Holly stood in the small, Spartan waiting room. She could hear Caleb talking.

“I’ll have the blood tests back in a few weeks.”

“Weeks?”

Holly’s whole body went on alert. Alexei’s voice sounded slightly strangled.

“These things take time.”

No, they didn’t. Caleb often drove into Alamosa and had results the same day.

“I understanding. I, uhm, I do not, uhm, well, thanks to you.” Yep, Alexei sounded distressed. “Please to let me know when it is safe to be close to Holly. I care for her. I would not be harming her, not for anything.”

There was a long pause. “Okay. Like I said, I’ll let you know.”

The door to the exam room opened, and Alexei walked out. She stared, studying him for a moment before he realized he wasn’t alone. He looked older, more weary than he had the night before. Worry creased his brow and turned that sensual mouth down. His shoulders slumped as he shut the door behind him.

And then it all changed when he saw her. A vibrant smile crossed his face. His body straightened to his impressive six and a half feet, and his entire air took on a sexy, sultry tone. “Holly. It is very good to see you. You look heated today.”

Hot. She looked hot. She was really starting to hope his English didn’t get better. He was so adorable when he was screwing it up. “Thanks.”

She stood there, not quite knowing what to do. She hadn’t dated in forever. Were they dating? Or just waiting to have sex?

“I have to go to talk to man about job, but would you like to have dinner tonight?”

Holly actually felt her heart flutter. He was so gorgeous, and he was looking at her like he could eat her up. If they had been alone, she just might have suggested that dinner started early and wouldn’t he like a piece of Holly pie? Damn it. He had her hormones turned up so high she could barely think when he was around.

But then Caleb walked into the room, his green eyes solemn as he took in the scene in front of him. He stared for the briefest moment before his eyes found the floor. “Uhm, Holly, I’m ready whenever you are.”

She nodded, and he backed into the exam room again.

She needed to figure out a way to be right with Caleb. Her heart ached when she looked at him, but Alexei made her feel young and vital. And Alexei wanted her.

“Caleb is very stubborn man, dushka. If he did not save both lives, I seriously consider coming out of retirement to murder him.” Alexei frowned, staring back at the door.

“Oh, god, what did he do?”

“All I know is Russian doctors are not so thorough. A man’s backside is sacred in Russia. I tell you, if he tries in bedroom, I will deal with him.”

“Huh?” Yeah, maybe she should rethink how adorable his English was.

He reached out and took her hand. “Nothing. Nothing to worry about. I am very patient man. Very patient. And tolerant. And no longer violent. So, dinner?”

At least she understood that. “Yes. I would love to have dinner with you. I get off at six. We could have dinner at Stella’s if you like.”

He shook his head. “No. Not where you work. Let’s go to Trio and have nice drink and dance. After I get job, I take you to someplace very nice.”

She loved how his hand squeezed hers. “I’m fine going anywhere, Alexei. There aren’t a lot of choices in Bliss.”

“When I get job and make the monies, I take you wherever you like to go. But, for tonight, it must be Trio.” He brought her hand to his lips, the sensation making her tingle all over. “Now, I must find this place called Roger’s Garage. How long will it take me to get there?”

“Long-Haired Roger’s place? He’s about two miles north of the Feed Store Church, right next to Polly’s Cut and Curl. You can’t miss it. Polly has a huge pink neon sign with kissing lips on it. It’ll take you ten minutes or so by car.”

“Car is one of things I must get.”

She reached for her keys. “Take mine. I’m going to work straight after this. I don’t need it again until I get off. Do what you need to do and then drop it off at Stella’s. I have to warn you, it’s kind of small.”

His smile brightened everything around him. He took the keys and leaned over, kissing her lips. “So many thanks to you, dushka. It makes up for the doctor. Be careful. His hand is much bigger than it look. If I could spare you, I would.” He brought her fingers to his lips again. “Tonight.”

The word held such promise. Holly was pretty sure the room lost some temperature as Alexei walked out the door.

And now she had to find a way to deal with Caleb.

She decided on a friendly but no-nonsense approach. He was behaving like a protective older brother. She marched right into his exam room. “Why is it going to take weeks to get the blood work back, Caleb? I happen to know that the hospital in Alamosa will process your samples in a few hours.”

