The Wedding Date: A Christmas Novella Read Online Free

high-dollar doctors wrote it off to statistical probabilities and pushed David down the line without a backward thought. Until finally, there weren’t any more specialists, and he was left to walk the last leg of his journey alone, with only Julie and the wonderful hospice nurses at his side.
    Oh yes, she’d had enough of doctors to last a lifetime.
    So why, why, why had she taken Cody on? What was she thinking?
    She wasn’t thinking, that was the problem. She was feeling. And those feelings were all wrong. They’d suckered her into this BAD IDEA. And if she wasn’t careful, she’d make a BAD MOVE. Which, with a doctor —who was a player to boot—would certainly lead to a really BAD ENDING.
    She could only hope he was as motivated as he claimed. With luck, he’d jump at the first place she showed him, and she’d be rid of him before she made another mistake.
    She dialed his number, got his voicemail: “It’s Cody. Start talking.” She hung up. Damn him. She didn’t want to drag this out.
    Outside, a sleety December drizzle came down from a leaden sky. Cars shissed past, spraying sludge. She sprinted next door to the Plaza and marched straight up to the desk. “I’m looking for Dr. Brown,” she informed the pretty brunette with the “Ashley” nametag. “Can you ring his room?”
    Ashley broke into a smile. “Oh, Cody’s not in his room. He went down the street to Starbucks.” Looking up over Julie’s shoulder, her smile widened. “Here he comes now. And he’s got my latte. Isn’t he sweet?” She sighed.
    Julie turned around. And sure enough, here came Cody, swaggering across the ultra-opulent lobby, a dozen gilt-framed mirrors ricocheting his reflection off every wall. Even if she’d tried, she couldn’t escape the golden streaks in his hair, or the stubbly, sun-kissed jaw. She couldn’t ignore the nut-hugger jeans that served up his package on a plate, or the battered leather jacket, unzipped to display a rain-spattered T-shirt plastered to his paving-stone abs.
    Ashley sighed again.
    Julie set her teeth. Okay, so he didn’t look like any doctor she’d ever encountered. So what?
    Then he ran a hand through his dripping hair, pushing it back from his brow, and her mind’s eye blinked like the shutter on a camera. As clear as a bell, she saw him saunter from her bathroom, towel slung around his hips, wicked smile on his lips, shoving back his wet hair as his honey brown eyes walked the length of her very naked body.
    The image was so real, so breathtakingly vivid, that her hand flew to her cheek; she could’ve sworn she felt beard burn.
    He pulled up beside her, smiled down into her eyes. “If I knew you’d be here, I’d have brought you a latte.”
    His drawl was a feather that whispered over her skin.
    Then Ashley butted in. “Cody, the hospital called. They said you weren’t answering your cell.”
    It hit Julie like a slap, snapping her out of her spell. The hospital, that’s where he belonged, not barging into her bedroom or her visions.
    Taking a looong step back in both body and mind, she headed for the door. “I’ll wait outside,” she threw over her shoulder.
    “It’s raining,” Cody called after her, but she kept moving, out onto the sidewalk.
    Pausing under the awning, she unbuttoned her coat, flapping it open and closed. She was too young for hot flashes. This heat was all Cody.
    For three years she’d been frozen up like a glacier. Why was she melting down now, at the wrong time, with the wrong man?
    He was a doctor, damn it! He belonged in a white coat, in a dreary office, spewing nonsense to hapless patients who didn’t know better than to trust him. But instead her traitorous body—not to mention her stupid psychic eye—had him stripped down to his birthday suit, waltzing across her bedroom like he owned the place.
    No way could she spend the afternoon with him. She’d have to tell him that something came up, she couldn’t help him after all.
    But she