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A young woman was visiting with Justin when Ethan arrived, just like yesterday. As had become his habit, Ethan waited patiently in the hallway while the woman fussed and fidgeted over Justin. After she left, Ethan came in and sat in the chair next to the bed. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he cocked his head and gave Justin a pointed look.
“What?” Justin laughed at his own attempt to pretend innocence. “Hey, I get a lot of visitors. What can I say?”
Ethan couldn’t help but smile. “Man, when you’re dead, you’re going to be flirting with the woman in the next grave.”
“If she’s single.”
With a chuckle, Ethan settled back in the plastic chair. Even in the couple of days Ethan had been around, he’d noticed a remarkable improvement in Justin’s condition. He knew Justin still had one more surgery facing him, but at the rate he was healing, it wouldn’t be long before he got out of here.
Ethan nodded toward the casts his friend wore. “It’s amazing what some guys will do to get a pretty woman to notice them.”
Justin grinned. “Take a hike. So, how’s the play going?”
Ethan shrugged. “Fine. No problems.”
That much was true. The play wasn’t causing him any problems—just Blair was. Or, rather, being in close proximity to Blair was. But he could hardly tell Justin he was having a hard time resisting his sister.
Ethan stood and wandered over to the window, looking at the assortment of get-well cards displayed on the sill. Not surprisingly, most of them were from women.
“Bob Julian stopped by,” Justin said, his voice tinted with laughter. “He told me he was doing a fantastic job playing the part of the King, but that you had some trouble with Olivia last night.”
As much as Ethan liked the older man, he couldn’t help wishing Bob had kept his mouth shut. At this rate, the entire town would know by the end of the day. Leaning back against the windowsill, Ethan looked at Justin. “Bob’s mistaken. Everything’s fine.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Justin said. “Bob’s exact words were that ‘Olivia kissed you hard enough for your ancestors to feel it.’”
“Doesn’t anyone in this town have anything better to talk about?” The feeling of being watched bothered Ethan. In a small town, everyone knew everything. He’d grown up knowing the whole town disapproved of the way his parents lived their lives. He’d heard it from kids and adults. Everybody gossiped, and his family had been great gossip material.
“Bob’s exaggerating,” Ethan said, hoping to move off the subject.
Although Justin’s face still showed bruises and cuts from the accident, nothing dimmed his million-watt grin. “I don’t think so. From what I hear, the turnout for the play should break local records. Everyone’s going to come to see what happens between you and Olivia. Think I’ll ask one of my friends to tape the show so I can watch it.”
Ethan was about to set Justin straight, but before he could say anything, Blair walked in. When she saw him, her steps faltered.
She looked from Justin to Ethan, then back at her brother. “Sorry. I didn’t expect you to have company.”
Justin shot her a confused look. “I don’t have company. It’s only Ethan.” He nodded toward the other chair in the small room. “Sit. This is a real treat. Normally, no one stops by in the middle of the day to see me.”
Blair rolled her eyes at his mock-pathetic tone. Smiling, she glanced at Ethan, but her gaze quickly skittered away. “Oh, please. Sell that to someone who’s buying. I bet you had at least one woman in here doting attention on you when Ethan arrived.”
“She was a blonde.” Ethan walked over to the door, putting some distance between himself and Blair. Being close to her short-circuited his common sense. But even from across the room, he felt the pull between them. He found himself watching her. As much as he hated admitting it, he had missed her this morning. She’d left her house before he’d gotten back from his run—probably on purpose.
Studying her now, he was struck again by how pretty she was. Today she had on a conservative pale-blue suit. She’d pulled her hair back in a ponytail, held in place by a large hair clip. Personally, he preferred her in casual clothes, like those she’d had on last night.
But how Blair dressed was none of his concern. Ethan glanced at Justin, who sat watching them both intently. Ethan should have guessed his friend would get suspicious. The tension level in the room had shot through the roof since Blair arrived. Someone as astute as Justin wouldn’t miss what was happening here.
“I think I’ll shove off,” Ethan said. His gaze met Blair’s, and this time, she didn’t look away. Instead, she frowned slightly. He’d give anything to know what she was thinking. Was she angry with him? More importantly, did she regret kissing him last night?
“You don’t have to leave just because I stopped by,” she said, still looking at him.
No. He had to leave before he drove himself crazy. “I have some things I need to do. Besides, I’m sure you and Justin would like to visit.”
