When We Touch(22)

Now she'd given him that.

"Are you okay?"

She had a prospective bride in her office, looking at samples of table linens. "Of course. Why?"

The girl cocked her head. "You've got tears in your eyes."

Olivia dabbed at the corners. "I was just thinking of a friend."

"Must be a close friend."

She nodded. As brief as her time with Brandon had been, she felt closer to him than anyone else.

She'd finished the appointment and was packing her briefcase with  swatches and magazines-she had to meet another bride at River City  Resort Club and Spa tomorrow morning-when she heard the buzzer that  indicated someone had walked into the small anteroom outside her office.  She didn't have any employees, couldn't afford payroll, so she called  out, "Welcome to Weddings by Olivia. I'll be right there."

"Could you hurry?" came the response. "I've got a plane to catch."

Brandon! Olivia's heart jumped into her throat as she scrambled around her desk.

When she reached the reception area, she saw him standing just inside  the door with an exasperated-looking man wearing what appeared to be an  expensive suit.

"What-what are you doing here?" she asked, glancing between them.

"I couldn't do it," Brandon said. "I couldn't leave without you."

Was she hearing him right? He seemed in earnest.... "But your …  your operation!"

"It can wait."

"Not if he wants to ski next season, it can't," the man he'd brought  with him cut in. "But he can still make it if he's on the next plane."

"When does it leave?" she asked.

"In three hours."

"I'll only go if you go with me," Brandon said. "Do I have any hope of talking you into that?"

"I-" Her mind whirled as she thought of her apartment, her business.

"Come here, honey," Brandon said, reaching for her.

He didn't have to ask twice. She walked right into his arms and pressed  her body against his, so grateful to see him, to touch him, her chest  ached at the prospect of letting go.

He'd come back. For her.

"I think what we feel deserves a chance," he explained, his voice low in her ear. "I don't want to walk away from it."

"I'd like to be there for the operation." She wanted nothing more than  to watch over him, keep him safe. "But I have clients to take care of  and rent to pay-"

The other man made a show of tapping his watch. "Maybe you could join him in a week or two."

"Olivia, meet Scott Jones, my agent," Brandon said. "You don't have to  listen to anything he says. Personally I'm finding that quite  liberating."

Now she understood why this other person was so upset. Brandon was  risking his career by coming here. She grinned at Brandon's  tongue-in-cheek comment but spoke to Scott. "Won't the operation be over  by then?"

"You could make it for the recovery," Scott said. "That's the most important part, anyway."                       
       
           



       

Not to her. She wanted to be there to support Brandon through the whole thing. She wanted to go with him now.

She could refer her clients to another planner she knew in River City.  That wasn't the tough part. The tough part was paying her rent without  that income....

"He's right," Brandon said. "I'm being selfish. I've just missed you so much. If it's too hard, you can come later."

She considered the money in her savings account. She'd put that away to  get her through difficult times, had promised herself she wouldn't touch  it except in an emergency.

Was she willing to spend it on love?

Everyone she knew would probably tell her she was being foolish,  reckless. If Brandon recovered, he'd return to his career. But when she  was with Kyle, and even long before that, she'd been so responsible,  methodical, cautious-and that hadn't saved her from heartbreak. If  Brandon could risk his career for her, she supposed she could risk her  career for him.

"I'll throw some clothes in a bag. The rest I can handle via the  internet," she said and smiled happily as his arms tightened around her  and he buried his face in her neck.

"I'll make you glad you did," he promised.





Epilogue



When Brandon opened his eyes, it took him a moment to remember where he  was. London. The operation. Dr. Shapiro was going to take out the  intramedullary rod in his leg and insert a new one.

So where was the stern-faced doctor who'd come to visit him before the  anesthesiologist put him under? Brandon could see the ceiling lights of a  hospital flashing overhead as two male orderlies whisked the gurney he  was lying on down the hall.

Was he on his way to the operating room? If so, the anesthesia wasn't  working. That caused him a moment's concern. But maybe he was on his way  back.

"Is it … " His throat was so dry he could hardly speak. "Is it over?"

