“I don’t think any swooning happened.”

  “Oh, I’m sure there was some. You’ve got the suave debonair thing down. How many girlfriends did you have back then?”

  “One.”

  “Only one?”

  Sam nodded. “Her parents found out and pulled her from school. Honestly I don’t have the best luck with relationships. Lately I’ve settled for the friends with benefits thing.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with the sex with strangers thing either. Residents have a hard schedule. You can’t expect it’s going to work dating a normal person.”

  “Sex with strangers? You’ve done that?”

  “Because we both know that we’re going to remember this conversation, even if it’s off the record, I’m not going to answer that. All I’ll say is that I don’t fault anyone for their choices as long as everyone’s consenting.”

  Sam wasn’t sure why she was surprised at the thought of Terri having sex with strangers. Maybe because she seemed like the type of woman that someone would try and tie down. Figuratively or literally. Sam swallowed as her thoughts tumbled that direction. Terri, in handcuffs, on her bed…

  “Did I say too much? You’ve got this look on your face that has me worried.” Terri pursed her lips. “This one hour off the record thing might be a bad idea.”

  “I was only thinking…I’m not sure I’d want to have sex with strangers. If it’s good sex, I wouldn’t want them to stay strangers.”

  “Some people don’t want commitment.” Terri looked as if she wanted to say more, but the instructor had finished going around the room and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.

  “Leads, please take your partner’s hand.”

  Sam took a deep breath and held out her hand. “Remember, this doesn’t go on my review.”

  “What if you’re good?”

  Sam grinned. “There are so many things I could say in response to that.”

  “Very funny. But I only meant dancing.”

  The first notes of “The Blue Danube” filled the space, and Sam shifted in front of Terri. Her heart raced as Terri’s palm pressed against hers, and she hoped she’d remember the dance moves. She placed her other hand on the smooth line of Terri’s shoulder blade. Nerves fired at every point their skin made contact.

  “This okay?”

  Terri dipped her head. The nod was subtle, but the effect—no words, only acquiescence—kicked up Sam’s arousal. Terri’s hand settled on her upper arm, and Sam immediately wondered what her lips would feel like. She stepped forward and they were in motion.

  Sam fell into the steps, letting the music carry her, and before long the room slipped away. She forgot about everything except the place where Terri’s hand rested on her arm and the feeling in her body when Terri’s eyes held hers.

  “I don’t think you need this class,” Terri said. She moved close as they stepped around another couple and the scent of her perfume caught Sam’s attention.

  “I’ll take that compliment.” Sam shifted their path toward a space in the center of the room.

  “You should. I don’t give compliments out often, so you might want to hold onto it.”

  “So you’re never going to tell me that my records are stellar or that I have amazing diagnostic abilities?”

  “Unlikely.”

  “Then after a long day seeing patients, I’ll have to remember that at least I’m good at waltzing. I’m sure it’ll come in handy at some point.”

  Sam congratulated herself on Terri’s smirk. She added, “This isn’t your first time either. Or you’re a quick study.”

  “I’m a quick study on a lot of things.”

  The innuendo lit through Sam. “Why am I not surprised? You know, I fully expect you’ll ignore me after tonight, but this is nice.”

  “As long as we’re on the same page,” Terri returned.

  Sam knew she didn’t have much of a chance, but the way Terri looked at her, her gaze an open challenge, made her want to try even harder to win her over.

  They passed by Reed and Julia who still hadn’t moved from their starting spot. “You two doing okay?” Sam asked.

  Julia pursed her lips. “We’re getting there.”

  “Okay, so it goes: one-two-three. Right?” Reed’s brow furrowed as she studied her feet.

  “Sweetie, it’s possible you’re overthinking this,” Julia said. “Maybe we could try it without saying the numbers at all.”

  “I heard somewhere that everyone looks at the bride anyway. What if I stand in one spot and you dance around me?”

  Julia shook her head. “The fact that you’re sexy is not enough to get you out of this dancing thing.”