Justin snorted. “We don’t have any secrets to discuss.” He looked at his sister. “So what brings you over so early in the day? Bet it wasn’t me.”
Blair looked flustered. She glanced away from Ethan and turned her attention to her brother. A full twenty seconds ticked by before she said, “You’re right. I came to see Donna Mason’s baby. Since I was here, I thought I’d see you, too. You have surgery tomorrow.”
“Sort of. It’s fine-tuning some bones,” Justin said. “What’s the baby look like?”
“I haven’t stopped by Donna’s room yet. Let’s talk about your surgery.”
“Let’s not,” Justin said. “It’s no big deal.”
The look on Blair’s face made it clear she didn’t share his opinion. “Yes, it is. I’m coming over to the hospital tomorrow morning so I can be here.”
Justin groaned but didn’t argue with her. Maybe he knew it would be a lost cause. Blair’s expression made it clear that she intended to be there whether he liked it or not.
“So you came to see me before Donna,” Justin teased. “Just as well. Once you get to Donna’s room, it will take hours to pry you away. You love babies.”
Ethan wasn’t surprised that Blair loved babies. Everything about her screamed home and family. When she glanced at him, he said, “I really do have to go.”
Without waiting for a response, Ethan headed for the door, promising to visit Justin the next day. He glanced at Blair and said, “Guess I’ll see you this evening.”
She nodded. “Sure.”
For a second, he just looked at her. Then he left. No two ways around it—he needed to leave this town soon. For both their sakes.
**
BLAIR CAUGHT UP WITH Ethan by the elevators. “Justin just made a good suggestion. Want to see where the money from the play is going to be spent?”
She knew it was a lame excuse her brother had given her just so she could talk to Ethan, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She needed to do something to defuse the tension level between them before tonight when they had to face the rest of the cast.
For a moment, she watched indecision cross Ethan’s face. She didn’t have to be a genius to see he wanted to escape right now, but when the elevator doors opened, he nodded.
“Sure.” He followed her into the elevator. “What floor?”
“Three.” After the door slid silently shut, Blair sucked in a deep breath and blurted, “I hope you’re not upset about last night.”
Ethan turned and looked at her. “Upset? No, I’m not upset. How about you?”
“No.” She wove her fingers together. This wasn’t easy. “And I think we came to the right decision about not kissing anymore.”
“Yeah.”
She shot a quick glance at the elevator panel. They were almost to the third floor, and she wanted to get this settled. “I hope we can try to be friends . . . for Justin’s sake.”
Ethan’s expression was impossible to read. “Sure. We can try.”
Before he could add anything else, the doors opened, and they walked into what was obviously the playroom for the children’s ward. The small number of toys scattered around a few worn plastic tables was pitiful. Since the hospital was the only one around for miles, it served a lot of people. Many of those people had no insurance, so whenever the question of buying more toys came up, there just wasn’t any money in the budget. But Blair had to give Olivia credit—she’d found a way to raise money for more toys. The blond beauty had a real soft spot for sick children.
In the far corner of the room stood a lopsided easel. A boy of about eight or nine sat in front of it, slightly hunched over in his chair and drawing with earnest concentration.
Blair watched in fascination as Ethan wandered around the room, stopping now and then to straighten a puzzle or pick up a toy. When he neared the far end of the room, the boy turned and looked at him. A large bandage covered one side of the child’s face and part of his head. Clearly whatever had happened to the boy had been very serious. Blair felt her chest tighten—she couldn’t stand to see a child hurt.
But Ethan didn’t even flinch. Instead, he simply nodded toward the easel. “That’s a pretty good drawing of a ’57 Chevy. You must like cars.”
The kid nodded solemnly. “Someday I’m going to buy myself one of these cars and fix it up. Then I’ll drive it real far and real fast.”
The sight of the tall, strong man and the injured boy got to Blair. She stared down at her shoes, willing herself not to cry.
When she looked back up, Ethan was crouched next to the boy, giving him some tips on the finer details of the car. They were still in deep conversation several minutes later when a nurse appeared in the doorway.
“Danny, it’s time to go back to your room.” She gave Blair a small smile. “He’s our resident wanderer. Every time we turn around, he’s gone.”
Danny stood slowly, and Blair realized the boy was covering up the pain he felt. Ethan stood, too, and shook the boy’s hand.
“Nice to meet a fellow motorhead,” Ethan said.
