he got the other, then followed her to the water. “You’ve got a nice little beach here. Not too many people do.”

  “Nope. I’m lucky that I’m close to one of the four beaches in the development. The beach bled over to my property where everyone else has rocks and has to get in the water off their docks or hike to the beach.”

  “A good little perk. I don’t have a beach either.”

  “So you’re on the water too?”

  “I think most people are in this area. Or have it within sight with water rights.”

  “True,” she said, looking over her shoulder and walking into the water up to her waist, covering the bottom of the green-and-blue bikini. It almost matched her eyes. He couldn’t tell what color they were. Probably hazel, because in some lights they were green, some they were blue.

  “So tell me what to do,” he said, standing next to her.

  “Hold the board steady, and climb on the easiest way for you. I like to just slide my butt on it. But I’m short and have been doing this for a long time. I should have asked—have you ever surfed?”

  “Body surf,” he said, remembering the time he tried it on vacation once in Florida. It was easy to get on and just lie there, jumping up was the harder part with the water moving around. But now the water was calm, so hopefully not much of an issue. He wasn’t looking forward to making a fool of himself. He was athletic enough, but balance had never been his strong suit. Came from just being too big of a person.

  “Perfect,” she said. “Slide on that way. Piece of cake. Just get on for the minute, and get your bearings.”

  She was sitting on her board now, her legs hanging over the sides of it while she watched him. He slid on easily enough, then brought himself to a sitting position exactly like her. Not as hard as he thought, glad he wasn’t going to embarrass himself too much. Thankfully the water was cold enough to not garner much of a response in other areas of his body.

  “Think about the easiest way it will be for you to stand up from this position. Hand me your paddle, I’ll hold it for you.”

  “Can I watch you stand first? Maybe the way you do it will be easier than what I’m thinking.”

  “Sure.” She put one foot on the board, brought herself on one knee and stood up fluidly, barely shaking the board in the least. She made it look real easy.

  Only it wasn’t that easy. He did the same thing she did, but moved too fast, or his larger frame didn’t like it, and he went over like a domino. Thankfully they weren’t in deep water and he managed to turn enough that he jumped off rather than flopping on his stomach like an idiot.

  She was grinning at him, but not laughing. “Try it a little slower. Don’t try to impress me with your speed and agility.”

  “I’ll save that for another time,” he said smirking.

  “The speed or the agility? Because speed isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in everything.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Point taken. No worries there.”

  She wiggled her eyebrows. He scooted back up on his stomach, then moved to a sitting position. “Move closer to me and I’ll hold the board for you while you stand.”

  “I don’t want to land on you if I fall off.”

  “You won’t. And if you do, then you can patch me up. I’ll sit back down though.”

  Her eyes were twinkling and he took that in a way that she probably didn’t mean. He did as she instructed, but this time got on both his knees while she held it steady, then slowly put one foot down and pushed himself up.

  “There you go,” she said. “Now find a position you feel the most comfortable with. Either feet side by side, or one in front of the other. I can go either way.”

  He found it was much easier having his feet a little spread and one in front of the other, giving him more control of the board. “This is much more comfortable.”

  “Perfect. Here’s your paddle. I adjusted it for your length. Now just slowly push yourself around until you feel steady.”

  Thirty minutes later he was pretty impressed with himself for only falling off two more times. His legs were even closer together now and they were paddling out a little further than when they started.

  “This was much harder than I thought it’d be,” he said.

  “It’s all about balance and centering yourself. I won’t tell you how many times I fell off. Once you get the hang of it, you can climb on from the dock by just stepping on it, but until you know you’re steady enough, it’s best not to do it and fall back into the dock itself.”

  “Somehow I don’t believe you’ve fallen off all that much.”

  “Sure I have, but no one witnessed it. Now I can do all sorts of things.” She laid her paddle down, got on her stomach and then he watched as she did indeed do a headstand on the board.

  “Show off,” he said laughing. She had some seriously toned abs on her. He’d been admiring her thighs and arms as her body moved and flexed, but now her abs were nice and tight. Definitely not someone who sat around typing all day.

