Prognosis: Romance (Doctors in Training 4)

“I like being with you, James. You…intrigue me.”

“I thought you said I made you nervous. And wary.”

“All of the above,” she replied, sounding amused. “Which makes it even more interesting spending time with you.”

Taking encouragement from her smile, he leaned his head toward hers. “I enjoy being with you, too, Shannon.”

She planted a hand on his chest, holding him an inch away from making contact with her lips. “Just so you know…I’m not looking for anything long-term. I’m not interested in that right now. After two failed relationships before I even turned twenty-five, I want to concentrate on just leading my own life for a while.”

He nodded. “I got that idea, already. And I’m not planning to disrupt your life. After all, I’ll be out of the state for two of the last three months of this year, then leaving again in May to pursue a six-year residency.”

“So you’re just looking to have a little fun while you finish your last year of school?”

He wouldn’t have put it that way, exactly, but he supposed it was close enough. “Sure.”

Apparently, it was enough to put Shannon more at ease with him. After a momentary pause, she dimpled up at him. “Okay. Personally, I think you need to have a little fun before you dive into your residency.”

His attention focused on her smile. His mind swirled with disjointed images of some of the fun he could have with her, and his body responded uncomfortably to those mental pictures. It had definitely been too long since he’d had, um, fun.

Taking him by surprise, Shannon curled her fingers around his shirt, drawing him toward her rather than holding him off this time. She rose on tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth.

“Thanks for going with me tonight, James,” she said as she drew away. “I enjoyed it.”

He caught her shoulders and lowered his head to steal a more thorough kiss. “Good night, Shannon,” he said rather gruffly when he forced himself eventually to break away, far from satisfied but knowing when to quit. For now.

Her expression flatteringly dazed, she cleared her throat. “Um—g’night,” she muttered and fumbled quickly with the door. She closed it between them with a loud snap.

Smiling a little, James turned and walked back to his car, knowing he would see her again soon.

Shannon almost dreaded the visit with her nephew Monday afternoon. Though she wanted to see Kyle, she suspected she would be grilled by her other family members about her outing with James. She refused to call it a date since it hadn’t been either her idea or his to attend the play together—they’d let themselves be persuaded by her matchmaking mom.

She wished her family could understand that she was perfectly content being single for now. They seemed to think her heart had been broken by Greg and then Philip, and that she needed to be nudged back into the dating scene by her well-meaning loved ones. She’d tried but apparently failed to convince them that both of those relationships had left her with more bruises than breaks.

Yes, Greg had dumped her, but to be honest, she’d already been considering breaking that ill-advised teenage engagement. In hindsight and with the wisdom gained from a few more years of living, she saw now that the betrothal had been spurred as much by their other high-school friends getting engaged as by a true desire on her part to tie herself to Greg for the rest of her life. She had indulged in youthful fantasies of a white-lace wedding, but the thought of the marriage that would follow had given her concern even then. Greg had simply made the decision for them both while she’d been dithering about how to break the news to him without hurting him too badly—which seemed ironic now.

As for Philip, her family seemed to forget that she was the one who had ended that relatively brief relationship. It had never progressed to the engagement stage. He hadn’t considered her properly groomed yet to be the wife of a socially-conscious dentist. He’d expressed concerns about the independent streak she’d been cultivating even then, and about her stubbornness when she made up her own mind about what was best for her. Her outspokenness was something else he’d criticized. He’d advised her only half-teasingly on several occasions to let an occasional thought go unvoiced—especially if it involved any sort of criticism of him.

She could see now that she was lucky to be free of both of them—and that she’d gained that freedom while still young and otherwise unencumbered—but her marriage-and-children-obsessed family were convinced she would be better off with someone to “take care of her.” She supposed it was the fate of the youngest child to always be seen as somewhat dependent or in need of protection. Even though she’d been making it on her own for some time now.

She walked into the boy’s room with a bright smile pasted on her face and a colorful, spaceship-shaped Mylar balloon bobbing above her head. She’d just gotten off work at the toy store and she’d picked up the balloon on her way out.

“Cool, thanks, Aunt Shannon!”

She kissed her nephew’s cheek, then tied the balloon to the bedrail where he could see it floating above him. “You’re welcome.”

“Well…?” her mother asked eagerly.

Her mother and Stacy were the only other visitors at the moment. Shannon turned to them with her hands on her hips and a firm set of her jaw. “The food was good, the play was cute, and James and I had a very nice time. He took me home, walked me to my door and that was the end of it, okay? I really see no need to analyze every minute, as I’m sure the two of you are just itching to do.”

“Did he kiss you good-night, Aunt Shannon?”

Her jaw dropping, Shannon whirled toward the bed. She’d hoped at least her nephew would be more interested in something other than her social life! “Holy kamoley, Kyle—”

But Stacy and their mother were laughing now, so maybe Kyle’s teasingly naive question had been a good thing.

“That, young man, is none of your business,” Shannon said, touching a fingertip to her nephew’s up-tilted nose. Quickly changing the subject, she looked at her sister. “What did the doctors say today?”

She was sure that Stacy would have liked to ask more about the evening with James, but maybe because of Kyle’s avid listening, Stacy allowed herself to be diverted. Kyle’s medical reports were excellent and he was still expected to leave the hospital Wednesday morning. Stacy would have her hands full taking care of him and the baby. J.P. would pitch in when he wasn’t at work, and the twins were old enough to help out quite a bit around the house, which Shannon knew they did. Their mother would help, too, so Shannon wasn’t too worried about her sister, though Stacy would expect plenty of sympathy during the next few weeks.