The Marriage Prescription

“Beth!”

Zach Ashton strode in her direction and her heart felt as if it had stopped beating entirely…which was impossible since she didn’t drop dead.

He was not fat.

Or balding.

Or wearing reading glasses.

He was perfect. Just like all those years ago, only better. He was tall, lean and absolutely gorgeous. His khakis might be slightly travel wrinkled, but the navy blue polo shirt that molded to his perfect pecs and broad shoulders more than made up for it.

He stopped directly in front of her, pulled off his designer sunglasses and hugged her fiercely.

He smelled like fresh air and sandalwood. And his strong arms felt like heaven around her. For about two seconds she resisted the urge to press her cheek to his chest and then she gave in. He’d held her just like this a hundred times before. When she’d cried after Sammy Potter pushed her down on the playground. When she’d gotten her period at eleven and realized she had to be a girl whether she wanted to or not. And then, at sixteen when her father had died and she’d been devastated.

Eventually Zach drew away and stared down at her, his hands still bracketing her waist. “God, you look great.”

Color shot to her cheeks. She did not look great. She had on jeans and a T-shirt and worn-out sneakers. She was sweaty and dusty from puttering in the garden with her mother.

She was—darn it—she was a mess.

“Hi, Zach,” she managed to croak. “You look…terrific.”

Boy did he. His hair was shorter, but still dark and thick. Those eyes. She melted just looking into them. As clear and blue as when he’d been twenty-two and visiting from college. And his face. How could anyone so close to forty still look that damn good? There was a line or two here and there, but they only gave him character.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he said wistfully. “What are you doing here? Visiting your mom?”

This was it. Insecurity riddled what was left of her bravado. She was divorced, living with her mother and…God Almighty…still in love with Zach Ashton.

“No,” she admitted, the word seeming to ring out in the otherwise silence that surrounded them. “I’m living here again. I’m on staff at Cartersville General.”

He looked stunned.

She felt humiliated.

“I thought you were—”

She shook her head, cutting him off before he could utter the M-word. “Not anymore.” Apparently their two mothers had kept their word about not mentioning Beth’s marital woes.

Zach took her left hand in his and stared at her bare ring finger. He frowned. “I’m…” his concerned gaze reconnected with hers “…sorry.”

Beth manufactured a smile. “I’m not.” She stepped out of his hold. “Your mother’s inside. I’m sure she can’t wait to see you.”

He nodded distractedly. “Yeah.” He hitched a thumb toward his car. “I should get my bags.”

Beth blinked. “Bags?”

That devilish grin that had charmed every female in this county as well as the next spread across his devastatingly handsome face. “Didn’t she tell you? I’m taking a little time off. I’ll be here for two weeks. That’s why I drove instead of taking a flight.”

Two weeks?

Beth couldn’t take two weeks of having him right next door. The past was bound to come up. He’d want to talk. She’d want to…she slammed the door on that notion.

“I thought maybe I could help with the birthday organizing,” he added when she didn’t respond.

“That’d…be great,” she forced out. “Just great.”

He started to back away, those amazing blue eyes never leaving hers. “Let’s have dinner or something,” he suggested in that sexy, utterly male way that came as naturally as breathing to him.

“Sure,” she lied.

Dinner was out of the question. She couldn’t have dinner with him. She couldn’t have anything with him. What was she thinking? Blast it all, it was like she was a teenager again and unable to think properly in his presence.

He was halfway to his car before he finally turned his back to her, but before he did, he shook his head and exhaled a big breath of genuine masculine approval. “You look…terrific. It’s really good to see you.”

Beth managed to keep her smile in place until he’d turned around. Then it collapsed into a ground-dragging frown. Only then, with his mesmerizing attention focused elsewhere, did her heart stumble back into an acceptable rhythm.

She was doomed.

Doomed to replay her tortured teenage years when she’d lived and breathed Zach Ashton.

Whatever it took, she had to get her mother and Mrs. Ashton back on speaking terms. Living next door to Zach for two whole weeks would be bad enough. No way was she going to organize an event the size of this birthday celebration with him. That would mean hours of going over decorations, music, menu selections and sending out invitations—which was only a formality anyway since folks around here planned their Septembers around Mrs. Ashton’s birthday.

Beth sprinted the rest of the way to the cottage. All she had to do was find out what had started it. Then she could prod the two old friends into making up. They’d been friends an eternity without the first ripple.

How hard could it be to straighten out this little misunderstanding?

SHE WAS HERE.

And she was even more beautiful than ever. To top it off, she was not only all grown-up, she was available. Zach took a long, deep breath and forced his thoughts away from Beth. He never could think straight around her.

Determined to get past the shock of seeing her, he made his grand entrance into the house only to find that his mother was sleeping. Betty, the housekeeper, said that Mrs. Ashton had retired for a brief nap before the arrival of her son.

Deciding his mother needed the rest and that he could get settled in the meanwhile, Zach lugged his bags up the stairs. He deposited them into his old room and then eased quietly to his mother’s door at the other end of the hall. He smiled as he watched her sleep for a moment. Even at seventy-five she was a lovely woman. He inhaled the scent of White Shoulders and surveyed the familiar room. It looked just as it had when he’d been a child. Elegant and luxurious. His mother’s taste was impeccable. And beneath that pretentious appearance beat a tremendously caring heart. The whole town loved and respected her. She was the best mom a guy could ask for.

Suddenly feeling glad to be home, Zach soundlessly closed the door and made his way back to his own room. He took a deep breath and studied the past that was well documented in the unchanged décor. Football trophies, team photographs and banners covered the walls. Memorabilia of family vacations was scattered about on bookshelves and the tops of his dresser and chest of drawers. Zach picked up a picture of his father and smiled sadly. Graduation day from law school. His father had been so proud. Zach still missed him, though he’d been gone for more than a decade.

Zach carefully placed the picture back on his dresser and wandered to the double windows on the other side of the room. He leaned against the window frame and watched Mrs. McCormick and Beth in the rose garden.

She’d been so gorgeous all those years ago when she’d kissed him. Heat stirred inside him at the memory of her sweet young body pressed against his. He’d wanted her so much, but he’d known that it couldn’t be. She’d only been seventeen. He’d been twenty-four.

But how he’d wanted her. Had loved her for as long as he could remember, but that feeling hadn’t turned sexual until she turned fifteen. He’d known it wasn’t right. Had chastised himself every night for the dreams he couldn’t escape. He’d done his level best to get her out of his head. But no matter how many girls he dated, no matter how many he shared himself with, his feelings for Beth didn’t change.

So he’d avoided her. Fortunately, whenever he visited after that one incident, she usually wasn’t around since she’d gone off to medical school. Once or twice they’d run into each other during one of his brief visits with his mother. And then he’d heard that she was getting married and he’d decided that was good. With her married to someone else he could get on with his life instead of waiting for her.

Zach closed his eyes and shook his head. He had been waiting for her to grow up and get her M.D. She’d apparently never forgiven him for turning her away that one time and the next thing he knew it was too late.

He thought about the way she’d felt in his arms when he hugged her only minutes ago…the way she’d looked at him. And he wondered if she still felt it, too?