The Most Eligible Doctor. Karen Smith Rose

in their huge house. She’d taken the job at Beechwood Family Practice a month after graduation and had met Lily Garrison, a divorced mother who’d been looking for a housemate so she and Megan could more easily meet their bills each month. Lily and Megan had provided Brianne with a safe harbor, and they now felt like family.

      The house’s wraparound porch with its yellow railing brought a smile to Brianne’s face, as it always did. After parking along the street—there was only a one-car detached garage in the back—Brianne picked up her dry cleaning from the seat beside her and ran up the three wooden steps.

      As she stepped inside the living room with its shiny hardwood floor, colorful rag rugs and big-cushioned, overstuffed turquoise-and-red furniture, the smell of cinnamon wafted around her. Carefully hooking her dry cleaning over a closet door hinge, she headed for the kitchen and was surprised by the activity there.

      “We’re having a party,” five-year-old Megan called as she pressed a cookie cutter into bread slices.

      “A party?” Brianne asked. She had been up and out before Lily and Megan had awakened this morning. Lily hadn’t said anything about a party last evening.

      Lily’s blond waves, loose around her face now, swished against her cheek as she looked up from her cutting board, where she was slicing celery. “Last night when Doug and I were talking, I mentioned Jed Sawyer.”

      Doug was a computer technician Lily had been dating for months now. Despite her good intentions to leave thoughts of Jed Sawyer at Beechwood, Brianne was interested in anything Doug had had to say about the rugged doctor. Ever since that night almost a week ago when Jed had made the comment about her car, they’d worked efficiently together, but politely, with no personal conversations. He didn’t seem to engage in truly personal conversation with anyone.

      “What did Doug say?” Brianne asked.

      “The gist of it was that it must be difficult for Jed to come back home and live with his dad after all these years. So…I thought it would be nice to have an open house for him. Just a welcome home get-together. I remembered you said you didn’t have plans for tomorrow, so I invited Dr. Olsen and his wife, Sue and Janie and their husbands.”

      Sue in billing helped Janie manage the practice’s office. It was just like Lily to want to help Jed feel comfortable being in Sawyer Springs again, and to impulsively throw a party.

      “You didn’t make plans, did you?” Lily asked. “I told everyone to come around three.”

      “I’m free.” Brianne’s heart fluttered as she thought about Jed, here, in a casual atmosphere. “Did you invite Dr. Sawyer?” she asked with a smile.

      Lily made a face at her. “Yep. Called him this morning. He said he’ll stop in, though he can’t stay long. I think he’s just leaving himself an out in case he doesn’t want to stay.”

      “What makes you say that?” Brianne asked, wandering over to snitch a carrot from the growing stack of vegetables.

      “He’s a loner,” Lily said solemnly. “I can tell. Did you know he practiced as a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles before he took that position in Alaska?”

      “How do you know that?”

      Lily gave her a mysterious smile. “I have my ways.”

      Brianne laughed.

      Glancing at her housemate over her shoulder, Lily confided, “I’m not really Sherlock Holmes. I got a glimpse of Jed Sawyer’s résumé. Dr. Olsen happened to have it in his hand yesterday when he was talking to me.”

      “Jed said he was divorced. I wonder how long he was married?” Brianne mused.

      Lily tilted her head and cocked a brow. “You’re working for the man, maybe you could ask him.”

      “He doesn’t talk about himself much.” Brianne suddenly knew she was sounding too interested.

      “Do you wish he would?” Lily asked more gently.

      “No. It’s better this way…that we keep a strictly professional relationship. After all, he’s my boss.” Besides that Jed Sawyer was obviously experienced. She was inexperienced. That was her choice. She’d had a lot of losses in her life and because of them she tried to protect her heart.

      She’d felt totally adrift when, at fourteen, she’d found a private investigator’s report in the attic. It had stated that her biological mother had taken her to a church pew in Madison and died a few months later from pneumonia because she’d been homeless and living on the streets.

      Since Brianne’s parents hadn’t told her about any of it, she’d felt betrayed. Since her birth mother had left her in the church, she’d felt abandoned. Brianne had depended heavily on her childhood friend, Bobby Spivak, during that confusing time. He’d been her best friend since kindergarten. But in their senior year, they were discussing getting engaged and going to the same college when Bobby had been diagnosed with leukemia. She’d lost him eighteen months later.

      And seven months ago, she’d lost her parents, too. Over and over again she’d learned that love hurt in so many ways. Yet…she also knew it was life-giving. Bobby’s doctors had said he had six months to live. He’d lived a year past that, and Brianne’s heart told her that love had kept him with them.

      Still, she was afraid of loving…and losing once more. Giving her heart away wasn’t in her plans anytime soon, if ever.

      When Brianne thought of Jed Sawyer, she realized her relationship with Bobby had been the epitome of safety. Their love had been born of friendship and hadn’t yet developed into burning passion. Jed, on the other hand, was so intense that all she thought about amid the tingles she felt around him was passion. That spelled trouble with a capital T. She wouldn’t let a few unruly hormones run away with her good sense.

      Ending the conversation and putting a lid on her thoughts, she asked Lily, “So what can I do to help get ready for tomorrow?”

      If she stayed busy, tomorrow and seeing Jed again in a relaxed setting wouldn’t make her so jittery.

      Mingling.

      Jed had once known how to do it like a pro. Back in L.A., he and his partners had been invited to cocktail parties with movie stars, investment bankers, models. He’d been able to talk to anyone about anything. But then his life had fallen apart and talking had become too much of an effort. The position in Alaska had been a godsend, but because of it, he’d grown rusty at socializing.

      Lily Garrison crossed to him, a tray balanced on her hand. “Try the crab quiches. I found the recipe on the Internet.”

      Jed took one, bit into it and grinned. “Maybe you should go into catering as a sideline.”

      “I think I have my hands full with work and Megan. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

      Suddenly Jed’s attention was drawn to Brianne as she entered the living room. She stood by the built-in bookshelves for a moment, looking uncertain. Her auburn, shoulder-length curls bobbed around her face with the slightest movement of her head. Her aquamarine eyes were the wonderful color of the sea. Ever since that night by the car, he’d wanted to talk to her again about more than work, but the clinical atmosphere at Beechwood hadn’t seemed right to delve into the subject of her parents. And the stirrings of desire he’d felt whenever they were around each other had deterred him from seeking her out privately.

      When Brianne’s gaze passed over the room as if she was deciding which conversation to enter, her eyes met his. She quickly looked away, turned around and retreated to the kitchen.

      Finishing the miniature quiche in a quick bite, Jed said to Lily, “Excuse me, will you? There’s someone I need to talk to.”

      Lily’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll catch you later.” Then she moved along to another group with her tray.

      Jed strode through the dining room into the kitchen, where he found Brianne scooping coffee into a filter.

      “You