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me.”
    His lips part in the familiar, natural smile that’s always warmed my heart. Unfortunately, it’s warming other parts of me, too.
    “You think my smile’s sexy.”  
    Damn. “Not the one you’ve perfected by looking in the mirror. That might work on your bimbos, but it won’t work on me.”
    His face slides into neutral.  
    This must be his professional face. The one he uses with regular patients. I don’t like it. I prefer his angry face. The one he uses on ‘stubborn and stupid’ patients, like me.  
    “I didn’t realize my smile was offensive. I’ll work on it.”
    I sigh before I can stop myself. “It’s not offensive. It’s just not…you.”
    “Don’t pretend you know who I am.” His voice is quiet but it’s hard and sharp. It cuts me to the bone.
    I roll onto my side, towards the wall. I don’t want him to see how easily, or deeply, he affects me.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” The mattress dips as he sits on the edge of my bed. He gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze then jerks his hand away as if touching me was painful. “I’ll be in Boone’s room if you need me.”
    “I won’t.”  

Chapter Eight
Rowdy

    Skylar knows damn well that I was referring to her physical health when I said I was here if she needed me. Her ‘I won’t’ response is so full of spite it fills the room with hostility. The bed springs creak when I stand up.  
    “Rowdy, wait.”  
    I freeze in her doorway, one hand braced against the frame. I should run and never look back. I’ve been with her for less than an hour and already she’s eating through my ironclad defenses like acid. Skylar devastated me last time. I won’t survive if she does it again. I need to leave but my feet are nailed to the floor.
    “Do you remember the first time we kissed?”
    What the fuck? Skylar’s question blasts a hole through my chest, shattering the last of my defenses.
    “Yeah.” As if it were yesterday. I was fourteen, skinny, awkward and terrified. She was thirteen and sporting braces, a lopsided ponytail and a sunburned nose. I remember the feeling of vertigo as I tried to decide whether or not to risk six years of friendship for something more. We’d climbed The Naked Edge earlier that day and it wasn’t nearly as scary as teetering on that precipice of indecision. “What about it?”
    “I think about it a lot.” Her voice is so quiet it’s barely above a whisper, but her words are like a battering ram.  
    Why is she bringing up all this old shit? What kind of game is this? I need to get out of here but if I leave without answering her, I might as well hand her my balls. I turn around and face her like a man. “I remember bumping noses, knocking teeth and cutting my mouth on your braces.”  
    Her shoulders slump. She drops her gaze to her hands.
    Great. Only a dick would leave after a hateful remark like that.
    “Was it the first time you’d ever kissed anyone?”  
    I try to make up for my chicken shit answer with pure truth. “I had all my firsts with you, Sky.”  
    She looks up. Her eyes sparkle with unshed tears but she doesn’t look quite as miserable now.
    I tap the tips of my fingers on her wall. Once, twice, then fist my hand to make it stop. “I should leave and let you get some rest.”
    “Please don’t go.” Her voice trembles and it damn near breaks what’s left of my heart.  
    “What’s wrong, babe?” Shit. I didn’t mean to call her babe.
    “I miss my mom.”
    She’s been here for less than a day and she’s homesick already? She used to stay here for the whole summer. The only time she cried was when she had to leave me to go back home. “Why don’t you give her a call?”
    “I can’t.” A broken sob rushes out of her chest. “She died.”
    I cross the room in two strides and pull her into my arms. It’s the first time I’ve felt whole since she left. It’s going to hurt like a son of a bitch when she pushes me away. I know this, but I can’t