Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

Shaking her head, she looked up and watched in shock as he strode onto the stage. Dr. Braden Prescott. The man who’d walked out on her two years ago and apparently the new head physician for the Miami Thunder.

Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she heard the sound in her ears. He looked scrumptious in his dark suit and the short scruff of beard he hadn’t had last time she saw him. As if no time had passed, her traitorous body responded to his presence.

“Oh my God, he’s hot,” Steffy said, waving her hand in front of her face at the same time Willow spoke. “Oh, shit, that’s my ex.”

“What?” Steffy asked too loudly, then lowered her voice. “You were with that gorgeous guy?” Steffy had been hired not long after Braden left, and Willow had already locked up her feelings and closed them in a box in her mind, never to be opened again.

Willow nodded. “We were together for a year, but I haven’t seen him in two.”

“Well, you’ll be working with him now. Oh no! What will Cole think?” Steffy asked of the doctor on staff Willow was currently dating.

Her stomach twisted at the thought. She and Cole Walsh had just started going out. She was keeping things casual, and he respected her need to go slow. She hadn’t slept with anyone since Braden because she hadn’t met any man who made her want to allow him that close. She thought Cole had potential. Now she had Braden to contend with, although given how easily he’d taken off, she doubted he’d be interested in her now. And she wasn’t into second chances after being left.

“Your life suddenly got complicated,” Steffy muttered.

No shit, she thought.

“Can you handle it?” her friend asked.

“Doesn’t look like I have a choice.” Willow glanced at the podium once more and realized Braden was staring directly at her.

As he stood next to his cousin, the family resemblance was clear. Dark hair, strong jaw, full lips… She even remembered how good he smelled, the scent of his woodsy cologne, and the feel of his body against hers. She closed her eyes and wondered how in the fresh hell this had happened. The man she’d spent two years trying to forget would now be permanently in her orbit?

She grabbed her phone and whispered, “I’m going to get ready for my next patient.” It was a lie. She didn’t have anyone on schedule, and Steffy probably knew it.

But she needed to get out of this room full of people and hole up in her office, where she could catch her breath and shore up her defenses against Braden Prescott, MD.

* * *

Braden watched Willow stand up and walk out the side door of the press room, and his sole goal was to get through this conference and find her. He’d noted the shock in her expression upon seeing him and kicked himself for not warning her ahead of time. Not that she’d have taken his call, but he could have texted or left a message.

She looked beautiful, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, her face lightly made up. He couldn’t see what she wore besides the black long-sleeve workout top that clung to her curves. If he had any doubt about his feelings, if he’d wondered whether time was making him long for someone and seeing her would shake him out of his stupor, he now knew.

He wanted her back.

Forcing himself to focus, he answered questions about his background. Discussed how he’d finished college early, fast-tracked med school and his residency, worked at a clinic downtown, then done his stint with MSF. He was also board-certified in sports medicine, something he’d done because of his brothers’ career choices. He wanted to be available if needed. Now he was home and ready for the opportunity to head the team.

Had family strings been pulled in his hiring? Ian had answered that question. Probably but Ian was adamant that Braden was trustworthy and that mattered when his team had been shattered by Dr. Jonas’s betrayal. He’d ended questions there.

Braden strode off the stage, determined to see Willow, only to be waylaid by team members wanting to welcome him, and he had to take time for the introductions and conversations with the people he’d be working with in the upcoming days and weeks. They needed to get to know and trust him with their bodies and injuries, and he wouldn’t shirk those responsibilities in favor of his love life.

“Good job!” a familiar voice said with warmth and excitement.

“Brianne!” He turned to face his twin with a grin, extremely happy to see her.

Being away from his family had been difficult. Being separated from his twin sister had been twice as hard. He and Bri had a bond no one but them could really understand. Since he’d been home, she’d been busy with clients and planning their brother Jaxon’s wedding, while he’d been organizing his new life, renting an apartment, and conducting meetings with Ian about this job.