Cindy's Doctor Charming Read Free

for that line?”
    â€œYes. Although usually a line isn’t involved.”
    â€œIt’s a darn shame.” She eased away, a pitying expression on her face.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou should really do something about your self-confidence. Surgery. Rehab. There must be some treatment. The miracles of modern medicine—”
    â€œAren’t miracles,” he finished.
    â€œNo?”
    â€œIt’s science.”
    â€œReally?” There was a spark of interest now.
    â€œAbsolutely.”
    â€œYou don’t believe in miracles?” She rested her arm on the table as she angled her body toward him.
    â€œI never underestimate the power of the human spirit. But a miracle?” He shook his head. “If I can’t see or touch it, I don’t believe it exists.”
    â€œWhat about love?”
    Oddly enough, he was pretty sure the question wasn’t Cindy being flirtatious. If an invitation to his bed was her goal, she’d be in his arms on the dance floor right now. Instead of having her soft curves pressed against him and the scent of her skin snarling his senses, they were having an existential discussion regarding the reality of love.
    â€œI don’t believe in it.”
    â€œYou’re kidding, right?” she asked.
    â€œNo.”
    In the NICU he’d seen worried parents who almost literally willed a tiny scrap of humanity born too soon, a being that they’d only just met face to face, to live. Was that love? He didn’t know. It hadn’t existed in his life. There’d been buckets of money that his father spent copious amounts of time making. His mother got tired of trying to get her husband’s attention and turned to her “projects.”
    Nathan had tried his hand at love. He’d married a woman he liked and respected. But there was no doubt in his mind that if she hadn’t died in a car accident, their trial separation would have turned into an amicable divorce. He missed her, as his best friend. Nothing deeper than that existed in his world. He had no frame of reference for love.
    Enough with the self-examination, he thought. He was a doctor, trained to act swiftly and decisively in an emergency. Hesitation could cost lives. And as Cindy had pointed out, his self-confidence needed immediate resuscitation.
    He stood, then took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “We’re wasting a perfectly good waltz.”
    He’d expected some rebellion in the ranks, but apparently he had surprise on his side. She didn’t pull away but followed almost meekly as he led her through the maze of tables littered with half-eaten cheesecake and hastily abandoned cloth napkins.
    On the dance floor he slid his arm around her waist and nestled her against him. She wasn’t as tall as he’d thought. It was probably that big attitude of hers generating the illusion. He was used to willowy women, but he could rest his chin on the top of Cindy’s head and somehow the fit felt just right. Despite her tongue-in-cheek comments about prosthetics and pronounced limps, she was light on her feet and had no problem following his lead. It felt as if they’d been dancing together for years.
    Nathan gave brief thought to making conversation, then decided if he kept his mouth shut, he couldn’t put his foot in it. The sweet fragrance of her skin filled his head, more intoxicating than any alcohol he’d ever tasted. Thoughts of her in his arms somewhere private, with the sexy, strapless dress on the floor around her feet was temptation with a capital T . He was already planning the strategy to make that happen because it had been hard enough to get her in his arms for a dance.
    The music ended and he was about to make his pitch when she backed away. The almost stricken expression on her face puzzled him.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”
    â€œNothing. I have to go.”
    â€œIt’s not late,” he protested.
    â€œIt is for