Her Forever Cowboy

“I thought we’d have a drink, celebrating our new relationship,” he told her in his best Southern-gentleman drawl.

“Our relationship?” Alisha echoed incredulously.

“Landlord and tenant,” Brett replied, indicating first himself, then her. “Why? What did you think I was referring to?”

Still sitting on the stool, she squared her shoulders. “I didn’t have a clue,” she lied. “That’s why I asked.”

“You want something light and fruity—or something hard?” he asked her.

The words seemed disconnected as they came out of the blue like that. Confused, she could only ask, “What?” as she stared at him.

“To drink,” Brett prompted. “Light and fruity—” he gestured toward the small array of bottles filled with colorful mixed drinks “—or hard?” he concluded, waving a hand toward the bottles that contained alcohol his customers downed straight.

“What did you just have?” she asked, nodding at his empty shot glass.

“Wild Turkey, 101 proof,” he told her.

She pushed her glass to one side and said, “I’ll have the same.”

Brett looked at her uncertainly. “Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s rather strong and you might get more than you bargained for.”

Her eyes locked with Brett’s. “I think I already have.”

Her Forever Cowboy

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award-winning author, MARIE FERRARELLA has written more than two hundred books for Mills & Boon, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, www.marieferrarella.com.

To

Pat Teal, who, 33 years ago, said to me, “Have you thought about writing a romance?” Rest in peace, Pat. I miss you.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

No one looking at her would have suspected that her heart had just been broken, or even bruised. She made sure of that.

Dr. Alisha Cordell prided herself on being self-contained. She wasn’t the type to let people in on her private hurt. Nor would she allow herself to shed tears. At least, not publicly.

Publicly, if she included the half-naked hospital administrator closeted with her fiancé as being part of the general public, the only display of emotion anyone had witnessed was when she’d thrown her three-carat diamond engagement ring at Dr. Pierce Belkin—a neurosurgeon who was much in demand, not always by his patients—and the aforementioned hospital administrator.

A flash of fury had accompanied the flying ring as well as a single seething word that wasn’t part of her usual vocabulary.

It hadn’t even been the sight of the ruggedly handsome Mayflower descendant making love to the vapid, overly endowed blonde that had made Alisha throw her ring at him. It was Pierce’s complete lack of contrition coupled with the snide remark—“Oh, grow up, Alisha. Just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean I’m going to be your slave”—that made her lose her composure and had her throwing the ring and then telling Pierce to take up residence in a much hotter location.

The story was already making the rounds by the time she’d taken the elevator from the fifth floor down to the first. Not that she cared about the gossip. She’d never been the kind to pay any attention to whispers. But what convinced Alisha that she needed a change of scenery was the fact that although the hospital was far from a small place, there was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn’t be able to avoid running into Pierce or any of what she had come to realize were his numerous conquests.

Good at shutting out things that irritated her, Alisha still knew that she would be able to hold her head high for only so long before the situation would become intolerable to her.

There was no way around it. She needed to find somewhere else to be. Preferably somewhere far away.

As a rule, Alisha didn’t make friends easily. Dedicated, driven, she’d ignored socializing to focus on becoming the best all-around general surgeon she could be. In part—a large part—to honor her father.

A giant of a man, Dr. William Cordell had been a family-practice physician. Alisha was his only child, and she had adored him. A nature enthusiast, he would go camping whenever he could get away. His wife hadn’t shared his interest in the great outdoors, but Alisha had, and he had taken her with him, teaching her all the fundamentals of survival.

Cancer had abruptly ended her father’s life when she was just fourteen. She’d never been close to her mother, and the two had drifted even further apart after that. Alisha closed herself off emotionally and worked on achieving her goal to the exclusion of almost everything else. It kept her father’s memory alive for her.

The people she’d been thrown in with at college studied hard but partied harder. She remained on the outside fringes of that world. Looking back, she realized that the only reason Pierce had pursued her with such vigor was because she was the only female who had ever said no to him. He viewed her as a challenge as well as a budding gifted surgeon. In time, he thought of her as a worthy extension of himself, a professional asset.