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  Once she’d freed herself from Beth, her life had taken on new meaning. Beth had been so preoccupied with her career of becoming a surgeon and Lynn had devoted so much of hers to raising Carrie, they hadn’t taken time to nourish their relationship. Soon after Carrie left for medical school, Lynn realized she and Beth had nothing in common any longer. Since the divorce, she’d been able to explore what she really wanted in life. She’d finally reached a place in her life where she could do exactly that—experience new things and see new places without any strings attached.

  It was about seven o’clock in the evening, and Lynn was just about to take her dinner break from her shift at Johns Hopkins Hospital when she remembered this was Carrie’s first actual day as an intern at Boston Children’s Hospital. Lynn usually worked the day shift on the pediatrics floor but had volunteered to trade with a coworker who had family in town this week. Knowing that the new interns would be starting this week, she’d actually jumped at the opportunity to avoid them as much as possible. She found an empty exam room, took her phone from her pocket, and hit Carrie’s number in her favorites.

  Carrie answered after the second ring. “Hey, Auntie. What’s up?”

  “What do you mean, what’s up? How was your first day?”

  “Exhausting.” Carrie blew a sigh into the phone. “I thought med school was hard, but this is so much worse.”

  “I warned you. From what Pam told me, you’re going to still get some of the scut work until you earn your place. She actually had to buy some poor intern’s lunch today because someone threw up on her and she forgot to grab her badge from her coat when she changed.”

  “Oh my God. I’ve already heard this story.”

  “What? Did that happen there too?”

  Carrie chuckled. “No. The intern was Maggie.”

  A rush of heat ripped through Lynn. “Maggie’s here? In Baltimore?” Lynn hadn’t seen her since Maggie left for Boston.

  “Yeah. I just got off the phone with her. Haven’t you seen her yet?”

  “No. Why didn’t you tell me?” If she’d known, she would’ve been on alert, and her stress level would already be topping out.

  “I’ve been so busy I forgot. I thought for sure she would’ve contacted you by now, but she’s probably been busier than me. I mean, with moving and all.”

  “Probably so.” Lynn was silent. She knew why Maggie hadn’t contacted her and was torn between being relieved and sad about the whole situation. Admittedly, Lynn still had feelings for Maggie. She didn’t know if their lack of contact meant Maggie still had feelings as well, or if she’d gotten over hers and just didn’t care anymore. That would be clear soon enough. It was only a matter of time before they crossed paths at the hospital, and she had no way to prepare herself for that. Or did she? “She may have tried to contact me.” Lynn tried to cover. “I’ve been pretty busy lately. When did she get here?”

  “A couple of weeks ago.”

  “Do you know where she’s staying?”

  “I think she got a one-bedroom pretty close to the hospital. I forgot to ask the name of the place. I figured you’d get all the details when you see her.”

  That could be anywhere. A half dozen or more apartment complexes were located close to the hospital that housed many of the staff members.

  “Hang on,” Carrie said, and after a short minute, Lynn’s phone buzzed in her hand. “I sent you her cell number, but considering how shitty her first day went, she’s probably already asleep by now.”

  “Thanks. I’ll get in touch with her,” Lynn said as she contemplated what getting in touch would mean.

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you.” Carrie blew out a breath. “Well, I’m beat, Auntie, and am going to hit the sack.”

  “Okay. Get some rest, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you, honey.”

  “I love you too,” Carrie said, and the phone went silent.

  Lynn let the phone slide from her ear and saw the text Carrie had sent. As she let her finger glide over Maggie’s name, just the sight of it brought all sorts of conflicted emotions back to life. Those feelings should have been dead long ago. What was she going to do about this? She sighed. Absolutely nothing right now, at least until I find a way to straighten myself out. She slid her phone into her pocket, went to the nurses’ station computer, and started scrolling through patient cases.

  * * *

  By the time Lynn got home, she’d been on her feet for hours. She liked working second shift sometimes because it seemed to be the busiest. More work kept her mind off life, love, and the lack of sex she was having, among other things. Not tonight, though. Since she’d talked to Carrie, thoughts of Maggie had filled her every spare moment, which wasn’t many, but enough to distract her. She crawled into bed and closed her eyes, her stomach clenching as she thought about her last encounter with Maggie.

  It had been almost a week since Lynn had seen Maggie, and she lay in bed alone, wide-awake, wondering if she’d made the right decision. She and Beth had discussed their next steps. She’d thought divorce was inevitable, but, somehow, they’d both agreed to try again and to work harder on their marriage. Beth had gone with Carrie for another girls’ weekend in Boston, but she’d planned to move back into the house when they got home. Lynn welcomed the time alone to begin focusing on working things out with Beth, but all she could think about was Maggie. She could still see the hurt look on Maggie’s face clearly and knew exactly why she hadn’t heard from her all week long. She couldn’t say she wasn’t relieved. The kiss they’d shared had been a mistake, a wonderful mistake, but a mistake just the same. Even though nothing else happened that night, letting her stay after the kiss had turned her feelings into a huge pile of regret.

