Raised by her father after her mother’s death due to a drunk driver, Bonnie Verdugo has grown to be very focused and driven. Her ultimate goal is to become a doctor. Meanwhile she works as an EMT while she takes courses to become a nurse practitioner, each effort a step toward her dream. She has no time for romance or a social life. Then a hiking accident puts her in the care of Jerry Bertini, a fine orthopedic surgeon, but also a man with a reputation.
Jerry Bertini has always been a rebel, going against the family tradition to become a physician instead of a lawyer. He enjoys being the black sheep. Despite his reputation as a playboy, he has a serious side. His career is almost his life, and he’s also trying to raise his motherless daughter. Jennifer is now a teenager and suddenly a handful of trouble. So is Bonnie, the saucy little Latina EMT who ends up under his care when she breaks her leg. He doesn’t suspect how quickly she will get under his skin until it is too late. Now what will he do?
Star light, star bright ... Coming unbidden to memory, the old rhyme ran through Bonnie’s mind. What should she wish for? Somehow nothing seemed quite right. Although wishing for a home like this one tempted her, she couldn’t commit herself to actually making such a wish. There might be too many strings attached to its coming true.
“There’s one.” Jerry’s triumphant words cut into her internal debate.
“I know,” Bonnie replied. “I just saw it. That’s Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes. I think Bootes was a figure in Greek mythology.”
“How can you be so sure which one it is when you can only see one star?” Jerry’s tone held a challenge.
“It’s in the right place. I’ve seen it there a zillion times. There aren’t any other stars that bright in that part of the sky in spring.”
As the dusk deepened, more stars began to come into view.
“Show me some of the constellations.” Again, Jerry broke in on her private thoughts. His demand drew Bonnie away from her melancholy memories.
“Okay, see the diamond shape, just east and a bit south of the pole star? That’s part of Draco, the dragon. Actually the southernmost star isn’t really part of the constellation, but I always thought a dragon should have a pointy nose.”
Bonnie chuckled, recalling the running argument she and her father had carried on over that star.
“Where? I can’t see it.”
“Come here, and I’ll show you.” The words were not out of her mouth before Bonnie sensed she had made a big mistake. Now he was going to be closer, right there beside her.
Jerry got up and came around to the far side of her lounge, dropping down to sit on the edge, leaning one arm on the back above her head. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and smell the tangy, inviting scent of his aftershave. Her head buzzed with his nearness.
“Er, unh, right up there.” She pointed, trying to ignore the overwhelming awareness singing through her. He leaned even closer to sight up her extended arm. A lock of his hair brushed along the inside of her elbow, a silky tickle she felt to her toes.
He turned to look down at her. “A big diamond shape or not so big?” His breath whispered across her cheek as he spoke.
She gulped. “Pretty big, about the size of your hand at arm’s length.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, I see that. So that’s the dragon, huh?”
Bonnie nodded. “The rest of him curls down between the dippers, just a single line of stars, a curve here, a second one there and then down, see?”
After she pointed out a few more formations, she managed to regain some of her presence of mind, until Jerry chose that moment to reach across her to snag his glass from the table.
His chest pressed against her side and his arm brushed her breasts as he reached. She tried to sink into the cushion to escape the touch, but she couldn’t shrink far enough. He seemed completely oblivious to the contact, lifted his glass and straightened to take a long drink.
While he was occupied, Bonnie reclaimed her own glass. She considered pouring its contents over herself, simply to cool off, but discarded that idea as wasteful and probably pointless. The way she felt at the moment, a dip in the Arctic Ocean would probably have been less than adequate.