  She swung her legs down, straddling the board, sitting again. “Doing yoga on the board is all about body control. It’s amazing the muscles you develop that way. And it doesn’t feel much like a workout to
me when I’m doing it. If I get hot, I just jump in the water and get back on.”

  “It looks good on you,” he said, moving closer to her, his foot rubbing against her leg.

  “Whatever you do is looking pretty good on you too.”

  ***

  Thank God for cool water. Darn, Dr. McMann definitely deserved the title of Dr. McHunky. Who would have thought he’d have such a spectacular body under those scrubs? Even his shorts and T-shirt didn’t give off that many clues.

  He had a nice lean waist. Washboard came to mind. His thighs were flexing on and off while he hopped up and down on the board. And his biceps. Yeah, wow, he could be a model for “strong, capable and set her body on fire” by just looking at him.

  “I don’t do anything like you do,” he said. “Just weights a few times a week. If time allows, I get on my rowing machine. That’s my cardio. Otherwise, I get on the water like you, but in a kayak. Though now I’m thinking I might have to grab myself one of these boards.”

  “Or you can come over and use my spare one again,” she said as she made her way to the shore. “I’ve got a kayak too.”

  “Well then, maybe we can try that next time.”

  “I’d like that.” She walked out of the water, carrying her board, and he was walking right next to her. “I spend a lot of time on my butt. When I break away from writing, I like to do things. When the weather permits, I like to be outside.”

  “I wish I had more time to be outside. I guess it helps with the hours I’ve got. I can beat the heat and get out on the water in the morning before I go in.”

  “That works. I try to go out first thing too. Or later around sunset.”

  They were on her back patio now. She grabbed a towel and tossed it to him, picked up the other one and started to dry off a bit, then wrapped it around her waist.

  “So now what?” he asked.

  “About what?” she said, picking up the bottle of water she’d left on a railing. “We can go back out again if you want. I didn’t want to push it too much your first time.”

  “Though I feel fine now, I’m sure some muscles are going to let me know they were used tomorrow, so I appreciate the break.”

  “I’m sure you’d be fine working through any amount of pain.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’re the same way.”

  “Is that a shot at my ulcer?” she asked, grinning at him.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” he said, winking.

  “Let’s get this over with. We’re both waiting. And I hate to wait for anything.”

  “What?” he asked.

  She didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her, then put her hands around his waist. “Just kiss me and get it over with.”

  “Over with?” he asked, looking a little insulted.

  “Oops, that came out completely wrong. I’d say I’m nervous, but I’m never nervous about kissing someone. So I’ll clarify—the first kiss is usually the most anticipated. Let’s get the anticipation over with.”

  “That sounds better,” he said, framing her face with his hands. “And let me make this move, if you don’t mind.”

  She didn’t mind in the least. Not when his lips touched hers lightly. Not when his mouth forced hers open a little and his tongue swooped in. Or when his hands threaded through her hair and held her still while he started to feast on her like no tomorrow.

  She didn’t think he minded she was squeezing his waist either because he tugged her in closer too. Or maybe she did it. Didn’t matter. They were both barely dressed, bodies cool and damp and brushing against each other. For first kisses, this one was ranking up there pretty darn high.

  Her phone started to ring in the distance, but she ignored it. “Do you need to get that?” he whispered against her lips.

  “Nope. Keep kissing me.”

  “It could be important,” he said, his lips moving to her ear and pulling her lobe in by his teeth. Wow, that move really did heat the body up. Who would have known? She’d written about it enough, but never actually experienced it.

  “It’s not. I know the ringtone.” She was arching against him for more, feeling like her body was just melting now.

  “Then you know who it is.”

  That stupid phone wouldn’t stop ringing and it was doing a good job of killing the mood. “Yep. Trust me. Not important. It’s my father.”

  Another One

  A few days later, Erik was trying to figure out when he could work out another date with Sheldon because he couldn’t stop thinking about the last date.

  Or that kiss. The one where she all but branded him with her embrace. Yeah, just like one of the pictures on a cover of her books.

  Two people holding onto each other and not able to let go even if they wanted to. But they didn’t because letting go would bring them back to reality, when he’d been trying to escape that lately.

