Forever This Time by Maggie McGinnis Page A

thing on by yourself. Remember?” He reached behind him to grab the dress, then stepped toward her, finding the bottom hem and holding it up so she could duck her head into the opening.
    He was right. She’d forgotten the damn dress needed to come with its own personal assistant.
    â€œCan’t believe we still have this ridiculous dress,” she muttered as she shoved her arms through the armholes and he guided the top of it over her head. When it was in place, he slid his hands around the back of her neck to lift out her hair, just like he’d always done when he’d helped her get dressed.
    Had he done it on purpose? Or was it just an old habit?
    Against her will, she sighed and leaned back into his familiar hands as he smoothed her hair.
    â€œEthan? Ethan? You still down here?” Josie sprang backward as Nick reappeared at the edge of the bridge. “We have a little situation up here.”
    Ethan growled low in his throat as he stepped away from Josie, but his eyes didn’t leave hers. “I’ll be right there.”
    â€œIt’s actually an emergency. We need you, like, now.”
    Ethan glanced at him, then back at Josie, shaking his head slowly, like he was trying to figure out what had just happened to make his hands actually touch her. As he turned toward Nick, he shook his head quickly as if to clear it, then followed him up the bank.
    As soon as he was out of sight, Josie’s knees finally gave way and she sank to the pebbled ground. Oh hell. Five days back, and her ten hard years of running away had evaporated the instant his fingers had touched her skin.
    This was not the plan.
    *   *   *
    â€œHey, Ben.” An hour later, crisis averted, Ethan strolled into Ben’s cavernous maintenance garage at the edge of the park, right where the river meandered by. As usual, it smelled like metal and oil and fresh lumber, and country music was playing from the ancient radio he had dangling over his workbench.
    â€œEthan.” Ben looked up from some piece of metal he was tinkering with. “What brings you all the way out here? Everything okay?”
    â€œJust walking back to the office. Thought I’d take the scenic route.” Ethan looked around for something to sit on.
    Why was he here? After seeing Josie in … basically nothing except Santa pants, he’d barely been able to concentrate. God, for days he’d been trying not to think about her like that, because doing so only left him more mystified and frustrated than ever.
    She’d been gone for ten years. He’d moved on. He’d learned to live without her, learned to stop hoping that someday she’d change her mind. He’d almost stopped dreaming about her.
    Almost.
    He wanted to hate her, damn it.
    He didn’t want to … want her.
    â€œHow’s the little girl?” Ben’s voice broke into his thoughts.
    He shook his head, trying to clear it. “She’s fine. Very glad to see her mother. I don’t think she’ll be chasing ducks again anytime soon.”
    Ben cocked his eyebrow. “Looks like you got something besides that on your mind.” He went back to tinkering, but Ethan knew he was listening. “Wouldn’t be Josie, would it?”
    Ethan just shook his head as he sat on one of Ben’s spinning stools.
    â€œHow’s it going between you two?” Ben peered over his shoulder. “You putting her to work? Diana said she didn’t want her to have to hang out at Mercy.”
    â€œI know.” Ethan found himself torn between feeling bitterness at everyone being so concerned about Josie’s comfort—and understanding exactly why she couldn’t bear being anywhere near that hospital.
    Right now he was leaning toward the bitterness, but that probably had more to do with the fact that he’d just survived being only inches from her luscious body, viewing all those sweet curves embraced by