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male. That’s all very nice, but we need to keep our libidos in check. We have an ER to run.”
    Trish shook her head. “If he doesn’t get your motor running, then you need a new one. Speaking of which, when was the last time you had a date?”
    Lauren stiffened. “My love life is not open for discussion.”
    “That’s because you don’t have one.” Trish looked at Margaret, who nodded in agreement. “We think the world of you, Dr. Reynolds, so I’m saying this for your own good. The hospital can’t be your life. Your son needs a dad, and you need someone to love.”
    “No, I don’t, and my son and I get along fine on our own.” Lauren did not want to have this conversation. Talking about Josh not having a father always upset her. Already her stomach was churning. “You both know what happened when I dated that guy last year. Josh got attached and then Ron took a hike. I can’t chance him getting hurt again.”
    “What about the Brother for Life program?” Margaret asked. “Didn’t he meet someone nice there?”
    “No, that didn’t work out.” Lauren sighed. “Actually, it was a bit of a disaster.”
    She walked away, effectively ending the conversation, but the guilt lingered. Of course her son longed for a father. Recently, that was all he talked about.
    For the next few hours, the ER was nonstop action. There was the boy who’d swallowed a small plastic toy; another child who arrived with suspicious bruises and a broken arm; and a young man who’d sustained multiple injuries when he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a telephone pole.
    There was a brief lull around four, and Lauren actually had a few minutes to herself. She scarfed down a sandwich and a coffee, and when she returned to the ER, Shane was wheeling in a frail woman.
    “Her name’s Eleanor Barnes,” he told her, “and she’s having difficulty breathing. I gave her an IV, but she’s still in a lot of pain.”
    As if to prove it, the woman collapsed in a prolonged coughing spasm, and her face turned crimson. At the end of it, she was weak and shaken, gasping for breath.
    Lauren took over and Shane assisted. Once they had Mrs. Barnes stabilized and an orderly had wheeled her away, she gave Shane a brief smile. “I heard you were in earlier today.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Lauren Reynolds, by the way. Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself before.”
    “Shane Dawson.” He nodded. “I looked for you earlier, but you weren’t around. I wanted to ask about Josh. How’s he doing?”
    “He’s not a happy camper, but I let him stay home from school today. His nanny will find ways to amuse him.”
    “Major says he’s sorry for getting in your way. He made it up yesterday by catching a crook.”
    “Yes. I heard that on the news.”
    He looked down at his feet and hunched up his shoulders. “That was a bunch of B.S.”
    “I think the reporter had a thing for you.” She smiled. “So do the nurses, by the way.”
    “They’re just being nice to the new guy on the block.” He lifted his eyes. “So how’d you know I was here?”
    She felt a direct hit when his heavily lashed brown eyes met hers. She wouldn’t call them “bedroom sexy”; they were too intense for that. “Penetrating” was a more apt description. She felt as though they could reach deep inside her and discover her inner secrets.
    Feeling vulnerable all of a sudden, she folded her arms across her chest. “The nurses were talking about you. Listing your charms, as a matter of fact.”
    “Oh, yeah? What kind of charms?”
    He flashed his cocky smile, and her stomach jumped. No sweet wonder the nurses got a little weak in the knees. The guy oozed sex appeal without appearing to even try. Good thing she’d been so preoccupied yesterday, or she might have noticed it then. Not that she liked flirty men—she’d had more than her share of them as a grieving young widow.
    “Let’s see.” She hid a smile. “Oh, I remember: they liked your