A wry chuckle escaped his lips. Of all the people with whom to have this conversation, he couldn’t believe it was Ben. But then again, Ben was the only one with all the lurid details. “Okay, I’ll bite. What makes you think so?”

Ben tipped the bottle to his lips and poured the last drop of water down his throat. Then he stuffed cheese and crackers in his mouth. After he repositioned himself, he scratched his jaw. “Because she shot me down flat when I tried to propose.”

Dexter almost fell off his chair, and he stared at the younger man. “You what? She what?”

“Oh, yeah. Talk about the kiss of death. She still wants to be ‘friends’.”

“So what makes you think she loves me? She hasn’t told me.”

“The way she looks at you when she thinks no one’s looking. She’s still got it bad for you, buddy. If you feel the same, go get her. I’m not a threat.”

Dexter wasn’t so sure and besides, he was still smarting. “I don’t know. She’s wilder than me-”

Ben thumped his thigh. “She’s almost as big a prude as you. We all got caught up in the moment that night. Let me ask you something?”

Dex wasn’t so sure he wanted to answer, but he nodded and folded his arms across his chest.

“Do you love her?”

He searched his soul and couldn’t deny the answer. He stretched and stared at the ceiling. “Yeah. Unfortunately.”

“Then stop being a doofus and go get her, man. She’s too good to stay single long. Or are you the big dork I’ve always thought you were?”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Ben grabbed more cheese and crackers for the road and headed to the door. He saluted smartly and tapped his heels. “Oh, and take a shower. You reek.”

Char massaged her aching neck after another gruelling night in the OR. All she wanted was a hot shower then to fall into bed and sleep for a week. Unfortunately, she only had two days off, but it would have to do.

“Nurse Reynolds, can I have a moment with you?” Dexter blocked her way from the scrub room, an indiscernible look in his eyes.

God, he looked so tasty but so aloof she couldn’t stand it. Hot and sweaty and eager to get out of here and get human again, she tilted her head and looked cross-eyed at him. “Can’t it wait? I’m dog tired.”

Dexter leaned against the door and refused to let her by. He put his fingers up in a Boy Scout salute. “It won’t take long. Scouts’ honour.”

“Please be quick. I’m about to fall asleep on my feet.” For emphasis, she yawned and patted her mouth.

He crooked his finger at her then swaggered to his office and held the door wide for her.

She felt a trap and hesitated outside his door. “Am I in some kind of trouble? Is Amy waiting in there to ambush me? Can’t you just tell me here and be quick about it?”

He towered over her and crossed his arms over his chest. “Only if you want everyone to overhear.”

She checked both directions down the dim, deserted hallway and splayed her hands wide. She looked askance at him. “Yeah. It’s a real rush hour. Suit yourself.”

He cracked a charming, lopsided grin and bowed. “Entrez-vous, mon amour.”

Mon amour?

Her pulse raced, and she almost swallowed her tongue. She did a double take to make sure she was with Dexter and not someone else. But it was Dex. “Did I get sucked into an alternate universe? Or am I getting hard of hearing?”

Or maybe one of them had gone crazy? He couldn’t have called her ‘my love’. He wouldn’t do that. He’d hardly been able to look at her.

He put his hand at the small of her back and ushered her into a place that definitely didn’t look like his office. Rose petals blanketed the floor. Soft coloured lights and romantic music transformed it from an office to a den of…what? Love?

She bit back a guffaw and turned questioning eyes on him. “What’s this all about?”

He closed the door with a soft click, advanced on her and captured her hands in his. “Us.”

“What?” She choked on the word, disbelieving her ears, sure now she was caught in some cruel time warp or maybe she was delusional.

“As in ‘you and me’.”

A cynical laugh scraped her throat, and she heaved a huge, tired sigh. She rubbed her forehead. “There is no ‘you and me’.”

“I’d like there to be. Ben told me you shot him down and why. He thought I should know.”

Anger hummed through her veins. Was she ever going to repay her ‘friend’ Ben this ‘favour’. She backed up and came up short against his desk. “Okay, so I told him I wasn’t in love with him and just want to be friends. So?”

“And that you love me?”

She searched his eyes, but she didn’t find any answers. Not wanting to be humiliated, she said, “I didn’t say that. He was extrapolating.”

Dexter closed the gap between them and trapped her with his arm on either side of her. He leaned so close his breath mingled with hers and her eyes crossed to see him. “Well? Did he extrapolate correctly? Are you in love with me?”

As she decided whether or not to confess that she was madly, deeply, and crazy in love with him, he got down on his knees and extracted a blue velvet case from his pocket. In front of her astonished eyes, he opened it to reveal the most gorgeous, breathtaking diamond solitaire she’d ever laid eyes on.

“I love you. I’m in love with you and I want to spend my life with you, Charity. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?”

In shock, she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move or speak. She could only drown in his beautiful, intoxicating, deep-brown eyes.

“Char?”

That pulled her out of her reverie, and she took the box and gazed at it open-mouthed. “Do you think it’ll fit me?”

Dexter stood and pulled out the ring and held it before her. With a plea in his voice, he asked, “Is that a ‘yes’?”

In rapture, she smiled and nodded her head and squealed, “Yes! Yes! And Yes! I’ll marry you.”

He crushed her to him and took possession of her lips. After he’d drunk long and deep like a man dying of thirst, he pulled back just far enough to gaze into her eyes. “Will you forsake all others and be all mine?”

She took the ring and tried it on but it was too loose.

“It was my grandmother’s. We can have it sized to fit.”

Tears sprang to her eyes and a lump choked her. He really did love her. “So you forgive me about the auction and that night? You won’t hold it against me?”

He cradled her against his heart and rested his cheek against hers. “That was the past. From here on out, it’s just you and me, babe, forever and ever.”

About the Author

Ashley Ladd lives in South Florida with her husband, five children, and beloved pets. She loves the water, animals (especially cats), and playing on the computer. She's been told she has a wicked sense of humour and often incorporates humour and adventure into her books. She also adores very spicy romance, which she weaves into her stories.

Email: [email protected]

Ashley Ladd loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com/.