One of the orderlies tossed him a professional smile as they continued  to navigate the crowded hall. "After six hours? I should hope so, Mr.  Lucero," he responded in a British accent.

Brandon searched the faces of the people who were coming and going. Most  were doctors, nurses or patients. He couldn't see Olivia, but he knew  she was in the hospital, somewhere. She wouldn't abandon him.

He also knew he wasn't the same man he'd been even two months ago  because the next question out of his mouth wasn't whether or not he'd be  able to ski again. "Where's my girlfriend?"

"She's waiting in your room, and we're just getting there now."

They slowed so they could maneuver the bed through a doorway, and Olivia  hurried to reach his side. "How are you?" she asked, obviously worried  as they wheeled him in.

"Better now that it's over," he said. "At least I hope I'm better. Have you talked to my doctor?"

"He came to see me as soon as he finished."

"And?"

She stroked the side of his face. "It was a bone infection. He wasn't  sure how your doctor in the States missed it, considering it was so  extensive. He had to scrape away the infected area and drain a couple of  abscesses. But he said, with antibiotics and some physiotherapy, you  should recover completely." She pecked his lips. "We can call Scott and  tell him the good news as soon as you're not so groggy."

He wasn't thinking as clearly as usual, but he was clear about one thing. "Scott can wait."

"He's dying to hear the results."

"But I'm not sure what the results will be."

She straightened. "What do you mean? Everything's going to be fine. The doctor's sure he got it all."

"I don't know if I'll try to hit the circuit next fall."

Her jaw dropped. "Why not?"

A grin quirked his lips. "Love is making me soft, I guess."

Obviously surprised, she took his hand.

"Skiing is no longer the most important thing to me," he said. "You are."

* * * * *

Join the people of Whiskey Creek again in When Lightning Strikes, coming  in September 2012. Olivia's friend Gail DeMarco has her own PR agency  in L.A. and her most difficult client is actor Simon O'Neal. When she  drops him, her other clients drop her, forcing Gail to make a deal with  Simon-she'll help him rehabilitate his reputation in order to save her  business-and to help him regain custody of his son. Her plan involves  having him marry some squeaky-clean girl who'll drag him off to some  small, obscure town.... But Simon says Gail has to be his temporary wife  and Whiskey Creek his temporary home!                       
       
           



       

Keep reading for an excerpt!





Welcome to Whiskey Creek-Heart of the Gold Country!

Don't miss Brenda Novak's new Whiskey Creek series.

Available wherever ebooks are sold.

"Brenda Novak is a joy to read-and never more than with this new series!"

-Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

When Lightning Strikes (September 2012)



When Snow Falls (November 2012)

When Night Falls (February 2013)

Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

Subscribe to our newsletter: Harlequin.com/newsletters

Visit Harlequin.com

We like you-why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com





1



She was ruined. She'd become anathema-the Jerry Maguire of the Los  Angeles public-relations biz. And it'd happened almost overnight.

"You don't look so good."

Gail DeMarco turned away from the phone she'd just hung up to focus on  Joshua Blaylock. Dressed in a pair of skinny black jeans with long-toed  shoes, a designer jacket and rectangular-shaped glasses, her personal  assistant hovered at the corner of her desk, a hopeful yet worried  expression on his face. Like her, he'd been hoping they could pull out  of the nosedive she'd caused by making one impetuous call, and then a  number of thoughtless statements, three weeks earlier. But she could  tell Joshua had overheard enough to understand what her other employees  didn't grasp quite yet. They hadn't just lost a few important clients,  like Maddox Gill and Emery Villere; they'd lost them all. Big Hit Public  Relations had fallen from its lofty perch at the top of the PR food  chain to crash and burn at the bottom. And it was all thanks to one man.  Simon O'Neal, the hottest male lead in the movie business, had flexed  his superstar muscles and brought down her company so quickly and easily  Gail could hardly believe it. She kept thinking she'd wake up to find  that their feud was all a bad dream-or that others would see Simon as  the train wreck she knew him to be and side with her instead. But  America loved him. He was their new James Dean. He was screwing up right  and left, but he had the most loyal fans in the world, fans who were as  fascinated by his self-destruction as his talent.