  When he was looking at his failed marriage and wondering what he could have done differently. Was it his fault? Could he have worked harder? Maybe he should have put his own dreams on hold and followed Marjorie’s.

  Or maybe he was overthinking something and finally realizing that it just wasn’t meant to be. They were two different people who had something in common for a period of time and then no longer did.

  After Sheldon’s phone rang and it interrupted their kiss, they broke apart and decided to just walk around her development. He wanted to ask what changed with her, but had a feeling she wouldn’t have answered.

  Instead, they strolled around, holding hands—his idea and he could see she hesitantly went along. When they passed one of the playgrounds and found it empty, he urged her over onto the swings. Her shocked face was priceless, but not enough for him to change his mind.

  “Get on the swing,” he’d said to her. “I’ll push you.”

  She did, reluctantly again. But he’d pushed her high, she’d pumped her legs and then she jumped off, scaring him silly that she was going to break something, then burst out laughing when he scolded her.

  It was a good first date. A great first date. And he was trying to find a time for another one.

  Between patients, he took a chance and gave her a call. “Hello, Dr. McMann.”

  “Hello, Ms. Case. How are you feeling today?”

  “Oh. Is this a professional call?”

  “Is that disappointment I hear in your voice?” he asked, smiling.

  “Nope.”

  “Liar,” he said, laughing this time. “But it’s actually not a professional call. A personal one. I was wondering if you’d be free tomorrow morning. I’m a little swamped with work, and have to work that night, but thought maybe you wouldn’t mind taking the kayaks out for a bit. Getting a little exercise?”

  “Sounds good. Your place or mine?”

  “Got a pen? I’ll give you my address. How does nine sound?”

  “Sounds good. I can’t wait.”

  He hung up the phone satisfied that he could hopefully make some more progress.

  ***

  Sheldon disconnected the phone and sighed, then caught herself.

  Imagine that. A man’s voice really could give you the warm fuzzies. How could she not have known that fact? She’d been writing about it for years, but never actually experienced it until now either. What had she been missing out on in life?

  Could she have been wrong all along? Nah. No way. It had to be something else. Maybe just her imagination. It’d always been vivid.

  Or maybe it was the excitement of another date. Because that first one was pretty great. Until her father called, then made her second-guess everything.

  Erik’s offer to walk around the development was a good one. A nice day for it. Then they went back and got on the paddleboards some more. Even him holding her hand felt great. And swinging on the swing set? Juvenile and fun at the same time.

  Watching his face pale when she jumped off, that was well worth it.

  She’d actually felt you
ng again and it was a good feeling. One she needed in order to wipe out the negative thoughts her father’s call invoked.

  An hour later her phone rang again. It was her mother. She knew by the ringtone alone. She could just ignore it. But if she did, her mother would keep calling.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Sheldon. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better.” She’d told her mother about her ulcer. She didn’t keep much from her. She was all her mother had in the world, pretty much. After her father moved out all those years ago, her mother never dated again. Never even wanted to. Said men were nothing but liars. Unfortunately, all those years of listening to distrust forged a nasty wall around Sheldon.

  She tried to push it off. She gave a few guys a chance. Then realized that her mother had been right all along. The last time she tried was the worst. And the last time made her vow to never get in a serious relationship again.

  It wasn’t worth the headache. The hassle. The hurt.

  Just friends. Just dating. Just having fun. That was all she wanted. She was good with it.

  “Have you been eating healthy? Taking your medicine?”

  “Yep. Doing all that and more. I’m getting lots of exercise too.”

  “Are you getting out of your house and talking to people? Staying in all the time isn’t good either. You need to socialize.”

  Even though her mother swore off men, she still was pretty active, always belonging to clubs and such, going out with friends. She had an actual social life. Something Sheldon didn’t care to emulate.

  “I see Melissa several times a week. I talk to my neighbors.” And for the hell of it, she added, “I went on a date a few days ago too.”

  “A date?” her mother asked. “With who? There aren’t that many single men on the island. He’s not married is he?”

  What the heck? “Really, Mother. That’s a little low. What do you take me for?”

  “I’m sorry, dear. That was bad of me. Some habits are hard to break. Still, who is he?”