Danny’s face split in a wide grin. “Yeah. Nice to meet you, too.”
At that moment Blair realized she was coming dangerously close to falling hard for Ethan Wilson. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.
**
“IT COULD BE WORSE, I suppose,” Tara said with forced cheerfulness as she came to stand next to Blair. “At least Evie’s a warm body.”
Blair smiled lamely. Tonight was the dress rehearsal, and nothing was going right. One of the stepsisters had developed laryngitis, and although the makeup artist had volunteered to take her place, Evie was struggling with the lines.
“Yes, she is a warm body.” Blair scanned her copy of the script. Evie’s character had over fifty lines in the play. It was a lot of dialogue to ask the woman to learn overnight.
But Evie kept assuring everyone she could learn the lines, and at this point, Blair had no choice but to trust her. Glancing at her watch, she decided to start. Everyone had arrived but Ethan, who no doubt would show up eventually. His character didn’t come on stage until the middle of the play, so they didn’t have to wait for him.
Blair had been hoping Ethan might arrive before the rest of the cast so they could talk some more. They hadn’t had much of a chance at the hospital. After they left the children’s ward, he’d headed out, and she’d gone on to Donna’s room to see the baby.
Well, there was no sense waiting any longer for Ethan.
Blair asked the actors to take their positions, and they started rehearsal. Within minutes, the door at the back of the auditorium opened. Blair didn’t have to turn around to know the new arrival was Ethan. She could sense him, almost as if they were attuned to each other. The sensation was foolish, but she couldn’t shake it. When he reached the stage, he gave her an apologetic smile and then headed backstage to change into his costume.
Blair forced herself not to think about the man who already took up far too much of her concentration. She had the actors find their places again, and they resumed.
Slowly, they progressed through the play, stopping occasionally to smooth out rough spots. Everyone looked so wonderful in their costumes that the audience would no doubt overlook minor errors. In fact, once the ball began and the women appeared in their long, sparkling gowns and the men appeared in their royal uniforms, Blair could almost imagine the look of enchantment that would surely cover the children’s faces.
When Ethan came on stage, Blair had to keep a tight grip on her clipboard. He looked . . . spectacular. The deep-blue suit, with its high collar and myriad of ribbons and medals, made him look like someone who had truly stepped out of a storybook. Blair was certain that when she’d been young, Ethan would have epitomized her idea of Prince Charming. In many ways, he epitomized that man now. Not a fake pretend version, but a real, live man who was smart and caring. Today, in the hospital, he’d shown her once more how kind he was.
Olivia appeared at the back of the stage. She, too, looked wonderful. Her shimmery white gown, coupled with her pale-blond hair, transformed her into a vision. When Ethan took Olivia in his arms and they started to dance, Blair noted that everyone on stage stood transfixed. Nothing like the sight of two extraordinarily beautiful people together to make a mere mortal stop and stare.
After the dance ended, Ethan and Olivia said their lines without any errors, although Olivia once again stood far too close to her costar. Blair mentioned it briefly, and then let them continue. When it was time for the kiss, Blair was filled with dread. Ethan bent his head, his lips brushing Olivia’s in an obviously chaste kiss. As much as she hated to admit it, the sight of Ethan kissing another woman made her more than a little jealous. Which was ridiculous—Ethan was only kissing Olivia because of the play. She had absolutely no right to feel jealous.
Unfortunately, though, she did. When the kiss ended without incident, Blair released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. As Ethan began to lift his head, Olivia suddenly snaked her arms around his neck and tried to pull him back for another kiss.
“Olivia,” Blair said, the anger in her tone more than enough warning. Ethan moved Olivia away from him, and she slowly dropped her arms from around his neck. He shot his costar a warning look but continued with the play.
From that moment on, the play seemed to take forever to end. Everyone kept looking at Ethan, expecting him to get angry. But he seemed to take Olivia’s overture in stride. Blair, however, felt her blood pressure rising. Olivia was deliberately baiting Ethan, which could have serious complications. What if Ethan decided to quit the play? No way could they find a replacement at this late date.
When rehearsal finally ended, Blair congratulated everyone, then headed across the stage toward Olivia, wanting to head her off before she escaped to the makeshift dressing rooms.
“Olivia, I thought you understood how important it is to keep the kiss circumspect,” Blair said firmly.
Olivia didn’t appear even a little embarrassed. She merely shrugged. “I promise I’ll behave tomorrow night.”