  “I could try to be sexier.”

  “Not possible.” Julia stood on her tip-toes and pecked Reed’s cheek.

  Sam looked back at Terri. “They’re adorable.”

  “And perfect for each other. Some people get lucky in life.”

  “But at the moment it looks like she’d rather be passing a kidney stone.”

  Terri squinted at the pair. “Which one?”

  Sam laughed. Terri’s subtle sarcastic humor wasn’t something she’d expected. Then again, she’d had no idea what to expect from tonight. The instructor switched off the music, ending on an open note that would likely have made Strauss turn in his grave, and Sam reluctantly let go of Terri’s hand.

  “Let’s try this again with new partners,” the instructor announced, quickly pointing off pairs.

  Sam swallowed her disappointment and made her way over to where her new partner waited. She shook the woman’s hand and then glanced back at Terri. Her new partner said something to make her smile, and although Sam knew she had no claim to her, she felt a flush of jealousy when he took Terri’s hand.

  Sam held out her hand and her new partner clasped it. The feel of the stranger’s grip on her arm confirmed that she didn’t want to dance with anyone except Terri.

  As it turned out, they never finished “The Blue Danube.” The instructor kept switching from song to song and changing up dance partners nearly as frequently. Sam only made it back to Terri for the last song and before she’d relaxed enough to try chatting, the instructor ended class.

  Terri let go of her hand and took a step back. “That was more fun than I thought it’d be.”

  “Does that mean you’re converted to ballroom dancing?”

  “Not quite. I still prefer club dancing.” She paused. “You’re a way better dancer than any of the other partners I had tonight. That must have been some boarding school education.”

  “Never thought it’d pay off. ” Sam nodded to the handful of folks talking to the instructor about the next class. “So, I take it you’re not signing up for a full semester?”

  “I’m at that point in my life where I can’t even commit to a magazine subscription. You?”

  “Most nights I’m not out of the hospital before ten.” Although if Terri had said she’d sign up for the classes, Sam would have found a way to make it happen. “These past few weeks on Radiology have definitely been an exception.”

  “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

  Sam knew the early evenings would be over as soon as she began working with Terri, but she couldn’t wait to start. Radiology, and Reed specifically, had been a surprise bright spot in an otherwise terrible year. She’d pressed through a lot of it, thinking about how close she was to the month she’d be working in Med-Peds.

  When the instructor started in with announcements for the next few classes, Terri went over to her purse and picked up her phone. She frowned at the screen and then cussed under her breath.

  “Everything okay?”

  “I have to go back to the hospital.” Terri quickly tapped out a text and then tossed the phone back in her purse.

  “Do you want company?”

  Terri raised an eyebrow. “No.”

  Sam shrugged. “Worth a shot.” And she didn’t regret asking. Terri’s rejection wasn’t as icy as it’d been at the pub, and her expression had a playful look of exasperation that made Sam wish the night wasn’t ending. If she had another hour, maybe she could convince Terri to give her a chance.

  “See you around.” Terri swung her purse over her shoulder.

  Sam didn’t have time to stammer out a goodbye. She watched Terri hug Reed and Julia and the next moment she’d slipped outside. The other couples still milled about the room and their chatter filled the space, but Sam stared at the door wondering what would happen if she tried to catch up with Terri. Reed clapped her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts.

  “Thanks for coming tonight.”

  “Yeah, no problem.” Sam forced a smile.

  “I actually did have fun,” Reed said. “Not a lot of fun, but it wasn’t horrible.”

  “A couple more classes and you’re gonna be ready for pro.”

  “Sure—if I had your feet. You made it look easy. I told Julia it’s a good thing we’re going first otherwise I’d be even more of a joke out there.”

  “You’re gonna be fine. Though another class or two wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Julia’s signing us up for another month.” Reed motioned to Julia, who was chatting with the instructor. “Maybe you and Terri can sign up too?”

  “I did try to ask, but…”

  “Turned down before you could even get the words out?”

