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her heart had been killing her inside for nine long years.
If Justin closed the clinic, that s exactly what would happen to him.
Liam lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and peered up at the roof of Elisa s house, where
she teetered near the top step of an aluminum ladder.
What are you doing? he called.
She slathered a brush full of white paint onto the house then climbed down the ladder and wiped her
forehead with the back of her arm. Fixing a few things. Mom and Dad have agreed to put the house up for
sale next week, and I m heading to Nashville over the weekend to find an apartment.
I thought you weren t moving until September.
I think it would be better if I leave sooner.
Does this have anything to do with Justin letting me go?
She shrugged. Sweat poured off her body, and she wheezed.
Elisa, go inside. It s blazing hot out here. You re going to have a stroke.
I have things to
Go. He nudged her toward the door. Reluctantly, she sat in the kitchen, and he poured her a large
glass of water while she wiped her moist skin with a towel. Now tell me what s going on.
Nothing s going on. I m in the way here. Justin and Laura have a family to take care of, and Justin
and you need to get your customers back. No one needs to be worrying about poor Elisa and how she s
going to screw up next. If I haven t already screwed up the clinic.
What are you talking about? You haven t done anything to hurt the clinic.
Liam, come on. Do you think people would care what you and I were doing together if they didn t
already have it out for me? I got pregnant and dumped as a teenager and the gossipmongers in this town
thrive on that kind of soap-opera drama.
He should tell her what the real problem was. He needed to tell her, before she heard it from someone
in the produce aisle. After all, people were avoiding the clinic because they didn t like him, the doctor
without ethics. But he didn t really want to talk about Kelly when his time with Elisa was swiftly running
out.
Finding another job would be difficult, but doable. If only she knew how impossible it was going to
be find another woman like her.
Elisa tossed the damp towel into the sink and rose from the table. I ve got to take a shower. It ll only
take a minute, if you want to stay. You can hang out in here or watch TV or whatever.
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Full Circle
She patted his shoulder and disappeared upstairs, preoccupied with her plans. Liam looked down at
the table and ran his finger over a crack in the Formica.
He hadn t yet figured out how he would deal with saying goodbye to her in September. How could he
possibly do it sooner than that?
A wave of bittersweet need washed over him and he headed toward the staircase. Elisa might not
appreciate his appearance in her bathroom, but he barely gave that a moment s thought. If she was leaving,
she d leave with a memory of him imprinted on her mind.
He found the bathroom at the top of the stairs, to the right. She d left the door cracked to let out
steam, and he smiled at the idea of bringing some in.
The mirror was coated in fog. He peeled off his clothes and approached the curtain. She sure liked her
showers hot. Today, so did he.
Just then, the water shut off. He blinked, his plan momentarily derailed. But he brushed off his
disappointment. He could make love to her as easily outside the shower as he could inside of it.
She pulled back the curtain and emitted a small gasp when she saw him standing there.
I thought we didn t want to make the rumors worse, she said. She held a towel to her chest, but her
gaze roamed his body.
Your curtains are closed. No one is watching. He wrapped his arms around her and helped her out
of the tub, tugging away the towel and tossing it aside. He drew his hands over her silky, sweet-smelling
skin. I need you.
More than he had ever needed anything in his life. She led him to her bedroom, and the sight of her
walking nude in front of him was all it took to get his heart racing and his body ready to do whatever she
asked.
They lay side by side on the sheets, a heated tangle of arms and legs. He couldn t stop kissing her, his
urgency growing with each touch. She moaned his name, and he pushed his hands into her hair, wanting so
much to bury himself inside her before they were too far away from each other to do this. But he didn t
want to rush, not when they had so little time left together. Besides, he hadn t yet touched and pleased her
in all the ways he wanted to.
He kissed her neck, then her breast, then moved atop her and ran his hands over her torso, tracing her
abdomen with his lips. She clutched at his head but didn t ask him to stop, so he kept going until he found
the soft place where she ached for his attention, then laved it on her until she cried out.
He caressed her until her body stopped shivering, and he heard her whisper.
Liam. She touched his chin and directed his gaze to a scar a few inches below her navel. That s
where our baby was born.
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Avery Beck
Cesarean. On top of everything else that happened during what had to be a moment of pure hell, she d
had surgery. Who had held her hand? Helped her recover? Her family, he guessed. She and Laura seemed
close. But it wasn t the same. She d needed him.
His breath ragged, he put his finger on the faded line on her skin. I should have been there.
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