The Doctor's Damsel (Men of the Capital Book 3) by Cara Nelson Page A

care. Just don’t leave me tonight,” Abe said, his voice husky, almost strained.
    He raised his eyes to meet hers and that pleading dark blue gaze finished her. If she had to wear the 80’s hot pink mini dress and frosted jeans the entire time she was in Germany, it would be worth it just to have heard him say those words to her. Becca wanted to tell him so many things, but all she could manage to say was ‘yes.’ She cleaned off her outrageous makeup and washed the stiff hairspray from her blond hair, claiming an old t-shirt of Abe’s to sleep in and a pair of his socks pulled high up her calves.
    Becca’s damp hair was drying in curls as she climbed onto Abe’s bed with its rumpled gray sheets. Without a word, she passed him a candy bar she’d purloined from his stash and took a huge bite when he offered one.
    “There’s sugar in that. And carbs. And dairy,” he warned ominously.
    “I’ve heard it’s smart to self-medicate before a major event.”
    “This isn’t a major event. In fact, it’s a depressingly small event. I work in a hospital. I know how often this has to happen, the family gathering at a patient’s bedside.” Abe shook his head.
    “That’s not the event I was referring to,” she said, pulling him down into her arms. “This is the first night we’ve spent together. I mean to make it count. I can burn off those carbs.”
    “Thank you,” Abe said.
    “You’re welcome. What for?”
    “For being here tonight. For coming with me. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to stand this trip, but it’ll be better with you.”
    Abe folded her in his arms with sudden fervor. After a few seconds, Becca managed to turn her head to get a good breath of air in his crushing embrace. She felt the tremor in his arms, the control he was exerting to keep from breaking down. She knew that telltale shudder. He was holding back tears by sheer strength of will.
    “Go ahead, Abe. It’s okay. I’m here,” she whispered, shifting so she could get her arms around his shoulders and hold him. “This is us, nobody else to see.” Her voice was soothing, but she felt him shake his head, still holding back.
    Becca took a big breath in, kissed his cheek as he buried his head in her shoulder, and started to sing.
     
    “ If you wanna leave/Take good care/Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there/just remember there’s a lot of bad everywhere/oh, baby, baby it’s a wild world— “
    “It’s ‘and beware’,” he said, lifting his head to look at her seriously. “It’s ‘just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware.’”
    “Nope. ‘There’s a lot of bad everywhere,’” Becca maintained with a small smile.
    “I’m appalled. You’re misquoting Tea for the Tillerman .”
    “No, it’s Cat Stevens,” she corrected.
    “That IS Cat Stevens.”
    “It’s on his greatest hits. I had the CD growing up.”
    “Greatest hits? Do you listen to movie soundtracks too?” He shook his head in mock horror. “You have to experience the journey of the original album, preferably in vinyl, to appreciate the resonance of that song.”
    “You’re a music snob. You’ll get along great with my sister, although she was always more of a Jim Morrison fangirl,” Becca said. “Appreciate the resonance? I just sang to you when you were sad. That was a beautiful and loving gesture. It is appalling bad manners to argue with me at a time like this.” She stifled a giggle and started kissing him.
     

Chapter 8
     
    The alarm on Becca’s phone woke her at six, and she sneaked out to go pack her stuff. Calling Hannah on the way, she filled her in on the situation, including the mega richness and private jet.
    “What should I pack?” Becca hissed into the phone urgently.
    “Condoms. Lots of them.”
    “Besides that. This is a serious family event. I need to dress—“
    “Modestly. That’s the word. No leather shorts. No drapey scarves. Especially no dress with the tummy cutout.”
    “Hey, you wore a