Monday Morsels: Someone Special

SOMEONE SPECIAL

by Teresa Roman

Chapter 1

Once I found Tracey, I planned on strangling her. How she’d talked me into coming to our department’s annual Christmas party, I had no idea. And now that I was ready to call it a night, she was nowhere to be found. I scanned the crowd of co-workers and their dates gathered in the private party room at Nightingale, a trendy bar in Los Angeles, looking for her.

No luck.

Knowing Tracey, she’d probably decided to ditch our group and mingle with the rest of the club-goers. She still hadn’t outgrown the party girl phase of her life, unlike me, who pretty much had left it behind after graduating from college. Not that I’d ever been crazy about nightclubs. I preferred staying home with a good book.

Only a curtain separated the private party room from the rest of the club. I pulled it back and stared at the thick throng of people gathered around the bar. Undaunted, I weaved my way through the dance floor, turning my head from side to side, hoping I’d spot Tracey sooner rather than later.

I headed toward the bar, thinking that if I didn’t find Tracey, I could at least console myself with another drink, even though I’d already had one too many. I was almost there when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was.

Dr. Eric Kennedy, one of the emergency room doctors I worked with, leaned in, and because it was so loud in the club, shouted into my ear. “Hey, Dawn. What are you doing over here?”

“Looking for Tracey,” I shouted back. “Have you seen her?”

“Yeah. I think I saw her leaving with some guy a few minutes ago.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

He shook his head. “What’s the big deal?” he asked. “You know how Tracey is, she likes to have fun.”

“The big deal is she was my ride home.”

“Ouch,” Eric said, pinching his face into a pained expression for effect. “Maybe she’ll be back.”

I fished my phone out of my purse to see if I’d missed a text from her. Sure enough, I had.

Leaving early - can you get a ride from someone else?

Ugh. She’d left without even waiting for my reply.

“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.

“You were right.” I showed him my phone. “I have no idea how I’m going to get home now.”

He smiled that perfect smile of his and took my hand. “I can give you a ride. But not until you have a drink with me first . . . and then a dance.”

I shook my head. “I don’t dance.”

At least not in front of my co-workers, I didn’t. Which was the reason I didn’t want to go to the Christmas party in the first place. I liked keeping my personal life and my professional life separate. If I was going to get drunk and make a fool out of myself, it wouldn’t be around people I had to see at work every week. But Tracey went every year and begged me to go with her this time. Against my better judgement, I’d agreed.

We were both emergency room nurses, and the members of the medical group that staffed our ER had gotten together this year and decided they wanted to do something different. Instead of a sit-down dinner and drinks, they’d booked the private room at Nightingale for appetizers, drinks, and dancing. Tracey wasn’t about to turn down free alcohol at such a trendy place, or take no for an answer from me when she’d asked me to come, too.

Eric tugged on my hand, and I followed him reluctantly. Halfway across the dance floor, he turned around and shouted into my ear. “We can dance here. No one has to know.”

It was like he’d read my mind. He knew I didn’t really like my co-workers in my business. Although, even if he’d pulled me back into the party room I wouldn’t have refused if he truly insisted on a dance. Eric had that kind of power over me. Ever since I finished nursing school a few years back, I swore I wouldn’t get involved with any of the doctors I worked with—until Eric got hired last year. He was fresh out of his residency, sure of himself, full of energy, and handsome as hell. I’d always had a thing for tall men, and he towered over me by at least a foot. I loved the way his wavy dark hair contrasted with his cornflower blue eyes. But his looks weren’t the only reason I had a thing for him. I worked with plenty of doctors and a lot of them could be total jerks, but Eric never treated us nurses badly.

He rested his hands on my hips and the two of us swayed to the beat of the music.

“Did I tell you that you look amazing tonight?” he said.

“No.” I gave way to a goofy smile, but looked away quickly, hoping to hide it from him.

“Well, you do.”

We’d both only ever seen each other in hospital scrubs, and they weren’t exactly the most flattering attire. I wanted to make an impression tonight, which was why I’d made sure to wear something I knew would look good on me. I had on a cranberry-colored wrap dress with a deep V-neck that showed off my hourglass figure.

“You look nice, too,” I said, admiring how handsome he looked in something as simple as dark wash jeans and a black button-up shirt. Although with his perfectly chiseled body, he always looked good, even in hospital scrubs.

The song ended and I figured that meant our dancing had, too, but instead Eric pulled me closer to him. “Where do you think you’re going?”


Want to read more?

After Dawn Masters hooks up with her longtime crush at their department's holiday party, the last thing she expects is for him to dump her just days before Christmas. Devastated, Dawn swears off dating for good until hunky police officer Jude Morales convinces her to give him a chance.
 
He slowly coaxes her into trusting him, tearing down the wall she's built around her heart. But just as Dawn dares to hope she's found her someone special, Jude’s own issues, coupled with a serious injury in the line of duty, threaten her newfound happiness and leave her facing the possibility of yet another broken heart.

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