Best Laid Plans (The Best Girls 4)

He reached out his hand and pressed the elevator stop button. “No more running away from me, Charlie. Talk to me.”

Silence hung in the air, a thick heavy vapor, as he waited for her response. “It won’t work... We won’t work, Josh.”

“Because you saw those pictures on my phone? It’s that crazy nurse from the hospital in Colorado. She’s insane, Charlie. I don’t even look at the pictures.”

“You had them saved,” she argued.

“Because Olivia wanted me to report her or file charges or something. I’ve been erasing them. I don’t want her or any other woman. I want you.”

“That’s not the real problem anyway.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“You don’t... I’m not... You don’t realize it, but I’ll never be enough for you.”

“What are you talking about? You’re all I want. Only you, Charlie.”

“But, I’m not...” She felt her face flaming, but she had to tell him. She extracted herself from his grasp and turned her back. “I’m really small, Josh. And I’m totally inexperienced. And you’re... We’re just not compatible. You’d be disappointed, and I wouldn’t be able to bear it.” Now the words were out, she cringed, waiting for him to admit the truth. He would probably claim he didn’t care, but she would hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Uhmm... Charlie, you do realize I’m a doctor, right? I mean, are we talking about your body here?” His voice held a lilt of amusement.

“I know you’re a doctor.” She swirled to face him with her hands on her hips. “And I know you’ve seen lots of bodies. But this is different, and you know it.”

“But that’s just it, I can look at big breasts any time, and it doesn’t do anything for me. But

you... I mean your body... Now that does something to me. And surely you realize what an amazing body you have.”

“But it’s not. It’s... “ She looked down and muttered, “It’s like a boy.”

His laughter filled the elevator. “Surely you don’t believe that, Charlie.”

Her eyes stung at the sheer embarrassment of the situation. She couldn’t believe they were actually discussing her lack of endowment.

“Charlie. Seriously. I promise you—you don’t look like a boy. You’re beautiful.”

“You don’t know,” she sniffed.

“Uhmm... Actually, I do.”

Charlie’s breath strangled in her throat. What was he talking about? How could he know? She saw a myriad of emotions pass across his face, as it turned red to the tips of his ears. “What... What do you mean?”

“Eh-hem... In the ER after the accident... You know, I’m a doctor and everyone was just trying desperately to save your life. I wasn’t thinking like that at all. Except...”

“You looked?”

“It wasn’t like that, not when I thought you were dying.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “But, after we got your heart started and I knew you were going to make it, I may have kind of gone berserk. It seemed to me Dr. Garrett left you uncovered a little too long. And I...” He turned his face away from her. “According to Brad, I kind of shoved Dr. Garrett out of the way, so I could pull the sheet up and started shouting orders at people. I think that’s when I realized how possessive I felt about you.”

Charlie hadn’t thought her face could get any hotter, but her mortification was complete. Josh had seen her!

He continued on, his voice pleading. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look. But I couldn’t help it. And I promise I’ve totally forgotten.” He gazed at her with a solemn expression until the corners of his mouth twitched, and his dimples peeked out.

She covered her face with her hands. “You haven’t forgotten.”

“Okay, maybe I haven’t quite forgotten. It’s actually possible that I’ve been fantasizing about you every night.”

“Ohmygosh!” she said into her fingers.

“But don’t you see, this proves you were wrong. I think you have an amazing body.”