  The silence in the house was broken as a soft knock on the front door broke through her thoughts. It was so subtle that if the TV or any other device had been running, she wouldn’t have even heard it. She threw back the covers and slid out of bed. After pulling her sweatpants on, she hurried down the hallway and peeked through the peephole in the door—no one there. She turned to go into the kitchen to get a glass of water and jumped when she heard a thud on the door.

  “What the hell?” She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

  Maggie was sitting on the porch, propped up against the wall. She looked up and said, “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Lynn said, stepping outside. She could see by the glassy look in Maggie’s eyes, she was drunk. “You want to come in?”

  “You know I want to.” Maggie’s words slurred slightly as she tried to get up but ended up sliding back down against the wall. “It was perfect.” She looked up into Lynn’s eyes. “Wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it was.” Lynn sat down beside her and wrapped her arm around Maggie’s shoulder. “But the situation hasn’t changed.”

  “I know. I shouldn’t have come.” Maggie rested her head on Lynn’s chest. “But I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  “Nor I, you.”

  Maggie lifted her head and stared into Lynn’s eyes. The incredible look of need within them was suddenly laced with confusion. “I should go.” She pulled out of her arms and stumbled to her feet.

  “You’re absolutely not driving tonight.” Lynn stood up, steadied her, and looked for her car. “How did you get here?”

  “Uber. I think I’m gonna—” She ran to the grass, dropped to her knees, and threw up.

  Lynn followed her, taking Maggie’s long blond hair in her hand behind her head as she heaved again. Her gut twisted knowing that Maggie was in this shape because of her. When it looked like she was finished, Lynn helped her to her feet and led her inside.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here like this.” She grabbed hold of the doorway as she weaved through it.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Lynn led her through the bedroom into the master bath and flipped on the shower.

  Before settling her into the vanity chair, Lynn undid Maggie’s jeans and pulled them to the fl
oor. She took the flip-flops and jeans from around her feet, then pulled the shirt over her head.

  “What on earth did you drink?”

  “Jack Daniel’s—shots—lots of them.”

  Lynn maneuvered her into the shower. Maggie let the water run across her face and then slid down the wall in the corner. She swiped the water from her face and looked up at Lynn. “Make love to me.”

  “Absolutely not.” She shook her head. Mixed feelings swirled through her mind, and she shook them from her thoughts.

  “You hate me, Carrie hates me. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.” Still glassy-eyed, she stared up at Lynn. “I love you.”

  “I know.” She turned the water off. “Come on. Let’s get you dried off and into bed.”

  She slipped one of her T-shirts over her head. With one hand she yanked the covers back and dropped Maggie onto the mattress, letting her head flop back onto the pillow.

  “You’re putting me in bed with you?”

  “I need to keep an eye on you. It’s not like you’re in any shape to do anything.”

  “But it would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

  “Do you know how long it takes a woman to come when she’s drunk?”

  Maggie smiled mischievously. “A long fucking time.”

  Lynn slid in on the other side of the bed, and Maggie rolled onto her side to face her. Lynn let out a heavy breath. “I should’ve turned and run the first time I saw you.”

  Maggie reached over and brushed her thumb across Lynn’s lips. “Why does this have to be so complicated? Why did I have to fall in love with you?”

  Love? Did Maggie really think she was in love? Lynn had known for quite some time now that she was attracted to Maggie and wished each and every night that she was free to take everything this woman was offering. But those damn vows kept creeping into her thoughts, and she knew she couldn’t.

  “Go to sleep.” Lynn pressed her lips to Maggie’s forehead. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  She was gone in the morning, and Lynn had never expected to see her again, maybe once or twice in her lifetime at most, but even then Carrie was supposed to be there when that happened. Working in the same hospital was a million-to-one shot, and it had happened. What did that mean? Was the universe telling her something? The whole thing was too much for her to fathom at the moment.

  Chapter Four

  As Maggie got out of her car and walked to the ball field, she wiped the moisture from the back of her neck. How had she gotten pulled into this? It had to be ninety-five degrees already, and the mug factor was growing thicker by the minute. She’d planned to sleep in this morning, since it was her first full day with nothing to do, but she didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with her colleagues. Yesterday, she’d overheard some of the nurses talking about the recreation softball league they participated in and had made the mistake of mentioning that she’d played competitive softball in college. Everything had spiraled from there. Soon she was handed a schedule and told where to be this afternoon. She’d also been told to keep it to herself, so no one else would try to recruit her.

  She had no idea how this softball game would pan out. She hadn’t played in years. The women on the field, all dressed in cleats, baseball pants, and jerseys with their team logos, seemed pretty competitive. All she could find to wear on such short notice were her black yoga pants, which weren’t ideal, but they covered her legs in case she had to slide. She’d tossed her softball pants out long ago, but she did still have her cleats. They felt a little odd on her feet after all this while, but they’d do the trick until she had time to buy a new pair.

  A couple of girls from the team were playing catch outside the fence before the softball game, and as Maggie started to walk behind them, the ball totally overshot one of them. Maggie caught it barehanded, then shook her hand, trying to relieve the sting. Thankfully, she’d been watching, or it would’ve hit her square in the head. Besides knocking her out, that might have put her on leave for a few days until the risk of possible concussion passed.

