away with her hands. Bowie stepped back, and Mallory’s mask slipped for a second. Reid saw her hide the smile behind her hand.
“Is there a problem, Mrs. Simpson?”
“Oh, Aiden! It’s so good to see you again. This young man was just leaving. Perhaps you can assist him with that endeavor.” Margaret batted her eyes at the sexy-as-sin doctor who towered over Bowie with his sculpted body and killer smile. No wonder he was such an expensive escort on the side.
“Anything for you, Mrs. S.” Aiden winked at her and Margaret blushed.
“Who do we have here? Oh, Dr. Starr, grr,” Shirley growled. She pushed her way into the small room. A sign stating I Make Cougars Look Like Amateurs was taped to her walker. Aiden winked at her before she turned her attention to Bowie. She gave him a slow once-over that had Mallory hiding her laughter. “Hello, sonny. And just who might you be?”
Bowie blinked a couple times in shock. “I-I’m Mallory’s fiancé,” he stuttered.
Shirley leaned over and checked out his backside. “Aw, isn’t he cute when he’s trying to lie?” Shirley reached up and pinched his cheek. “I’ll happily pinch your other set of cheeks if you want to lie again.”
Bowie’s eyes widened even more and Reid thought he heard a snort come from his mother.
“Mallory, tell them,” Bowie pleaded as Shirley winked at him.
“Bowie is an old friend from college. But we’re not engaged. We decided we weren’t suited as a couple when we were in Stromia. It’s okay, Bowie. I’m fine. As you can tell, I'm well looked after. I’ll call you later.”
“Need a ride, sonny?” Shirley asked.
“No, thank you. I have a car.”
Shirley’s smirk widened. “That’s not the kind of ride I’m talking about.”
Yep, his mother definitely snorted. Bowie’s mouth dropped open, and he started backing away, not daring to turn his back on Shirley. “I’ll call you later, Mal. Glad you’re okay.”
The drape closed and the sounds of a man running echoed off the tiled walls. Shirley shrugged. “See, told you I could get him to leave faster than you.”
Aiden just shook his head, his mom snorted again, and Mallory broke out in giggles. “Thanks, Shirley. I wasn’t ready to deal with Bowie. And thank you, Margaret. But really, I am okay. And as head of security for the resort, I need to get back and check on things.”
Reid’s brow creased in confusion. “You’re not the head of security.”
“She is now,” Elle said as she walked into the room with Bree and Allegra right behind her.
“Thanks for y’all leaving us like that,” Allegra said with mock hurt.
“Sorry. I ran into Mallory and wanted to see how she was doing,” Reid said apologetically to his sisters.
Shirley reached up and pinched his cheek. “Men really are so cute when they lie.”
Elle looked between Reid and Mallory. He saw her mind actually working to figure out what was going on between them. He wasn’t quite ready for that since he himself didn’t know what was going on.
“Look, Mallory. Your IV is finished. Dr. Starr, is she ready to go now?” Reid asked.
Aiden picked up her chart and looked it over. He signed some papers and looked up at Mallory. “You’re ready to go. Keep your bandages clean for the next week and apply the salve for two weeks. They should stop bothering you in just a couple days.”
“Thank you, Aiden.” Reid noticed that Mallory waited for Dr. Starr to unhook her from the IV.
“You’re welcome, Miss Mallory. Now a nurse will be in to assist you in getting dressed. She has a pair of scrubs for you to wear since your dress was ruined. Remember, keep the bandages clean.”
“Don’t worry that nurse. I’ll help her,” Elle said as she stepped farther into the room. “You all can leave now. Reid needs to be discharged, and we can meet you in the lobby.”
Reluctantly, Reid cast a quick glance at Mallory. He would just have to wait to talk to her. Urgency clawed at him as he
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson