Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
All those years of seeing only what was directly in front of her. The passion for her work, her driving ambition, her need to help people. To make a difference. She’d had tunnel vision. Had seen nothing else.
Until that one night, at an industry party hosted by Jenson Pharmaceuticals, Kenny had looked up and seen him standing beneath a massive chandelier, the warm light of which had set his hair on fire.
He’d been laughing at something his brother, Dr. Conrad Jenson, head of thoracic surgery at the same hospital Kenny worked at, was saying. Kenny had been absolutely dazzled and unable to look away from him.
He’d worn a beautifully tailored black tux, one hand thrust into his trouser pocket, the other clutching a flute of champagne. He’d been gesticulating with that hand, spilling some of the liquid in the process. He’d looked so damned animated, so alive and happy, and Kenny had been riveted.
She had frozen in her tracks and simply watched him, that golden, perfect, godlike creature.
Then the music had changed, going from a typical string quartet to a soulful, romantic ballad. The change had been so jarring, he’d stopped talking and looked upwards, as if expecting to find the source of the music somewhere in the heavens.
He’d looked in her direction, and his eyes had skimmed right over her. Kenny’s heart had sunk to the soles of her feet, but then he’d stilled, and those same beautiful eyes jerked back to hers…
—vivid, green, piercing—
… and everything had stopped.
He’d thrust his glass into this brother’s chest, leaving the other man no option but to take it, and prowled intently toward her.
So lethal and graceful and predatory.
He’d stolen her breath.
Then he asked her to dance.
And nothing had ever been the same again.
“…ever go private?” Libby was asking her, and Kenny dragged herself out of the past to focus on the other woman’s question.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” she said self-consciously.
If Libby thought it was odd that she wasn’t paying attention, she didn’t show it. She merely repeated her question.
“I was wondering if you’d ever consider private practice?”
“Uh…not really. I don’t need the money. And the public health system is already understaffed and underserved. I can make a real difference in people’s lives where I am right now.”
“Don’t a lot of doctors in the public sector burn out faster?” Libby asked with a concerned frown.
“Yes. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I took this break.”
“And talking about work probably doesn’t help,” Tina said pointedly and Libby winced.
“Sorry, I can get a little single-minded sometimes. I was just curious.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all,” Kenny said, warming to the other woman even more. “I am a little burnt out. And I did allow work to dominate my life for way too long. But I always found it rewarding and meaningful. I just have to get better at putting my own needs first.”
She cleared her throat awkwardly.
“So, am I to take it that the men are cooking today?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Libby said vociferously. “I do not want to spend one of my only days off in the kitchen.”
Tina nodded her vehement agreement.
“Are they good cooks?”
“It took us a while to convince them that every Sunday couldn’t be a braai day,” Tina said with a laugh. “If they could get away with tossing steaks and boerewors on the grill every week, they’d be happy as Larry. So they’ve learned to…” She stopped and looked at Libby. “What was that word that Grey used?”
“Diversify,” Libby said with a laugh and Tina chuckled as well.
“Don’t worry, they won’t poison us,” Tina comforted, before adding a concerning disclaimer. “At least, not enough to kill us.”
“Right,” Kenny nodded. “Yes, thank you, that wasn’t a concern I’d had before now, at all. So tell me everything I have to know about Love Island?”
“What exactly do you think they’re going to do to her, Smith?” Harris asked in exasperation as Smith once again glanced toward where the three women were comfortably ensconced on the living room furniture, watching an inane TV show with lots of flesh on display.
“Kenna can be a little shy,” he noted, doing a piss-poor job of peeling the potatoes Harris had handed to him after his arrival. “It’s easy to mistake it for aloofness.”
“Tina likes her,” Harris said with a shrug. “They’ll be fine. Also, why do you care?”
Fuck.
“Things have changed.”
Greyson, who’d been the process of basting the beef in the oven, glanced up at Smith’s words.
“Because you kissed her in front of the whole town, you mean?” Harris’s much more annoying brother asked.
“Barely anyone saw that kiss,” Smith dismissed. “They were all ducking for cover.”
Harris made a choked sound. Greyson closed the oven door and straightened up, folded his arms across his chest, and leaned back against a kitchen counter.