  Sam sighed. “How’d you know?”

  “’Cause I know Terri. Trust me, she likes you. I’ve seen her around enough people to know. If you like her, I wouldn’t give up quite yet.”

  Sam thought of how fast Terri had split. “You really think I might have a chance?”

  “I think you wouldn’t lose anything asking her out on a date.” Reed reached into her pocket for her phone. “She’s gonna kill me for this, but I’m texting you her number.”

  “Wait, don’t. I can’t call her if I didn’t ask for her number. If she kills you just for giving me the number, think of what she’ll do to me.”

  “You’ve clearly figured Terri out.” Reed slipped her phone back in her pocket. “But it’s too late. I already sent you the number. Thanks again for coming tonight.”

  Sam imagined the tongue-lashing she’d receive from Terri simply for calling. She’d have to delete Reed’s text. If she kept Terri’s number, sooner or later she’d be tempted to call.

  Julia came over and slipped her arm around Reed. “Hey, sexy. Can I take you home?”

  “Yes, please.” Reed turned back to Sam. “I think you should call her. What do you have to lose?”

  “I do have to work with her, you know.”

  Reed nodded. “But we both know you want to call her anyway.”

  Reed was right, but Sam didn’t say as much.

  After they’d gone, Sam took out her phone. She stepped outside and read the text from Reed. Her finger hovered over Terri’s number, ready to delete. Before she had time to second-guess, she touched the call button instead.

  The line went right to voice mail and she tried not to feel deflated. Terri probably didn’t answer numbers she didn’t recognize. After a moment’s indecision about leaving a message, she ended the call.

  Why the heck was she hung up on Terri anyway? She knew where to find a date for the evening if she wanted it. She wasn’t desperate. And she didn’t need to be chasing someone who clearly didn’t want to give her the time of day.

  Her phone rang, and it took her a moment to realize Terri was calling her back. She answered on the second ring, her heart racing.

  “Sam?”

  “Hi.” Think. But all thoughts had slipped out of her mind with the sound of Terri’s voice.

  “Did you mean to call me?”

  “Yeah. Sort of. I mean, not sort of. I meant to call. But now I’m thinking it was probably a bad idea. Well, I knew it was a bad idea before.” Sam paced in a circle in front of the dance studio. She needed to sound intelligent ten seconds ago. “I didn’t ask Reed for your number. She texted it to me, but I told her not to. Not because I didn’t want it, but because you didn’t give it to me. So I wasn’t going to call because you didn’t give me your number and I didn’t ask. And I figured that you wouldn’t want me to call but then—”

  “Okay, stop.” Terri laughed. “You know how you said you were cool?”

  “Actually I said I’m really not cool.” At least Terri was laughing. That was something.

  “Reed texted me your number too. That’s how I knew it was you.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “Did you have something you wanted to say?”

  “Yeah. I did. I still do.” Sam stopped pacing, wishing she’d planned out what to say before she’d tried calling. “It’s a nice night and I don’t want it to be over yet. I thought maybe…maybe you’d want to meet up after you finish whatever you need to do at the hospital.”

  There was a long pause before Terri said, “What time is it?”

  “Quarter to nine.”

  “Does that mean our free hour is up?”

  “Ten minutes ago.” Sam wished she’d made better use of that time.

  “Tonight was fun. But I meant what I said.”

  “The part about me not being cool or the part about you not socializing with residents?” When Terri didn’t answer, Sam knew. “I should have called ten minutes ago, huh?”

  “Reed shouldn’t have given you my number.”

  Sam wanted to say that there were a lot of things people shouldn’t do but did anyway. But the words didn’t come out.

  “I have to go, Sam. I’ll see you around.”

  For a long moment after Terri ended the call, Sam stared at the screen. There would have been no point in asking her out to dinner, but she wished that she had anyway. And it was too late to argue that she was only a resident for another two years. She had to forget about a date and go back to referring to Terri as Dr. Anderson.

