Fastball (33 page)

Nate glanced back at the doctor. “That’s got
to be some kind of karma, right?”

Dr. Bell registered his flirtation, and her
eyes widened in surprise. A slight blush colored her smooth cheeks.
He could feel his smile broaden as she somewhat defiantly returned
his look, and it occurred to him that perhaps the good doctor was
issuing a challenge.

Well, he’d be more than happy to oblige her.
He knew without a shadow of a doubt he was going to find out just
what this lovely doctor was all about.

* * *

Holly’s pulse had jumped when she looked up
at the imposing man who’d nearly barged into her. In fact, she’d
had to stifle a gasp at the sight of him.

She wasn’t used to seeing a man’s chin as
high as her eye level. This guy had to be six-five, or maybe even
more. And he wasn’t just tall, he was built. Not like the
proverbial Mack truck. More like a sleek, expensive sports car.
Maybe a Ferrari, she mused, thinking back to her father’s expensive
auto collection.

Despite his deep, hooded eyes and dark
masculine stubble, she guessed Carter might be a couple of years
younger than her. He radiated youthful vitality and off-the-chart
testosterone. As soon as he had entered the room, she instantly
sensed the power coiled in his long, whipcord body. Instinctively,
she had taken a small step backward to preserve her personal
space.

It didn’t surprise her that he was an
athlete. His hard, agile-looking body fit the part. What
had
surprised her was how the normally shy Morgan had immediately
warmed to him, and how he interacted with her in such an easy,
gentle way.

Carter was obviously a natural charmer with
kids, and she would have bet a month’s salary that his charm would
be just as effective on women.

Still, charming was one thing. Steaming hot
was something else entirely. Nate Carter put the two together, and
it made for a dazzling combination. When he sat down next to
Morgan’s bed, Holly had opened her mouth to make her goodbyes. But
the words had died in her throat and her feet had remained glued to
the floor. She stood silently by for several minutes as the big man
and the little girl happily chatted away like best friends.

“Would you like me to sign a picture for you,
Morgan?” he asked, pulling an eight by ten from a folder tucked
under his arm.

“Yes, please.” Morgan’s eyes shone. Though
she was a very sick little girl, she glowed under Carter’s gentle,
humorous attention.

He carefully inscribed the photo as Holly
looked over his shoulder.

To beautiful Morgan—as brave and strong as
she is sweet. Your pal, Nate Carter
.

“But I’d like something from you in return,
honey,” he said, handing her the glossy print.

“What?” Morgan giggled, plucking shyly at the
bed covers.

“Well, I’d really like it if the next time I
visit I could bring my camera and get someone to take a picture of
us together. Would you like that, too?”

“Yes! Yes!” she cried, more excited than
Holly had ever seen her. “Dr. Holly can take our picture!” She
looked over at Holly, who nodded her agreement with a smile.

“Good, then, that’s settled. I’ll come back
soon. Very soon. Maybe I could even drop by tomorrow morning.”

Holly finally found her voice. “We’ll be
here. You can page me when you arrive. If I’m not tied up at the
time, I’d be glad to help.”

He smiled, and the teasing warmth in his eyes
set off a corresponding rush of heat in her face and neck. God, she
must be blushing like a teenager.

“Great! I’ll see both you lovely ladies
tomorrow.” Carter affectionately stroked Morgan’s cheek with his
big hand, then winked at Holly as he left the room.

Holly gazed at his back until he was through
the door and out of sight, more than a little flustered by the
encounter. The man was a powerhouse of sex appeal, yet the empathy
and kindness he had shown Morgan seemed totally genuine. It was
crazy, but she couldn’t help wondering if he was single. Though
she’d seen no ring or tan line on his finger, a guy who looked and
acted like that sure wasn’t likely to be sleeping alone.