  The girl who’d missed the catch spun around and ran to her. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “Yep. Just a little tingle in my fingers.”

  The girl who’d thrown the fireball came running over, dropped her glove, and took her hand, examining it. “Nothing broken,” she said, holding it a little longer than Maggie expected. “I’m Andi, by the way,” she said, not losing eye contact.

  She continued to stare with her large, round, emerald-green eyes, and Maggie realized that was her cue to introduce herself. “I’m Maggie,” she said, slipping her hand away.

  “I haven’t seen you out here before. Are you playing today?” Andi’s dark ponytail swung as she looked at the field and then back at Maggie.

  “Yep. My first game.”

  Andi’s eyes grew brighter. “Oh yeah? Which team?”

  “The Heavy Hitters.”

  Andi’s smile lessened. “Not my side. I’m part of the competition.”

  “Which team?”

  “Bat Intentions,” Andi said and gave her a wink.

  “What position do you play?”

  Andi pointed to the infield. “Second base.”

  That wasn’t a surprise. The woman had a rocket of an arm and dressed like she took her game very seriously in black Mizuno cleats, belted pants that she’d scrunched up just below the knee, and a jersey that fit just loose enough to give her good movement. Maggie was sure the body underneath was all muscle.

  “Cool. I’ll try to keep the ball away from you.”

  “Maybe I can buy you a beer after?” Andi asked.

  Maggie hesitated, the quick move catching her a little off guard. Apparently, she’d been out of the dating game way too long.

  “To make up for crushing your hand.” Andi’s cheeks reddened. “We all usually go out for pizza after the game.”

  “Yeah, sure.” She shrugged. “Why not?” She really didn’t have any interest in seeing anyone right now, but Andi seemed nice enough, and she didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Andi’s interest was actually kind of flattering.

  Andi’s smile grew even bigger. “Okay. Then I’ll see you after the game.” She grabbed her glove from the ground and ran across the field.

  Somehow Maggie found herself as number one in the lineup. It was either a test or the team captain had read way too much into her college softball experience. Her heart hammered as the first pitch flew by. She always forced herself to let the first one go.

  The umpire raised his fist and shouted, “Strike one.”

  The team chattered in the dugout as she prepared for the next pitch. She’d take it whether it was good or not. There it came, right across the middle of the plate, and she swung hard. As soon as she heard the ball hit the bat she dropped it and rushed to first base. Glancing toward the field as she ran, she saw the ball sail into left field just shy of the fielder. She rounded first and headed to second, making it without having to slide. The left fielder threw the ball infield to Andi.

  Andi swiped Maggie lightly on the thigh with her glove. “Nice one.”

  “Thanks,” Maggie said as she adjusted her sleeves on her shoulders. “I’m a little out of practice, but that was a perfect pitch.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s the relief pitcher. You might not have gotten a hit off The Heater.”

  She glanced over to see a new catcher moving behind the plate. “What’s that about?”

  “Shift probably ended late. We kind of have set positions.” Andi scrunched her face.

  She watched as the new catcher stretched one leg and then the other. “Sounds like you take this game pretty seriously.”

  “Me, not so much. Others on the team do.” Andi tipped her head to the catcher.

  Maggie wondered how seriously as she watched her catch a few warm-up pitches and fire the ball back to the pitcher.

  The next batter came to the plate, and Maggie took a small lead off the base. The batter hit the f
irst pitch, and the ball sailed into the hole between center and right field. On her way to home plate, Maggie rounded third base and increased her speed down the baseline. But she hadn’t expected the brick wall the catcher put up when she tried to cross the plate. Her chest stung as she hit, and she found herself propelled backward through the air. Pain shot through her leg as her ass hit the dirt, and she wasn’t sure she could stand, but she had to cross the plate. The impact had landed the catcher on her ass as well, so Maggie scrambled to her feet and rushed to the plate. Jesus, Andi wasn’t kidding about her team.

  She spun around to the catcher. “What the hell are you doing? No one blocks a runner in rec ball.” She immediately froze when the catcher pulled off her mask. She’d know that face anywhere. She should’ve recognized her ass. Maggie had spent the better part of her senior year in college memorizing them both. Sometimes she seemed like such a dude, letting her hormones control her, but much more than hormones were involved when it came to Lynn. The woman had found a place in her heart and never completely left.

  Lynn didn’t speak, just stared like she’d seen a ghost, which was entirely accurate. Once Maggie had left Baltimore for medical school in Boston, all communication between them had stopped.

  Everything blurred as bodies separated them with hands reaching for high fives as they pulled her into the dugout. She’d only glimpsed Lynn staring before her new teammates hauled her off the field, but her confusion was clear.

  * * *

  After the game, Maggie heard Lynn before she saw her. She would never forget the sound of her voice. Even when she was politely rejecting her, the low, sweet melody was the most incredibly sexy sound she’d ever heard. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face when Lynn came into view. With her cheeks flushed from the game and her hair flying in the wind, she was more gorgeous now than she’d been four years ago.