“You’ve said that before. Olivia, you can’t keep doing this.” Blair struggled to keep her voice from rising. “You’re harassing Ethan.”
Ethan stepped forward, laying his hand on Blair’s arm. “I’m sure Olivia knows better than to try something like that during a real performance.”
Blair felt her stomach knot as Olivia smiled at Ethan.
“Is that true?” Blair asked the older woman. “Can we trust you tomorrow?”
“Blair, you’re much too serious. I was only kidding.” There was just enough bite in Olivia’s voice that Blair knew she was not at all pleased at being called out on her behavior.
“Well, I don’t find it funny.” Blair struggled to gain control of her temper. She didn’t want to blow this out of proportion, and she was honest enough with herself to know she might be overreacting somewhat because of her confused feelings for Ethan. But regardless of how she felt, Olivia was wrong. “You can’t kiss him like that again,” Blair finally said.
“You’re forgetting something,” Olivia said with a laugh. “This is my play. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. If you understood men at all, you’d know that Ethan isn’t upset by a measly little kiss.” She met Blair’s gaze. “Then again, if you understood men and weren’t such a prude, maybe your last boyfriend wouldn’t have dropped you like a hot rock.”
Blair had kept her voice down so the others wouldn’t hear their discussion, but Olivia had no such restraint. Her words were loud enough to reach the rest of the cast. Blair felt like she’d been bushwhacked. She could feel the group watching her, waiting for her reaction. Until this moment, Blair hadn’t realized that Olivia knew about Marshall. She also hadn’t expected her to be so mean and catty.
Blair stared at her star for a moment. All sorts of retorts came to mind, but she didn’t want to overact and shoot herself in the foot.
The silence in the auditorium was absolute. Finally, Ethan moved toward her. “Blair—”
She waved his help aside. If she wanted to face herself in the morning, she had to handle this confrontation with Olivia herself. Stoking up her will, Blair forced herself to face the older woman.
“My relationship with men has nothing to do with the play, Olivia. I’m not being a prude. My comments are about professionalism. I need your assurance that you won’t kiss Ethan like that tomorrow. You were the one who asked me to help with the play. To do that, I need your promise.”
Olivia had the decency to look a bit ashamed for her remark. “I already promised, and I mean it. No more kidding around.”
“Thank you.” Blair forced a smile to cross her lips. “You also owe Ethan an apology.”
For a second, Olivia just stared at Blair. Finally, she turned to Ethan and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” Ethan said.
Blair looked at Ethan, and when he nodded his head slightly, she said, “Now let’s get everyone out of their costumes and call it a night.”
Almost at once, the actors and crew started talking again. A few shot quick glances her way, but no one approached her. No one except Ethan. When everyone had moved off to the dressing rooms, he placed his hand on her arm.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She bent to pick up her clipboard. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” he said, then grinned. “But I am going to change out of this costume.”
He started to walk away, then turned to face Blair. “I can go talk to Olivia.”
Blair shook her head. “She gave me her promise, and I believe she’ll keep it.”
“I wasn’t talking about the kiss. I meant I can talk to her about what she said . . . about you. It was mean.”
He said the last few words with enough force that Blair realized he was angry—on her behalf. Looking at him now, it was difficult to remember all the reasons why she should avoid him. He was looking at her with kindness and more than a hint of attraction in his gorgeous eyes.
Off in the distance, Blair could hear the other members of the cast talking and laughing. The sounds brought her back to her senses. She cleared her throat. “Thanks for the offer, but there’s no reason for you to talk to Olivia. Everything is okay.”
Ethan didn’t look convinced, but thankfully, he let the matter drop. “Would you like to grab something to eat after I change my clothes?”
She wished she could because they could talk during dinner, but life seemed to be against her tonight. “I can’t. I have to buy a present for Donna. I felt terrible when I visited her today and didn’t have a gift. She’ll be home tomorrow, and I want to drop something off. But there should be plenty of food in my refrigerator and Ella is there. You two can have dinner.”
He gave her a considered look. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal. Just Olivia being Olivia.”
Ethan patted her shoulder. “Okay. Then I’ll see you back at the house later.”
Tingles danced down Blair’s arm at the light contact. Long after he’d disappeared backstage, she stood looking after him. Why’d he have to be so nice? Resisting him was difficult enough without him being a terrific guy on top of being so handsome.
What she needed now was a healthy dose of willpower because she had the sinking feeling hers was starting to run out.