Turning back to the still-beaming Morgan,
Holly gave her head a quick shake. She had exchanged maybe a dozen
sentences with Nate Carter, and yet she’d caught herself wondering
about his marital status. Not that she could completely blame
herself. With those dark eyes and sensual mouth, plus the
combination of strength, size, and masculinity, Nate Carter was a
package that would mesmerize any red-blooded woman.

She tucked Morgan back into bed, determined
to push Carter firmly from her thoughts. No doubt he was the kind
of guy who automatically flirted with every woman who crossed his
path. Yes, he had seemed interested in her, but her mind was surely
playing tricks. The guy obviously had a charm factor pretty close
to ten out of ten, so it would be all too easy for a woman to see
what she wanted to see.

Still, her internal radar—as rusty as it
was—told her that Carter had definitely made something approaching
a pass at her. After all, there was the way his eyes had raked over
her. She didn’t think she could be wrong about that. Then there was
the sexy wink when he left the room.

Oh, for God’s sake, get a grip, Holly
.
She mentally scolded herself as she strode down the hall to the
elevators.
He’s a baseball player, for heaven’s sake. Even if
Nate Carter were by some remote chance actually interested in me,
we’d probably run out of conversation after half an hour.

She sighed as she stabbed her finger at the
elevator call button. She knew a half hour would probably be all
Carter needed to get her flat on her back and between the
sheets.

HARDBALL

After years of hard work and keeping her
nose firmly to the grindstone, Dr. Holly Bell has finally achieved
her dream:  a position as a pediatric surgeon at a prestigious
teaching hospital.  Children’s lives rest in her skilled
hands.  That means total dedication to her work and her
patients without letting anything or anyone get in the way. 
And a hot affair with a superstar athlete is most definitely
getting in Holly’s way.

Nate Carter, star pitcher for the
Philadelphia Patriots, has the world in the palm of his baseball
glove.  He’s at the height of his game, a west coast team is
about to lure him with even greater riches, and the most gorgeous
women in town are in full pursuit.  Nate has everything he
wants, or at least he thinks he does, until he meets the
beautiful
and
brainy Dr. Holly
Bell.  He’s totally up for a hot affair, and Holly turns out
to be the hottest.

But will Holly be willing to play his
game?  When the lovely doctor starts changing the rules, Nate
realizes he just might be playing for keeps.

V.K. is a wife/husband writing team—Vanessa
Kelly and Randall Sykes—who write romantic suspense and single
title contemporary romance.

When Vanessa’s not writing as V.K., she slips
into a telephone booth and emerges as Vanessa Kelly, author of
sizzling hot Regency romance novels for Kensington Publishing. Her
first novel,
Mastering the Marquess
, hit the shelves in
April 2009. You can check out Vanessa’s books and other fun stuff
at
www.vanessakellyauthor.com
.

Vanessa was born a Jersey girl, but not in
Tony Soprano country. Rather, she grew up in a gorgeous little
colonial town just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
After completing her Master’s in English literature from Rutgers
University, Vanessa headed to Toronto to work in a Ph.D. program,
and stayed in the frozen north. Eventually, she found her way into
the public sector, and spent many years writing reports and
briefs.

Randy started out as a prairie boy, with a
heritage in the starkly beautiful wheat fields of southern
Saskatchewan, Canada. As a graduate student in economics, he
migrated east to prestigious McGill University. After completing
his Master’s in labor economics, he ended up working in the public
sector in the nation’s capital of Ottawa. Writing endless reports
and speeches honed his writing skills, but too often bored him
senseless. When he finally turned his pen (or rather his keyboard)
to fiction, life changed in a hurry. His “I can do this!” quickly
became “Holy cow, this is hard!” And before he knew it, he was
immersed in a strange land of romance fiction writers, almost all
women, learning why books require such things as
emotion
and
conflict
to get readers to
actually pay money to read them.

V.K. likes to write about favorite
locations—especially Florida and Las Vegas. Vegas is Vegas, and
Florida is an unending inspiration and a wonderfully rich source of
characters and situations.

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