well her surgery had gone, and with just as little passion.
She knew he had a measured approach to life, but she hadn’t wanted to just be told that she was looking good; she’d wanted to feel it. She’d wanted his smoldering gaze to silently tell her that what he really wanted was to cut the party short, take her back to his place, and get her out of the dress she was wearing.
The trouble was, she’d never seen Donovan give a look like that. It wasn’t exactly the proper thing to do, was it? As for going to bed together…well, they’d hardly seen much of recently, and when they had, they’d both been so busy with planning the wedding.
Donovan always told her he believed the key to a successful relationship was clear and open lines of communication. Now, if only they could find enough time to work on those lines.
Well, now wasn’t the moment; that was for sure. They were currently standing beside one of Donovan’s friends who was telling a story about the time they’d both talked a senatorial candidate into a face lift and the apparently miraculous results it had produced for his career. She had been introduced to Edward at a champagne toast earlier in the week. He had a different woman by his side tonight, though to Rose’s eye they were more or less interchangeably blonde and pretty.
“…and now we have at least one friend in high places,” Edward said, “thanks to Donovan.”
“His eyebrows are in a high place, at least,” another surgeon joked. “Permanently, now.”
That got a laugh from everyone, and Rose remembered to join in at the last second.
“To Donovan and his lovely bride to be,” Edward finished.
His toast was abbreviated to simply “To Donovan!” when everyone else said it, but Rose was willing to let that go. After all, he was their friend and she knew she should be making more of an effort. The trouble was that half the things she felt like saying weren’t exactly things she suspected the group would think of as witty or funny...or even appropriate.
“It’s nice of so many people to want to wish us well, isn’t it?” Donovan said a short while later.
“It is,” Rose agreed with a smile that felt brittle, especially when compared to how much fun she’d had out at the Little League field earlier that day with RJ and the children.
Thinking of RJ during this party had Rose feeling terribly disloyal. She reached for Donovan’s hand, but as she did so, her mind immediately flicked back to the feel of RJ’s large, calloused hand in hers during the game. Reaching for him had been such a simple, natural thing to do.
God, what was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be thinking about RJ at all this close to her wedding. Yet thoughts of him kept coming, kept intruding. Like how she could imagine the way he’d liven up this party, for one thing. Even without saying much, he’d make it so easy for her to feel comfortable. With RJ, she’d be able to relax.
Why should she need him around to do that though? Maybe all she needed here was to loosen up just a little. Rose resolved to try it with the next couple they ended up talking to, another plastic surgeon with another pretty blonde on his arm.
“Frank,” Donovan said, “it’s good to see you.”
“I wouldn’t miss your celebration, now would I?”
Donovan nodded to the woman with his friend. “Tiffany, you’re looking great as always.”
“So, what do you do, Tiffany?” Rose asked.
The other woman looked surprised by her question. “I’m a model. Thanks, in large part, to Frank’s brilliant work.”
The words, A little re-modeling before the modeling? sounded in Rose’s head, but she knew better than to say them. Instead she simply forced her smile to remain fixed on her face.
“Frank,” Donovan said, “weren’t you telling me that you were planning on opening up a new practice?”
“That’s right. Not too far from you, as it happens. But don’t worry, I won’t steal all of your clients,” he said
She knew he had a measured approach to life, but she hadn’t wanted to just be told that she was looking good; she’d wanted to feel it. She’d wanted his smoldering gaze to silently tell her that what he really wanted was to cut the party short, take her back to his place, and get her out of the dress she was wearing.
The trouble was, she’d never seen Donovan give a look like that. It wasn’t exactly the proper thing to do, was it? As for going to bed together…well, they’d hardly seen much of recently, and when they had, they’d both been so busy with planning the wedding.
Donovan always told her he believed the key to a successful relationship was clear and open lines of communication. Now, if only they could find enough time to work on those lines.
Well, now wasn’t the moment; that was for sure. They were currently standing beside one of Donovan’s friends who was telling a story about the time they’d both talked a senatorial candidate into a face lift and the apparently miraculous results it had produced for his career. She had been introduced to Edward at a champagne toast earlier in the week. He had a different woman by his side tonight, though to Rose’s eye they were more or less interchangeably blonde and pretty.
“…and now we have at least one friend in high places,” Edward said, “thanks to Donovan.”
“His eyebrows are in a high place, at least,” another surgeon joked. “Permanently, now.”
That got a laugh from everyone, and Rose remembered to join in at the last second.
“To Donovan and his lovely bride to be,” Edward finished.
His toast was abbreviated to simply “To Donovan!” when everyone else said it, but Rose was willing to let that go. After all, he was their friend and she knew she should be making more of an effort. The trouble was that half the things she felt like saying weren’t exactly things she suspected the group would think of as witty or funny...or even appropriate.
“It’s nice of so many people to want to wish us well, isn’t it?” Donovan said a short while later.
“It is,” Rose agreed with a smile that felt brittle, especially when compared to how much fun she’d had out at the Little League field earlier that day with RJ and the children.
Thinking of RJ during this party had Rose feeling terribly disloyal. She reached for Donovan’s hand, but as she did so, her mind immediately flicked back to the feel of RJ’s large, calloused hand in hers during the game. Reaching for him had been such a simple, natural thing to do.
God, what was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be thinking about RJ at all this close to her wedding. Yet thoughts of him kept coming, kept intruding. Like how she could imagine the way he’d liven up this party, for one thing. Even without saying much, he’d make it so easy for her to feel comfortable. With RJ, she’d be able to relax.
Why should she need him around to do that though? Maybe all she needed here was to loosen up just a little. Rose resolved to try it with the next couple they ended up talking to, another plastic surgeon with another pretty blonde on his arm.
“Frank,” Donovan said, “it’s good to see you.”
“I wouldn’t miss your celebration, now would I?”
Donovan nodded to the woman with his friend. “Tiffany, you’re looking great as always.”
“So, what do you do, Tiffany?” Rose asked.
The other woman looked surprised by her question. “I’m a model. Thanks, in large part, to Frank’s brilliant work.”
The words, A little re-modeling before the modeling? sounded in Rose’s head, but she knew better than to say them. Instead she simply forced her smile to remain fixed on her face.
“Frank,” Donovan said, “weren’t you telling me that you were planning on opening up a new practice?”
“That’s right. Not too far from you, as it happens. But don’t worry, I won’t steal all of your clients,” he said
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