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“No, no,” CeCe said, turning to Alexis. “You make me feel wanted. Sometimes when you look at me I can’t breathe.”

“My God, CeCe. I do want you!” Alexis said nervously. “More than I want to admit. But I also think you’re an amazing person. You have a way about you that brightens your clients’ days. That’s special. It’s a gift.”

“Just like you being a masterful surgeon is a gift? Do you see how they are not in the same league?” CeCe winced.

“Oh, honey. They are though. Actually, yours may be more important. Not everyone needs a surgeon, but they do need to feel valued and that’s how you make people feel.”

“Valued?” CeCe laughed sarcastically. “Do you know how my sisters and I were able to buy the shopping center? Someone had to die.”

“What?”

“When we were kids, my dad’s uncle died. He left Daddy a lot of money. Cory, Cat, and I were so excited. We weren’t poor, but we thought we’d be able to buy better clothes and look like the rich kids in school. Do you know what my dad did?”

Alexis shook her head.

“He took us out for a nice dinner and told us to get any idea of spending that money out of our heads. He kept working and so did my mom. As the years passed we forgot all about the money. A few months ago Cory called Cat and me and had us meet her at the shopping center. It wasn’t finished yet, but she had this idea for each of us to have our own business.” CeCe looked over at Alexis and smiled. “It’s been almost a year since my dad died.”

“I remember,” Alexis said quietly, putting her hand on CeCe’s leg.

“That’s right. You sent me flowers.” CeCe smiled at Alexis. “It turns out that Dad invested the money. He left us a letter explaining that Mom would be taken care of, but he wanted the three of us to take the money and do something with it together. That way, he said, we would always be in one another’s lives and take care of each other.”

“Oh, my God, CeCe, that’s beautiful,” Alexis said, squeezing her leg.

CeCe wiped a tear away. “Yeah, it is, but there’s no way I would’ve ever been able to run my own salon without someone dying and my dad taking care of the money. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not like you, Alexis. I don’t come from money. I’m someone you have a good time with, not someone you make a life with.” CeCe could see the horrified look on Alexis's face. “It’s okay. I know my place.”

14

Alexis couldn’t believe her ears. Where was the confident, self-assured CeCe she knew? An anger was building inside her at all the people who had made CeCe feel less than in her life. She was the most generous and compassionate person and obviously didn’t see it in herself.

“Your place? Listen to me, Cecilia Sloan. Your place is anywhere you fucking want to be! I would be privileged to be your date to anything. Your profession is making people look beautiful and you do it very well, but believe me, if you walked into a room on my arm, the heads would be turning to see you, not me.”

CeCe shyly smiled. “Lex,” she said softly.

“But that’s not what pulls me towards you. It’s what’s inside,” Alexis said, reaching to put her hand in the center of CeCe’s chest. “When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. And that’s a big deal for a surgeon. We’re usually thinking about our next patient.”

CeCe chuckled and the sound melted Alexis's heart like a favorite love song.

“I want to see your smile. I want to see that fire in your eyes when I give you a sexy look. You’re waking up emotions in my heart that I thought were long dead, Cecilia Sloan. I’m the one that’s not in your league. You somehow radiate your love for people. They can feel it with just a look. I may be a respected surgeon, but I can’t make people feel like you do.”

CeCe stared into Alexis's eyes. “You really mean that.”

Alexis's face brightened. “It’s true.”

CeCe smiled and sighed. “Do you think there is hope for us, Doc?”

“I don’t date, CeCe, and you haven’t mentioned dating anyone in a very long time. But you asked me to change hairstylists so we could go out and I did. What do you want? Why would you go on a date with me? Is it just for fun?”

CeCe smiled. “I can’t stop thinking about you, either. Yes, I want to have fun and we are very good at that part, wouldn’t you say?”

Alexis smiled. “Yes, I would agree with you.”

“I know you are a serious doctor and have to maintain your professionalism most of the time, but I get to see the playful, flirty, so fucking sexy, Lex. I want to be the doctor and make your heart feel good again.”

Alexis could feel tears burn the back of her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt cared for. “That sounds like someone to make a life with.”

The smile that grew on CeCe’s face was as bright as the evening sun. “We planned to come here and party then have hot sex all night, didn’t we,” CeCe said with a playful grin.

“We did.”