His gold and red head didn’t move from the chart he was studying. “They do that as a favor to me. I’m not going to call in a favor so Alexei can get some.”

She gritted her teeth. “What do you have against Alexei, Caleb?”

“Well, he’s a mobster for one thing.” The words came out in a disgruntled huff. Caleb marked the chart, his pen moving across the pages in tense lines.

She thought that was part of the problem. Caleb didn’t deal well with violence. “Ex-mobster. And he was only in the mob because he was seeking revenge on the man who killed his brother. I’ve read all the stories about him. He didn’t kill anyone who was innocent. He only ever killed other mobsters. You don’t have a problem with Nate and Zane. They basically did the same thing when they were undercover with the DEA.”

“Nate and Zane were in law enforcement. They had badges.” His tone had gone to a sullen, dark place. His green eyes had deepened as though he was talking about something sacred. “Alexei’s a violent man. He’s a brutal man, Holly.”

“Was. People change.”

Caleb leaned against the counter, assessing her as though trying to figure out the best way to give her bad news. “No, they don’t. They don’t change. When the chips are down, he’ll go right back to what he knows best because no one really changes.”

“Really? I know I did. I changed for the worse. At least Alexei changed for the better.”

“What are you talking about?” It was the first time since she’d walked in the room that he hadn’t sounded sure of himself.

She wished she hadn’t opened the line of conversation, but now that she had, she was going to move forward with it. She and Caleb were going to get this out, and they would either be friends or nothing at all. “I changed after my divorce. Really, I suppose it was sometime during the actual marriage that I changed. I couldn’t pinpoint the date. It wasn’t one specific incident, just a whole bunch of small cuts and bruises on my soul.”

His eyes hooded, and he went very still. “Inflicted by your husband?”

She laced her fingers together. Sometimes, even years and years later, the memories were fresh. “And his family. They didn’t want Scott to marry me. Scott and I met in college. I was there on a scholarship. He was there because his father had built a wing of the school. It was a very ritzy private school. I was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and Scott was going through a rebellious stage. We met my sophomore year, his senior. We moved in together pretty quickly. Scott went on to law school, and I dropped out to go with him. I was a stupid girl. I thought I was helping him. Anyway, before he graduated, I got pregnant with Nicky, and we got married over his family’s very vocal objections.”

“What didn’t they like about you?” The question had a nasty edge to it, but Holly didn’t think it was pointed at her.

She could still hear her ex-mother-in-law’s voice explaining all the things that were wrong with her. She was too fat. She was too stupid. She wasn’t well-bred. And Maureen Lang hadn’t just told Holly that. Maureen liked to tell all of her friends, seeking sympathy for the horror of her oldest child’s marital disaster. “Just about everything. I wasn’t cultured enough. I wasn’t polished. I wasn’t a proper political wife. But Scott didn’t want to go into politics. He wanted to open a quiet practice. He was so happy when Nicky was born.”

“He changed his tune. He’s a congressman, isn’t he?”

Oh, he was also a rat-fink bastard, but he never let anyone forget that he was a congressman. “Yes. About a year after Nicky was born, things started to change. Scott got tired of rebelling, and his father convinced him to move back into the family mansion and run for office. They never stopped putting me down, never let up for an instant. And I changed. I became the kind of woman who pretended her husband wasn’t cheating. I became the kind of woman who stopped dreaming. I hated myself. I became the kind of woman who lost her child.”

She blinked back tears, but moved on. “Nicky was my life. I withered without him, and I don’t think I’ve had a moment where I felt like that girl in college again. I want to. I want to feel like there’s something out in the world for me, Caleb. I thought that might be you, but you don’t want me that way. I don’t know if Alexei is the man who pulls me out of this lonely place I’ve been in for years, but I’m ready to find out. I’m ready to take a chance. I’m ready to change. So don’t tell me people can’t change. I need to believe they can.”

Caleb was silent for a moment, for so long Holly worried she’d offended him in some way. She was just about to apologize for opening up, for exposing so much of herself to him, when he finally sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“I’ll get the tests back to you today.” He turned back to his file. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t bug him again. And you can go.”