  Before she’d made it to her car, her phone beeped with a text. She immediately hoped it was Terri. It wasn’t.

  Megan: Can I have you tonight?

  Megan’s timing was either shitty or perfect. Sam drummed her fingers on the side of the phone, debating her answer. She might be terrible company, thinking of Terri the whole time. Or maybe Megan would manage to get Terri off her mind for a while. Either way, she wouldn’t hurt Megan’s feelings.

  All Megan wanted was no-strings-attached sex. Wanting more than that felt ridiculous, but Sam couldn’t help it. The same rule applied to so many things. She didn’t want what everyone thought she should want. No matter how hard she tried.

  Chapter Three

  Aside from feeling like she was walking on eggshells, the first day with Elizabeth Samuels on her team went perfectly. As did the day after. Terri found herself relaxing when a week passed without any mention of the dance class or any mention of the phone call afterward. Well, she’d relaxed as much as she could around someone who made her distracted with one look. She got through each day by keeping a razor-sharp focus on their cases and was quickly impressed when Sam did the same.

  So, two weeks in, the bouquet of flowers in front of her office completely blindsided her. Terri unlocked the door and picked up the vase, unable to help herself from admiring the delicate purple irises interspersed with daisies and a handful of sunset-colored calla lilies. Simply put, they were gorgeous.

  McReynolds had the office next to hers, and he’d already informed her that he’d spotted Samuels delivering the flowers. Terri didn’t respond to his questioning smile and instead asked if he had settled on his choice of vacation days. The distraction tactic had worked, and McReynolds was back in his office with the door closed, probably thinking of his plans for Tahiti in January.

  She set the arrangement on her desk and the space immediately brightened as if she’d thrown open a curtain. Fortunately it wasn’t a dozen long-stemmed red roses. But still. What the hell was she going to say to Sam?

  Forcing away the impulse to check for a card, she put her purse in the usual drawer and then reached for the desk phone to check voice mail. Surprisingly, she had no messages. She hung up the line and pulled the vase closer, poking through the leaves to find a card. Nothing. She pushed the vase to the other side of her computer and sat down in her chair.

  “Knock, knock.”

  Terri looked up to see Reed’s outline in the doorway. She blamed the flowers for the fact that she’d completely forgotten to close the door. At least it was only Reed. Anyone else would have gotten the stink-eye for bothering her before seven. “Hey.”

  “Nice flowers. Got a minute?”

  “For you I always have a minute. What’s up?” Hopefully Reed wouldn’t ask where the flowers had come from, but at least she could honestly say they didn’t come with a card.

  Reed held up a sticky note. “Julia put this on my morning coffee. She said I had to give it to you first thing.”

  Terri reached for the note and smiled. It was a drawing of a kidney complete with anatomic labels for the different parts. A cartoon heart had been added around it and “Thank you” was written in bubble letters below. “I’m guessing this is from Carly?”

  Reed nodded.

  “She’s got mad skills with crayons.”

  “You’re the one with the mad skills.” Reed paused. “Sometimes I scoop her up to give her a hug and it hits me how close I came to losing her. You have no idea how many times I’ve silently thanked you.”

  “You thanked me enough when it happened. And you know I would have given her my own kidney if it would’ve helped. I love Carly. Both of your kids.” Terri had treated Carly a few years back and she loved the thank you notes she still got. Nothing was better than a note from a kid she’d helped. “Tell her I’m impressed she remembered the renal artery and vein.”

  “I will. By the way, she keeps bugging me about having you over for a barbeque.”

  “Carly does?”

  “Apparently you told her you liked barbeques. I’m sure it was months ago, but that kid doesn’t forget a damn thing. Anyway, I was thinking next Sunday could work. Not this weekend—we’re going down to see Mo and Kate at their new place.”

  Terri had a vague recollection of a conversation with Carly about liking barbequed chicken. Clearly Carly had misunderstood her, but now she was stuck. A barbeque at Reed’s was a half-day project. “Reed, my schedule is a nightmare for the next month.”