After the Christmas Party by Janice Lynn Page A

woman’s brow rose. “I’m your only patient? A brilliant doctor like you? That’s surprising and a bit worrisome.”
    Riley laughed and winked at the older woman. “You’re a quick one, Jewel.”
    “That I am.” The woman beamed.
    Trinity smothered a smile and clicked to save and sign the data she’d entered.
    “You going to let me go home today?”
    Riley shook his head. “Now, why would I do that when your nurse just told you the reasons why you should stay?”
    Jewel shrugged her heavy shoulders. “I was just checking.”
    “Anyone ever tell you what a testy thing you are?” Riley teased the older woman, pulling his stethoscope from his pocket and cleaning the diaphragm with an alcohol swab.
    “Only my husband.” The woman’s face took on a happy glow. “God bless him.”
    Riley laughed and placed his stethoscope on Jewel’s chest.
    The breathy woman watched his every move. Glancing up, she noticed that Trinity also watched his every move.
    Jewel motioned towards Riley then waggled her drawn-on eyebrows.
    Noticing the movement, Riley glanced up, caught just enough that he glanced back and forth between them. “Okay, you two, what are you cooking up?”
    Trinity shook her head. No way was she going there. Jewel would have to do her matchmaking elsewhere because as sweet as Riley was to her and as fine as he seemed to be with everyone thinking they were a couple, she didn’t fool herself that he was a Prince Charming who was going to slip a pair of glass slippers onto her feet.
    Or even a pair of pink hightop sneakers.
    She’d do well to remember that.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    L ETTING HIS GAZE soak up the sight of Trinity in her dark navy scrubs, Riley stepped up beside where she worked at the nurses’ station. “Dr. Stanley is having a small impromptu get-together tomorrow night, just dinner and drinks, to celebrate the holidays.”
    Trinity looked briefly at Riley then went back to studying the computer monitor.
    “Would you like to go?”
    “No, thank you,” she immediately replied, without another glance his way.
    Tempted to scream with frustration, Riley sighed. “Do you know any words other than those?”
    “Yes.”
    “Great.” He rubbed his hands together in glee. “You really do. We should get you in the habit of using them more often. Let’s practice. Trinity, will you go to a Christmas dinner party with me tomorrow night?”
    She arched a brow at him. “You want me to be a yes-girl?”
    Did he?
    “I want you to be an open-minded girl who answers questions based on more than her preconceived notionthat she doesn’t like Christmas and wants no part of any celebration of it.”
    “You’re missing the point completely.”
    He leaned against the desktop and stared down at her. “Which is?”
    “That I really don’t like Christmas so why would I purposely choose to celebrate it?”
    Had a more stubborn woman ever walked the face of the earth?
    “Okay, fine.” He sighed. “We won’t go to my boss’s Christmas party that he invited me to and mentioned bringing you with me.” Was it wrong that he was laying on the guilt as thick as could be? “What would you prefer to do tomorrow night?”
    “Just because I don’t want to go, it doesn’t mean you can’t go, Riley. You go ahead and have enough fun for both of us.”
    Ouch. “You want me to go to a party without you?”
    “If it’s a Christmas party? Yes.” She put a lot of emphasis on the word. “I do.”
    What woman wanted her man to go to a party without her? Or maybe she didn’t think of him as her man? He’d purposely fought to keep the physical side of their relationship at bay because she was so obstinate she’d be likely to use them having sex against him. If he went to a party without her, she’d likely do the same.
    He shook his head. “What if I’d rather be with you?”
    “Then maybe we could go for a walk on the beach,” she surprised him by suggesting. He’d expected her to insist on him going, on her